Christmas Cookies Part OneThe Making

 What is Christmas without festive cookies? That's what many are thinking as bakers of all levels pursue th tradition of making a plate. I went into the cookie fray  -

I wanted to use my new cookie cutters from Wilton . And what better than using them on WIlton cookie dough.

This is not a dough for the faint hearted.

Since I also bake vegan I had to sub in Melt for butter and used Lucerne egg whites for the egg. The rest is basic cookie dough. It does have to be mixed in two bowls. First i'ts reaming two sticks of butter with a cup of granulated sugar and one egg. Also three and a quarter cups of flour is sifted with a teaspoon of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt.The flour is added to the mix one cup at a time until a sticky ball is formed. It's then dividing it into two rectangular loaves

Here comes the fun part  - rolling it out. This was a dough to be reckoned with. The rolling pin and table had to be floured over a few times

It's rolling it out to a twleve inch circle, (More square in my case) and 1/8th of an inch thick (more like half an inch in my case). It's then using the floured cutters to cut out the shapes

This is the first batch, before baking

Thye look anemic and it took twenty minutes to bake as opposed to the usual eight to ten minutes

 This is them baked. The yield is around thirty. The dough became flaky and crumbly after four or five rolling out and it was impossible to cut shapes.

You can see how it got crumbly and how it sticks to the rolling pin despite all the flour used.

                                 This is the entire batch , waiting to be iced .I did do a taste test and it is a very pleasant almond flavor

Tomorrow will be the finishing touches to turn them into holiday gems. They will be transformed into multicolored holiday treats. There are Santas, snowmen and lights waiting to be decorated.

The ABCs Of Pasta

One of the most basic kitchen needs is pasta.It is versatile as a main dish or as a side. Yet many home chefs have qualms about making their own.Yet this basic is so basic to make.

The mechanics of pasta making was featured in today's New York Times Food section.Samin Nosrat walked readers and pasta lovers through the ABCs. It's pretty easy and can be made with or without a pasta machine. The ingredients are basic, having been used by the best pasta makers for centuries.It's all purpose flour , two large eggs and three egg yolks along with the semolina for dusting on afterwards.It is a matter of mixing and needing to make a manageable dough.You can make it with herbs. This requires a half cup of finely chopped herbs such as parsley, chives chervil, tarragon a d basil in any combination or just use one such as basil. Whole grain pasta is a tasty and healthy alternative.Use spelt, whole wheat or farro sifted in the white flour (match a cup for a cup).Saffron .s big right now and it would be amazing with a sauce of chicken livers, similar to risotto Milanese.It does require a large pinch of saffron ground into hot water to make a saffron tea. The tea then has to be cooled and the eggs whisked in.The flour is then added into make a paste. Green pasta can also be created , simply by adding spinach leaves.They needed to be wilted first and then pureed.

Creating the sheets is super easy and fun if you have a pasta machine.Yet it's also easy if you have to use a rolling pin.It's first lining three baking sheets with parchment paper and semolina. Cut off a quarter of it, rewrapping the remaining dough.Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into a circle.Now use a rolling pin to stretch it.Continue rolling it, moving the rolling pin a quarter of an inch after every roll out.The finished sheets can be stacked on top of each other.Just dust each one with the semolina flour before layering. Cutting the sheets is easy and fun, with all the possibilities ahead of you.Invest in a pasta roller if you are planning on making a lot of it.It's just a matter of slicing the sheets The next step is separating and fluffing the noodles and then seprating them into nests.You can also use a very sharp knife. Just remember to cut in half inch increments for tagliatelle and fettucine and three quarters of an inch for papperdelle. Homemade pasta can be refrigerated and even frozen. Store pasta in single layer sheets on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap/ For freezing, do the same, with putting nests of pasta on a parchment line baking sheet until rock hard. Then transfer to freezer bags . They can be cooked in boiling salted water for four to seven minutes.

Homemade pasta is not that daunting to make.It's fun an a snap to create.Try it and enjoy.

Your Own Boulangerie

One of the best aspects of living in France is the fresh bread.It's in all shapes and sizes, tastes and flavors. Imagine having a fresh loaf in your kitchen, whether slathered with jam for breakfast or accompanying a lunchtime soup. Imagine having a sandwich made with brioche or a chocolate  or almond roll for dessert. You can. Baking French bread is not impossible.It's doable, even for novice home bakers.

What is a baguette anyway?It's a long narrow loaf of just bread flour , sugar and water along with salt and yeast. There is no egg or butter which would weigh it down.The yeast and sugar are whisked into a cup and a half of warm water.Add two cups flour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Two and a half teaspoons of salt is stirred in as well as to to two in a half more cups of flour. The salt can be omitted for those on a low sodium diet or halve the amount. It shouldn't alter the taste that much. The dough should be kneaded for about eight minutes on a lightly floured board or table until smooth and elastic.It's left to proof for an hour and half before being shaped into loaves.Put them on a lightly greased sheet pan for another half hour of proofing. They can be given a shiny glaze with a wash of beaten egg yolk. Bake for thirty minutes or until golden , then let cook on a baking rack.The recipe can be varied for sourdough and whole wheat .Boulangerie's also sell boules, those round breads that are perfect sliced for a sandwich or gracing French onion soup. The recipe is relatively the same as the baguettes, the only difference is that the top is brushed with melted butter to give it a burnished brown crust after baking.

Croissants and brioches are also sold in boulangeries. Croissants can be a bit intimidating to any home baker. at first. Remember it does take time to perfect this buttery roll so don't be discouraged if the first batch comes out a bit wonky.The recipe calls for a lush one and a half cups of butter along with three tablespoons of sugar. It's also made richer by the addition of both milk and cream that has to be warmed.It's a lot of rolling and folding along with keeping the butter and dough cool. If the butter starts oozing out of the dough , then everything has to be placed in the fridge. After the croissants are formed have to be popped into the fridge for another fifteen minutes and then given an egg wash before baking.The dough can also be used for pain au chocolat, that heavenly marriage of crisp buttery layers and dark chocolate.Almond croissants are also big  and again this is an easy recipe, using already made croissants and filling them with a homemade almond "jam". Boulangeries also sell brioches, those eggy, buttery rolls .Again these are yeast driven and have a spongy texture,The recipe can be labor intensive because the butter used has to be room temperature, not too cool and not too warm. The recipe can be turned into a loaf bread, now popular here in the US.

Any home baker can turn their kitchen into a boulangerie.Try baguettes one week and croissants or brioche the next. There's nothing like fresh delicious French breads right from the oven!

BrInging In The New

A lot of us have inherited kitchen heirlooms. We may have our great grannie's jam jar or ice cream maker, our grandmother's bakeware set or our moms old Farberware . As much as we treasure these items it is time to move on. After all glassware cracks, pots and pans rust. That's just a fact. The problem is how do you get rid of something that your fmaily has been using for generations?

To be honest I still use pans and gadgets from my great grandmothers and grandmother. The pots and pans are still serviceable although I tend to use them maybe once or twice a month. I want to preserve them. I still have my Bavarian German great grandmother's rolling pin (although this has been recently updated with a brand new OXO one) I still have my Piedmontese great grandmother's ravioli cutter (which amazes me because we're Northern Italian and not really ravioli eaters). This last is rarely used. It's over one hundred years old.

The best bet for antique kitchen and plateware (anything over fifty years old) is to either display it behind glass or carefully wrap it and store away. Some gadgets such as hand held can openers still work but can rust easily. For them and other gadgets like peelers and corers it pays to get the newer models. These are more ergonomically suited to hands and won't cause any aches. They;re also easy to wash and dry too.

What to do with kitchen heirlooms are always a quandary. My advice is just treat them as you would your regular antiques. Bring them out to show and be proud of - they are your family's after all. As far as using them, no . Stick with the newer models.