A Happier New Year

 From my half done gingerbread spice cookie house to yours 

Happy New Year!!! 

Let's hope and pray 2021 is the year we go back to our favorite restaurants!!!!!🎩🎉🎉🎉🎉🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆

Restaurants Lost

 This year has been a truly devastating one. Besides the genocidal loss of life, businesses have also been badly impacted. None worse is the restaurant industry. It's not just the big cities like New York or Los Angeles were hit. Smaller towns' culinary gems were also destroyed thanks to quarantine and the loss of business. It is catastrophic to say the least.

The New York Times Food section devoted most of today's section to this heart wrenching loss. One of the most saddest is Philadelphia's City Tavern which opened in 1773. This was Ben Franklin's hangout where the menu really hand't changed since then. There was  even a tofu recipe inspired by Franklin's 1770 letter to John Battram. Diners raved about  celebrity chef Walter Staib's  roast duck and Colonial turkey pot pie. Chef Staib is also the host of the PBS show A Taste of History  which now will be his salvation . Other famed eateries that everyone thought would go on forever folded. The famed K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen closed its' doors forever snuffing out the memory of the late chef Paul Prudhomme. Both chef and restaurant opened the world's eyes to such truly Cajun dishes as blackened redfish and chicken-Andouille sausage gumbo. Manhattan's Lucky Strike was also one of this year's victims.It was known for its' lychee martinis and tuna tartare.It was one of regular contributor Julia Moskin's favorites. Chicago 's Blackbird is also no more.Like Lucky strike it came into being in the prosperous 1980's with its' sophisticated menu.

Smaller family owned restaurants have also affected.  Honolulu's Like-Like Drive In which opened even before Hawaii became a state closed after sixty-seven years of feeding the city. For three generations the Nako family served teriyaki burgers, Vienna sausages and lemon chiffon pie to locals and tourists alike. Chef Mark Noguchi  remembered his childhood visits there where he had Green River lime soda and the Hawaiian noodle soup saimin.Dallas' Taco Shop may have opened in only 2012 yet this taqueria  in a former gas station was an instant hit with construction workers and suits alike. People went  for their carnitas, barbacoa and picadilo as owner , former psychologist Emilia Flores made everyone feel welcome . Even bakeries felt the virus's bite. Sunny Donuts in San Jose, California created mouth watering buttermilk, blueberry and chocolate glazed ones as well as one with homemade raspberry jam inside. Sales dropped during the pandemic and the owners Chip and Sara Lim decided to retire. They already had gone through a McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts franchises.

We need to be a restaurant culture again when this pandemic ends - and it will. Support your local  family owned eateries , coffee shops and bakeries. We need them as much as they need us.

A Summer Classic Winterized

 Spinach salad is always a welcome lunch or dinner come summer.Yet it's winter and what do you do? Winterize it. I also gave this an Italian twist with garlic, serving it on polenta rounds.

It's sauteing about sixteen ounces of already chopped baby bellas and sixteen ounces of spinach   along with two cloves of chopped  garlic and olive oil.

I also added one large chopped beefsteak tomato. 

I felt I needed more flavor so I added some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and a cube of Not Chick'n bouillon.

It cooked  up nicely.

As this was cooking, I sliced the polenta into rounds and fried them on the grill.

I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for a more buttery flavor which I feel goes with polenta.

The taste was more intense than a simple salad. It was a delicious blend of veggies that worked well with the polenta. You could add pancetta to copy the bacon in the original salad if you want or chicken strips, soy or the real thing.

Nothing beats a spinach salad . Yet it's winter. Time to winterize it with  heating up the ingredients and creating a hot tasty saute to warm you up.

Holistic Eating In The New Year

 Now that Christmas is over and a better year (hopefully awaits) it's time to start thinking about eating better. Holistic eating is a start in the right direction. You can lose weight  but without the strident rules of other diets.

Some may dismiss holistic eating as being too New Age. However it's the best thing that can happen to you and your body. You can finally break up with the diet culture and trust your own instincts about what's good for you. Another important aspect is seeing it as fuel, something to drive you. It's not filler. It's also honoring your body and the signals its' giving you. Doing such will give you satisfaction and a new self respect. Start off with a temporary food journal - nothing long term or you'll make yourself crazy. Do it for the first couple of months. Record how hungry you were when you sat down as well as the mood you were in. Did you eat everything or left some on the plate? How satisfied were you with the food and what did you eat. Other questions deal with experiencing emotions and did you feel any gastrointestinal problems? Note flavors. You may notice patterns arising during your meal times. You may feel hangry or a mix of hungry and angry when you eat lunch. There may be stress at breakfast or tiredness at dinner. are you gravitating towards more processed than fresh foods? Do you drink soda and tea with your meals or just water? Look at all the bad habits you have and try to amend them.

What should you eat on a holistic diet? Load up on fruits and veggies. Try to get as much organic as possible. Hit the farmer;s market when they eventually come back (this may take a while thanks to Covid and the communities welcome back to open air markets). Try to eat as much raw as possible however don't feel guilty if you have steamed broccoli or pan roasted carrots. One of the most important steps in  creating a holistic diet is ditching all those white flour and processed products. Go for whole grain and gluten free. If you're into baking then go for King Arthur and  Bob's Red Mill gluten free barley, oat and buckwheat flours. There is even a  holistic cookie recipe that calls for white beans. Beans and legumes are a must. Think chickpeas, black beans , lentils and peas. They are full of protein, Vitamin B and dietary fiber. They  also help build the much needed healthy gut bacteria.Just don;t eat them raw. Cook them if they're not already cooked before canning. You will need healthy fats. Eat more avocados, nuts and olive oil. All three are very versatile and can be used in a number of dishes. What do you get rid of? Sugar!!!!!! Ditch the white stuff and switch to honey and/or maple sugar. That means nixing all those sodas and drinking water or flavored seltzer.

The New Year is fast approaching. Treat yourself and your body with a holistic eating. It's a way of getting in shape not just with your body but also your mind and life.

All That New Stuff

 Many home chefs around the globe probably received a lot of fun kitchen stuff yesterday. Yes, you're excited but take it slow. There's a lot to take in and and much as you want to make everything in that accompanying recipe book, don't . Take it easy. Start small.

One of the most popular kitchen items gives is the air fryer. It is a must have in any home, alleviating all the trouble of using your conventional oven. As much as you want try to cook everything in it , go easy these first couple of uses. Some home chefs may become frustrated trying to adjust a food's cooking time and temperature. The best bet is if the instructions say "Cook at 450 degrees" set the air fryer at 400 degrees F. It's basically  a convection oven so the food will be crisp and well cooked  thanks to the hot air circulating around it. Another trick is taking the cooking time and halving it. If the package says cook for fifteen minutes ,halve that to seven or eight minutes. Check the food, turning it over so its' completely browned and then cook for  a lesser time, like three or four minutes at a lesser temperature. Think 350 to 370 degrees F. Another Christmas gift is the Instapot. Many home chefs are probably beyond thrilled at this new "toy". Keep in mind that your dishes will not be instant. (that's what microwaves are for). They will take some time to cook. An important must not is don't place it on your stove top. It's for counter use only!! Please keep it away from external heat sources. Remember to also include the sealing ring otherwise you will have a ruined meal. It is key in pressure cooking.

Many bakers love what they've received for Christmas. I'm sure many have unwrapped cookie presses. These produce beautiful professional looking cookies, worthy of any bakery. However it takes a lot of practice and the right dough. You have to use the spritz dough, a mix of sugar, egg  butter and flour and then roll it into logs. The logs are then chilled in the fridge and inserted into the gun or tube of the press. That's the easy part. it takes practice and patience, trite as that sounds.If the dough is too warm, it sticks to the tube and also produces blobs  - not defined shapes as its' extruded through the tube. Try it out with one or two shapes is another good idea. The dough wields two or three big batches which can also be tiring to make. Another gift that many bakers probably have received is a cake decorating kit. There are probably visions of creating fancily frosted cakes and cupcakes. Again, go easy with this. Those rosettes aren't always simple to make. Even something as basic as leaves can be exasperating especially on the first few tries. Start with small fleurettes that can be piped on the edge of the cake. As for cupcakes, don't go fancy. Just do  squiggle and then work your way up to more elaborate flowers and shapes.

Those kitchen Christmas gifts are beckoning their new owners. Go easy. Yes, be enthusiastic, but proceed with care. Learn first and get used to this fun new present.

A Very Tiring Christmas

 This was the year home chefs cooked and baked their hearts out. It has been a little tough out there yet we persisted.

This is what's left of my Christmas dinner - gravy and Brussels sprouts along with stuffing.

Hopefully everyone  had a very good holiday , full of good food and good presents.

My heart and thoughts go out to the emergency and  first responders out there too, who couldn't be with their families this  year.

Happy Christmas - where ever you are.

A Good Holiday

 Have a good holiday to all my readers far and wide. 

The Kwanzaa Feast

 Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday yet it's packed with centuries of tradition. It centers around seven principles  such as faith and  purpose that should be practiced year round. with this holiday comes the rich tradition of food. Families are celebrating and cooking at home. Their tables will be filled with good food and good deeds.

Nicole Taylor , chef and author of The Up South Cookbook interviewed five families around the country for today's New York Times Food section. The holiday starts Saturday , December 26th with families eating and free thinking. The holiday itself began in Los Angeles in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American professor who taught African-American studies. Dishes are plentiful and some include slow cooked meatless collard greens Trinidadian grilled fish and bread puddings. The special meal, karamu is held on the day ,kuumba dedicated to creativity. For the Orr-Frasier family of Portland ,Oregon, the meal will be a nod to parents, Rashad and Keita  North Carolingian roots. There will be jelly cakes along with pineapple upside down and red velvet ones. His recipe for coffee rubbed branzino is also featured, highlighted with a rub of medium ground coffee,onion and garlic powders and cumin. There's also brown sugar to even out the spiciness and then it's grilled for five to six minutes on each side.

Folami Prescott-Adams, of Atlanta Georgia gave her BBQ tofu recipe which are slabs of tofu slathered in a mix of melted butter, tamari and barbecue sauces. They're broiled for a couple of minutes in the broiler for a crisp on the outside , tender on the inside main course. Ms. Prescott-Adams cooks ten(!) pounds of it along with nut based meatballs and a vegan Southern stringbean recipe. For Maati Keprimeni Angaza  it will be vegan foods in her Brooklyn apartment. The young dancer will have curry potatoes and black eyed peas along with her step-mother's bread pudding rife with sweet potatoes and raisins. In Richmond Virginia, Janice Bell will have her grandparents recipes of sweet potatoes and corn pudding. she is a pescatarian so there will be fish on her table. Sisters Kerry Coddett and Krystal Stark Kwanzza will be vegan pancakes, shrimp and a mushroom lasagna(made with homemade vegan ricotta) shared with their younger brother. They'll also take out from Sugarcane with such dishes as callaloo, roti and plantain. They will also drink champagne too.

Kwanzaa is a time of thought and creativity. It's also a time of food. The holiday will be different this year but the food will be homemade .

The Fake Egg Baking Experiment

 Vegan bakers used to have it hard. The very basics of baking involve such animal products as eggs, butter and milk. It was a hit or miss trying to sub in such diverse ingredients as white vinegar or apple sauce . Now there are various subs that actually work.

I decided to use one. Vegg Uncaged Baking Mix. Only one teaspoon mixed with a quarter teaspoon of white granulated sugar and a quarter of a cup of cold water equal one egg. I decided to try it with the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (which has been sitting in my kitchen for a year - don't worry I checked it is safe to use).

The dough was relatively the same as it would have been with real eggs. Vegg Uncaged is made with nutritional yeast which may be responsible for the cookies lift and flavor.

it was mixed with a stick of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, long a staple in both my cooking and baking arsenal. 

I made the biggest size cookies, which was a tablespoon size scoop.

They took a little longer to bake in a 375 degree F oven. I don't know if it was because of the Vegg or the cookies' size.

The flavor and texture were the same as the ones made with eggs.. The mix's age didn't affect it nor did the Vegg.

They were chewy and buttery, the perfect Christmas cookie with tea or hot cocoa.

Vegan bakers should take advantage of Vegg Uncaged Mix. It works for baking, giving anything from cookies to cakes that eggy flavor and lift. Try it  today for all your holiday baking and for all  those baking days afterwards.

A Good Vegan Cookbook

 A good vegan cookbook is just the thing for those longing for a dietary change in the New Year. Luckily there's a new cookbook that can make meatless, eggless and dairyless eating a snap. It's the perfect Christmas gift for those who want a healthier lifestyle.

The Complete Plant Based Cookbook :500 Inspired, Flexible Recipes for Eating Well Without Meat  ( America's Test Kitchen Publishers 2020) written by the experts at America's Test Kitchen. This is a must have for vegans, vegetarians and those seriously thinking about embracing the meatless lifestyle. This is chock full of advice. The first chapter is a plant based primer with tips on how to store fruits and veggies along with what to do about preserving any ingredient's unami, that special oomph of of flavor. There are pages dedicated to the veg-centric plate and the importance of aqua faba - that all important and versatile chickpea brine or water. The books also shows how to make a vegan meal more filling, usually with the addition of grains and good crusty bread.There are recipe suggestions about pasta dishes and grain dishes. There are also recipes for what's known as building block recipes such as vegetable broth , fish sauce substitute along with creating home versions of rice, soy , almond and oat milk. Vegan home chefs will also love the aquafaba mayo and cashew ricotta. There is also a basic almond milk yogurt, perfect on its' own or mixed with fruit. Some  basics can even be made ina slow cooker like the vegetable broth. Those with celiac allergies will appreciate the section on gluten free dishes. Do the chefs approve of the whole Impossible Meat or Beyond Beef movement? Yes. They even show you how to cook the perfect burger

The recipes are great , with the chapters being divided into eleven chapters.Every kind of dish is represented here, from brunch to pizza to main courses and even dairy  and egg free desserts.Breakfast lovers will enjoy the millet porridge with maple syrup or the hash browns omelet with kimchi, Soups and salads are well represented here too, Chickpea Salad sandwiches are the perfect lunch full of tang and textures thanks to the beans with the addition of scallions and celery.A fiery Caribbean style Swiss chard and butternut squash stew is the perfect winter lunch or dinner bowl. warmer days will warrant the Summer Vegetable Gratin a casserole of different squashes onions and tomatoes, baked with breadcrumbs and olive oil. There's international dishes of cauliflower biryani and vegetable fried rice. There are also fun dishes like Thin Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Cashew Ricotta and plant based meat Beef Tacos.Bean lovers will enjoy the many bean recipes like red beans and rice with okra and tomatoes. Dessert lovers will enjoy the richly flavorful peach crumble with the crumble enriched with coconut oil (although you can also try I Can't Believe It's Not Butter) and the Chocolate  Espresso tart made with water based ganache instead of a cream one. There's a yummy recipe for Coconut Ice Cream too and semolina pudding with almonds and dates.

The Complete  Plant Based Cookbook 500 Inspired Flexible Recipes For Eating Well Without Meat is the perfect vegan and vegetarian cookbook. it has a plethora of recipes that are delicious and filling. It's a good addition to any home chef's library.

Try A New Cooking Tradition This Christmas

 This Christmas do something different. break away from your usual recipes and try something new. It's a fun way to experiment since it'll be just your family. Go wild. Have fun.

If you're used to traditional American fare, then think of other cuisines. If the family loves sushi, then why not make different rolls for the family to enjoy. All you really need is a sushi mat a small woven mat that you roll the rice and seaweed. Fill with such favorites as tuna , and crab adding in sliced carrots and avocados. . If you want you can add some tempura. The batter is easy to make.It's a simple mix of cornstarch and flour mixed with beaten egg and seltzer. Most of the time tempura is vegetables, but you can also dip shrimp in the batter and fry it the traditional way or in an air fryer. Be very festive and serve warmed saki as the drink.Thinking about something hot and spicy to warm up? Indian food is a great idea. Choose recipes from Diwali , the Festival of Lights. or Holi , the Spring festival. Try a pork Vindaloo a mix of stir  fried pork cubes zinged up with a masala paste, along with ginger, chilis and coriander paste. Another holiday special is biryani, lamb spiced with onion and garlic along with ginger. Yogurt is added for a creamy texture. Serve with warmed and crisp naan . What would you drink with this? Indian wine, which comes from various wineries around the Subcontinent.

If you have Northern European heritage, then go with Southern European dishes and vice versa. Southern Italian both here and in Italy fill their holiday tables with platter of homemade ravioli and lasagna. The kids would definitely appreciate a Christmas dinner like this. The North of Italy gives a much more complex cooking experience (It is where French cuisine originated). Try Vitello or veal in tuna sauce or a braised veal dish with various greens.Another dish is anchovies with the traditional salsa verde. On the other side is northern Europe with Germany which is really the birthplace of Christmas traditions.A hearty and delicious dish is sauerbraten , rump roast marinated with a blend of red wine, vinegar bay leaves and gingersnap cookies (yes!) along with sugar and peppercorns. Serve with the famed dumplings kartoffel  kloessen, made with russet potatoes and croutons or gingersnaps inside.  You could also have air fried bratwurst with sauerkraut for a more informal holiday meal. Scandinavian Christmas meals are often lush affairs. Think roast pork or roast duck served with red cabbage and brown sugar potatoes.

Break away from tradition this Christmas. Try an entirely different cuisine for the family. It'll not only be fun but delicious too.

Non Cookie Christmas Desserts

 Cookies have always been a staple of the Christmas table. Yet a plate of them may not be that satisfying  as a holiday dessert.There's something about a trifle or a Yule log that's perfect after a turkey or a ham. A bowl or slice is the perfect sweet ending to a festive.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Melissa Clark gave some interesting recipes in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Chef Ottolenghi is well known for his sweet treats and even  has written a book Sweet about baking. He offers his riff on the classic Buche de Noel,  a brown sugar roulade with burnt honey apples. The roulade is a kind of brown sugar based meringue, spiked with cinnamon. The apple filling consists of a thick almost caramel like cooked honey spiked with bay leaves and cinnamon. The honey is cooked until almost burnt. Braeburn apples and olive oil are added to this syrup and then put in a very hot 425 degree F oven for twenty minutes. It's layered with a cream that's part marscapone and part cold whipping cream. Confectioners sugar melds the two together.Orange zest gives it some zing.It's then layering the three components and rolling the roulade with a tea towel. with the longest part towards you. Reserve any liquids from the apples for another project. You don't want it soggy. The roll is decorated with bay leaves, vanilla pods and cinnamon sticks.

If this is too complicated, then try trifle. Melissa Clark gives a classic one with berries or oranges. It's an easy mix of store bought cake as a base, fruit and cream. As for the cake, lady fingers or boudoir biscuits are preferred but sponge cake also can be used. Panetone or pound cake also make a good base.for the fruit think something relatively tart to offset all that sweetness. Strawberries are a good choice but so are blackberries. Oranges are also good.The fruit and biscuits are then covered with a homemade egg custard (if you're pressed for time, instant vanilla pudding will do) .It's rich with whole cream and milk and flavored with orange or lemon zest. The fruit has to be prepared too,The berries have to be macerated in sugar while the oranges need to be supremed. This is cutting the ends off the fruit , squeezing the juices out of the severed pieces. It's then cutting the peel and pith , letting the juices run into a bowl. slice the fruit away from the membrane . Add sugar. To assemble the trifle, spread the jam on the lady fingers, putting them jam side down in the trifle dish. Then sprinkle whatever boozy liquid, whether it's brandy or sherry , Madeira or any dessert wine. spoon the fruit on top of this and top with custard. Put in the fridge for three to twenty-four hours. The last step is topping with homemade whipped cream and serve.

Cookies are delicious but a true holiday meal deserves a true holiday dessert. Think a variation of trifle or Buche de Noel. They're a festive way to end a Christmas dinner.

The Stalwart Reviewer

This year is the year when most ninety somethings sat indoors and either put puzzles together or learned how to Zoom with family. Not so much with ninety-four year old Marilyn Hagerty. She still reviewed restaurants in her native North Dakota. She's an inspiration for foodies of all ages.

Restaurant reviewer and regular contributor Pete Wells wrote about this remarkable woman in yesterday's New York Times food section. Ms. Hagerty first got into the business by writing about the first Olive Garden to open in her town of Grand Forks. She had been already been retired for two decades when she started to write again. She is still covering local restaurants which intrigued Mr. Wells whose job has been severely curtailed thanks to the pandemic. North Dakota, especially Grand Forks has very few people, despite the fact that the city does have something of a cosmopolitan air about it. It's directly south of Winnipeg Canada and north west of Minneapolis. There are art museums that feature dali and Picasso along with a big outdoor activity scene. Yet it's not New York with the city's myriad choices of eateries. You would think her career would die. it didn't.

Yet , unlike Mr. Wells, Ms. Hagerty renews chain restaurants , her favorite seems to be The Olive Garden. She's reviewed it several times, even when she had to take out  shrimp scampi, another favorite. from her local one. There is also the local Ramada Inn where she reviews the bar's food. There are also critiques of local  Thai, Vietnamese and Somali restaurants. There's another factor . The nonagenarian uses factual data instead of her own tastes which is a refreshing departure from decades of either sharp criticism or rapturous praise. It got the attention of Anderson Cooper who had her on his show twice. it also has given her a legion of fans too.  She also writes about little random items and events for the paper that her late husband, Jack was the editor. (their son is an obituary writer at the Wall Street Journal).Whatever catches her eye gets a mention. Even in her self imposed isolation there has been a dearth of things to write about such as the search for smaller Thanksgiving turkeys along with the adaptations for pandemic safety made at the University of North Dakota along the rush for chippers, chocolate coated potato chips.

Marilyn Hagerty is a unique restaurant reviewer  for many reasons. She has outlasted this pandemic and will probably be visiting restaurants  afterwards. She is truly an inspiration to all food critics across the globe.

The Legend Of James Beard

 James Beard was a giant in American cooking, influencing the cuisine in the last century. A new biography on him is out and it delves into the dark corners of his life.  Yet despite it all, his recipes and legacy still endure.

Julia Moskin gave an interesting article on this American master in today's New York Times Food section. Beard is the subject of a new book The Man Who Ate Too Much by John Birdsall. James Beard was a visionary, creating such dishes as a full charcuterie platter long before the Instagram and Pinterest crowds claimed it for their own. Yet not many home chefs use his recipes nor do they know of his enormous body of work. Ms Moskin is familiar with him because her mother both cooked from Beard's and the other great American's cook, Julia Child's cookbooks. Mr. Beard handled the everyday recipes like potpies, potato salad, bean soup and cornbread. However he was visionary with what he made. He was the first to write about sliders and sunchokes,scallion tarts and roasted figs with prosciutto. He also included such international dishes as ceviche, Syrian lentil soup with swiss chard, menudo and basil pesto, the last a radically raw and shocking flavorful sauce not yet embraced by all of America. All modern chefs owe their repertoire to Beard who embraced all aspects of the immigrant melting pot that is American cuisine. He accepted them as Seventies home chefs bought Moroccan tangines , Indian spice blends and Japanese pottery.

Yet , according to his biographer, Mr. Birdsall , it was not all great. He was the only child of Elizabeth Beard, famed for her cooking at the elegant boarding house she ran in Gladstone,Oregon near Portland. He grew up eating Chinese food thanks to Jue Let, a master chef from Guangdong, China who worked for his mother.. He fed Beard congee , steamed salt fish and lychees and both him and Beard's mother gave the young chef to be a good background for food. Yet his mother was not attentive  and more impatient with him. She never accepted or understood his "difference" - his homosexuality. His father was often missing from the scene. Beard was expelled from his college  Reed College in Portland for being caught with a male professor. Later on he was despondent about his weight 350 pounds for a 6'3"  tall man. In later years, he suffered from edema and had to wear stockings. Other health problems plagued him. However he did find happiness later years with his partner Gino Cofacci in Greenwich Village. They had parties and barbecues where he ruled. Ms. Moskin includes his Farmer's Chicken recipe , sauteed chicken with onions and peppers, flavored with red wine , raisins and olives along with paprika and oregano. It's served with toasted almonds , rice or garlic rubbed bread.

James Beard was a driving force in American cuisine. This new biography should pique interest in his recipes and life. It's time for a new generation to discover his philosophy and food.

Your Blizzard Menu

 The first of the big blizzards is coming to the new York area and  that means staying home. We are used to it by now and it's a good time to make hearty meals.A hot steamy dish or pasta or chili can get your through a day of shoveling or just having fun. 

A crock pot is your best friend in this weather.  It's great for making rib sticking chilis and pastas. A good chili is one loaded with beans and ground beef. You can vary the beans, using pintos and kidney  along with black beans for extra flavor. If you want heat , then add a good tablespoon of hot pepper flakes. For a five alarm one, think about sliced jalapenos, chipotle, adobe and ancho. If you want a more veggie based, then add more onions and sliced green peppers. What to serve with it? rice is always a good choice but polenta is another hearty side.It is a cooling factor for spicy ones along with being great at sopping up the sauce. Of course you could also have a bed of saltines or tortilla chips. A different spin is white chili which is a blend of chicken or pork,mild Anaheim peppers and green or red peppers.It's topped with sour cream or guacamole. Your crockpot can be used for that second classic winter dish tomato sauce for pasta. A basic sauce is combining olive oil with tomato paste and sauce along with chopped onion and garlic. a dollop of honey gives it a mellow sweetness and balances out the tomatoes tang. The most obvious choice of pasta is spaghetti but penne and farfalle work well too.

If you don't want to use your crock pot, there 's the oven. Casseroles are a great winter dish and flavorful. Lasagna is the most famous and loved of all of the dishes. It's tasty layers of whatever you want, You can go with homemade sauce from your crock pot or jarred. Cheese can be ricotta or even cottage cheese. The meat can be sausage or ground beef or you can try a vegan version. Vegetables can be subbed in for meat. Try bell peppers and squash along with zucchini and broccoli. Another tasty casserole is baked mac and cheese .The traditional version is a deep dish layered affair, with a roux of flour butter and milk. Sharp cheddar  gives mac and cheese its' famed bite and tang. You can add a layer of bacon strips or bits for more flavor . Tuna casserole is one of the most famous dishes , going back to the 1950s. It's actually a simple mix of tuna, egg noodles and green peas.Cream of mushroom soup is the liquid used to moisten and flavor it while a topping of breadcrumbs give it crunch. For a different  spin on a hearty meal, think chowders. These chunky soups are perfect for a cold day. They can be made either in a crockpot, stove top pot or slow cooker. A tasty treat would be a lobster or shrimp chowder but you can also have a corn one or one laden with chicken.

Blizzard weather is here and with it comes the need for hearty meals. Create something that's rib sticking and satsifying. It'll get you and your family through the  blustery days ahead

Holiday Baking For Vegans

 Baking comes with its' own set of challenges. Now add vegan restrictions of no butter, no dairy and no eggs. What do you do? Sub - and be flexible. You can create tasty treats perfect for any hard core vegan.

Before using substitutes understand what each animal product does. Eggs add color, structure, leavening color and flavoring in our cakes and cookies. Milk softens, and contributes moisture to the entire product, along with adding tenderness and flavor. It also lends structure and support while whole cream adds more flavor and contributes to the browning effect. Butter is the most important ingredient in holiday baking.  It gives flavor, tenderness and flakiness. Cakes need it for moisture and richness. What about sour cream and cream fraiche? One will give added moisture while the other gives both added flavor and moisture. Can you bake without any of them? Absolutely not. You need some form of them and luckily there are vegan substitutes. For egg sub in use Vegg's Uncaged Baking Mix which can be used for any kind of baked good even challah bread. The only problem is that you have to buy it exclusively through Amazon and there may be delays right now. You can also use baking soda and vinegar along with unsweetened applesauce or soy milk. Ripe banana or flaxseed can also fill in for those yolks.

Milk is one of the easiest to sub in thanks to the arrival of almond, soy, cashew and oat milk. Yet which is the best one for baking? Almond is the most preferred because it cooperates nice with other ingredients and has a naturally sweet taste  - just like milk. Yet some vegan bakers will tell you to go with soy. It has the most protein of all the plant based ones. What about if you need whipped cream? Use aquafaba, or chickpea brine. Mix it with cream of tarter , vanilla extract and powdered sugar for a sub in that will fool everyone. Keep in mind that aquafaba can also be used for egg whites and are excellent for creating  meringues.You can experiment, using one milk for one recipe such as cookies  and another one for cakes.As far as the faux butters, one of the best (and an absolute favorite) is the I Can't Believe It's Butter sticks. These have all they buttery flavor of the real thing and the right texture for both baked goods and frostings. I Can't Believe It's Butter gives icings a melt in your mouth feeling and also whips up nicely  perfect for airy frostings.  You can also use it and almond milk to create a creamy fudge too.

Vegan bakers should breeze this holiday baking season. There are many substitutes that will produce delicious cookies and cakes along with creamy fudge and frostings. It's easy to forgo animal products in your list of ingredients to produce true vegetarian treats.

Oh Sugar

 The holiday  baking season is firmly in place. Sugar is one of the key and top ingredients in every aspect, from cakes, to cookies, frostings to icings. Yet can we sub in one kind for another? It's an interesting question that needs to be answered.

All sugars are not created equal. The New York Times did an interesting pictorial in last Wednesday's food section about sugar cane and how families have been making it for two  centuries since 1814. It's purple can sugar which has a lovely magenta tint. It is expensive but can it be subbed in for regular sugar? Yes. The tastes are the same. The only thing is adjusting the recipe to fit liquid measures.  Another sub in for this is maple syrup although you will have that distinct maple flavor which may not work with such traditional cane sugar desserts as syrup cake. What about white and brown sugar? Surprisingly they can be interchanged however there are slight differences. Brown sugar is naturally moist so the baked goods' textures will be softer and less dry than their white sugar made counterparts. If you want a regular cake such as chocolate or vanilla with a dry crumb, then stick to white sugar. A fruity cake like banana bread needs  a moist crumb so brown sugar is good.  Also cakes and cookies baked with brown sugar come out darker in color. Think the golden brown of chocolate chip cookies.Is there a difference between light brown and dark brown sugar? Not really.It's down to the amount of molasses in each. Light brown has around 3.5 percent while dark has much more.

Many organic and vegan bakers claim honey is the way to go. It is better for you health wise, because it doesn't raise blood sugar levels the way white sugar does. It also has magnesium and potassium, vital elements for the body. However it can also be responsible for fatty liver disease too. You can easily sub in a cup of  it for a cup of sugar  however it may make the final product a bit more sweeter. The same applies to maple syrup which is also better for you since it doesn't cause a significant rise in blood sugar. Keep in mind that it does have woodsy caramel notes which can change the flavor of traditional cookies and cakes like shortbread and chocolate. If you are intent on using it, then try recipes that call for it such as maple shortbread  or maple cupcakes. What about stevia? Everyone is adding it to their coffees and teas along with their mocktails. Leave it in those. It's really not suited for baking being overly sweet in flavor. One teaspoon of sugar equals one eighth of a teaspoon of stevia. You could easily add too much and ruin a whole recipe.What you could do instead is add applesauce which has natural sugar for a healthier bite. Just reduce the amount of liquid used by a quarter of a cup,

Yes, there is a difference in sugars. Be aware of this as you begin to bake for the holidays.A good sugar background will mean tastier treats this season.

Comforting And Festive Food

 In years past December meant rush. A rush at the office to get things done and out by year's end. A rush for holiday parties<A rush for shopping. Cooking and even baking was literally put on a back burner. Not this year. We have time to cook leisurely comfort foods  - foods that we can actually sit down and enjoy.

Susan Spungen, a cook and food stylist wrote an article about this in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. She gives three relatively easy and long cooking recipes. One is a spice rubbed braised brisket with a really interesting mix of spices and the addition of finely ground coffee.There is a blend of coriander, garlic powder, and cinnamon for the rub and then the brisket is marinated in pomegranate juice, dry red wine and chicken stock or water.Cipollini onions are cooked with it. The whole process takes close to an hour.It's served with lemon juice, pomegranate seeds and parsley with stems. Ms. Spungen suggests serving it with mashed potatoes but roasted ones would work nicely . Another dinner, lunch breakfast or brunch dish is caramelized sheet pan French toast.As with any French toast it is a lush mix of egg , whole cream and bread. There's also sugar, cardamon and vanilla to give it more flavor. The bread is soaked in the egg mixture for more than eight hours in the fridge. The sugar coated slices are cooked in a 345 degree F oven for fourteen to eighteen minutes on a buttered sheet or skillet. The French toast is served with homemade berry compote and maple syrup. This takes about eighteen minutes to bake.

A perfect holiday dessert is ginger chocolate cake with clementine confit.The slow cooking comes from the clementines where they're soaked in a simple syrup and then into the 275 degree F oven for two to three hours. The result is a complex, chewy  and fancy fruit, right in line with holiday fruits of years past. The cake itself is a heady mix of fresh and ground ginger and Dutch cocoa along with a stick and half of butter and bittersweet chocolate.It's given airiness by whipping six egg yolks and whites separately. Creme fraiche give some tang. As with any holiday cake it gets a good shot of Cognac or a ginger liqueur such as King's Ginger Liqueur or Domaine de Canton. The cake is baked for forty to forty-five minutes in a 350 degree F oven. Used a well buttered springform pan for this. Ms. Spungen also suggests subbing in sour creme for the creme fraiche. The clementines and creme fraiche are spooned on top of the cake but you can also use freshly whipped cream too.

This holiday season you have time to cook and bake. These recipes are perfect for passing the time while providing delicious flavors. They're a great way to unwind in the kitchen.

Hanukkah Treats

 It's time for traditional treats with tonight being the first night of Hanukkah.Nothing beats a kugel along with latkes for at home parties. These are a fun way to celebrate the Festival Of Lights, with good food that's easy to make.

Both Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan gave their version of traditional Jewish food in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Melissa Clark tries her hand at Yerushalmi kugel which can be made with traditional egg noodles or angel hair pasta. what makes this different than the usual fare is the two and a quarter teaspoons of black pepper to give it bite and zing. The recipe is from Adeena Sussman's cookbook Sababa: Fresh Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen. Ms Sussman grew up in California coming from an observant Jewish home but fell for this kugel or noodle cake during a trip to Jerusalem as a teenager. She fell for the it's chewy  sweet pepperiness and its' texture. The last has a crunchy exterior and a soft chewy interior. According to Ms Clark, there is a slight problem with making the caramel which is a cooked mix of any mild oil such as vegetable, grapeseed or sunflower and white sugar.The noodles are cooked and mixed with  six (!) eggs and the pepper. The caramel is poured over this in a Dutch oven which already has two tablespoons of heated oil and baked for an hour and fifteen minute to an hour and a half. It can be served on its' own or with a roast chicken or cooked greens.

Latkes are a holiday must . Regular Times Food section contributor Joan Nathan, She offers a recipe that borrows from the Swiss recipe rosti. Her potato pancakes are crisp on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside.Chef Nathaniel Wade who created it at Misery Love Company , a restaurant he ran with his sister and brother-in-law in Winooski, Vermont. The potatoes are first baked before being grated with a box grater. Use the large hole side. You could use a food processor. Just remove the potato skins first. These are different in the sense that there are no binders like eggs, matzoh meal or even onions.After seasoning with just salt and pepper  squeeze the grated potatoes into patties. These are put on a plate and chilled overnight in the fridge.The latkes are fried in canola oil, only for three or four minutes per side. Transfer the cooked ones to a paper bag or paper towels to drain. Ms. Nathan suggest serving them  hot , topped with smoked salmon atop creme fraiche or sour cream. You could just serve them plain but with a spiced apple sauce on the side.

Hanukkah is a time of good foods and fun. Celebrate with a peppery twist on kugel or melt in your mouth latkes. Both are tasty treats that bring joy and light during this Festival of Light.

The Hassle Of Hasslebacks

 Hasselback potatoes have become one of stars of this crazy year. They look easy to make and all the sites say they're delicious. I thought I 'd give them a try.

I bought  a Hasselback grid from Gia's Kitchen on Amazon. It's a two piece affair with spiked wooden block and a grid on top of it.

It takes a sharp knife to cut into raw  russet potato which is like cutting into wood. 

It was hard to do even slices. You're supposed to cut almost all the way through, leaving about a quarter of an inch untouched. This is supposed to produce an accordion effect when cooked. All the online recipes have a variety of flavorings, from herbed melted butter to olive oil.I just brushed the slits and skins with olive oil and sprinkled on dried parsley.

They're supposed to be baked for half an hour in an air fryer at 350 degrees. This is what they looked like halfway through. a bit browned and promising.

Half an hour later they weren't. They were still raw so I gave them an extra ten minutes at 400 degrees F.

Most of it was OK, They didn't fan out and there were very few crispy bits. They did not look like golden accordions. Making Hasselback potatoes takes practice and making adjustments to the recipe.

Hasselback potatoes are a great side . Keep in mind you have to make them a few times to get those golden accordion slices. It's worth it knowing what the result could be.

Your Own Holiday Party

 The one aspect of the holiday everyone is missing right now is the holiday party. It could be a lavish office affair or a tree trimming bash. There are no more family gatherings or Hanukkah parties. Yet we can still celebrate - at home among ourselves.

Sit down office parties were always full of good drink and good food. You can still have a lush night in, including getting dressed up. Think about serving small filet mignons to make at home with a side of Hasselback potatoes. The meat can be enhanced with garlic or herb butter or a bagna calda sauce of anchovies garlic, butter and olive oil. Hasselback potatoes are accordion sliced russet potatoes brushed with melted butter and different herbs. Another lush meal would be Cornish game hens with flavored rice and/or mushrooms. Corporate Christmas parties are also known for their many hors d'ouevres. Whip up a bowl of fresh made bruschetta to be piled on toasted and sliced Italian or French bread. Cheese and mushrooms puffs are a must. You can make these at home using already made puff pastry but you can also find trays of both at your grocery's freezer section. The same goes for spanokopita, the miniature Greek spinach pies. Since you're not going to be driving, you can make dinner as boozy as you want. Serve champagne or make a packed

 punch with rum ,orange and pineapple juices. You can also create individual drinks like Cosmopoitans and martinis too.If the kids are involved, then make a non alcoholic one with a variety of juices and seltzer.

Hanukkah parties are special times that can still be celebrated. Homemade latkes are a must but these can have different spins. Try making them in a waffle iron for an all over crispiness. Add sweet onions and horseradish for some zing and heat. Veggie laced latkes are a different and flavorful twist. Think about adding in chopped leeks or scallions along with carrots and onions. A true treat is a brisket and latke sandwich, made with melt in your mouth brisket and hot crisp latkes. A fun dessert is sufganiyot , the holiday jelly doughnuts. Also have some chocolate coins for the dreidl games later. A family tree trimming party can still occur. You could give it a Mexican spin with fresh made guacamole and salsa or a plate of loaded nachos. The last are tortilla chips topped with pulled chicken or ground beef  and smothered with cheese, sliced jalapenos and black olives. You can also toss in diced tomatoes and peppers too. Another tree trimming party idea would be a plate of English muffin pizzas. Everyone can put on whatever toppings they want like pepperoni and extra sauce. You could even include garlic knots too and extra pizza sauce for dipping. Finish with a platter of homemade cookies and hot cocoa , tea or flavored coffee.

You can still have delicious food and drink. Just do it at home. It may not be the same as those parties you're used to but it could easily be tastier. Celebrate this holiday season however you want. It's your party.

Honoring Our Vets This Holiday Season

 It's hard to believe but it's the seventy-ninth anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Brave people sacrificed their lives for four years afterwards as they do today. Again we need to honor them  and what better way then cooking and baking. 

We should honor those that we have left from the Second World War. Of course , we can't see them face to face but we can drop off dishes and treats. Casserole dishes are always easy to make and drop off. An elderly couple may appreciate a baked mac and cheese or a homemade chicken pot pie. These are simple to make and always appreciated. You can vary the mac and cheese with the addition of ham, bacon and even chicken. Chicken or even turkey pot pie is easy if you have  the shredded poultry  along with cream of chicken soup for the gravy. Add some frozen peas and sliced carrots for color and texture. The crust can be a premade pie crust or biscuits. Also you can also make crock pot tomato sauce, pack that up with a box of pasta. Veterans from other wars such as the Viet Nam and the Gulf Wars will also appreciate these dinners too. Add a grocery gift card as a Christmas gift if you know they're food challenged . It's a just a lovely way of saying thank you for what they've done for the country.

Holiday time is baking time. Vets of any age will appreciate a cookie box they can have to themselves or share with spouse or close family members. Fill it with classic recipes such as shortbread, sugar and gingerbread. Spritz cookies yield large amounts so these would be perfect for several boxes. You can bake them in holiday colors like red and green along in festive shapes like trees and wreaths. Sugar cookies cut in snowflake and ornament shapes, then gaily decorated are always a cookie box must. You can also include chocolate chip cookies as well as oatmeal raisin and peanut butter blossoms too. If you're ambitious then think of a homemade gingerbread house.Nothing brings on a big smile than a fairy tale dream come true, decorated with the vet's favorite candies. Templates for the walls and roof can be found at any baking site or you can try your own hand at them.  If you're really creative you can try baking a lighthouse or  truck for extra fun. You can also also buy kits that have everything from the icing to decorations.It's not only gingerbread but also Oreo also has a cookie house too.

Today we should honor our vets from World War Two. Yet  we should also honor them this holiday season. Bake them cookies or make them a meal. Show that you not only care but you're also grateful too,

What Do You Want To Bake

 This is the season for heavy duty baking. It's even more intense this year as we leave boxes of treats for our loved ones and friends. The question is what do you want to bake. Do you want to keep within your skill set or go beyond? Do you want to stick with one kind of baked good or expand? Ask yourself these questions when you're planning your holiday baking.

Christmas season means cookie season. There's nothing like a plate of shortbread or chocolate chip cookies along with fancily made and decorated ones. Before you start, ask yourself do you want to stick with the familiar or go beyond? You could uses mixes such as Betty Crocker's . These are basically already mixed and just need eggs and butter. You can turn the mix sugar cookies into fancy ones with the addition of colored sugar and sprinkles. Many would prefer starting from scratch. Nothing beats the holiday spritz cookies which can be baked into so many different shapes and decorated so many different ways.  The classic recipe is just a mix of butter, sugar, flour and egg along with a dash of almond or vanilla. The dough is then chilled and rolled. Keep in mind that spritz cookies don't always work out. There's also a lot from one batch and they bake very quickly. Baking them really is nothing more than a rapid assembly line. If this is too much you may want to stick with easy to mix, easy to make cupcakes. Just bake a dozen of either chocolate or vanilla or both flavors. A fun icing is a peppermint buttercream which goes well with chocolate. The frosting can also be tinted and be festooned with all sorts of decorative pieces, from pretzels for reindeer antlers to marshmallows for snowmen.

Some home bakers are turning to cakes for a different holiday dessert. A simple layer cake with a lovely frosting is always a plus. You can try a spice cake with a maple frosting to finish off a Christmas dinner. Another idea for those who want to go fully traditional is the Christmas fruitcake. It's a bit more labor intensive for some but the result is well worth it.The recipe calls a variety of dried fruit from dates to raisins to candied orange peels. You can easily omit these if they're not your family's cup of tea. Spices abound in any fruitcake recipe. There are cloves,nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. Of course it wouldn't be a fruitcake without the alcohol .Bourbon, rum or brandy can all be used to douse the fruit before adding it to the batter - not the cake after it's baked.The alcohol is usually mixed with orange juice for more flavor for the dried fruit. If this is too intense, you could try baking a panettone. the Italian fruit bread. It really is a bread thanks to the addition of yeast.It also requires a special pan for it but you can also use a coffee can too. This is a great bake for all those who honed their bread making skills this year. If this recipe works out for you , then try the other Italian Christmas pandoro, or golden bread. This rich confection has egg yolks along with  half a cup of whole cream and two sticks of butter added in for its' deep yellow color and lush flavor. You do need a special pandoro pan for it to create the risen star shape.

Bake what you feel comfortable with this CHristmas. Being confident helps in creating no fail treats everyone will love. Just go with your skill set and make something amazing for family and friends.

 

Ground Beef Versatility

 One of the most versatile ingredients is ground beef, whether the real thing or plant based. It can be made into everything and anything. You can make it plain or fancy, depending on your tastes and what you want to do.

One of the easiest dishes to make with ground beef is hamburger. Many home chefs have very definite ideas about the perfect patty with the perfect taste. For a simple one it's just mixing ground beef or even turkey  with one egg and breadcrumbs for the most perfect and juiciest burger. A flavorful add in is a tablespoon or two of chopped onion. For more flavor saute the chopped onion in butter or I Can't Begin It's Butter.if you want something different, spike up the patties with hot pepper flakes or chili powder. Keep in mind you can also add these when you use the ground beef for meat loaf. Some like to have this American classic with zing whether it's a teaspoon or two of chili powder or flakes.Again the basic recipe is somewhat similar to hamburger patties. It's combining egg, meat and breadcrumbs  with the addition of a cup of milk. Recipes vary here too, with the addition of brown sugar and ketchup. Then there's the question of adding a glaze or not and what kind. Vegans will appreciate a loaf made of Beyond Beef. This is a delicious mix of the plant based meat with fishless  Worcester sauce and breadcrumbs. Onion and garlic powder give it some oomph too.

Ground beef is also the backbone of many other dishes too. You can make a delicious Bolognese sauce with it or with soy crumbles. Both Morningstar Farms and Gardein have the last and it makes for a tasty faux Bolognese.The sauce is a hearty version that works well with any kind of pasta and ravioli.It also freezes and reheats well too. Of course any meat crumbles are great in chili. It makes this fun dish hearty , especially when you add a few different kinds of beans. You could even sub in quartered hamburgers too in this for a filling winter supper. Again chili is up for interpretation. it can be mild or made four alarm , depending on what you or your family likes. Ground beef or vegan crumbles make the perfect filling for burritos and tacos too. Again you can add what you want to it for these. Chili powder give it some zing along with taco mix spicing (which you can buy in your spice aisle) or in your grocery's Mexican food section. Ground beef is also great in Chinese dishes. The famed Szechuan dish Ants Climbing A Tree is a delicious marriage of ground beef, chopped scallions, garlic and rice noodles.Pepper flakes give it bite  as everything is sauteed in a mix of olive and vegetable oil.

Ground beef and its' vegan version soy crumbles are incredibly versatile. Have it in patties or in sauce. Try it in Mexican or Chinese dishes. It gives any home chef a wide range of options and variety.

Gifts For The Cook And Kitchen

 The holidays will be different this year. Yet gift giving will remain the same. Food gifts are always welcome . Home chefs and bakers always appreciate something new and fun to try. 

The New York Times Food section yesterday published a short but excellent guide on what to give. Contributors such as Sam Sifton and Mrgaux laskey give their ideas along with Anna Perling and Marguerite Preston. Food is always a must. It's a fun diversion and perfect for those new at home Zoom Christmas party. A must is a Vermont cheese basket. The Jasper Hill Vermonter basket has not only mouth watering fromage from the Green Mountain State, it also comes with nuts and crackers. Another cheesy gift is from the Plymouth Artisan Cheese Company that's been making raw milk cheddar since 1890. For those who love a dash of fire give a horseradish and ginger spiked hot sauce from  Shaquanda Will Feed You. The company has other flavorful hot sauces such as a seafood green sauce, spiked with both sweet and fiery. A less tongue searing present is a jar from the unique Trade Street Jam Company. This Brooklyn company offers such cool flavors as smoked peach and strawberry chipotle fig. Of course this is the year for beans so why don't  you send Rancho Gordo's heirloom beans from America's West Coast growers in Oregon, Washington and California. Sweet lovers will appreciate Mah-Ze-Dahr's brownies and a gingerbread house making kit.

Home chefs always appreciate a kitchen gift. The Teakhaus Carving Board is perfect for those who do a lot of chopping and slicing  as it stands up to cuts, stains and odors. You may want to pair it with an electric pellet grill from Traegar Pro which can smoke all sorts of meats. It is pricey though at almost eight hundred dollars. For something much less expensive think Kuving EVO juicer which can produce all sorts of delicious juices. Bakers will appreciate the Emile Henry  nine inch pie dish for the perfect dessert.  There are fun gifts too like the Whynter ICM 201S ice cream maker which can make everything from classic ice cream to frozen yogurt. They can mop up the mess with the super cute Cheerful Sponges in fruit  and veggie shapes.Also think about fun reusable straws from OXO. They're made from stainless steel and even come with a brush for cleaning.  For more practical gifts think reusable sandwich bags in bright colors, perfect for lone hikes and walks in the park along with beer glasses which enhance any beer's flavor. A truly lovely gift is a plastic mat for the kitchen floor from France. It may be vinyl but looks and feels like classic linoleum. 

The holidays will be different this year. Gift giving won't be. Pick something fun for the chefs and food lovers in your life.

The Perfect Cookie Box

 One of the best gifts to give this holiday season is a box of homemade cookies. These are perfect because you don't really have to leave your home and you can put your baking skills to good use. It also means you care for those around you when you can't be around them.

Melissa Clark offered this in her column in today's New York Times Food section. She has been creating cookie boxes for a long time and avows that they really do make great gifts. It's also a fun gift , with the recipient enjoying a wide range of flavors and textures Before you start she does recommend creating a cookie box log with a list of what you made, what worked and what didn't. She has other suggestions about how to create the perfect sweet gift.Variety is the key to success. Have different kinds , form gingerbread to shortbreads to a cookie with chocolate.. Something sparkly and colorful is a must. Ms. Clark throws in a recipe for gingerbread cookies topped with a royal icing and shimmery sparkles. Also have cookies with a fruity or jammy note to them. Crunch is also important. Think shortbreads or almond snowballs. Chocolate is a definite must. Another must  are boozy treats for adults. Whip up some rum or brandy balls, brandy snaps or even miniature fruitcakes. Anything made with alcohol is a plus because the heady stuff helps preserve them for weeks. Also present these treats in a nice box too. I would add some chocolates or mini candy canes too.

Ms. Clark gives an excellent array of cookie recipes. I definitely want to bake her traditional spritz cookies, those made with a cookie press. She gives them more flavor with the addition of lemon or orange zest and/or cardamon and cinnamon. Another must bake are her cornmeal lime shortbread fans. This is not the traditional Scottish shortbreads but one made with cornmeal and drizzled with a lime juice glaze. There is the traditional gingerbread, but zinged up with colorful icing and decorations. Peanut butter and jelly lovers will go mad for the honey roasted peanut thumbprints with the well of Concord grape jam in the middle. For a more delicate flavor , bake toasted almond snowballs livened up with brandy, pastis or ouzo. The texture is melt in your mouth , thanks to the almond flour used. Chocolate lovers will most certainly gobble up the black and white brownies made with both white and dark chocolate and dusted with Malden sea salt. Another chocolate lover's dream is a box of fudgy bourbon balls which are no bake - an absolute plus. For a true flavor explosion bake Ms. Clark's cherry rugelach with cardamon. The filling is a yummy mix of cherries and chopped walnuts spiked with cardamon and cinnamon. The cookie is made with cream cheese for a lovely flaky texture.

A cookie box filled with homemade treats is a sure winner for gift giving. It's also a fun way to show off your baking skills to those around you. Create a box of favorites , full of love and home baked goodness.  It's truly a sweet gift.

CBDelicious A Different Kind Of Add In

 Can your food make you mellow? Possibly. Certain flavors make us feel happy and comforted - hence comfort food. Yet can it make us feel mellow? Thanks to a new add in from CBDistillery , yes.

I decided to give this a try. After all this December is super stressful, thanks not only to the holidays but the sudden and deadly surge of Covid-19. Could I add just a pinch of hemp to my cooking to relax everyone? Why not? I decided to try CBDelicious, CBDistillery's latest product. The company is known for their tinctures, gels, gummies and topicals which don't turn you into an instant stoner. CBD oil helps with sleep along with pain and anxiety, the last we're all suffering from these days. It also helps with inflammation.

Their latest product comes in a small container.

It's an apricot colored powder with no taste so it can be easily be mixed into anything.

I put a pinch in my vegan celery soup, just to experiment.

The soup is one  of  my favoritse to make and eat.I did feel more relaxed afterwards however although that could be partially due to the wonderful blend of celery, onions and potatoes.

Again, CBDelicious would be better in a hot herbal tea around bedtime. Any product that can produce a relaxed feeling is better when it's  taken at night. 

This holiday season will go beyond the usual stress of cookie baking and gift shopping. Add a pinch of CBDelicious in your beverages or favorite dishes just to cope. It's a good way of dealing with this month and life will give you.

Bake Elaborate This Holiday Season

 The Christmas and Hannukkah parties are cancelled. Kwanzaa and tree trimming parties are a thing of a past. What to do? Bake like a contestant from The Great British Baking Show. You have the time to create something wildly elaborate. Go for it. The result is not only a following on Pinterest and Instagram but also a yummy treat afterwards.

One of the most complex yet fun creations to make is the gingerbread house.If you're a beginner , you can always buy the kits which has everything from the actual gingerbread pieces to the icing and decorative candies. There are a lot of styles to choose from. However you can easily build your own. You do need to download or draw templates. It usually is the four walls and two squares for the roof.  If you're especially creative you can also add a chimney and movable front door.  As for the actual building materials, you can use a packaged cookie mix or make your own, the last having a richer and more robust taste. Keep in mind that your dough should have a smaller amount of baking soda for less puff  and less butter so that the pieces keep their shape. Also decrease the molasses for a less sticky dough and  add more water for a smoother one. As for the icing , use royal. This is a mix of egg whites and confectioners sugar however a safer version is using chickpea brine or aquafaba instead. Keep in mind that royal icing is also perfect for icing cookies too. Decorate with Starlight peppermints and gumdrops for a more traditional look or add fun candies like KitKat  Bars and M&M's for a hipper vibe.  Ambitious bakers may try baking a whole village plus people, pets and cars.

Another labor intensive treat is sufganiyot, the Israeli jelly doughnut eaten at Hanukkah. The dough is a mix of the usual doughnut dough, spiked with cinnamon and enriched with butter or pareve  or kosher margarine. Apricot, raspberry or strawberry preserves are placed in the middle and then the dough balls are fried in vegetable oil for two minutes. They can then be dredged in granulated sugar or confectioner's. If you want to fancy them up a bit , think about filling them with dulce de leche or thick caramel sauce. For  really lush doughnuts, fill them with  a rich dark cocoa filling that's more like a pudding. Kwanzaa also comes with a variety of delicious desserts like banana cake. This is fine on its own but think about serving it with a homemade side of homemade Bananas Foster ice cream  for extra indulgence. One of the best holiday desserts for any holiday is the Spanisches Windtorte, This was featured on  The Great British Baking Show  and it is a decadent Austrian meringue cake with a decadent filling of whipped cream laced with brandy and cognac along with confectioner's sugar for body. Each layer is then topped of with fruit. You can use strawberries but for more bite use blackberries or raspberries. It's then finished off with more whipped cream and fruit followed by a dusting of shaved dark chocolate.

Bake big.  Bake  elaborate this holiday. Create something amazing and complicated  - not just for your family but for yourself. It;s the best give you can give.

Leftover Fun

Most Americans are probably staring at all the leftovers in their fridges right now. What to do with all that turkey, stuffing and sides? Create some tasty sides and fun new dishes with the old ones.

Most have what's left of a small to midsize turkey right now. Of course you've been through all the sandwiches right now , from hot with gravy and bread to cold with tomatoes and mayo. You could take a tip from The New York Times Food section and make turkey tamales. A variety of chiles are used to make the meat more flavorful (although turkey doesn't need this) along with tomatillos and cilantro. The tamales have the classic corn and husk coverings, softened with either chicken or turkey broth. You could also make tacos with the meat using cold shredded turkey and the usual taco fillings such as sliced tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Add a dab of mayo to moisten the meat too, eliminating some of its' dryness. A hot soup is great for right now and again leftover turkey fills that bill. Think a rich cream of turkey soup, made heartier and creamier with the addition of half and half. Rice or orzo can be added too along with carrots and peas. Turkey pho is a different spin. The meat's earthiness will work well with the five spices, brown sugar and fish sauce.

What about the stuffing and sides? Again the New York Times suggests turning the stuffing into dumplings. It's mixing your leftover stuffing with eggs, flour and baking powder and then dropping them into a turkey soup, complete with repurposed sweet potatoes. Yet , what about just cooking the dumplings in turkey stock and have them swim in left over gravy as a delicious side. They can also be turned into cups, filled with turkey, peas and sliced carrots along with gravy for an instant version of turkey pot pie.  You could also flatten the stuffing , frying it into two circles and make a stuffing panini with it. Fill with turkey and gravy. As for those leftover sweet potatoes,, turn them into puffs. It's mashing them with eggs , flour and salt and then frying or air frying them. These make for a tasty lunch or fun dinner. Sweet potato mash can also be used for waffles too.They'd be a great side with fried chicken or even turkey. Greens such broccoli and green beans can be repurposed into tasty salads , dressed with a simple vinaigrette.

Thanksgiving leftovers provide such a wide variety of tasty new dishes. Get creative with that bird and sweet potatoes. Make something exciting with that stuffing and broccoli. It's a whole new table of delicious dishes.

And Now Apple Cider Doughnuts

 After all the cooking it's time to look to baking - leisurely baking. Think the fall classic apple cider doughnut. They're a perfect snack and a fresh break from all that pie.

Erin Jeanne McDowell, author of Let's Bake A Pie!  and creator of the  baking blog Erin Jeanne McDowell wrote about these gems plus gave the recipe in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. what is great about her recipe is that the doughnuts are baked and not fried. They're more like little cakes, without the usual greasy doughnut aftertaste.Cinnamon lovers will love this recipe as well. Two teaspoons of cinnamon along with a half a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg (you can find whole nuts in your grocery's spice section) is added to the batter. You can also add other fall spices like ginger, clove and cardamon for a more flavorful bite.Cider is used but Ms. McDowell recommends boiling it first to reduce it to a maple syrup like consistency. Doing this gives the doughnuts a more concentrated apple flavor. Just use one and a half cup of cider and reduce it down to one half cup. Remember to cool it down before using. Of course doughnuts need a coating of some kind of sugar. Ms. McDowell lets the freshly baked rings settle for a minute or two in the pan before releasing them. They're  brushed with melted butter and then dredged in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. You could use powdered sugar as they do at farms. That's your decision.

You can use a six doughnut baking pan but you can also use a twelve cup muffin tin that can be converted into a doughnut pan. Take a four by four piece of aluminum foil and bend gently around your middle finger. Remove your finger and press the foil in the muffin cup.Use a non stick cooking spray (and not butter or margarine) to grease the pan and then flour it.It's then sifting all the dry ingredients including the cinnamon and baking powder given for lift.. One stick of butter is also used, mixed with light brown and granulated sugars. Two large eggs are also added along with one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Dry and wet ingredients are mixed together then carefully spooned into the doughnut pan about two thirds full. Ms McDowell also suggests using a disposable piping bag or a reusable plastic bag  with a half inch opening cut from one corner). Bake until evenly golden or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest portion of one comes out clean, twelve to fifteen minutes baking in a 350 degree F oven.Muffin tin doughnuts takes longer , about fifteen to twenty minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through. It's then letting the doughnuts settle and brushing them with melted butter before dredging. Again you can use the cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. 

Apple cider doughnuts are a nice alternative to all the holiday pies and sweets. Even better they baked for a fluffy flavor. Make them today for a tasty snack with a hot cup of coffee and tea.

Happy Homesgiving

                                             This says it all.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as productive, messy and tasty as mine in this very messy year.

Yet Another Pumpkin Mousse

 Every year there has to be a pumpkin flavored dessert for Thanksgiving. This year is another vegan pumpkin mousse.It's a different spin on the traditional pie,.

I found the recipe on Delish Knowledge, a blog started by dietitian Alexandra Caspero. I scanned over several  vegan dessert recipes in the past week and saw this. It had me at aquafaba, chickpea bean water that can be whipped into a yummy meringue. This looked good. However I didn't realize just how labor intensive it was.

First of all I decided to double the recipe, knowing there may be one extra visitor on Friday. I had to use half a cup of maple syrup, 1 and 1/3 cups Libby's pureed pumpkin , two teaspoons of pumpkin spice and two teaspoons of vanilla extract.

It was the just mashing everything together. Then came the cream, made with solidified coconut cream.

This took about twenty minutes to half an hour to get the same consistency as regular whipping cream. I used my stand mixer which is pretty powerful., After it was the cream was relegated to the fridge. Then it was onto the third leg of the recipe.

It's mixing one cup and a third of the chickpea water along with half a cup of powdered sugar and half a teaspoon of cream of tartar. This produced a very stiff and perfect meringue as always. The pumpkin mix was added. Unfortunately I made the mistake of adding all the coconut cream instead of a small amount. It lost its' pudding like texture and became soupy.

I'm hoping a night in the fridge will set it, especially with the properties of the coconut cream. The flavor's not bad, sort of a marriage of maple, pumpkin and coconut, the last unexpected. Will  I make this again. Yes, but without the coconut cream. I feel it sort of ruined the texture. Hours later , it's still a big soupy disaster.

This vegan pumpkin mousse is a different alternative to pie. It's tasty and hopefully will set into a kind of pudding mousse hybrid. It'll be a nice dessert after a full Thanksgiving meal.