An Alliterative Menu

Well, I've almost completed my to-do list of holiday baking and running around! The only thing missing from my personal roster at present is my annual gift of mincemeat tarts for my dad (and I get to use the homemade stuff this year!)... I was intending to make them this afternoon - honest! - but I got hung up at the pharmacy and then suffered a case of oven-already-in-use syndrome when a loaf of bread (forthcoming!) finished it's rise earlier than expected.

Ah well... that's what Wednesday is for, I guess! I would say that tomorrow was a prime candidate for baking, except it isn't... I'm Cookie Santa-ing with my mom then, and then it's sushi time!!

This Sunday, though, I did get a fair bit of the cookieage done thanks mostly to Andrew's neverending willingness to help with getting ingredients out and manouvering sheets and cooling racks (not to mention taking photos like the one on the left) while I willy-nillied my way through the recipes. By the end of the day, I had baked off 7 different types of cookies and 10 batches in total (Mom and I made 4 sets of her famous shortbreads... 2 lbs of butter, man!).

As if having cookies of all kinds coming out of our ears wasn't enough, Mom and I developed a savoury recipe on the weekend too! Cel (the stepdad) had been gifted with a whole pheasant by one of his business partners, and never having cooked that type of bird before my mom asked me for help. As if I, the sole (mostly) vegetarian in the house, would know how to cook a whole roast pheasant! Thank God for RecipeZaar for ideas... and my creativity for substitutions! Of course (since I wasn't the sole cook of this experiment) I didn't get photos, but I did get reviews - delicious, succulent, and wonderful were some of the labels it recieved!

Photo - Free Pheasant
Serves 4
1 (2lb) pheasant, skinned and split in half
2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup white wine
½ cup apricot jam
¼ cup orange juice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1. Wash pheasant and pat dry.
2. Sprinkle on both sides with paprika.
3. Heat oil in a deep pot, and brown pheasant on both sides.
4. Pour chicken stock and wine over the pheasant.
5. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add water if needed and turn meat several times to prevent burning.
6. Combine remaining ingredients in a small dish.
7. Uncover the pot and bring liquid to a brisk simmer.
8. Let liquid cook away, then baste with sauce.
9. Simmer uncovered, basting frequently, for 15-20 minutes.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 319.9
Total Fat: 9.9 g
Cholesterol: 49.3 mg
Sodium: 238.7 mg
Total Carbs: 29.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
Protein: 22.3 g

But really, who am I kidding? I know why you're all here... you want the sugar! Come on, Santa doesn't come to people's houses for dinner, does he?? Cookies are where it's at - to be specific, FoodBlogga's Eat Christmas Cookies Event is where it's at! Yes, I'm going to spend the last couple days of the round-up posting this weekend's recipes (while crossing my fingers that Susan's okay with the sheer number of them!). The round-up page is always current, so stay tuned for the new treats coming your way from around the world!

These cookies were a personal achievement for me in terms of turning tastebuds - Andrew claims not to like gingerbread, but he ate three of these babies and declared them "the best gingerbreads hes ever had", especially when warm. Since I used blackstrap, rather than fancy molasses, and part spelt flour too, it only seemed fair that I could decorate them with candy-coated chocolate balls... gotta keep the balance!

Spicy Molasses Snappers
Makes about 4 dozen
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup blackstrap molasses
1/3 cup eggnog
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 cups flour
2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Cream sugars and shortening until fluffy.
2. Add molasses, eggnog, vanilla and vinegar, beating in well.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients in another bowl. Beat into creamed mixture.
4. Wrap dough well in plastic and chill 8 hours, or up to 36.
5. Preheat oven to 375F.
6. Roll dough out on a floured board and cut into shapes, placing on parchment-lined sheets. Decorate if desired.
7. Bake 8 minutes, do not overbake!

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 114.6
Total Fat: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.7 mg
Sodium: 5.9 mg
Total Carbs: 17.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 1.5 g

Back to the Cookie-ing

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the danger of watching the Food Network with someone you love. When we lived in our (awesome) basement apartment up in Ottawa back when I was at Carleton U, Andrew and I would kill our class-less mornings by watching the line-up on FoodTV (after Rachael Ray, that is! Laugh if you must, but I still enjoy her talk show, and her recipes are sound in composition - if not always in time frame!). Our tradition has continued, in a fashion, to today - when we're spending a Sunday together (unfortunately the only day we both really have free, thanks to his weird work hours and my school schedule) that's almost always the channel we have on. Hell, that's almost always the channel I have on all the time - even when I'm not technically watching a show! What can I say, I need background noise to work... silence scares me. I even put music on at night to sleep!

Anyways, a few months ago we caught one of my absolute favourite (and sadly, no longer produced) shows - Sugar with Anna Olson - where the featured goodie was candied fruit. Normally, I loathe the stuff in any form: pineapple, cherries, mango, what have you... probably a throwback from eating too many dried out, green cherry-centred shortbreads at family Christmas parties. One of Anna's creations was an icebox-style cookie with cherries and pecans, and it caught my eye as a gorgeous biscuit, and it struck Andrew as a good starting point for a Christmas plate snack!

Needless to say, Andrew was after me for months afterwards to make them. I was hesitant to dive headlong into another Olson recipe, though: I love watching her show, but for some odd reason the recipes that say yum on screen never seem to translate well in my kitchen! I've had some major issues over the years with two promising recipes of hers: this lemon-poppyseed cake that failed to cook through, and these fig bars that, well... look nothing like hers! So, I knew enough to take the recipe as just a starting point and branch off into my own thing.

My own thing involved nixing the nuts, as well as part of the butter, and adding in cream cheese (like I did for these cookies) for some body and cheesecakey-like goodness. I made the dough a couple weeks ago, rolled it into a log and froze it so that now when the kitchen's in constant upheaval I don't have to bother the other kitchen users with dragging out my mixer and the like. I baked off a couple of these as testers yesterday and was pleased with the results... baking times had to be toyed with of course due to the fact the dough was frozen, but in the end I was rewarded with beautiful, stained-glass like shortbready circles. Andrew hasn't tasted them yet, but we're going to finish the batch today and I'm sure he'll have an opinion! I've also got plans to whip out some "blackstrap spice men" cookies (there's more than ginger in those suckers), and with any luck at all I'll be able to make a version of another FN cookie and a Toronto Star featured one too! Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make a loaf of bread and possibly mincemeat tarts in between doctor's appointments (I made that filling ages ago, and I intend to use it!), and Tuesday's the cookie delivery trip down to ExxonMobil with my mom! I can't wait... I even have a Kensington Market jaunt with my dad on Thursday to look forward to after all that jazz. Christmas is coming early!

For your consolation, I'll leave you with my recipe for these sugar bombs (and send it off to Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies roundup too over at FoodBlogga). Hopefully you'll like their taste as much as I enjoyed their delectable aroma from the oven!

Glacé Cherry Shortbreads
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
2/3 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup cake flour
10 oz glace cherries (red or green), cut in half

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and icing sugar until fluffy.
2. Beat in egg, vanilla and lemon extract.
3. Stir flours into the butter mixture until well blended.
4. Fold in cherries by hand.
5. Divide dough into two logs, about 1" across.
6. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 12 hours (alternately, wrap plactic-covered logs with foil and freeze up to 3 months).
7. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a baking tray with parchment or a Silpat (do not grease - buy the parchment, you'll want it!).
8. Cut 1/8" thick slices of the cookie dough, place on sheets 1" apart.
9. Bake 8 minutes (or frozen dough for 12), until barely coloured.
10. Cool completely on sheets.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 78.4
Total Fat: 3.0 g
Cholesterol: 11.9 mg
Sodium: 27.8 mg
Total Carbs: 11.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
Protein: 1.1 g

Bakeries and Blueberries

I don't know what was going on today downtown - I was in the Roncesvalles Village district of Toronto this morning for an acupuncture appointment (a botched episode of planning... they booked me in for YESTERDAY, not today... grr...) and the local bakeries were crammed full of people! Normally on a Saturday they will have customers, sure, but this morning looked like the end of the pastry world was nigh! I'm telling you, people with sometimes 2 or three big bakery boxes of pączki and croissants and breads of all kinds were in abundance, and boy, did the air smell good! Luckily, I knew that I have a list of holiday baking a gazillion miles long to do, so I was able to avoid that temptation!

One of the things I made this week were these beauties for one of my school friends' Christmas gifts. I adapted these slightly from Alton Brown's recipe, and they really are the perfect "cafe" style muffin - fluffy, light and packed with blueberry goodness! My friends Sabrina and Johana (she shared... nice girl!) both ate one during our exam yesterday and declared them wonderful - not too sweet, not heavy, and the perfect pick me up after a night of cramming! I'm going to pass this post on to the Home Made Christmas Gifts Event at My Kitchen Treasures too, so everyone can share the love!

If you make jumbo muffins, increase the baking time to 35 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness.

Big Blueberry Muffins
Makes 6 jumbo or 12 regular muffins
12.5 ounces (360g) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh (or frozen, unthawed) blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F, grease 12 large (or 6 jumbo) muffin cups.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and buttermilk.
4. Add the dry ingredients and fold gently to incorporate just slightly, then add blueberries and fold those in. A lumpy batter is fine here.
5. Portion the mixture into greased muffin pans.
6. Place into the oven, increase the temperature to 400 degrees.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.
8. Remove from oven and turn out onto a rack.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 247.2
Total Fat: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 18.5 mg
Sodium: 72.1 mg
Total Carbs: 35.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 4.2 g

A Lucky Loaf

This past week, I could have used all the luck I could get (and boy, I had a good run there! Check out my 2nd place recipe here on Yahoo, or here on my blog!). But now exams are over, and I have a nice loooong stretch of vay-cay to enjoy. I'm not kidding either... I have a full month off! Hey, who said college was a bad thing? I haven't had to think yet! I said think, not work... I need the break (don't we all!).

One of the things I did do while avoiding the inevitable study sessions was bake, and I believe bread is a prime candidate for any stressed out student! Think about it... you get to beat the snot out of something for a good long while (the longer the better, usually!) and in the end you wind up with a delicious, endorphin-releasing block of carbs that smells up your house something awesome. Even better is that you can control the quality of your home-made loaf, so you can make a "body temple" type of loaf full of whole grains and seeds or (if you're feeling devilish) you can make a butter-packed, sugar-swirled brioche begging for a smear of peanut butter or Nutella.

For me, I wanted something different. Something wholesome, yet still tasty, that would be at home as a sandwich or plain toast. Better yet, I wanted something that would keep me and my family going for the rest of the week without leaving us with the guilt typical of post-Christmas life. What I began to develop (starting from this recipe by Alicia) was a protein and fibre-rich, high-rising loaf with a buttery flavour not reminiscent of the secret ingredient at all - even my mom didn't know what it was (until I let the cat out of the bag... d'oh! She still ate 1/2 the loaf though...). Go figure - it's not even Christmas (though More than Words is keeping track! 13 days? Eek!) and I'm already using the lucky New Year's food - black eyed peas - in my recipes! Who knows, maybe we'll all be in for a set of lucky stars this year?

The tradition of black eyed peas (they're actually a kind of lentil... I didn't know that!) as "lucky food" dates back to the U.S. Civil War, when Southern soldiers were able to live off of them during seiges from the North. Seen as animal fodder, they weren't deliberately destroyed and even prospered! When they're eaten with greens, the dish is symbolic of prosperity (from the swelling of the beans) and money (the green leaves).

Though this bread is devoid of greenity (unlike the last loaf I made!), it does have colour - I used yellow cornmeal in the dough which added a great texture and crunch as well as a rich "southern" flavour, and the touch of molasses-y dark brown sugar lent a bit of interest to the mix. I highly reccomend this as a school day sandwich bread or a breakfast side with some good jam! Check out YeastSpotting this week for the roundup of other good bready things!

Black-Eyed Bread
14 Slices
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp instant nonfat milk powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup cooked black-eyed peas, pureed
3 cups flour

1. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup warm water, yeast and sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Combine remaining water, milk powder, oil, salt and cornmeal. Let stand 10 minutes to cool slightly.
3. Add the cornmeal mixture to the proofed yeast, followed by the bean puree. Mix thoroughly.
4. Begin beating in the flour, one cup at a time. Dough will be very soft and slightly sticky, but do not add more flour! More flour = heavy brick bread... not yummy!
5. Knead about 5 minutes by mixer or 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured board.
6. Place in greased bowl, turning to coat well with oil.
7. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 1/2 hours).
8. Punch down and place in a lightly greased pan. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 168.5
Total Fat: 1.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
Sodium: 8.2 mg
Total Carbs: 33.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g
Protein: 4.4 g

Winner, Winner...

Whole BUNCH of dinners! Yes, I kept it under wraps for months, but I took part in Yahoo Canada's Best Chef Contest a while back and was one of the lucky second-place winners! My gift package arrived this afternoon, bursting with 5 foodie books and $500 in HBC gift cards... I can't wait to start spending! I have my eye on a cookware set (I don't have one of my own as of now), but who knows what Boxing Day sales will bring me??

If you can't read the titles, these are the awesome books I recieved:

Love in the Time of Cholesterol (Cecily Ross)
Coffee Indulgences (Savannah Blake)
Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker's American Desserts (Karen Barker)
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd (The Moosewood Collective)
Low-Carb Meals in Minutes (Linda Gassenheimer)

I can't wait to start trying them out!! Thanks Yahoo and HBC!