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.