Let's Talk Cooking Newsletter

Let's Talk Cooking Newsletter

For December, 2001

The Christmas Season is upon us and we're all busy shopping, gift wrapping and decorating. Suddenly it will be time to think about your Christmas menu. Perhaps lots of friends and/or relatives will be in attendance along with the children. There is nothing worse than to have the kids tell you they hate coming over because you serve weird food.

I am going to try to make this a holiday season newsletter, but I'm going to do like last month and prepare a menu along with recipes. In addition, because my main menu features ham, I'm going to have a second menu for those whose religion prevents them from eating pork.

As a sneak preview for the coming year, I'm going to feature a Super Bowl Day Brunch in January. Dick and I will also give suggestions for a Wine and Cheese Tasting Party. Somewhere in there will also be a Fondue Party since some of you have perhaps received a fondue pot for Christmas. I am also considering a St. Patrick's Day menu, but it all depends on feedback from you.

Kitchen Hints by Dick

Roasting Tip: Always roast large cuts of meat (beef rib roast, pork loin or ham) with the fat side up. This allows for continuous basting of the meat to prevent drying. Remember to save the pan drippings to make a sauce or gravy. For easier slicing, allow large pieces of meat to cool slightly before cutting.

Food Processor Pie Crust: The key to making a good piecrust in the food processor is timing. Over-mixing will produce a tough end result. First
add the flour, salt, sugar, and butter. Run the processor for about 10 seconds. Add very cold water and pulse 5 to 7 times. The dough will just begin to hold together. Form it into a ball by hand. Lightly flour the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

Insert by Shirley: If you are using the recipe with a cube of butter, it is going to be a very short crust. It is suggested that you use a pie pan that also comes with an insert (with holes in it) to prevent the crust from puffing up. Pie weights or dried beans will also work to keep it from puffing. It is so short that it has a tendency to slip down the sides and the insert is the only way I know to prevent this.

Peanut Brittle: Candy is an important part of the holiday season and this is a favorite.

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup water
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy pan, boil the sugar, syrup, and water until a hard boil stage is reached on a candy thermometer, 300 degrees or 12 to 18 minutes. Add the peanuts and butter. Reduce the heat and cook until golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the soda and vanilla. Pour onto a buttered cookie sheet. Cool. Break into pieces. Serves 4 to 6.

Nuts: You can save money when shopping for the nuts used in your holiday baking. Many large supermarkets sell bagged walnuts, pecans and almonds in the produce section. They are usually less expensive (and fresher) than the name-brand products in the baking section of the store. You can also find reduced prices at health food and bulk food stores.
Every year after the Holidays, the grocery stores sell off the supply of nuts. I always buy several pounds. Last year I got them for 59 cents a pound. Then for the next few weeks I sit in front of the TV and shell them. Put them into air tight containers and freeze. They will stay fresh.

Homemade Vanilla Extract: It's easy to make a fresh-tasting version of this baking staple at a fraction of the price of the store brand. This recipe yields about 8 ounces.

½ pint (500 ml) Vodka
3 to 4 whole vanilla beans

Remove about ½ ounce of vodka from the bottle (Optional -- add that ½ ounce to orange juice and drink). Cut a slit lengthwise down each vanilla bean. Cut the beans into ¾ inch pieces. Add to vodka bottle and put the cap back on. Place the bottle in an obvious place (on top of the
refrigerator, on the countertop, etc.). Shake the bottle vigorously at least once a day for 30 days. Strain the extract through a coffee filter. Rinse the bottle. Return the liquid to the bottle.

Sending Cookies by Mail: Save your Pringles containers when empty. Round cut-out or drop cookies fit in nicely. You can separate them with a piece of wax paper so they don't stick together if you like. Use oatmeal containers for giant cookies. You should always pack your boxes with Styrofoam popcorn anyway to absorb the bangs and bruises that shipping encounters so as not to damage the goods inside.

Shirley's Helpful Hints

Silpat: This is the greatest invention since sliced bread. It is a liner you use in your cookie sheets rather than greasing the sheets. I use it when making biscuits, rolls, cookies, baked French fries, and I even used it when I baked the pumpkin below. Nothing - absolutely nothing sticks to it. It can be placed in the dishwasher too if you do what I did and sprinkled garlic powder on something. It isn't cheap, but you can find it for between $17 and $25 a sheet and you'll want 2. Ask for it for Christmas. There are some knockoffs out there that are every bit as good.

Beef and Chicken Broth: You probably have a turkey carcass left over from the Thanksgiving holiday. If not, go buy some wings. While you're at it, get some beef soup bone (I like oxtail soup bones as they are much richer) along with a package of stew meat. If you're using the turkey carcass, wait until we're ready to make the broth. If you are using fresh meat, cover a cookie sheet or two with heavy duty foil (you don't want to scrub this pan when you're done) and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the beef bones and stew meat on one sheet and (if you're doing both) chicken wings on another. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes or until meat is brown. Place chicken and/or beef in a large pan (or 2), fill with water, add a chopped onion, sliced carrot, 2 stalks of sliced celery, some chopped parsley, a bay leaf, some freshly ground pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for at least 2 hours. Cool in refrigerator overnight. Skim most fat and discard. Strain in a colander. Ladle into freezer containers and freeze or use some to place in ice cube trays and freeze. Then place in zip lock bags and freeze for small amounts of broth. Notice that I didn't suggest using salt. The reason I'm doing this is to avoid the heavy salted broths. You can always add salt, but you can't take it away.

Pumpkin: Today I took my sugar pumpkin (cooking type), removed top, quartered it and peeled half. That half I cut into chunks and steamed for about 40 minutes. The other half I left in 2 quarters and baked (upside down) in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. When I was done I placed the pumpkin in my ricer and mashed it. The baked pumpkin was much richer, more golden and tasted better, but both had the same texture. I made Pumpkin Soup with part of it and froze the rest. Here is the soup recipe.

Pumpkin Soup

1 whole cooking pumpkin, small

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon onion -- finely grated

salt and pepper

2 each egg yolks -- beaten

1 cup whipping cream

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

croutons for garnish

Cut the pumpkin into quarters and scoop out the seeds. Slice into chunks for easy handling. Steam the pumpkin until tender, about 20 minutes or bake it for an hour. Scoop the pumpkin from the rind. Discard the rind and puree the cooked pumpkin in a food processor or ricer.

2. Place pureed pumpkin in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add chicken broth, minced onion and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.

3. Beat egg yolks and whisk in whipping cream to combine. Remove boiling pumpkin mixture from heat and add cream mixture slowly, stirring constantly until the soup has thickened. Serve in large soup mugs or bowls and garnish with croutons. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

4. Soup will keep for several days if refrigerated.

NOTES: You can cut your fat and cholesterol by using only one egg yolk and use half and half instead of the heavy whipping cream.

Crafts: Here is a suggestion to make your house smell heavenly and it is so easy. Just purchase or find some pine cones and follow the recipe.

Scented Pine Cones

1. Spray pine cones with gold metallic craft paint. Dry completely.

2. Using a cotton swab or a small paint brush, dab inside edges of pine cone with clear-drying glue. Sprinkle with ground cloves or cinnamon and or glitter. Tap off excess spice or glitter. Let dry and arrange in a basket.

3. Mix with greens and Christmas ornaments or bows made of colorful ribbon.

Christmas Eve/Day Menu

Shrimp Cocktail

Ham with Apricot-Mango Glaze

Ham Sauce

Scalloped Potatoes

Corn Fritters with Maple Syrup

Sweet Potato Salad

Fruit Salad

Christmas Snow Peas

Orange Glazed Beets

Corn Bread

Assorted Relish Tray

Grasshopper Pie

Pecan Pie

Burnt Cream

Coffee/Tea

Second Christmas Eve/Day Menu

Shrimp or Crab Cocktail

Prime Rib Roast

Twice Baked Potatoes

Fruit Salad

Canlis Salad

Christmas Snow Peas

Orange Glazed Beets

Assorted Relish Tray

Grasshopper Pie

Pecan Pie

Burnt Cream

Coffee/Tea

I would suggest serving a fruity white wine with the ham such as a white Zinfandel or a Riesling, but of course your usual Chardonnay would also work. With the beef a Merlot or a good Chateau wine of a dry burgundy quality would be excellent. Here are the recipes:

The recipes were available to those people who signed up for the monthly newsletter. These recipes are for sale and available in the various electronic cookbooks we have on the web page. Click here to preview and order.

In Closing: Again we have presented a long newsletter due to the menus and the number of recipes. For this reason we have eliminated the Recipe of the Month. However, this may help you make some decisions toward your holiday menu. No offense was intended by referring to the menu as a Christmas menu. There are too many religions to mention all of them in one title so forgive the slight. As always, your comments would be welcome. From our kitchen to yours, we wish you a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

Shirley Willard

Cooking With Shirley

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