Are You Christmas Ready

 The big day is a week away. Are you ready for that day tha'ts not only known for gift giving but major cooking. Are you all set for that second or third batch of Christmas cookies?

To be honest it's tough to find good deals. Few groceries are offering discounts on such Christmas staples as ham and turkey. If you haven't bought yours yet, then think about going to Aldi or LIDL for a discount.The next question is what to serve with it. Ham is a bit easier, You could easily go German style and have potato salad and baked beans. As for the turkey , you could do a rehash of Thanksgiivng and have stuffing along with cranberry jelly and green bean casserole. If you're going this route decide if you want to use Stove Stop stuffing - which is easier - or homemade stuffing which is more labor intensive. For vegans and vegetarian have you bought you tofurkey or tofu loaf yet? These are becoming arder and harder to find on store shelves.Have a Plan B on the ready. Keep in mind you can create a festive loaf using Beyond Meat and then serving it with a mushroom gravy. Another Plan B meal is Gardein's Turkey Cutlets with gravy. These taste like the real thing and have gravy with them. Buy a few packages of these (there are four cutlets per package) for your dinner.

Have you started on your baking? What about what to serve after  Christmas dinner? Luckily there are some small deals on baking ingredients so take advantage of these. Do you have enough flour for all those batches? What about the other baking basics like eggs and sugar? Buy two dozen eggs if you feel you'll need a lot for baking cookies and cakes. Sugar,  like flour , goes fast. Buy a four pound bag instead of a two pound (you can always use the extra for every day coffee and tea. Do you have enough confectioners sugar. That too goes fast, thanks to it being turned into butter cream and royal icings. Another must check are deocorations. Do you have enough food coloring in both liquid and gel. Remember that some icing recipes work better with colored gels than liquid dye. Are there enough sprinkles and sanding sugar? Now is the time to stock up before you actually start baking and decorating. what about that Christmas dessert? do you want to go with a fancy cake like a red velvet or a trifle. The second is an  easy and fun boozy mix of a cake like pound cake layered with pudding, cream and fruit. You can douse it with rum for even more kick. 

Are you Christmas ready? This is the week to make it so. It's not too late to plan a sumptuous Christmas feast followed by a lush dessert.

Congo Plaintains - The Perfect Holiday Snack

 Thunk Congo Plantain chips when you want something different and tasrty for your holiday party. These fun chips are a nice change up from the usual holiday party bowl fare. There are three different type that  are fun to mix with theother flavors.

I LOVE these chips!!!! I'm a big plantain fan and these are far better than any regular potato chip. They're really a first for Congo a food company that sells such exotic fresh fruit as fresh plaintains,. dragon fruit (!) and cassavas. They also sell coconut water in a coconut with a straw (somehow perfect for ringing in the New Year!)dark chocolate and coffee.

It's the chips that stand out (although I do want to try their chocolate, coffee and cassava) . There are three types, the salted which has a slightly potato tastes. Then their are the maduros or  fried ripe ned ones that have a sweeter flavor (TRy this with ice cream ro in a trifle for an exotic taste)and a garlic flavor that's sooo addictuve.Keep in mind that plantains are rich in potassium and fiber. They're great energy boosters and another plus during these times - low in cholesterol. 

Have Congo Plantain Chips in your party bowl this holiday season. They're a great addition to any gathering. They're also jst a great snack on their own. Try them for something tasty and different.

Candy Treats

 Onr of the best aspects and even gifts of the holidays is hoemmade . As easy as it is to eat, it's tricky to make. Luckily there's help to guide you through in making the three most popular - fudge, caramel and nougat.

Regular contribtur and baking cookbook author , Claire Saffritz wrote about these goodies in yesterday's New York Times Food section.For any of these candies she strongly recommnends a candy thermometer, along with a heavy saucepan that won't cause scorched candy and a kitchen scale for exact measuring. The first and easiest recipe is fudge.Hers is a rich blend of cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, butter and whole milk. There's also corn syrup and honey along with granulated sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Home confectioners must cook the fudge into "soft ball "phase, meaning the candy forms a soft ball when dropped into water. The mixture should be cooked at 235 degrees Farenheit and stirred constantly. The sugars and cocoas are first  cooked separately  and then combined. .Once the fudge hits the soft ball phase then take it off the heat and poured in a pan lined with parchment paper and cooking spray. It'll keep up to a month.

Caramels start with sugar, cream and butter . Ms. Saffitz also infuses the cream with coffee to counteract all that sweetness.Unlike with the fudge, don't stir the mixture and wash down the saucepan walls with a wet pastry sauce to avoid any crystallization.It's cooked until the hard ball stage which is putting a good drop of the mixture into cold water and seeing to become a hardy chewy ball. The hardest candy to create is nougat. It's an eleaborate mix fo egg whites, sugar and nuts. The pistacchios are toasted first then the egg whites salt and sugar are whipped in a stand mixing bowl (think meringue) After this heat the corn syrup, sugar and water together . Cooked honey is also added in and hotne finally the meringue mixture , This really is a two person venture with one mixing the egg white while the other watches and stirs the syrup. This last is added to the mix and it's beaten until the nougat is voluminous. The nuts are then added and the candy is poured into a parchment paper lined pan to set. Let it set for six hours to overnight before cutting into squares.

There's nothing like the sweet treat of candy as a gift. It's a great present, full of homemade ingredients and careful cooking. Make a batch of fudge , caramel or nougat for your holiday sweetie.

The Delicious Best

 There are a lot of lists right now , extolling the best of this year. From best cars to best actors everything is being ranked.Ot's no different with food. The year produces favorite recipes and dishes. What are the best?

The New YorkTimes Food section asked the same question and came up with an interesting list in today's issue. There are four catagories, one featuring top restaurants and dishes,most popular recipes, standout cookbooks and memorable wines. what were the hottest eateries and dishes? The restaurants were all Manhattan based ,Yoshino was voted one of the best with its' French food ideas woven into traditional Japanese dishes. There is a vichysoisse filled with hairy crab and a heap of ostera cavier on it. He takes tamago, a sweet egg omelet and puts burnt sugar on it like a creme brule. Claud offers FRench bistro cuisine with escargots  refashioned into buttery panko crumbed croquettes. The indivudual dishes are heavenly too such as the rice balls at Cafe Spaghetti and the quenelle de brochat at Le Gratin. There were also budget bites such as the Rowdy Rooster that features a mashed potato sandwich (!!) and Sanmiwigo's Dumpling House withtheir variety of their dumplings. The recipes are just as tasty. Home chefs should try brothy Thai curry with silken tofu and herbs or Greek chicken with cucumber feta salad. There's also a good stuffing recipe and a sticky coconut and rice.

What were the best cookbooks fo this year? There are so many to choose from. If you;'re big on barbecue then buy Kevin Bludsos with Kevin Noah's Bludsos BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair In Smoke and Soul. Contributor Sara Bonisteel recommneds this book chock full of shrimp and grits along with a brisket.For those everyday cook's try the former The Great British Baking Show's winner Ruby Tandoh's Cook As You Are.Recipes for Real Life, Hungry  Cooks and  Messy Kitchens It's a gathering of simple and tasty recipes with coommon and uncommon ingredients.Bakers will love Jessie Sheehan's Snackable Bakes 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes For Exceotionally Scrumptuous Sweets and Treats which has all sorts fo yummy recipes for quick breads , muffins and cupcakes.You need something to drink with all that food. That's where Eric Asimov's wine list comes in handy.One wine recommneded was eighty years old, produced in the middle of the Second World war!!!It was a 1942 Chateau  Clemens Barsac. It was processed when France was under Nazi occupation which adds to its' story.Try the Chilean wine Herrara Alvarado Cuegode vaca MargValley  vointage 2020 an outstanding Pinot Noir.

These are the best of the best votied by The New York Times Food section. Try them all. Will they beon your best of thebest for 2022?

A Healthy Christmas Feast

 This is the season for tasty treats and bad choices. We tend to eat too many fatty , salty , cured and sweet foods. Yet those party nibbles to Christmas cookies can be made healthy. It's have fun while eating better.

Hosts are all over the charcuterie board. Who doesn't love salami and cheese yet there  are better alternatives.What about a veggie board? This can be fun and colorful.Cut veggies in long pieces which are perfect for dipping. Yes, you have to have celery.It's crunchy and great with any low calorie dip. Also have three kinds of bell peppers, yellow, red and green for a rainbow effect . Broccoli and cauliflower florets are musts too. There can be tomatoes, Cut the bigger ones up into wedges. Add some olives and artichoke hearts too. what about the dips.Hummus can be fun but also think a low calorie Greek yogurt  spiced up with some garlic and onion powders. You can also make a simple vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and a good olive oil. Add some thyme and oregano for more flavor. What to do about latkes for Hanukkah? They can still have that crispy fried crunch and rich flavor. Just air fry them instead of deep frying and use just egg whites instead of the whole egg. You could also use Just Egg as well which is a very good egg sub in.

Christmas dinner is another lush eating experiences. There's usually a glazed ham or a butter rubbed turkey on the table.Instead of a sugary coating on the ham, think a simple one made with  a low sodium veggie broth. Bast e it with this every twenty to thirty minutes. As for that butter rubbed turkey, think a plant based butter like Melt which will still give it a nice browned skin. Another idea is serving  fish like salmon.Try a soy and garlic glazed one for a healthy and different spin on your holiday dinner. For sides, think a healthy hot broccoli salad along with sliced carrots. Desserts can be healthy and good for you too. Since it's orange season think about air frying them for a different kind of dessert.It's slicing the oranges in half and first spraying them with some kind of cooking spray. The butter flavoreed one would work well here. Then brush the tops with honey and cinnamon. Air fry them for eight minutes at 360 degrees Farenheit. If you want cookies a healthy gingerbread fills the bill. Use more spices than sugar for a lovely Christmas flavor along with whole wheat flour and a plant butter like Melt. Sprinkle with brown sugar if you want them to have some crunch.

Healthy holiday eating can be just as flavorful as the fat and sugar laced recipes. They offer a better alternative. Try them for a good for you Christmas and Hanukkah dinners and desserts..

NIgella's Chocolate Christmas Cookies

 Nigella Lawson is a worldwide respected cook and cookbook author. You'd think her recipes were perfect. Unfortunately that was not the case with her chocolate Christmas cookies.

I had high hopes for this recipe. It came to me in her daily newsletter. It looked simple and yummy. 

These are some of the ingredients along with my new super big cookie spatula from Wilton. It was an easy enough recipe.I followed it to the letter.They're a chocolate shortbread, made with two and a quarter sticks of butter, two cups of flour , 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa and1/2 teaspoon baking soda and one teaspoon baking powder.  I made them vegan and I wonder if this could have been the factor in them not turning out the way they recipe had them?

I used my beloved Melt plant butter , not thinking that it would make a difference but maybe the cookies needed animal fat to get that finished cracked look.

                                                       The dough looked OK, when I was making it.

The texture was how she described it , slightly sticky. I took off walnut sized pieces of dough , roilled them and then flattened them.

To me they baked , well- OK  Maybe I made them too big -  my fault , maybe they needed more time in the oven .

The tasted pretty perfect - sort of like Nabisco's once famed chocollate snap cookies. It was time to make the e icing for them.

 This was a mix of confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla  cooked with already boiled water.

It was supposed to be a thick glaze with two tablespoons of the cocoa, 1 and a half cups of the confectioner's sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract mixed with 1/4 boiling water. It turned out to be a chocolate syrup.

It was a runny mess on the cookies. however I now have the recipe for a great homemade chocolate syrup(which was mixed with Bubly strawberry seltzer and almond milk for an over the top strawberry egg cream. YUM!!!!)

This is the end result.A syrupy mess that slid off the cookies and puddled underneath them.The Wilton decorations just rolled off. Some hardier ones stayed , fortunately.

And a day later 

It's funny I followed everything to the letter and they came out wrong. Tasty but wrong. 

Is it worth following  a Nigella Lawson recipe again? It's an iffy answer. 

I think I'll stick with American recipes now instead of going with the British - sorry to say.


 

Holiday Decorations

What's Christmas cookies ,cakes and cupcakes without decorations? They turn ordinary baked goods into works of true art. Yet which route do you go? Homemade or store bought? You could try a little of both.

One of my favorites is Wilton. I LOVE this company! They carry everything from pans and spatulas to melts and fondants.Yet it's their icings and sprinkles that are perfection. I already have my bottles of easy squeeze bottles for cookie decorating. (which you'll see in another week)

                                    I got the basic Christmas colors of red and green along with white.

     I can;t wait to start baking and decorating. This will be used on the classic sugar cookie. I may already start with an aquafaba (chickpea brine) royal icing.ust mix it with water, lemon juice or cream of tartar along with a pound of confectioner's sugar. white gel food coloring is added for brightness. I still haven't decided on the flavoring yet. Maybe I''l try orange extract for half the icing while flavoring the other half with lemon extract

 For my gingerbread iced cupcakes I will use Wilton's gingerbread sprinkles, which are actually gingerbread crumbs and for my take on Nigella Lawson's  decorated chocolate shortbread (Monday's treat) I will use the red, green and white holiday sprinkles.

Both can also be used on cakes and gingerbread constructions too for a festive look.

Get decorating!!!!! Ice those cookies and cakes. Put a puff of frosting on those cupcakes. Create pretty designs for your holiday baked treats.