Bean Soup and Madeleines
That roasted chicken from Sunday just keeps on giving. Tonight, it was Bean Soup. The soup itself was pretty basic and simple. I boiled down the broth I had made yesterday just a bit more to concentrate the flavor and then added the leftover gravy I had made. I then added three cans of beans - pinto, roman, and pink beans (I always have a variety of canned beans on the shelf.) I hit it with the immersion blender and pureed it pretty well. I just added a bit of S&P because it had a pretty good flavor and I was looking for a simple soup because I was going to add stuff.
And the fun began.
I had seen a recipe in La Cucina Italiana for a chick pea soup with cabbage and chicken on top. It was a really really thick soup, but from looking at the recipe, not overly exciting. Victor pretty much loathes cooked cabbage in any form, so that idea was out. I decided to work with the concept...
I cooked a chicken breast with 2 links of fresh chorizo, removed from the casing. I then wilted spinach in a bit of roasted garlic butter and spooned that on top of the soup. I added the chicken and chorizo on top of that and dove in!
Oh... and I baked another loaf of bread identical to the one yesterday.
And for dessert...
Madeleines!
I don't think I have made a Madeleine since CCSF circa 1974. Years and years and years... But our friend Ann posted a recipe back in December and I've been wanting one ever since. I finally broke down and bought a Madeleine pan, and yesterday made the dough.
I baked after work today.
Ann's Madeleines
This recipe makes a dozen of the med to large size.
Make up batter the day before or at least a couple of hours before:
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 C sifted flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- Zest of one orange, more or less
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 3 1/4 oz butter, melted and cooled
Mix dry ingredients in bowl, add zest, stir in.
Add eggs and melted butter, stir, don't beat until just combined. You don't want to incorporate a lot of air into the batter.
Chill for 2 hours up to 4 days.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Oil and flour pans (Lady in store said grapeseed oil gives the best crust)
Using pastry bag, pipe batter into molds. I didn't use a tip as I didn't have one big enough, isn't as if you are going to make a design you know.
Bake 7-11 minutes until edges are browned and the top springs back when tapped with a finger
Turn out onto rack and let cool.
These outdo Julia.
And who am I to argue? They came out rich and buttery and just properly crisp.
I see more of these in our future...
Cooking in a Winter Wonderland
I was a serious cookin' machine today! Beautiful snow falling (but not really sticking) put me in the mood to bake.
In-between baking projects, though, I did cook dinner,as well. Victor saw a recipe in Parade Magazine of all places that looked intriguing. Chicken and Peppers in a balsamic vinegar sauce. We've done a lot of balsamic reductions, but this one sounded just different enough to give it a try. This one comes from Bobby Flay.
Chicken and Peppers in Vinegar Sauce
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp clover honey
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1. Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven over high heat until it shimmers. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the pan, in batches, top-side-down. Cook until golden brown, 4 minutes. Turn over, continue cooking 3 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate.
2. Add peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the vinegar and cook until reduced by half. Add honey and broth, season with salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes. Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pot. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pot, and cook until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter. Cook sauce until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and pour sauce over the chicken.
I served it with a whole grain mahogany rice blend. I made it with chunks of chicken breast because I didn't have any thighs in the freezer. It came out pretty good. I think I like Lidia's Pork Chops and Apples, better, though...
One thing I was definitely going to make today was an apple pie. And yes, I make my own pie crusts. They're just not that difficult to make and I can't find a decent pre-made crust that will fit a standard 10" deep-dish pie plate.
Food Processor Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup butter, cubed (I freeze it)
- pinch salt
- pinch sugar (if for sweet pie)
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water
Put flour, salt and sugar (if using) in food processor bowl. Pulse a second to blend.
Add cold or frozen butter pieces and pulse until well mixed.
Add water while mahine is running and pulse a few times to mix.
Dough will look very crumbly. Pinch together a small amount to see if it holds together. if it doies, you're set.
Form into two disks - one larger than the other - and let rest about 10 minutes.
Roll out on well-floured board.
It really is easy to do!
Apple Pie filling
- 5 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup apricot brandy
Place all filling ingredients in large bowl and mix well.
Place filling into pastry-lined pie plate. Top with crust and crimp edges.
Bake at 400° about an hour.
It came out really good. It didn't even need ice cream!
The other thing I was obsessing about a bit today was Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread. I almost bought a loaf and then decided I could make one just as easy.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
- 3 cups flour, more or less, divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beating at low speed, add the water and butter. Continue beating at high speed for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour and beat 4 minutes longer. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour as necessary.
Place dough in a large buttered bowl, turning to butter top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place, free of drafts.
Punch dough down; knead until smooth. Roll into a 12x9-inch rectangle.
Brsh with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and then spread raisins evenly.
Starting with the narrow edge, roll up, turning ends under to make loaves to fit pans. Place rolls seam side down in greased loaf pans, 9x5x3-inches.
Cover pans with clean towel and let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes.
Bake loaves at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped with fingers. Remove from pans to racks; brush with butter.
This was supposed to be for breakfast tomorrow. Needless to say, we didn't wait.
I could eat this every day.
As for the snow storm that was supposed to droip another 18" of snow? It hasn't quite hit yet.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
Dinner tonight was pretty simple - burritos. Ground beef, rice, and beans, chilis, olives, cheese. Simple, basic, and filling.
So after dinner, Victor laments that we don't have dessert tonight. Situations are actually reversed, for once. Usually it's my sweet tooth looking for goodies. Being the unsympathetic person I am, I said there were two pieces of Valentine chocolate left. One for each. Dessert is covered.
Victor said he was going to bake cookies. My clever ruse worked.
I left the kitchen and Victor went to work.
When we bake cookies, we use ice cream scoops (known as "dishers" in the food biz) to scoop out the dough. We have about a half-dozen of them in varying sizes. They are so much easier than trying to deal with tablespoons and the like - and you get a consistent-sized cookie! (They're also really good for making cupcakes and muffins!)
Victor used a #16 scoop tonight - 1/4 cup. These are big cookies!
The recipe is a variation on the recipe from the lid of the Quaker Oats container.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 1/2 pound butter, softened
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups rolled oats
Heat oven to 350°. In large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded 1/4 cup scoops onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Of course, you can drop them by rounded tablespoons (try a #40 disher) and bake for about 10-11 minutes.
They totally rocked.
Cannoli Cake
I've died and gone to heaven.
Such a simple cake and such a huge flavor. I think this could be an every-night dessert!
Cannoli Cake
The Cake:
- 5 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 10" x 15" jelly roll pan and line with parchment.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, vanilla, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until thick - about 5 minutes.
Mix in flour just until blended.
Gently fold 1 cup of whites into egg yolk mixture to lighten, then fold remaining whites into yolks.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until cake springs back when touched.
Sift powdered sugar over cake and place a clean kitchen towel on top. Flip cake onto towel and roll up jelly-roll style from short end.
Cool completely.
Ricotta Filling:
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
In food processor, blend the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth. Transfer filling to bowl and stir in the chocolate pieces. Cover and refrigerate filling while cake cools.
To Assemble:
Unroll cake and drizzle with a simple syrup and Cointreau or Grand Marinier. (Victor used Blood Orange Syrup.)
Spread filling over cake and roll up with seam on bottom.
Dust with powdered sugar and cocoa mixture.
This really was a rock 'em sock 'em dessert. Cake and creamy and not too sweet.
I had two pieces.
Cassoulet and Apple Fig Coffee Cake
The Super Bowl is on TV. I hate to admit it but I'm really not all that interested this year. I'm not home for the first time in forever. We used to fly home for my father's birthday - which just happened to coincide with Super Bowl Sunday. A big party at my sister Eileen's house, lots of fun, food, laughter - and football pools. No matter what, it was the one time of the year we knew we would all be together. Pop's no longer with us and because we're flying home in a couple of months for my nieces wedding, we stayed east this year. Right off the bat, I'm feeling the blah's.
And there are two teams playing that I really could not care less about. Okay. Not totally true. I don't particularly want New Orleans to win, but I do want Indianapolis to lose. I opened a hotel in Indianapolis circa 1988. I pretty much dislike Indianapolis. A lot.
So while others are having their football parties, I'm catching it peripherally. It's on in the corner of the computer and it's on in the living room.
I decided to cook for the weather, not football tonight. I soaked a pound of black beans last night thinking I might make chili. The chili morphed into a cassoulet of sorts. Not a classic cassoulet by any means. More just a homey slow-baked bean stew.
Kinda Cassoulet
- 4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
- 1 lb beef, cubed
- 1 lb pork, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp herbs d'Provence
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1 lb black beans, soaked over night and cooked
- 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
- 1 10-ounce package frozen baby lima beans, thawed
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Preheat oven to 275°F.
Cook bacon in heavy large ovenproof pot until wilted. Add onions and garlic. Add meats and brown.
Add brandy and simmer until almost evaporated. Add tomato paste and heat through. Stir in beans with about 2 cups cooking liquid, tomatoes with juices, and spices. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
Cover pot and transfer to preheated oven and bake 2 hours.
I was going to make some beer bread but got sidetracked with a project I'm working on for a friend... so we had the last of the Pugliese I made last week. It worked.
And every dinner needs dessert, right?!? Well... we think so!
Victor made an Apple and Fig Coffee Cake. Not a coffee cake in the traditional sense of the word, but a cake with a cup of coffee in it!
Apple Fig Coffee Cake
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups chopped figs
- 2 medium apples
- 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
- 3/4 c packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 beaten egg
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Dissolve coffee in boiling water. Cool. Peel, core, and shred the apples.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Combine egg, apples, melted butter, and coffee. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just till moistened.
Put it into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350° for about an hour or until cake tests done.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
I did stop what I was doing to watch The Who. Roger can't hit those high notes anymore, but he does a pretty good job for being 66. I was bummed that Pete Townsend didn't destroy his guitar at the end. Oh well.
And as long as I'm ranting... Wasn't the Super Bowl - once upon a time - where they ran really cool, innovative commercials? These things they've shown tonight are awful.
Sunday Dinner
Homemade meatballs, sausages, and pork loin, rigatoni, cheese, homemade Pane Siciliano, pepperoni bread, and Apple Cake.
We ate well, today!
We called Victor's mom, brother, and sister-in-law to come over for Sunday Dinner. It's a time for family to sit around the table for a few hours and eat. And talk. And eat. And eat. What a great tradition! We did the Irish version at my house when I was growing up. Different food, same concept. It really is a great tradition.
Today, it was cold, wet, and raining outside, so a big pot of sauce on the stove and a couple of loaves of bread and a cake in the ovens was the perfect way to get the day rolling!
Victor started off by making sauce. No two Italians make their sauce the same way. In fact, he doesn't even make it exactly the same way every time. Into the tomato sauce goes the browned meatballs and browned pork and sausage, red wine, garlic, all the basics. Suffice to say, it is always fabulous.
And while the sauce was simmering on the stove, I made bread. Pane Siciliano.
Last night I pulled out my beat-up old copy of The Italian Baker by Carol Field. I had planned on making her Pane Pugliese and it needs a biga, or starter. It's one of my most favorite breads. I was pulling the ingredients together when I turned the page and saw a recipe for Pane Siciliano. Something new. I actually had the semolina flour (shock!) and decided to give it a try.
Pane Siciliano
Makes 2 loaves
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp malt syrup
- 1 cup water, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups durum flour or semolina for pasta
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds
By hand:
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil, malt, and 1 cup of water. Mix the flours and salt and whisk in 1 cup at a time into the yeast mixture. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Knead on a floured surface 8 to 10 minutes, occasionally slamming the dough down vigorously to develop the gluten.
By mixer:
Stir the yeast into the 1 1/4 cups warm water in a large mixer bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the oil and malt with the paddle; then add the flours and salt and mix until smooth. Change to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until; the dough is firm, compact, and elastic with lots of body, 4 to 5 minutes. Finish kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface.
First rise. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. The dough should be springy and blistered, but still soft and velvety.
Shaping and second rise. Punch the dough down, knead it briefly, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Flatten it with your forearm into a square. Rollit into a long, narrow rope, about 20 to 22 inches long. The dough should be so elastic that it could almost be swung and stretched like a jump rope. Cut the dough in half and shape each into a loaf. (The book shows 3 classic shapes and illustrations; Mafalda, Occhi di Santa Lucia, and the baked Corona. I made the Santa Lucia.)
Place the loaves on floured parchment paper, peels sprinkled with corn meal, or oiled baking sheets. Brush the entire surface of each loaf with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds; pat the seeds very gently into the dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and then a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Baking. Thirty minutes before baking heat the oven with baking stones to 425°. Sprinkle the stones with cornmeal just before sliding the loaves onto them. Bake 10 minutes, spraying 3 times with water. Reduce the heat to 400° and bake 25 to 30 minutes longer. Cool on racks.
The final bread came out excellent, but I had to play with the dough a bit.
First off, it was way too dry. I know that there are a bazillion and one factors involved in making bread; the moisture content of the flour, the weather and humidity, yadda yadda yadda, but I had to add almost a half-cup of water to the dough. I finally worked it into a close approximation to what was described "firm, compact, and elastic with lots of body" but it never really had the elasticity I think it should have had from the description. Same with the forming of the dough. It rolled out well, but didn't have the "so elastic that it could almost be swung and stretched like a jump rope" texture. It had some, but not what was being described.
Nonetheless, it came out great! It had that rich semolina flavor and fine texture.
Marie brought over Pepperoni Bread, so we had that as an appetizer along with some salame, provolone, garlic crackers...
It was pretty good!
We sat down to a big salad, the pane, the meats, and a bowl of rigatoni.
Enough food for a small army.
Just what Sunday Dinner is supposed to be.
And then it was coffee and Apple Cake.
Victor got the recipe from his cousin Nancy, years ago. It is really really good and I love it when he makes it!
Apple Cake
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 5 large apples
Preheat oven to 350°. Peel and cut apples into small chunks. Add 4 tsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon and stir together.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and set aside.
Beat together eggs, OJ & vanilla. Add oil, mix in flour mixture.
In a well-greased tube pan, pour alternate layers of batter and apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
Bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until cake tests done.
Cool before slicing.
Another great thing about this cake is it works well as a morning coffee cake as well as an evening dessert.
I see a great breakfast in my future!
Pork Roast, Rye Bread, and an Apple Tart
I decided it was time to do something a tad bit different tonight - a bone-in pork roast!
It's been a while.
The seasonings were pretty basic - garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. The fun twist cam in the pan - red wine and lingonberry concentrate! (Thank you, Ikea!!) I poured about a cup of wine and a half-cup of the lingonberry concentrate in the pan and used it to baste the pork as it was cooking.
I quartered a couple of potatoes and added them to the pork roast pan about half-way through the cooking. The pan juices made a perfect sauce.
And because I was at the grocery store today... I picked up a bag of rye flour. Which, of course, meant I had to make a loaf of rye bread.
Actually, I made two loaves. James Beard, again.
Rye Bread
- 1 pkg active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup warm milk combined with 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp softened butter
- 1 heaping tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 2 1/2 cups rye flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (or more, if needed)
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 egg white beaten lightly with 2 tbsp water
Disolve the yeast and honey in the warm water and allow the mixture to proof for 4 or 5 minutes.
Combine the warm milk and warm water with the softened butter and add to the yeast mixture along with the salt and caraway seeds.
Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When you have addeed about 4 1/2 cups the dough will become difficult to stir and quite sticky, but continue to add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time.
Scrape out the dough onto a floured board, and using a baker's scraper or a large metal spatula, scrape under the dough and fold the dough over. Continue to lift and fold, and with your free hand start pressing down and away from you on these folded areas, adding more flour as needed to dust your hands and to sprinkle the board.
After 2 or 3 minutes of this procedure you can eliminate the scraper.
Flour both hands and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft, velvety, and elastic.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in a well-buttered bowl, turning to coat with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area to double in bulk, which will take from 1 to 2 hours.
Punch down, turn out on a lightly floured board, and divide into two equal pieces.
Let the dough rest for 2 or 3 minutes, and then shape into two loaves, either free-form or for well-buttered 8 x 4 x 2-inch loaf pans.
If you are making free-form loaves allow them to rise, covered, on a buttered baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal until almost doubled in size, and then quickly invert them and brush with the egg and water mixture.
Otherwise, let the loaves rise, covered, in their pans until they have doubled in bulk and then brushing the tops with the egg white and water mixture.
Bake at 400° from 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped with the knuckles.
Cool thoroughly on racks before slicing.
Beard, like Julia Child, or many other cookbook writers, go into a lot of detail and tend to make things sound more complicated than they really are. This is a pretty easy bread to make.
And tasty, too!
Speaking of tasty...
Guess what Victor made for desert last night?!?
A bit of a free-form puff pastry with apples!
He rolled out a sheet of puff pastry, sauteed a couple of granny smith apples in butter, brown sugar and a bit of white sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. He sprinkled in a big teaspoon of flour to help thicken it all, and set it in the middle of the pastry, folded up the sides and into the oven it went - following the instructions on the puff pastry package.
Yumlicious!
Cookie Trays
The weather is cold but gorgeous out. It's time to start delivering cookies! I hate to admit it, but I have consumed waaaay too many cookies again this year. In fact, I'm afraid to get on the scale - I've been really bad.
Even though we cut way back this year, we still have a lot. I'm traying them up as fast as I can and we're delivering them all today.
Handmade food and sharing. And that extra few minutes with the neighbors. This really is one of the most fun traditions we have ever come up with.
So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Mincemeat Pie
We were talking last night and Victor said he had never had a Mincemeat Pie. I was surprised. We've made mincemeat cookies in the past, but, looking back, I couldn't really recall making a pie.
I decided I had to rectify the situation today!
I had most of the ingredients, I just needed a couple of apples and the suet. Try finding suet out here in "afraid of fat" land. It's difficult enough trying to find lard! I wasn't about to drive all over hell and creation for 2 ounces of suet, so I substituted butter. Close enough.
I also went looking for a recipe and couldn't find one I liked, so I took the best of several and made one up.
And since we still had some lard in the 'fridge, I made a real pie crust - 1 part butter to to parts lard.
Perfect Flaky Pie Crust
- 15oz flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 6oz lard
- 3oz butter
- 1/4 cup ice water
Place flour and salt in food processor. Add lard and butter in small pieces. Pulse a few times until crumbly. Add ice water a bit at a time until it forms a ball.
Divide into two disks, one larger than the other, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least an hour.
Mincemeat Filling
- 2 apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup dark raisins
- 1 cup dried currants
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 oz shredded beef suet (1/2 cup) (or 4 oz butter)
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp minced lemon zest
- 2 tsp minced orange zest
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
Blend together all mincemeat ingredients in large pan. Cook on low heat until thick. Cool, then refrigerate.
To assemble:
Preheat oven to 400°F.Place sheetpan in oven on middle rack.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch round and fit into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Spoon mincemeat into shell.
Top with second crust and crimp edges. Cut steam holes in crust.
Bake until pastry is golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
The crust was melt-in-your-mouth-flaky. The filling was just tart enough and not too sweet. A hint of the brandy and a hint of the spices, but nothing overpowered anything else.
And the best thing about all of this is we haven't gained any weight. The weight loss has stopped, but we haven't gained anything.
If we can keep this up until January 1st.....
Cookie Baking Continues
We started with Pizzelle's this morning... Uncle Rudy's recipe.
30 seconds per batch.
Perfect cookies every time.
I couldn't even imagine making them one at a time with a cast iron iron over the open flame of the stove. Two at a time with a 14 year old to man the iron is my way of making them!
And he has definitely mastered the art! They came out excellent!
Next on the list were Aunt Emma's Apricot Cookies. The filling and the dough are both made a day in advance, so it's actually a fairly easy roll, cut, fill, shape, bake process.
Another perfect batch.
Knock wood, but these have all been the best cookies - ever. Aunt Emma, Aunt Dolores, Uncle Rudy, Mom... they're all really watching after us this year.
It is good!
Baking Cookies
We've barely even started when Uncle Victor whacks Gino in the face with a handful of flour. let the baking begin!
While I was at work, the gang made Aunt Emma's dough, and pizzelle dough.
They then started working on sugar cookies.
We decided decorating these would be free-form/ecclectic. I mean, anyone can make a snowman look like a snowman, right?!? It takes talent to step outside of the box!
We're talented!
Very talented!
Next was a batch of sugar-free Biscotti for Nonna. Victor came up with a Slenda recipe a few years ago that's actually edible.
We then got back to some serious candy-making. Aunt Dolores' Rum Balls. The kids rolled and then chocolate-dipped all of them.
The Rum Balls may be just the best, ever. I think these are the most like what Auntie made that I've ever made. I could eat these all night! {{{hic}}}
We also got Vanilla Almond Thumbprints baked off and then made caramels.
Tomorrow is going to be an early start - making Aunt Emma's cookies, biscotti, pizzelles... Plus the Walnut Logs, the Peppermint Patties, the Pfeffernusse...
Boy, am I glad we've cut back! :)