Hot Links Comin' Up

For those few who may come here without stopping by my other place first, there are a buncha foodie links that're good readin' under "Blogging Around: Foodie Stuff." Go take a look.

Christmas Pudding

Historically, the Christmas pudding was seen as a religious affront. In 1664, Oliver Cromwell banned it as a "lewd custom," considering the rich pudding "unfit for God-fearing people," and the Quakers rather gloriously condemned it as "the invention of the scarlet whore of Babylon." I have to say I think the Quakers make Christmas pudding sound rather more exciting than it is but, wanting to rise to the occasion, I have tried to come up with a pudding that the scarlet whore of Babylon would be truly proud of.

Feast by Nigella Lawson

Just what was everybody doing with those puddings that made Cromwell call them a "lewd custom?" I know he just meant having any fun was out of bounds for "God-fearing people" (perhaps he was the prototype for Dickens' Scrooge) but that phrase boggles the imagination.

Sal's Christmas Fruit Gems

Sal made these over Thanksgiving weekend and tucked them in the freezer.

She says, "It's my own recipe- basically my mom's applesauce cake recipe with extra fruit and nuts. (And that was originally an Imperial Sugar recipe, so you know it's good.) I make it every year, though I'm the only one who really likes it. "

Ah, I know that feeling, as I am the lone fruitcake lover at our house. This looks tailor made for me and I have a feeling I'm going to be perusing the dried fruit options at Central Market.

1/2 C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
2 C. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
dash nutmeg
1 C. applesauce
1 C. raisins
1 C. golden raisins
1 C. Sunkist Fruit Bits, or other dried fruit, diced fine
1 C. chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.

Sift dry ingredients together and add to butter and egg mixture alternately with applesauce. Fold in fruits and nuts.

Grease gem pans or use paper muffin cups. Fill cups level with top of pan. Bake at 300 for 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Remove from gem tins and cool on rack.

These may be frosted with a simple glaze or royal icing, if desired. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 3 dozen.

Those Pesky Turkey Leftovers

I never saw so many diverse ways to use leftovers as they are posting over at Slashfood. Take a look.

Butterbells for the Holidays

Remember my favorite butterbell? Honestly, I'm not sure I could do without it. Now Butterbell has come up with a holiday collection and a special offer of buying two butterbells and getting a third free. Check it out!

Amaretti

I kicked off our Christmas cookie season by whipping up a batch of Amaretti. Absurdly simple, these are some of my favorites ... basically meringue cookies with ground almonds mixed in. They were made much easier by the fact that I found Almond Meal at the Central Market so I didn't have to grind the almonds in the food processor. I also saw Pecan Meal and Hazelnut Meal there and am now wondering how those would work in variations.

I'm not usually fond of meringues but love these so they had to go into the freezer ASAP otherwise we wouldn't have had many left.

This recipe came from my mother and I'm not sure what cookbook it came from. However, it is not too different from other such recipes I've seen ... except it is a great deal simpler than some.

Step 1:
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Beat egg whites until foamy, gradually beat in sugar and almond extract. Continue beating for several minutes until whites form very stiff, shiny peaks.

Step 2:
2 cups (8 ounces) finely ground, blanched almonds
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Stir in almonds and cornstarch until well combined.

Drop generous tablespoon of batter into small mounds about 2" apart on parchment-lined, baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 17-22 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes 30 cookies.

Chewy Variation:
Beat egg whites with a fork until broken up and slightly frothy. Stir in sugar until combined; then mix in remaining ingredients (and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon optional cardamom if desired) to make very stiff paste.

With moistened hands, form scant tablespoons of paste into 11/4" balls. Arrange 2" apart on baking sheets. Use moistened fingertips to flatten each ball slightly. Bake at 325° for 15-20 minutes or until firm and very lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. These are like traditional macaroons.

Flavor Variation Update:
I tried these yesterday with finely ground pecans and vanilla instead of the almond extract. Mmmm, mmmm good!

"Leftover" Meals

My family's tradition was always to have a big chef salad the day after Thanksgiving with the "must have" ingredients being turkey, bacon, and blue cheese dressing. (Well, of course, lettuce also ... but that is a given with chef salad.) I just posted a Creamy Roquefort Dressing that you can try or you can do as my parents often did ... use a vinaigrette with generous crumbles of blue cheese everywhere. Mmmm, my mouth is watering.

I was really bummed to realize that the day after Thanksgiving is Friday! Obviously, we began our meatless Friday devotions after Thanksgiving last year so ... with many a sigh ... we are having our traditional chef salad on Saturday.

I see that Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred are experts with the leftovers also. The guys have recipes up for Turkey and Mashed Potato Frittata, Turkey Hash with Egg, and Turkey Apple Scramble. Check it out.

Creamy Roquefort Dressing

From the The New Doubleday Cookbook which is not really new having last been updated in 1985 to the best of my knowledge. However, that is of little account as it remains my "go to" book for the basics.

Yields 2-1/2 cups.

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon prepared mild yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/2 pound Roquefort cheese (I use Maytag Blue ... I know, I know, it isn't a true Roquefort, so sue me)
3-4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Blend mayonnaise with sugar, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and onion. Crumble in Roquefort and stir well. Mix in 3-4 tablespoons vinegar, depending upon how thick a dressing you want.

Post-Game Show

THE GOOD

That cranberry relish is one of the best things I've ever eaten. Rose and I (the only sweet potato eaters in the house) gave the Cook's Illustrated Sweet Potato Casserole two thumbs way up.

THE BAD

Note to self: when making a pie with a runny filling to be baked ... do NOT prick the pie shell for prebaking. The Pecan Pie filling seeped through the holes and formed a cement-like bond with the bottom crust. Luckily no one cared and the fantastic flavor was still there so all was not lost. So sorry if I led anyone else astray with that. I think that method of prebaking would be fine for Chocolate Pies or something where the precooked filling is put in the crust to chill.

THE UGLY

(or shall we say, the not quite so perfect?)

I tried a Celery and Parmesan Salad. It had slices of celery, minced red onion and parsley, and was dressed with a lemon juice vinaigrette. Then topped with shavings of parmesan. It was pretty good but the vinaigrette was WAY too lemony and strong. I am going to try it again after adjusting the dressing (perhaps a Dijon vinaigrette?).

Vegetarians and Thanksgiving

As for vegetarians, you will see that I have made no special suggestions for what to feed them [at Thanksgiving]. And there is no point in pretending that, with my tastes, they are anything other than "them." This is not because I have anything against vegetarianism or, indeed, vegetarians. I feel about it and them rather as I do about exercise: it's all fine so long as it's someone else doing it. But, the thing is, I don't see a vegetarian option as being necessary here. It seems to me that it's hard to beat a meal of roast potatoes, roast parsnips, lemony beans, buttery Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, cranberry and cornbread stuffing and cranberry and bread sauces. What on earth would you want to add?

Feast by Nigella Lawson

As is obvious from the side dishes mentioned above, Nigella is British and really doesn't understand that Thanksgiving requires mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cranberries kept away from the stuffing. But aside from that, she's spot on.

Kitchen Updates

Breaking news from the Julie D. kitchen:

Prebaked pie shell
I recently read (can't remember where) an older woman talking about making pies and saying that all they ever did was prick the crust with a fork well all over and bake it at about 450 for 10-15 minutes. No lining with parchment paper, no filling with dried beans or rice. So I tried it. And she was right. It worked great. And it was so easy!

Cranberry Ginger Relish
Oh. my. gosh. y'all! Just ground this up in the food processor and even without time to rest it was so delicious! Even the girls liked their infinitesimal tastes and this year I will have someone to eat cranberry relish with me. Ahhhh. Now I just have to find that sweet potato recipe that will help anyone else in the family to eat them ... and it'll be Thanksgiving from heaven time.