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.

Different Kinds Of Bakers

 There's no doubt that this is baking season. There are many sorts of home bakers out there. The traditional, the health conscious and the vegan. The question is what kind are you.

A traditional baker will use  traditional ingredients. They're not going to worry about gluten, fat or aninal products. They're full on going to use  refined flours and sugar along with a rich amount of butter and eggs to make the best cakes and cookies. If your;'e this kind of baker then think of fun cupcakes. Start with a basic cake recipe and then go from there. Tint a buttercream icing green and pipe it into triangles on top of each cupcake for a Christmas tree. Add mini M&M's and holiday sprinkles. You can also try fruitcake in the form of cupcakes. This is riff on the tradtional recipe.It's made with basically the same ingredients, especially the different spices , rum and fruits. Theicing is an almond marzipan one. Keep in mind this is a boozy treat reserved for only adults. As for cookies traditonal bakers go for one loaded with sugar. The prettiest ones are the spritzes , made with a cookie gun. The recipe is a whole cup of butter which gives them that shortbread taste and feel.  They can be decorated with everything from sanding sugar to sprinkles. Of course chocolate chip cookies are on the must bake list. Make them even more lush with giant chocolate chips.

What happens if you want to be a healthy baker? This is where healthy and vegan intercept. The two sorts won't use real dairy. This is where plant butters like Melt come in. This tastes like the real thing and is great for cookies. Melt is good for baking only and not for creating fluffy frostings.. It can come off as runny, with the icing slipping off the cake's surface. Use Miyokos Plant Butter or Earth Balance for a stiffer , firmer topping instead.Many home bakers are flummoxed when it comes to omitting eggs. Not to worry.Many vegan home bakers incorporate Just Egg in their cooking and baking. This egg substitute is primarily made from mung beans and canola oil. Three tablespoons equal one egg and can easily be subbed in. You can also use the powdered Vegg egg substitute. This also works OK in baking. Other egg replacements are applesauce and flaxseed. Nut milks are usd too, to replace dairy . Almond milk works the best because it has the best consistency. what about that all important ingredient sugar? Stevia and agave syrup work just as well as the refined white stuff. Also try maple syrup or honey too. Both give  a warm earthy flavor  to baked goods.

You cna create tasty treats whether your a traditional, healthy ot vegan baker. There are all sorts of recipes out there. Use them for a fun holiday table full of delicious cookies and cakes.

A Buffet Of Party Nibbles

 This is the season to party. It's time to welcome back guests with festive and delicious bites for a festive and delicious times. What to serve? There's a guide that will help you.

Regular contributor Ali Slagle wropte up a great guide with all sorts of recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section.She offers several different categories , from dips and spreads to cocktail snack mixes and one bite wonders. There's also boards and bowls that are great if you have hungry guests or ones with big appetites, along with crackers and chips.Pick one or two from each category for a varied and flavorful party menu. The dips are wonderful combinations of something creamy mixed in with salty or sweet. Forget the traditional onion and sour cream. Try molten feta with nuts. This is a dreamy mix of oven warmed feta covered with such nuts as hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds. Olive oil and honey is also drizzled on top along with thyme.serve this with charred pita wedges. A stand out and unusual dip os the one made with  charred tangerines.It's  first taking  olive oil, honey, thyme and pepper flakes and simmering them together. The tangerine slices are added and cooked until charred. They're then stirred in the oil and served on baguettes with ricotta cheese. Of course there have to be party nibbles The  easily made crunchy ove roasted chickpeas with za'atar sounds like a great nibble along with the caci e pepe popcorn. This is just tossing warm popcorn with Parmesan and black pepper.

There also the one bite wonders that woudl even make a great appetizer to a Christmas dinner. Stuff olives with havily herbed raisins. You can also try them with blue ro goat cheese , anchovies , almonds or garlic cloves. A perfect antepasto is pear wedges with prosciutto for a take on the classic dish with melon. A really lush nibble is caviar potaot chips with lemon cream. This is a contribution from another Food section writer , Melissa Clark, This is stirring lemon zest into creme fraiche and then layering it and caviar on potato chips.Boards are very popular and you can easily go with the classic charcuterie one. Add pate, smoked fish such as salmon, along with such new additions as dates  and guava paste. If you want simple then copy one of Manhattan's oldest bars. McSorley's first founded in the 1880's Put out a plate of sliced white Cheddar with Saltines, spicy brown mustard and sliced white onion. You could fry the crackers in butter like Gabrielle Hamilton. Every party should have a bowl of chips. Try the latest Korean craze honey butter potato chips. Mix butter with honey and then top a chip with it. You could also melt it and dip the chips in the m Bake them at 300 degrees Farenheit for ten minutes. You could also do the same wirh Italian cold cuts like prosciutto, pepperoni or pepperoni.

The perfect party should have the perfect nibbles. Try any of these or other mentioned in the guide. They're fun bites for you and your guests.

The Versatile Shortbread Recipe

 One cookie is a Christmas baking must - shortbread,This Scottish classic is a tasty nibble, full of buttery goodness. What makes it even better is that the recipe is versatile. Yiu can add other ingredients to make it different and even savory. it's an amazing recipe in any home baker's arsenal.

Regular contributor , food stylist and chef Yewande Komolafe wrote about this delcious bite in today's new York Times Food section. She gives the basic recipe and six variations incluiding the hot recipe this season, the savory shortbread. This article is a keeper and perfect for those holiday parties and cookie exchanges. The basic remedy is a blend of two cups of unsalted butter which gives the dough its' rich flavor and deep golden color along with five cups of flour, two cups of sugar , two large egg yolks and two teaspons of kosher salt such as Diamond Crystal. You can double or triple the recipe if you want to make three of the recipes. The first one is a fancy but simple one. It's taking the crumbled shortbread dough and rolling it into logs.each log surface is brush with egg white and then rolled into colored sugar spread out on a sheet of parchment paper. They're then sliced and baked at 350 degrees Farenheit for twenty two minutes. This is a good way of using red and green for a festive, fancy cookie.A different spin is spiced chocolate marbled shortbread. This is a yummy mix of the two flavors enhanced with ginger and citrus zest.

Shortbread can also be the base of bars and rounds. Chef Komolafe has a great recipe for strawberry jam bars with cardamom. This is taking the shortbread dough and first adding cardamon to it. The dough is sep

arated.One half will be pressed into a cookie pan while the other is refrigerated. Any kind of fruit jam  like strawberry or raspberry is layered on to it . It's then topped off lemon zest  chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts or pistacchios. The reserved dough is crumblred on top of this and it's then baked for thirty five minutes. It's then cooled for half an hour and dusted with confectioner's sugar. Another yummy treat peppermint patty shortbreads. This is using the recipe as a base and topping it off with mounds of homemade marshmallow and homemade chocolate ganache. Crushed pepper mint candy decorates it.It's a labor intensive recipe with the mounds resembling that cookie classic Pinwheels, but so worth it. An easier recipe is the shortbread combined with salted caramel and peanut butter. The unicorn in all of this is the savory shortbread.Chives, black pepper and cheddar are added and the dough is cut into strips..They're bent and then baked. Imagine these topped with egg salad or devilled ham.

Shortbread is the most versatile of all the cookie doughs. Try it in it's classic style, savory or mixed with other ingredients. All are delicious.