Happy 2011 to all!

In lieu of the traditional Best of/Top Ten list of 2010, I offer you a few photos of my favorite cooking memory of the year. Two of my most favorite people (my five year old son and my mom) making Christmas cookies together in my kitchen a few weeks ago.
I probably shouldn't let my kid use the stand mixer unattended but we haven't had any major messes yet so I will just carry on.
The end result- an oldie but a goodie in our family. I can make all sorts of complicated things but these are always eaten first. Click here for the recipe.

CEIMB: White Turkey Chili

This week in Craving Ellie in my Belly land, Leslie of Lethally Delicious, chose the White Turkey Chili. Take a mix of celery, onions, and poblano peppers and add spices, ground turkey, white beans, and canned hominy. What is hominy, you might ask? Hmm....well, until today, I knew it came in a can and was common in southern recipes, but I had NO IDEA what it was. According to Wikipedia, Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization. (My english teacher sister would kill me for quoting wikipedia and not a real academic source!) In this soup, It is mild and has a corn-like flavor. I liked this soup...it was quick, healthy and had a good amount of flavor. It is a great post-holiday meal and nice to have something healthy after the endless stream of christmas cookies. Thanks Leslie for a great pick.

Visit her blog for the entire recipe.

TWD: Rewind- Gooey Chocolate Cakes

My older son surveying his snow angel this afternoon while I checked out the Baking book for a good rewind recipe.

Same kid, waiting not so patiently for a gooey chocolate cake tonight after dinner.

My younger son playing in the snow. It was a day late, but we did get a White Christmas after all.

We paired the gooey chocolate cakes with Ciao Bella Key Lime Gelato. I could lie and say that I did it so that the tart lime flavor would offset the rich, dark chocolate flavors, but... truth be told, that was the only ice cream in the house and it was just fine. I chose the Gooey Chocolate Cake as a Tuesdays with Dorie rewind for this week and was not disappointed. They taste...well, like a gooey chocolate cake should. (This is sort of like describing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich- Everyone has eaten it so much that it needs no elaborate description.) This is an undercooked brownie with a little fudge in the center. I followed the directions and cooked them for 13 minutes but next time I might try 12 minutes so they are a little more mushy in the center. It is nice to have a recipe that looks impressive but can be made quickly with pantry staples. This is one of those "Ingredients make all the difference" recipes and I was glad that I used Guittard chocolate on this one. I look forward to reading all the other blog posts and seeing what my fellow bakers made this week.

Flour - Cheddar Scones

Cheddar Scones from the new cookbook, Flour.

Sometimes, when you write a food blog, you have to put lipstick on a pig. As you are patiently photographing your twentieth brownie (hint- plain brown foods are difficult to make delicious looking), you try to figure out a way to artfully light or showcase this item to make it more appealing. You drag the food outside in natural light, position different dishtowels/utensils/side dishes around it, turn to the A setting on your camera, and hope for the best. This scone, however, needs no touch-ups, no special lighting and no stylistic touches. It is as naturally beautiful as it is tasty.

I received the new cookbook, Flour, for Christmas this weekend. As I usually do, I curl up in pajamas and read my new gift from cover to cover. (I hear it is sold out on amazon.com so you should visit your local bookseller or just be patient!) When I learned that we were about to have a good old-fashioned snow storm, I decided to make something from this book to celebrate being trapped/cozy (depending on your perspective) for a few days. I ran to Stop and Shop right before the snow began to get heavy and was the girl in jeans and a pony tail, rushing around for the dairy section frantically searching for the last creme fraiche in the store. (Apparently, when it is going to snow over a foot on the shoreline, you need the basics....milk, bread, toilet paper, creme fraiche. ) Creme fraiche and little chunks of cheddar cheese elevated these scones from ordinary to amazing. I left out the scallions because I forgot to buy them but I don't think they were missing anything. I served them with Thomas Keller's lentil soup and it was the perfect meal to wait out the storm. These were amazing the first day and just great the second day so I will take the author's advice and freeze hunks of dough to bake off fresh if I am going to consume the recipe over multiple days. My friend George gave the perfect quote to describe this meal, "Well, Mary, I just ate it and now my stomach feels just plain happy." I will let George have the last word on this dish and I look forward to seeing what other treats Joanne Chang has in Flour.

FFWD: Beef Daube

Hello Parsnip, my new friend. I'll come to cook with you again....

Reason Number 582 why I could never be a vegetarian: There is nothing better than the smell of beef searing in bacon fat.

Finished Beef Daube- aka, my new perfume that works on all meat-loving men.

I took the leftover carrot/parsnip peels and made a compost themed bundt ice wreath. I made another christmas themed one earlier this week. The kids called it the "Snacks for the Birds" wreath. I call it a free, fun way to dispose of scraps.

This week, I made Beef Daube in honor of French Fridays with Dorie this week. Culinary firsts: First time I have ever prepared parsnips (hint: they are like carrots only white, very mild, and take on the flavor of whatever else you are cooking). First time I have ever asked a butcher to custom cut a piece of meat for me- my butcher is adorable, my new BFF, and I look forward to ordering more from him in the future. Dorie is right, this is a "go to" recipe to have in your arsenal. Although you have to be in the house for almost four hours from start to finish, very little of the work is hands on after the initial chop and sear is over. I loved the flavor of this dish and I think the key is to use a good red wine. I look forward to the next snowy day so I can make this dish again.

Chocolate Bacon Almond Bark, Chocolate Pistachio Cherry Bark and My Snarky Photo Card Awards...2010 Edition

I made three kinds of chocolate bark for a Cookie Swap last night. In addition to the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark I blogged about here, I made Dark Chocolate Candied Bacon Almond Bark and Bittersweet Chocolate Pistachio Cherry Bark. Both recipes are by the ever-wonderful David Lebovitz and you will all be happy to know that I took home the Chiean MIner's Prize (Cookie you'd most want to have if you were trapped underground for many days). I think Bark is a nice addition to the cookie table and I was happy to experiment a little bit. I preferred the taste of the pistachio chery bark and thought that the bacon bark (while cool to talk about and a man-favorite) was a little too subtle. Sorry gentle reader, I was too busy snacking to take pictures. Here is a link to both bark recipes:

And in other holiday silliness.....

2010 Snarky Photo Card Award Categories are….

- Award for the photo that showcases only one of your multiple children. In lieu of gifts, I will contribute you your other child's future therapy bills.

-Award for the mom who chose a picture where mom looks fabulous and her kids look a little 'off' in some way..eyes closed, looking off into space, smirking…there were too many entrants in that category and it is unfair to pick just one winner.

-Award for the people who chose pictures that highlighted their families accomplishments and made others feel bad about their slacker parenting. You know who you are. I know who you are.

-Award for the newsletter that made me spit hot tea all over my computer keyboard with laughter. I must remain silent to protect the guilty.

-Award for the photo that was obviously taken in ten seconds on the way to the CVS photo processing lab. Really now? Are you that busy?

-Award for the just-divorced woman who centered herself on the photo and cut off one of her kid's head. Priceless.

-Award for the card that showcases your excellent, hip photography skills but doesn't let us see what your kids look like. I anticipate that your over-80 relatives might have some complaints about this one.

-Award for the card that lets us all know that you are glamorous 24/7 and can dress your children all in white while you deck the halls in 5 inch heels chasing small children….I love you anyway, G.

-Award for the card that showcases over a dozen pictures. Could you not decide on one or do you want us to go blind as we try to view each individual shot?

-Award for the card that features twenty-something kids….I feel your pain. I am in my thirties and my parents still occasionally feature us in their cards.

Ridiculously Easy White Chocolate Peppermint Bark and Elf on the Shelf

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is so easy to make and so delicious. White Chocolate, peppermint extract, and crushed candy canes. I used Toll House White Chocolate Chips -which are on sale this week at Stop and Shop. As God (and the TWD ladies) are my witnesses, I will never buy this bark for $26.50 at Williams Sonoma again. Click here for the Paula Deen video and recipe on the Food Network.

Along with peppermint bark,The Elf on the Shelf has been making an appearance at our house this month. The story goes that the elf reports back on your child's behavior to Santa and shows up in different places in the house each day. Today, it was extremely disturbing to spot the elf in my bathroom at 5:30 in the morning. The kids absolutely love him and look forward to spotting his location each day. Is it me, or does he have a somewhat sinister, creepy look?

TWD: Cardamom Crumb Cake

A tiny cardamom crumb cake baked in the take-and-give loaf pan from King Arthur makes a great holiday gift. Consider yourself 'A list' if you received one from me this week.
This week's Tuesdays with Dorie features a Cardamom Crumb Cake. The dish calls for an 8-inch square baking pan but I used three mini loaf pans from King Arthur instead. (Wouldn't you rather receive your own tiny loaf cake than a random piece of a bigger cake?) This recipe contains crunchy walnuts and gets a little zing from cardamom, espresso powder and orange zest. (Cardamom is used in Indian, Scandinavian, and Arabic cooking and creates a unique, smoky flavor. Try it, you might like it.) I sound like a broken record and often wax poetic about our TWD choices, but this was another winner. Who can pass up a coffee cake that has a delicate coffee flavor, the sweetness of orange zest, with the spicy undertones of cardamom? I will definitely put this on the "Make Again" rotation. Thanks to Jill for a great choice. Visit her blog, Jill's Blog, for the entire recipe.

Bundt Pan+ Christmas Time+ Science Experiment= My Day

It is nice when my real life and my blog intersect.

This week at pre-k, my five year old son made a Bundt Project. No, he didn't go crazy and substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour in a cake recipe. Instead, the class went on a nature walk, collected items in the woods, and used the items to fill an old bundt pan. (Do not use your precious NordicWare bundt pan for this endeavor. Take out an old one from a garage sale instead!) The class filled the bundt pan with nature objects, filled it to the top with water, added a ribbon loop to hang it, stuck it in the freezer overnight and VOILA---an icy, beautiful, bundt wreath! I seriously love my older son's pre-k class....their projects are clever, endearing, and intellectually stimulating all at the same time.

I was inspired by one of my blogging friends, Mary- aka The Food Librarian, who embarked on a wild and crazy quest during National Bundt Cake Month. She actually made a different bundt cake every day for 30 days. (I am tired just thinking about it!) I decided to make a Christmas Bundt Wreath in her honor! Sort of the bundt version of the e-cookie swap that is sweeping the internet these days. Yesterday, my sons and I collected things in the yard. We chose acorns, pine cones, evergreen branches and red berries- luckily it is a christmas wonderland around here this week so there was a lot to choose from. We filled the bundt with found items, poured water over the whole thing, added a ribbon loop, and froze it. We actually froze it outside in the backyard overnight, but I think it would have been a teensy bit more stable if we had stuck it in the freezer for six hours first, and then left it out overnight. This morning, we rinsed the top of the bundt with warm water from the sink (imagine unmolding a jello mold, same thing) and easy peasey lemon squeezey, it popped out. I think it would look nice as a Composting Bundt with cabbage leaves and clementine peels. Does it mean I am a big dork if I am already looking forward to next year's bundt-extravaganza?!

FFWD: Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup. Honestly, I never gave it much thought before I joined French Fridays with Dorie, and had to commit to making all kinds of new things in the brand-new, future-classic Around My French Table. This soup is simple and perfect- leek, potatoes, chicken broth, whole milk, and fresh herbs. In the same way that New Yorkers (and Parisians!) dress up an all-black ensemble with a cool scarf, I dressed up this soup with a few gruyere cheese toasted baguettes floating on top. I love the casual elegance of making something with so few ingredients taste so good. It was nice to have so many options for preparation (want spinach-add it, want it chunky, leave it, want it smooth- puree it, want it cold-chill it, want it hot- that is fine too) and I chose hot and pureed for this go around. (Kitchen Confession: Halfway through making this soup, I almost ordered myself an immersion blender as an early christmas gift. Oops...I shouldn't leave the laptop next to the stove.) This is the perfect thing to make on a cold night when you want a fast, healthy soup and don't want to leave the house to get a million fussy ingredients. Stay warm and see you next week when I tackle Beef Daube.

CEIMB: Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing

Peggy of Pantry Revisited chose the Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing. I used 90% lean ground beef, blue corn taco chips, and a blend of monterey jack and cheddar cheeses on top of the salad. I liked how this recipe took the familiar packet of taco seasoning mix and referenced it flavor-wise while making it a little healthier by substituting some of the meat for black beans. I will be using that trick in the future but I have to confess that I added salt to the final product to make it a little more like the old, unhealthy favorite. I also enjoyed the olive oil/lime juice dressing on the tomatoes and thought it gave the dish a little extra kick. I used the leftover seasoned meat in nachos the next night. Great pick, Peggy. Click here for her blog and the entire recipe.

TWD: Apple-Cocont Family Cake

Finally, a Tuesday with Dorie treat that asks the Barbara Walters style questions we are all wondering about- What is this delicious thing? Is it coffee cake? Is it breakfast? Is it dessert? Does the cake want to act or just direct? Do we really care if we are eating a second or third piece in one setting?

This week, Amber of Cobbler du Monde chose the Apple-Coconut Family Cake. This is a light, delicate, snacking cake, loaded with chopped apples and coconut and flavored with cinnamon, rum and vanilla. I glazed my cake with orange marmalade, since that was all I had in the house and it created a nice tension between the sweetness of the cake and the tart marmalade. I am a fan of all coffee cakes and I really enjoyed this cake. This was simple to whip up and didn't require a lot of kitchen appliances or excessive dish washing. The cake remained moist for several days and the coconut gave it a little extra texture and flavor. Thanks, Amber for a great pick

FFWD: Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts

My chandelier is getting into the holiday spirit......

Tis the season to be jolly.....and eat vast quantities of these sweet and spicy cocktail nuts from French Fridays with Dorie. I made them for a cocktail party I had last night and they are a big hit They are gently sweet with a spicy note at the end and lend themselves to endless, mindless snacking with a crowd. I packaged up a few bags and dropped them off with nut-loving friends. I was lazy and just tossed the ingredients together this time but next time I will follow Dorie's instructions and separate all the nuts so they don't clump up into giant clusters. Clusters or not, this was a delicious treat and I will be making many batches for gifts this year.

TWD: Translucent Maple Tuiles

Careful. Don't touch. These are beyond delicate.

Here is take one of an artfully arranged shot.

Here is the same shot with one of my helpful baking assistants doing free styling work behind the scenes.

This week, TWD tackles Maple Tuiles. They are ...how to put this kindly, temperamental :). They are delicate and can break if you look at them the wrong way. They have a tendency to grow together and form one large clump on the pan. They can burn in the time it takes you to answer the phone. But, they are so delicious that it is worth all of the hassle. They have a gentle almost burnt maple sugar flavor. I ate mine plain with a cup of tea but they would be lovely as cupcake toppers or with ice cream. Visit Clivia's blog Bubie's Little Baker for the entire recipe. Great fall pick!

Donuts! I can make donuts

Do not overfill the donut make hoping to make a gigantic donut. It just makes a big mess!
My perfect, wonderful, delicious, hot, cinnamon sugar donut. Or, in other words, my new favorite breakfast treat.

I got a mini donut maker in the mail. It rocks. Please don't tell my husband, but I have romantic feelings for my donut maker. This tiny red appliance means that I am always at most, five minutes away from hot, fresh, tiny donuts! I made my first batch this week and whipped up Cinnamon Sugar Donuts. They were amazing. Do as I say and not as I do- overfilling the donut molds does not create monster-sized mini donuts, it just makes a big mess! I can't wait to try other recipes later in the week. The only downside with this gift is that the donuts MUST be eaten right away and are best fresh, about five minutes out of the donut maker so if you make these and you are alone, watch out.... This appliance makes a great gift for christmas, especially for families with donut-loving kids! A big thank you to my Fellow Mary for giving me the most perfect gift EVER.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

(adapted from the Bella Cucina Artful Food Mini Donut Maker brochure)

1 cup flour (I used white AP flour but I bet you could use King Arthur White Whole Wheat too)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I added a little hit of vanilla bean paste too)

4 tablespoons cooking oil (I used Wesson)

butter, cinnamon, sugar

Stir dry ingredients together. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and beat 1 minute with electric mixer or vigorously by hand. Add oil and continue to beat 1 minute more. Place scant tablespoon of dough in the center of each mold on the lower cooking plate. (One standard recipe will make two rounds of donuts.) Immediately after removing from donut maker, toss in melted butter and roll in sugar/cinnamon mix.

FFWD: Speculoos

Raise your hand if you have been wandering around the house shouting "Speculooos" at unsuspecting friends and family members who might pass by. (Pause.) Well, OK, I guess that is just me. Try it, you might like it too.

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is for Speculoos, a tiny, crisp holiday-ish cookie that is as delicious as it is fool-proof. Make a very basic dough, roll it out and refrigerate for several hours until firm. (I found it easier to work with when it had been in the fridge overnight.) Cut into tiny cute shapes (I have a set of Martha Stewart biscuit/cookie cutters and used the fluted 1 1/2 inch one) and bake. Seriously, that is it. These would be terrifc for 1) drop off at your favorite neighbor's house, 2) mail to a far-away -even international friend because they are so sturdy, or 3) make the dough ahead of time and cut out shapes with your kids. If you were truly ambitious, you could make hundreds of them, punch holes in them and use them to decorate a tree. The taste of these cookies reminded me of a cross between Anna's spice thins that are at the grocery store and the yummy swedish crispy cookies available at IKEA.

I might have to make these for an upcoming cookie swap. I am debating between these and making tiny individually decorated wedding cakes with twenty dollar bill bribes attached. We shall see what I have time for next week.

Latkes and my grandfather, the jewish santa

Here we are with my grandfather...I am in the blue coat.

When I was very young, my grandfather was a Mall Santa in the month of December. Physically he was perfect for the job....long white beard, bright blue eyes, big belly, loud laugh. He was also fun and wonderful with squirmy or crying kids. Growing up, I never thought it was odd that thousands of people stood in line to sit on his lap or take pictures with my grandfather. I guess I thought he was just one of Santa's helpers who would relay messages to "The Real Santa" somewhere in the North Pole. The fact that he was jewish never really was an issue for the job - I asked him about it once and he laughed off my concerns. Now as an adult, I love the cultural melting pot of life and think about my jewish mall santa grandfather as I sit as an italian making latkes for my potato-pancake loving korean sons, british husband, and irish neighbor. May we all respect and celebrate each other's differences. Happy Hanukah to all! I adapted a recipe from the December 2010 issue of Cooking Light and loved it. The latkes were a cross between a traditional latke and a hash brown and the fresh herbs helped to make it better than the average recipe.

Classic Potato Latkes

Adapted from Cooking Light

3 1/2 cups shredded peeled baking potato (Iused Yukon Gold and felt it made a creamier end product)

1 1/4 cups grated onion (I grated one spanish onion)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 large egg

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

dash of cinnamon

1/2 cup of sour cream

1. Grate the potato and onion. (I used the benriner slicer.)Combine potato and onion in a colander. Drain for 30 minutes pressing with the back of a spoon until barely moist. Combine potato mixture, flour, and next four ingredients in a large bowl; toss well.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Spoon 1/4 of potato mixture loosely into a dry measuring cup. Pour mixture into the pan and flatten slightly. Repeat to form more latkes. Saute about 3 1/2 minutes per side until golden brown. Combine applesauce and cinnamon in a bowl and serve with sour cream and latkes.

CEIMB: Tortellini-Spinach Soup

I am no Soup Nazi, but I think I could eat soup every single day in the winter. This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is chosen by Bri of Yoshimi vs. Motherhood. She chose the Tortellini-Spinach Soup featured on page 90 of So Easy. The soup combines chicken broth with a base of tomatoes/carrots/onions/celery/baby spinach and spinach tortellini. I am a fan of this soup. It was quick to put together, meatless yet satisfying, and quick for a weeknight winter dinner. Click here for this recipe.

Spaghetti Squash

Behold, the spaghetti squash. Don't be scared- it is not as common as butternut or acorn squash, but just as delicious and easy to prepare.

Cut it in half, remove the seeds and roast it skin-side up until soft.

Fluff it up with a fork and until you get spaghetti-like strands. Toss the strands with butter melted with garlic, and the spice dream team of cumin, coriander, and cayenne. This recipe made the perfect side dish with chicken sausage and roasted broccoli. Click here for the original recipe on Smitten Kitchen.