I finished shoveling, the ducks are tucked away in the bathroom, and everyone else is snuggled down with blankets. It’s NEGATIVE 15 F outside. No wind now, but I guess the wind chill took us down to -55 earlier. We may get up to a whopping 5 degrees by two-ish. Not our normal weather, that’s for sure.
But this has given me some extra time to do some more baking. These are in the oven right now:
Gluten/flour-free peanut butter cookies, recipe here.
We could not find a time for our annual Cookie Bake/Exchange this year, although we swore we would. We haven’t been able to do it since pre-pandemic. It’s always fun, lots of new recipes and different cookies to swap, but coordinating schedules can be tough. We’ll try again next year. I miss the fun of having everyone in the kitchen baking away. Here are some of the cookies from previous years. Nothing I haven’t shared before, but in case you needed some ideas:
Chocolate chip, spritz and pecan cookies.
Oatmeal lace cookies
Gluten-Free Chocolate-Walnut cookies that remind me of brownie bites. So very good.
All the cookie recipes are here. Prefer something salty? How about popcorn and nut recipes (here).
And finally, this year, I took my first shot at making toffee (recipe here). Oh, my, oh, my, probably a very bad idea. I’ve made four batches, with various nuts, and have probably eaten as much as I’ve given away. Sugar. Coma.
I’ve got to get back to cleaning and food prep, as guests will be here for Christmas Eve. And tomorrow, when the roads are better, I will have to get out and catch up on work I’m missing today, so I’ll get everything done today that I can. The bread I bake is really good when it does a slow-rise in the refrigerator (develops a good flavor), so I can mix that up this afternoon, and the spinach lasagna is already prepped and in the freezer. And I’ll make up another Cranberry Upside-down Cake for dessert.
What’s cooking in your kitchen this weekend?
Open thread
Favorite Dogs & Cats – Day 4
CaseyL
Oh, those look yummy!
My plans for the weekend are… uncertain. I may or may not go to Ocean Shores to spend Christmas Day with friends. It depends on whether I feel like braving 150 miles of frozen roads – most of them are state highways, but I’m not at all sure how much they’ll be de-iced, since Western Washington is by no means used to this kind of weather.
So I’m not sure how much I’ll be cooking. Or what I’ll be cooking, for that matter!
WaterGirl
The 2-lb bag of that flour says “pre-sifted” and the 5-lb doesn’t. Is there a difference between the two? (besides the 3 pounds
edit: Guessing that King Arthur Flour Cake Flour wouldn’t have the same effect?
TaMara
@WaterGirl: It just means it has some air sifted through it. You’ll want to go by weight, not volume, to get the correct measurements. King Arthurs has a good conversion on their website.
Paul in KY
I am hoping for a good snow here in the KY. Love going on a walk thru the woods when a big snow is coming down. So pretty…
brendancalling
Ain’t nothing cooking in my kitchen this weekend. My dad is hosting and says all he’s doing is brunch. My kid’s flight from Canada is likely canceled, my sister’s trip is also likely canceled, and my dad hates Christmas and gift-giving. He gives cash, because it’s easier than thinking about what people actually might like, and even then it’s not a lot of cash.
so given that the day will be dreary at my dad’s place, I’m spending the holiday at my place, where I will make food I like, listen to music I like, and sleep a lot. Hopefully I’ll have some weed too.
Paul in KY
@brendancalling: Burn one for me, good sir!
henqiguai
Test.<No Delete-Me button>WaterGirl
@TaMara: Yeah, but since the 5-lb bag doesn’t say pre-sifted, is it not pre-sifted?
I always do flour by weight. It makes such a big difference doing it that way!
cope
In terms of holiday treats, we are having the Grinchiest Christmas ever. Movers come to pack us up Tuesday so 90% of our stuff is already in boxes. Pots and pans, spices, plates, glasses all already packed away. We’re going to have to offer things in our freezer and fridge to the neighbors and I regret that, probably, most of it will get tossed. The move back to Colorado, though, makes a little deprivation all worthwhile.
Bon appétit!
WaterGirl
@cope: Kudos to you for submitting your series of posts to On the Road, even in the midst of moving!
knally
I had some butter getting near to its end date and some ends of biscuit packets, and from that unprepossessing start I made a very yummy Chocolate Tiffin.
cope
@WaterGirl: One to go still but I am determined to prevail.
eclare
@brendancalling: Sounds perfect!
Ohio Mom
When I was young, how I envied those who celebrated Christmas; my parents were militantly secular Jews. No menorah, no decorations and only one little present each to ward off any whining from the three of us children.
The only thing we did was go to my grandmother’s for dinner on Christmas Day, and that was pure pragmatism. It was a rare day that nobody had to work or had other commitments, like Scout meetings or such. The whole extended family was available all at once, therefore, turkey diner (to make up I suppose for Thanksgiving spent with the other sides of families).
Nowadays my little immediate family celebrates Hanukkah. There are a smattering of silly decorations, a menorah, there are presents, including lots of socks and underwear (something of an ironic joke) and potato pancakes just about every night, and that’s it. It’s very low key and no stress and for us, lovely.
Heidi Mom
Yesterday I was walking along the soup aisle in the supermarket when I spotted a can of Campbell’s “Cream of Bacon Soup.” I was gobsmacked, as the British say. I bought a can to prove to my husband that it existed. On the can there’s a link to a recipe for “Overnight Breakfast Casserole”; it’s probably meant for uses like that, not for eating by itself. Although I could see it being bought as a joke for fraternities and hunting camps.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Chocolate wins. Chocolate always wins
eclare
@Ohio Mom: Good socks are an underrated gift!
eclare
@Heidi Mom: I am speechless…
pat
I just emailed a pic of Pablo to WaterGirl. Hope I did it right.
Roger Moore
@WaterGirl:
The 2 pound bag might be a bit fluffier than the 5 pound. Or it might not, depending on how much shaking it’s had since being packed. Sifting flour does two things. It removes larger particles (e.g. bran) and small clumps. This may have been a big thing 100 years ago, but milling technology has improved to the point this isn’t a big deal anymore.
More importantly, it separates the individual flour grains and makes the flour a big fluffier. It also achieves a standard, consistent degree of fluffiness so your measurements are more consistent. This is really important for carefully calibrated baking recipes. Of course you can achieve much the same thing by measuring flour by weight rather than volume, but that only helps if the recipe is by weight.
And no, cake flour is not at all the same thing as other flour. It has lower protein content. It also has been heavily bleached, which changes the way it works in recipes. If you want to avoid gluten formation, you might want pastry flour rather than cake flour.
oldster
Latkes and sour cream last night with family and friends.
Today, enjoying the simple pleasure of watching TSLA stock sink like a stone.
Hoping that every night of this joyous season will see Skum’s wealth set on fire!
soapdish
Want a $10-ish gift that’s freaking awesome?
KMC 3-Outlet Wall Mount Surge Protector.
Trust me. You’ll probably want to buy the 2-pack.
skerry
@eclare: It’s tradition that I buy my kids (all Millennials) socks each Christmas. I typically get them good wool socks (like Smartwool) from REI. Miss the days when they were little kids and everyone wanted their favorite characters.
Anoniminous
The differences between bread, pasta, pastry, and cake flour is the amount of protein:
Bread: 12 – 14%
Pasta: 10-15% protein
Cake: ~8%
Pastry: 7 to 8%
There’s a lot of blah-de-blah on the Internet about adding various things – cornstarch is popular for some reason – to reduce the amount of protein to, e.g., turn bread flour into cake flour. They don’t work.
WaterGirl
@pat: Got it!
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: Ooh, thank you.
TaMara
@Heidi Mom: I was thinking, no, wait, I ate that as a kid, but not true, it was Bean with Bacon soup – although it was just as creamy, LOL
Dorothy A. Winsor
Drinking decaf, watching it snow, and reading. What could be better?
soapdish
Dammit! I just noticed this was a recipe thread. My bad.
CaseyL
BTW, in case it hasn’t been mentioned yet, the Senate passed the Omnibus Budget-and-Other-Stuff bill by a resounding margin: 75-24, if I remember the final vote count correctly.
Among its provisions: the Electoral Count Act, which is a really good and important piece of legislation designed to prevent the kinds of election theft the GOP tried in 2020 and was going to try again in 2024.
If I understand correctly, another thing the Omnibus bill does is fund the government for a whole year – so we have that much time to head off the GOP’s next attempt to shut the government down.
SFAIK, though, nothing in the Omnibus about the debt ceiling.
The bill now goes to the House. I’m not sure how much, if at all, the House can tinker with it (adding, f’rex, something about the deb ceiling) but provided all the Democrats are still there and haven’t fled for the holiday weekend, the bill should sail through.
Whew!
Barbara
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Drinking full caf?
Qrop Non Sequitur
Oh, don’t worry, I’ll eat anything.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Barbara: Sadly, I can’t. It affects my blood pressure. I’m allowed one cup of the real stuff in the morning and then decaf
TaMara
@soapdish: No worries! A non -edible gift would be welcome here…did I mention, sugar coma?
Chat Noir
Cherry tomatoes roasting in the oven to make sauce. It’s a variation on something Rachael Ray did awhile back. Once they’re cooled, I put it in the food processor, add some tomato puree, and seasoning. Easy and delicious.
Your cookies look awesome.
TaMara
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Have you ever tried Crio-Bru? I like it at night (decaf gives me horrible acid reflux). It’s kind of chocolatey, but not sweet and has that bitter kick that coffee has, very few calories. No caffeine.
https://criobru.com/pages/crio-bru-brewed-cacao
eclare
@skerry: A good sock like that is an awesome (and expensive!) gift.
Roger Moore
@Anoniminous:
As I said above, cake flour is also heavily bleached, which makes it behave differently from pastry flour that has a similar protein level. Also, semolina pasta flour isn’t really comparable to other flour. It comes from a different species of wheat (T. durum instead of T. aestivum) and the protein has a somewhat different structure that means it doesn’t work well for bread even though it has a high protein content.
I also noticed you left out all purpose flour, which is just as well because it varies a lot. In most of the country, all purpose flour has just a bit lower protein content than bread flour. In the South and the Pacific Northwest, it has a little bit more protein than pastry flour.
eclare
@CaseyL: Wow! Senate R’s must be terrified of House R’s to lock this thing down by that big of a margin!
J.
Love that pick of the hounds. And those cookies and baked goods look yummy. Hope you and the menagerie stay warm!
mali muso
My morning coffee this week has included a generous dollop of Irish Cream. Just because I can. lol
Baking projects for tomorrow and Christmas Eve include 3 chocolate babka loaves to give as gifts and 1 Challah to bring to the Hannumas celebration. I have some cookie batter in the fridge from my great-grandmother’s recipe for Christmas Fruitcake Cookies waiting to be portioned out and baked in anticipation of leaving a few out for Santa.
Roger Moore
@eclare:
I don’t think they’re afraid so much as annoyed. Senators can’t depend on gerrymandering, which tends to act as a moderating influence.
Miss Bianca
@TaMara: I loved Bean with Bacon soup! It was a family staple. I just made Bean-with-Boudin soup the other day. Turned out quite well, if I say so myself.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Miss Bianca: holy crap! I’d completely forgotten about Bean with bacon soup! Loved it as a kid.
TaMara
@Miss Bianca: oooo…recipe? (While I often eat Campbell’s tomato out of nostalgia, I make most of my own soups otherwise)
Betty Cracker
Every year I make a standing rib roast for Christmas, and because I’m cheap, I buy it a couple of days before Christmas Eve when it goes on sale. But this year, there’s a supply chain hiccup of some sort and there’s none to be found. I drove all three goddamn counties last night to no avail.
A worker at Publix told me they expect another shipment between 5 and 7 PM this evening. He also confided that “more than a hundred” people had asked him about it and that he suspects they’ll run out quickly. I decided fuck it, I’m not going to stress out about it and pull a jujitsu move on some other shopper to grab a roast off a truck.
I’m also not going to cook something I’ve never cooked before when I’m expecting eight guests. So, I ordered a ham and turkey breast, which I will pick up tomorrow from a Honey Baked store that’s an hour away. The people I’m feeding love Olive Garden and Applebee’s, so they’ll be fine with it. But it will be weird not to obsess over a roast temperature on Christmas.
James E Powell
Starting in about one hour, I will be baking cookies till the sun goes down.
Qrop Non Sequitur
@James E Powell: You must not live on the East coast, because the sun is going down in an hour.
Otherwise, nice semantically trick to play…
Dorothy A. Winsor
@TaMara: I never heard of it, but it has all the right ingredients. Thanks
New Deal democrat
I have always *loved* pecan pie. But, as we all know, it’s main ingredients of corn syrup and sugar aren’t exactly good for the blood sugar or the health.
But this year I found a way around it:
Substitute apple sauce for the corn syrup.
Substitute Trulia or Swerve brown sugar substitute for the sugar.
Throw in a teaspoon of molasses or peanut butter if you want to add a little extra to the taste.
Add a little extra egg, butter, or corn starch if necessary.
Enjoy with a clear conscience!
laura
Friends made the sacred pilgrimage to the House of Prime Rib and brought us the seasoning and salad dressing, so we’ll be having the whole shebang- prime rib, yorkshire puddings, mashers, creamed spinach and the salad (romaine, julienne beets, grated hard cooked egg and watercress) and I’ll make gingerbread for afters… not that there will be room for afters.
Tracey Thorn has a new Christmas album, so along with Vince Giraldi, Nick Lowe’s Quality Street and Los Straightjackets well listen to Tinsel and Lights. The first song just guts me- it is the essence of what really matters.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mcJCPO0yOQXiX7-PDjvlekCjWvghlPiws
Miss Bianca
@TaMara: I used a recipe by Bill Finch, who does a regular recipe column for the paper I work at. He calls it “White Bean Soup with sausage and potatoes”.
Ingredients are:
2 cups of dry white beans (Great Northern)
1/2 cup lentils
2 tablespoons of barley (optional) (I skipped)
1-2 gloves of garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp parlsey
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 8″ link smoked sausage, sliced 1/4″ thick (This is where I used the Boudin, which crumbled beautifully)
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 cup of chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
I soaked the beans overnight with some baking soda, started cooking them the next day in a crockpot. When they were soft enough, I started the lentils with them, then added the other ingredients, starting with the chicken stock and parsley and garlic, then potatoes, then adding the carrots. I sauteed the Boudin, onions and red pepper together then added them. Took most of the day to cook. (Your mileage may vary – if you use an Instapot or pressure cooker, your bean prep time will be drastically reduced.
ETA: Oh, and I added a couple generous splashes of red vermouth, and also some cream, to the mix while it was all simmering.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: this is one of the first years I can think of that I haven’t tried hard to make something special for either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. I grabbed a ham at the grocery store last minute for Thanksgiving, made a pineapple-craisin garnish for the top, and did a pumpkin pudding.
For Christmas – probably some filets of sole I found at the meat market the other day after regretfully passing on a duck – too expensive this year. Plus some brussels sprouts, some mashed potatoes, and more pumpkin pudding, because WHY NOT.
Irishweaver
@TaMara: Brought back fond memories of my dad eating bean with bacon soup! Thanks.
Barbara
@James E Powell: I used to make six or seven different kinds of cookies and then I decided to limit myself to two types of cookies that I really like. This year my daughter made my absolute favorite, dark chocolate mint cookies (sliced from a refrigerated roll), with mint chocolate drizzle. I plan to make biscotti as well, plus a third dessert for Christmas, a short bread with raspberry jam and meringue “hair.”
Christmas Day my sister and her husband and daughter are coming, and I am making beef wellington with assorted sides.
Christmas Eve I will revert to form and make vegan lasagne.
Haven’t done any of this in quite a while.
Barbara
@Miss Bianca: That sounds so good — a good recipe for New Years Day, I think.
Tdjr
Just decided to make Christmas dinner and have no ideas. Something simple and tasty. Any ideas?
AM in NC
Just wrapped up my annual holiday cookie blitz with a few that look very much like yours, TaMara! The pecan cookies (my grandmother rolled them into oblongs instead of spheres, and we refer to their powder sugar-covered goodness as “cocoons” in our family); the Norwegian oatmeal lace cookies; and traditional chocolate chips (we do thin and crispy, rather than thick and cake-y).
We also did cream cheese cookies (cheesecake in cookie form) and one simple candy. It has been fun (and delicious!). I LOVE this time of year
ETA: I am responsible for profiteroles at our new-year’s eve dinner with friends, so I’ll be making those next week. Dangerous. Very dangerous.
pat
Invited a friend for dinner on Christmas day (actually 1:00) and decided I did not want to wrestle with cutting up a bird, so we will have Hormel apple-bourbon pork tenderloin. Hot oven, approx. half an hour, slice and serve. With a hot dish of butternut squash, apples and a few cranberries baked at the same time. Maybe with a splash of apple juice.
Cocktail shrimp to start as I get the food into the oven. Store-bought pumpkin pie and pecan pie for dessert. With whip cream, of course. I will whip heavy cream.
Am I too lazy to bake…?? Why yes, yes I am.
(I cook a simple meal every day, fish or meat, vegs and rice or potatoes, but nothing fancy and everything is ready in half an hour. Just to be clear….)
eclare
Just a question, seems like a lot of people here have some kind of roast for Christmas. Is this a common tradition? Thinking back, my mom rarely fixed beef, maybe the occasional meatloaf. We were much more of a pork family.
Maybe because none of my older relatives grew up with beef in rural MS?
eclare
@pat: I have tried some other flavors of the Hormel tenderloins, they are easy and taste great!
Miss Bianca
@AM in NC: oooh, cream cheese cookies? *That* sounds like a recipe!
pat
@eclare:
My only complaint about prepared food like that is the amount of salt. But if you want something fast, easy and flavorful, they are nice.
Barbara
@AM in NC: Agreed: thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies are the best!
Wyatt Salamanca
What jackals have always known about Maggie Haberman is now part of the public record:
h/t https://www.mediaite.com/news/cassidy-hutchinson-says-trump-paid-lawyer-talked-to-haberman-after-3rd-deposition-told-her-dont-worry-maggies-friendly-to-us/
CarolPW
@Barbara: I’m making beef Wellington for Christmas too! Doing the duxelles for it tomorrow. Parsnip latkes tonight.
Qrop Non Sequitur
Took me a minute to parse that. So Stefan took the call and Cassidy objected is my understanding.
CarolPW
@Tdjr: If you like lamb, rack of lamb is a very easy, tasty, and looks classy. Coat it with a paste of dry mustard, minced rosemary, lemon juice and olive oil and it is magnificent.
Roger Moore
@Wyatt Salamanca:
It will be ignored, just like her mom having been a PR flack for Trump is ignored. Her apologists in the media will blow it off, saying she’s broken plenty of unfavorable stories about Trump and Co., and her ability to stay on good term with the Trumpies after that is just evidence of how even handed she is. If people haven’t recognized her for what she is, it’s a result of willful blindness. You can’t wake someone who’s only pretending to sleep.
Roger Moore
@Qrop Non Sequitur:
Yep. Let this be a reminder: he who pays the piper calls the tune. If someone else is paying your lawyer, it’s to protect them, not you.
schrodingers_cat
I am in a dilemma,
To buy or not buy. What do you guys think?
I bought my self a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.
Jackie
@skerry: My adult kiddos still love character socks. As do I!
Barbara
@Roger Moore: Passantino really stepped in it — not only does it sound like he suborned perjury, but it’s his client who has the right to waive privilege, which means he can be asked all about it. He’ll probably do like Jenna Ellis when she was found out about hiding communications, and just take the Fifth. It’s mobster mentality all the way down.
Tdjr
@CarolPW: Thats an interesting idea. I actually have lamb in the freezer. Thanks!
Qrop Non Sequitur
Now available in hardcover for $26.99. But she’s saving the most salacious bits for the sequel.
ETA: Dear god, please don’t let there be a sequel.
Yeah? Well how’s that working out for them?
Qrop Non Sequitur
@schrodingers_cat: Air fryers are amazing. One of the best kitchen tools my parents ever got.
Can’t speak to the particular model.
eclare
@schrodingers_cat: It really depends on what you like to cook and your cooking style. Also, would counter space be an issue?
Barbara
@schrodingers_cat: How big is your kitchen? I like my air fryer, especially since my big oven is broken and getting a similar replacement clocks in at nearly $2000, but the air fryer is great for some things and just okay for others.
randy khan
I won’t say these are our new favorites, although by the standards of Christmas cookies they are new to our repertoire, but the Martha Stewart citrus ornament cookies are to die for. (We use an orange, a lemon, and a lime for ours, but you can use any combination of citrus you like, and I bet lemon would be really good, too.) Heck, just the glaze is to die for – I would eat it with a spoon, and I am not generally a fan of sweet glazes on things.
Christmas ornament cookies
Ohio Mom
@schrodingers_cat: Oh live it up, treat yourself and buy it. And then report back to us with your review.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: Don’t have an air fryer myself so no words of wisdom there, but just wanted to say congratulations on the mixer purchase and enjoy that. I’ve had mine for 15 or so years and it’s a great workhorse.
schrodingers_cat
@Barbara: I use my oven a lot. I typically roast veggies and then toss them oil seasoned with spices and/or aromatics with a dash of citrus. Plus I always have ready to eat snacks from TJ or the Indian grocery store which can be reheated in that
Kitchen is not huge but not tiny either.
pat
Does anyone know what Cassidy Hutchinson is doing these days? She was awesome, how much she remembered and how she testified about it.
The Moar You Know
@CaseyL: Biden keeps winning.
Qrop Non Sequitur
He must be getting tired of it…
pat
TPM has interesting reporting on what the transcripts have to say about Cassidy and how she learned from her attorney that he was actually working for trump. She is smart and brave. Hope she has a successful career with honest people.
schrodingers_cat
I’ve got a blister on my right thumb from sharpening close to 700 pencils. I bought myself a handcranked e-xacto sharpener but haven’t installed it yet.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: I am getting the one from their artisan line, it is the classic red. What should I make first?
Roger Moore
@schrodingers_cat:
Bread. At least that’s my #1 use for my stand mixer.
mrmoshpotato
Those oatmeal lace cookies look great! The toffee scares my teeth though.
It’s +12F° and dropping here in the Windy City. And I think it’s windy outside too. Hooray for steam radiators.
TaMara
@Miss Bianca: Thank you!
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: Bread is good. Cakes that need egg whites beaten strongly are also a good use of the capabilities.
schrodingers_cat
@Roger Moore:
What kind of bread? Do you have a recipe you would like to share?
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: Can you suggest a recipe? I am a baking newbie.
Qrop Non Sequitur
@schrodingers_cat: I can suggest being very careful with the flour. That shit gets everywhere. That’s why I don’t bake, unless casseroles count.
Steeplejack
@Miss Bianca:
Don’t you need some water or liquid in with the beans and lentils at the start? Or do you just leave the beans in the soaking water?
geg6
I don’t bake, generally, so since I was out getting Lovey’s insulin refill, I stopped at a local sweets shop and got a small tray of various Italian cookies. I have to hide them from John though.
Since the weather is scheduled to take a nasty turn toward ice, then snow, then sub-zero windchills, I am done going out until Monday. I have a small prime rib roast, everything for mashed potatoes with cheddar, garlic, sour cream and butter (a delicious heart attack in waiting) and asparagus for Christmas dinner. I have lasagna I made and froze earlier in the week for Christmas Eve (Italian food is my favorite). I also made and froze a soup made with hamburger, onions, celery, spinach, zucchini and gnocchi for Friday. Picked up some fried chicken at Walmart while picking up the insulin that I’ll serve with baked yams and haricot vert. I feel accomplished having it all mostly done and ready to warm up with the least effort possible. Amazing what I can get done when I don’t have to go to work!
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: I soak the beans/ lentils/dals(husked lentils) before I cook them in the pressure cooker.
randy khan
@The Moar You Know:
This is particularly nice because it runs through September, limiting the ability of Republicans in the House to play games with the budget.
mrmoshpotato
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
@Barbara: Adding Bailey’s.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@schrodingers_cat: Why are you sharpening 700 pencils?
TheOtherHank
I made a couple loaves of brioche yesterday so that this morning kid #2 could make a french toast bake he wanted to try. The french toast was yummy, and he only used one of the loaves. I’m looking forward to sandwiches with the remaining one.
Any bread that has 3 eggs and a stick of butter per loaf has to be tasty.
schrodingers_cat
@Dorothy A. Winsor: It is my colored pencil stash. I have many sets!
randy khan
@randy khan: I totally forgot to say that there’s no need to do the candied citrus zest, which takes a lot of time.
WaterGirl
@geg6:
I would like that recipe.
Steeplejack
@schrodingers_cat:
I get that, but don’t you need some liquid with them from the start of cooking? Her recipe (for slow cooker) adds the chicken stock after the beans are “soft enough.” No mention of any other liquid.
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: You definitely do otherwise the beans won’t be cooked through.
geg6
@WaterGirl:
I forgot to say there were tomatoes and garlic. As soon as I can charge my phone, I’ll post it. It’s quick, easy and delicious.
ETA: Make sure to have crusty bread!
Ohio Mom
@schrodingers_cat: On second thought, forget the air fryer and buy yourself an electric pencil sharpener. Those pencils will not stay sharp forever and then you will be risking another blister.
mrmoshpotato
@pat: If you’re a fan of pork tenderloin and a bit of spice, try Chef John’s Pork Diablo
It’s really easy and deeeelicious. Takes about 45 minutes all told.
schrodingers_cat
@Ohio Mom: Its too risky to use an electric sharpener with my spendy artist grade pencils (I have sets from Crayola pencils to Faber Castell Polychromos
If BJ peeps are interested I can do a Zoom on how to get started with coloring books as a hobby
One of the things I posted on Twitter
another one
I recently purchased an old school pencil sharpener which I have to yet mount on a wall or a desk.
Mart
Daughter, husband and twins are coming to our house for the holidays for the first time as husband said he would be OK with our vegetarian food. No meat is cooked in our house. For the main course my wife dug out a printed copy of TaMara’s “Spinach and Ricotta Vegetarian Meatballs” that I can’t remember when we made last. Sure are yummy and have great texture. Don’t expect any fussing over the meatless meal.
Shana
When the kids were in school I used to make candy, mostly a selection of various barks, and then gave boxes to mail carrier, newspaper delivery, neighbors and the kids’ teachers as well as the various others you tip at the end of the year. Now I don’t. the hair stylist’s husband is diabetic so she doesn’t want them. I’m not going to all that trouble for the mail carrier and newspaper delivery.
Older daughter’s coming over for dinner sometime this weekend and we’ll be iced in most of tomorrow so I’m doing a meat pie recipe from the Zahav cookbook and oven fried chicken thighs the other night. Sunday may be various leftovers. Younger daughter’s boyfriend’s parents sent a Portillo’s box of hot dogs, buns, all the fixings and a fabulous chocolate cake so that may be the other night’s dinner. Cake probably won’t last that long.
Roger Moore
@schrodingers_cat:
I do sourdough, which might be a bit much for a bread baking newbie, but here goes:
Notes:
Sourdough Starter
Dough
sab
@Roger Moore: No more kneading. I love my mixer. When I make biscuits the dough ends up as a little ball wrapped around the dough hook instead of having flour all over the kitchen.
schrodingers_cat
@Roger Moore: Thanks. I usually bake the Mark Bittman version of the no-knead bread, which I actually knead by hand. The only section of the NYT I miss since I bade them goodbye in 2016 is the Cooking section.
mrmoshpotato
@Qrop Non Sequitur:
You could speak to it, but it’s can’t carry on a conversation.
Barbara
@schrodingers_cat: What the air fryer does best in my opinion is roast vegetables, so if you do that a lot, the air fryer is a good appliance to have around.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: I made this one for Thanksgiving; easy and very tasty. Doesn’t really need a stand mixer though.
(with the muffin pan I was using, the recipe actually makes 9-12 individual cupcakes. Which is a fine serving for dessert, especially with a scoop of ice cream on top)
Anyway
I just started baking cookies to take over to neighborhood peeps (annual tradition). Don’t really have holiday mojo this year and considered bailing but am going through with it.
Don’t have a candy thermometer or would be trying out the toffee recipe …
NotMax
Planned for Xmas eve and Xmas day: New York strip steak, onion rings. Yes, both days. Because I can.
For New Year’s: Rack of pork, roasted baby potatoes.
May or may not dash out to the market and pick up a bad of baby carrots to serve glazed along with both entrees. Never been a big veggie maven so no great loss if I don’t. Push comes to shove, have a surfeit of cherry tomatoes (in a variety of colors) to toss on the plate as garnish.
Also shall be making the traditional holiday raisin-nut whiskey cake (oven) and also a loaf of port wine and bleu cheese bread (super-duper bread machine). Splurged on a small wedge of brie with mushrooms to spread on the latter.
If it’s as cold as it was at night during the extended storms earlier in the week, maybe some kind of soup in the Instant Pot.
Repeating from years past, a few moderately unusual <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_2WW2hP56A"side dish ideas.
Qrop Non Sequitur
@mrmoshpotato: 🤣 🤣 🤣
Miss Bianca
@TaMara: You’re welcome! Bill suggests a green onion and sour cream garnish with it – I think full-fat plain yogurt does the trick nicely.
Miss Bianca
@Steeplejack: Oh, no, I rinse the beans off after soaking and use fresh water for the cooking.
schrodingers_cat
@Barbara: Thanks that helps my decision making process.
schrodingers_cat
@Barbara: Thanks that helps my decision making process
I am making chicken fried rice and potstickers for dinner. I went for a 3 mile walk this afternoon and am getting very hungry.
Anyway
@Barbara:
Air fryer heats up much quicker than the oven, works well when starting something after work. It’s good for cooking for 1-2. I love AF roast potatoes.
geg6
@WaterGirl:
Here you go:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1-1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
2 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini, sliced into rounds and quartered
4 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 28-oz. can plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
8 cups chicken broth
12 oz. refrigerated or shelf-stable gnocchi
1 8-oz. package of baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan for serving
1. Heat oil over high heat in large sauce pan or Dutch oven. Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add onions, celery, zucchini and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes with juices, breaking up tomatoes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently boil until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add gnocchi and cook until just tender (usually about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan.
TriassicSands
TaMara, I lived in Boulder for 20 years and it has, without question, the most volatile weather of any place I’ve lived and I’ve lived on both coasts, both the north and south borders, and in the Midwest. I’ve lived at higher elevations and virtual sea level. But, along the Front Range, life was always unpredictable.
It’s the only place I’ve ever been where I could feel the temperature change, not by the hour, but by the minute. When the weather forecast is for 3″ of snow and you get 38″ something is weird (it’s called an “upslope.”) I could walk to the CU campus from my house close to the base of Flagstaff and with each block there was noticeably less snow.
My favorite time to rock climb was in January and February, when there almost always were stretches of sunny weather in the high 50s or 60s. And because it was winter, there were few other people in Eldorado.
For people who like “seasons,” it’s a great place to live. As someone wrote in a letter to the Daily Camera many, many years ago: If you like four seasons, welcome to Boulder, land of Spring, Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall, Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, Summer, etc. (or words to that effect — I think the author credited Boulder with 17 seasons per year.)
Stay warm, TaMara, and keep those critters safe. It will be summer, or spring, or fall soon enough.
Meanwhile, here in Western Washington, it was 14F last night and possibly colder. That is very unusual here, but this has been the strangest weather year of all the 27 years I’ve lived here. When I was a kid, meterologists (or “weathermen”) were widely ridiculed because of their inaccuracies. Over the decades, predictions became noticeably better and more reliable…until recently. Now, I take forecasts with a healthy dose of skepticism. When we’ve had extreme weather — hot or cold — the forecasts routinely now seem to be either not hot enough or not cold enough or too wet or too dry or some other variation of sorta or kinda, but not quite actually. I feel for the forecasters; I think climate change is making their jobs much, much more difficult.
Barbara
@NotMax: My mother used to make pork and sauerkraut every New Years Eve or Day — depending on which day my father was working. He loathed sauerkraut because he had to survive on it during his childhood and vowed never to eat it as an adult.
NotMax
@schrodingers_cat
No need for pre-soaking if using the Instant Pot to cook ’em.
Steeplejack
@schrodingers_cat:
Great colors!
Citizen Alan
@CaseyL:
My fear about the ECA is the possibility that a state with a red legislature will declare that their EVs got to Shitgibbon or DeathSantis, thus tipping the election, and the ECA will make it impossible for Dems to respond in any way.
Citizen Alan
@New Deal democrat: Well, except for the pastry crust (unless you go the almond flour route).
PaulB
I ordered a 12-pack of Colgate toothpaste from a daily deals site; I received a 12-pack of Nescafe Gold. I doubt I’ll have much luck brushing my teeth with the Nescafe.
For holiday cooking, I have three favorites that I’ll be cooking this year. Two recipes are from a 70s-era Betty Crocker cookbook, Blueberry Buckle and Buttery Crescent Rolls, one for breakfast and one for dinner.
The main Christmas dish is ham, which I’ll also be using to make a breakfast casserole using a Honeybaked Ham recipe, with ham, cheese, eggs, milk and bread. Oh, so good hot out of the oven on a cold morning.
I’m not planning on Christmas cookies this year, but I may make shortbread next week from a Fanny Farmer cookbook recipe.
Miss Bianca
@geg6: Ooh, I’m copying this one!
Steeplejack
@Miss Bianca:
LOL, just clarifying. You don’t mention water (or amount) in the recipe.
Miss Bianca
@Steeplejack: I don’t use any set amount of water – just “cover beans, then cover beans some more as they start expanding,” basically. : ) But two to one is usually a good proportion – that is, two cups of water for each cup of beans.
WaterGirl
@geg6: Thank you, I have it saved in my recipes.
What do we call this soup?
Also, that’s a LOT OF GARLIC!
Steeplejack
@Miss Bianca:
Thanks. I’m an okay cook, but I sometimes wonder if there’s some detail I’m missing, and there are a lot of worse cooks who need everything spelled out. Anyway, good recipe. Saved.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: I copied it into my BJ recipe file (yes, I has one!) under the heading, “Hamburger Soup”. :)
sab
So, in the annals of stepkids are idiots…
About ten years ago we added a new room to our house. I have been adamant that no tv is allowed there because I don’t want tv infecting another space of my life.
So stepson’s brilliant idea is to buy us a tv for the new room.
I am supposed to pretend happy.
ETA Unintended consequences. I love this kid and he gave me a miracle. Had he actually planned he would have done something different that I didnt like as much.
Life can be weird.a
Actually I am happy because cable doesn’t reach, and I have tons of Shetland tapes.
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: Thanks! The 2pg spread was mostly done with Crayola Supertips and water!
TaMara
@Steeplejack: I often get a snarky text from Adam because he’s using one of my recipes and I’ve somehow missed a step that I guess I assume everyone knows (??) or just forgot. It annoys him. LOL
Steeplejack
@TaMara:
Tsk.
geg6
@WaterGirl:
I added a clove from the recipe my mom made. I find that all that chicken broth tastes a little bland for me. Adjust as you like!
geg6
Don’t know why my edit posted as a regular post. Weird.
Kayla Rudbek
I will have to make pumpkin pie again tomorrow, maybe two desserts as I have Christmas Eve at the in-law’s, Christmas Day at my sibling’s, and Boxing Day at my in-law’s again for a birthday. The birthday dinner will probably be at a restaurant per tradition.
ETA the cranberry cake looks delicious and I wonder if I could make a vegan version of it.
AM in NC
@Miss Bianca: I am happy to email the recipe to you if you want to email me outside of the blog!
Miss Bianca
@AM in NC: Late back to the thread, but I will check with WaterGirl about that, thanks!
TaMara
@Kayla Rudbek: I don’t see why not – it’s the butter and milk, correct? I don’t see why you couldn’t replace with vegan options. Shouldn’t affect it at all. Use applesauce for the egg, add a bit extra baking powder. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.