Eat Christmas Cookies!

Susan from Food Blogga is hosting a worldwide Eat Christmas Cookies event. Check out the cookie map!



I'm submitting my old, tried and true, Peppery Chocolate Cookies recipe. I make these every year during the holidays to share with friends.
They're rich and spicy with a subtle hint of heat that is really quite irresistible.

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto some wax paper and use the paper to shape the dough into a cylinder about 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap up tightly, twisting the ends to seal and refrigerate for at least an hour. The dough can also be frozen up to three months.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut chilled dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. If it was previously frozen let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool a bit on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack.
Makes about two dozen.

Apple Brandied Eggnog Cookies

If there were a cookie for shortbread to aspire to, this would be it.  One of the many things I love about shortbread is its unapologetic display of butter.  Chocolate may get more ooohs and aaaahs, but shortbread is a stealthy challenger.  Not so attention hungry, more calmly self-assured.  Like a real vanilla ice cream, there is nothing boring about a truly great shortbread.  Assuming, of course, that you like butter.  I'll go ahead and assume.  But even the perfect vanilla can benefit from a bit of toffee.  And so, with this cookie, there's nutmeg and calvados to contend with.  

Any time you're going to cut, fill and sandwich cookies it's a bit of a fussy proposition, which, I must admit, belies the inherent simplicity of shortbread.  But it's the holidays, and a little fuss is what the season is all about.

In her book The Good Cookie, Tish Boyle envisioned these as just brandied, I added the apple part by using calvados instead of normal brandy.  Use what you have or what you think you might like.  Either way, eggnog has never been so proud.

Apple Brandied Eggnog Cookies

For the Cookie

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Coarse sugar and Nutmeg for sprinkling

For the Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon brandy or calvados

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Dough

Affix the paddle attachment to an electric mixer and cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until they're nicely combined, about 1 minute.  Add the egg yolk, vanilla, nutmeg and salt and continue to mix until combined.  Scrape down the sides and, at low speed, add the flour.  Mix until combined.  Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a rectangle and refrigerate for a least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Oven preheated to 350, wrack in center.  Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.

Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/8" thick.  Using a cookie cutter, cut out your cookies.  If you have an 1/2" aspic cutter, you can use that to cut out shapes in the middle of half of the cookies (these will be your tops).  If you don't have an aspic cutter (as I didn't) you can use a pastry tip and if you don't have that, you can make something up.  Re-roll any scraps, which may have to be refrigerated before they can be rolled.

Transfer the cookies to the cookie sheets and sprinkle the tops with the coarse sugar.  When you transfer the cookies, but the tops on one sheet and the bottoms on another, as the tops will take a minute or two less to cook.  Bake your cookies one sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom, but not on the top.  Transfer the cookies carefully to wracks to cool.

For the Filling

Fix your electric mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the butter on medium until creamy, about 30 seconds.  Gradually add the rest of the ingredients and beat until blended.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Increase the speed to high and beat for 2 minutes more, until the filling is creamy.

To Assemble

Once the cookies have cooled completely, place about 3/4 teaspoon of filling on each of the bottoms.  Press a top cookie into the filling, making sure they're right side up (the side with the sugar).  Sprinkle a bit of nutmeg over the tops and enjoy.  You can save these cookies at room temperature for about 3 days, or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Lee Bailey's Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have a great friend who recently moved back to The City (yes, that must be capitalized, since in my opinion only one city qualifies as The City) and she moved into a New York apartment that is the envy of all of her friends.  Her apartment has, shall we say, a unique layout on the bottom floor, as so many of them do.  But walk up a short set of stairs and through her bedroom and you're thrown out onto her little private paradise on the roof.  It's a dream.  Anyway, this friend is very in to throwing BBQ's, lucky for me.  I tend to want to bring dessert whenever I'm invited anywhere, since I can't quite justify making it for only the boyfriend and myself.  These are what I'm bringing to her.

And now a word about Lee Bailey.  I love Lee Bailey.  I tend to become a bit obsessed with particular cooks and he, along with Ms. Meyers, is one of them.  I love love love his books.  They're lavishly illustrated, a photo for every single recipe, all of which are fantastic, and, thanks to his relative obscurity (it was not always so!), are cheep and easy to find used (at least on-line).  The gossip columnist Liz Smith has long extolled the virtues of Lee Bailey, calling him a forerunner of Martha Stewart because of his total approach to stylish living.  His food is unpretentious, so far in my experience his recipes always work, and as I said, I'm a sucker for a good picture.

These cookies are excellent, as was to be expected.  When my Norwegian boyfriend finally convinced me to let him have a taste of the batter, he declared it to be the best cookie dough he has ever eaten.  We Americans may not have much, culinarily speaking, but man do we have the chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

9 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375, combine the first three ingredients and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth (4 minutes), add the egg and mix well.  Add the mixture of dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.  Stir in the vanilla, nuts and chocolate in that order.  Drop scoops of the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving a bit of room between each.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned.

Healthy Apple-Barley Salad

Is barley an official super food? I'm not sure, actually. But it probably should be. It was, after all, beer and bread made from barley that gave Egyptian slaves the strength to build the pyramids. And it's always been known to be inexpensive, the poor person's wheat during the Middle Ages. So inexpensive and energy-giving. It's also easy to find, and easy to make. And really, very easy to make delicious. I love having salads such as this one, made early in the week, just sitting in the fridge for lunching or snacking or sneaking spoonfuls in between. Especially during the winter when I crave fresh food and brighter flavors and bowlfuls of things that haven't been endlessly boiled. It's so healthy with the barley and apple, and even uses apple juice in the dressing in place of much of the oil. If you have a juicer you can just juice your own apples, which is completely worth the effort. Fresh juice makes the dressing so good you'll be tempted to drink it straight.

The recipe is from a book I bought once for about 10 cents on some remainder table called Conscious Cuisine by Cary Neff. I think the price reflects the layout which looks suspiciously like a mid-90s high school text book with colored sidebars for ingredient lists and nutrition information. But you know what they say about books and covers. Because this salad is wonderful and is one of two really great recipes I've made from the book so far (the other is coming up). Neff calls simply for 'barley' in the recipe, but there are several kinds available. The most common, pearl barley, has had the husk, bran and germ milled away, but it cooks quickly and is still quite nutritious. If you can find it, hull-less barley is not as messed-around-with, is chewier and nuttier tasting. These days you can also find rolled barley which looks a lot like rolled oats. You can really use any of these types in this recipe, whatever you can find. You'll have to adjust cooking times and perhaps the amount of liquid you use, but that should all be specified on the package.

Apple-Barley Salad
Adapted from Cary Neff's Conscious Cuisine

1 cup barley, whatever kind you prefer or can find
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup mined fresh parsley
1/2 cup minced fresh mint
1 medium apple, your favorite kind, unpeeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Pinch salt and a grinding of pepper to taste

For the salad, toast the barley in a dry pot over medium heat for a few moments until light brown, about 3 minutes. Be sure to stir so it doesn't burn. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the liquid simmers, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes. The barley should be soft. Remove from the heat and if there is extra liquid that hasn't been absorbed, drain it off.

Transfer the barley to a serving bowl and toss with the parsley, mint and apple.

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, apple juice, vinegar and honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the dressing over the barley and toss to coat. Refrigerate until cold before serving, at least 30 minutes.

La Fête du Fromage-It's Tuesday!

Three cheeses from all around the north of France were selected for this week's Fête du Fromage.

Bleu de Gex, Pont-l'Evêque and Selles-sur-Cher.

Bleu de Gex is one of the few remaining unpasteurized cow's milk blue cheeses left in the world. Made near the Swiss border, in the mountains of the Haut-Jura, this blue is mildly salty and mushroomy with superb blue veining in a very pale yellow interior. It was granted AOC status in 1977. This cheese would be delicious served with some dried figs or sliced pears and a good wine pairing would be reds from Burgundy or Côtes du Rhône.

The blue-grey, knobby, gnarly rind and snowy white interior gives Selles sur Cher a very striking appearance. It has a fine textured, velvety interior with a nutty and slightly salty flavor with a hint of sweetness. It is made with unpasteurized goat's milk and the edible, blue-grey rind is the result of the cheese being covered in ash to promote flavor and encourage ripening. Granted AOC in 1975 and named for the town of Selles sur Cher in the Berry region of northern France, this was one of my all time favorites! Pair with a dry white wine or a light, fruity red.

The little, square shaped Pont-l'Evêque is a well known and popular cheese from Normandy. It has a strong, pungent odor that is misleading as the flavor is quite mild and buttery with hints of hazelnut. Legend says this delightful cheese was first made in a Norman abbey in the 12th Century. Made from unpasteurized cow's milk, le Pont-l'Evêque was granted AOC status in 1972. Pair with a Pinot Noir, Gigondas or hard apple cider.

All About Figs

When I was growing up we had a fig tree in front of our house. My sister and I were avid tree climbers but I have to say, fig trees are pretty lousy for climbing. For one thing the branches are fairly slim and won't hold the weight of even one child let alone two. Then the ants. For some reason ants love fig trees, so climbing on a fig tree means climbing off the tree covered with ants. But somehow it still seemed worth it to get to the figs themselves.



In parts of Asia and Africa the fig tree is referred to as a tree of life or knowledge. Buddhists, Christians, Jews and Moslems all talk about figs and fig trees in their sacred texts. The Greeks were positively obsessed with figs, believing them to be a gift from Demeter. In Italy the word fig is slang for female genitalia. It's really no surprise. Figs are a most bizarre and obscene looking fruit. So bizarre they're not technically fruit at all.



Figs are flowers, if you open one up you can see they are filled with seeds and those are the actual fruit. The flesh is really like the petals. But figs are nothing like any other petals you'll ever eat. Figs are soft, jammy and intensely sweet with a crunch that comes from all those seeds. Unlike apples and pears I think they're actually better raw than cooked. But if you do want to cook with them, think of them like jam; a little goes a long way. Mixed with something blander like apples they can make a good filling for baked goods like bar cookies or strudel.



I prefer fresh figs just as they are, eaten out of hand. But if you want to fancy them up here are a few ideas of what you can do with raw fresh figs.



* Wrap figs in prosciutto as an appetizer



* Serve sliced in half with a dollop of ricotta and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts



* Cut into quarters and dip into yogurt or marscapone, dust with cinnamon



* Poach figs in port and serve with vanilla ice cream



* Chop figs and mix with an equal amount of gorgonzola, spread thinly on toasted baguettes, serve warmed or at room temperature



* Chop finely and mix with vinaigrette to dress a green salad



Enjoy!

Onion Smothered Eggs: Recipe

I am what's known as a good eater. There isn't much I won't eat and hardly anything I won't try at least once. When I was young there was only one food I can recall that I didn't like--hard boiled egg salad. Then while living in Florence I tried tripe, I'll spare you the details, and just say, I didn't like tripe either.

So it's kind of ironic that I love Oeufs a la Tripe, my submission for the monthly online event "Is My Blog Burning?" hosted this month by the thoroughly charming Seattle Bon Vivant. Though recipes vary, it consists of hard boiled eggs served with a bechamel sauce, with or without onions, in a gratin or over toast. But there is never any tripe in it. It gets that name because the eggs are just cooked as one "might cook tripe" and perhaps it looks a bit like tripe. One of the oldest dishes in the Cordon Bleu repertoire, there are versions of this recipe supposedly going back to the 17th century.

This is a definite comfort food for me and something that I enjoyed making for my family when I was just learning to cook. It's a great late night supper. I can't even remember where I got the recipe. The only version of it I can find in any of my cookbook is in the Escoffier cookbook. I've never seen it on any menus. It's a great recipe because it uses staple items, eggs, onions, milk, bread. Nothing very fancy and I imagine you could use any cheese you like in it. I like it with copious amounts of fried onions and a bit of parmesan cheese. Can all recipes be improved with an addition of sauteed onions? Quite possibly. This recipe is so delicious that it really ought to be called something else other than "tripe". Onion Smothered Eggs perhaps?

Note: Delicious as this is, there is NO way to make it look beautiful, hence the "before" picture above! Also you may hard boil your eggs any which way you choose, I've included my method because I learned it from Jacques Pepin and it, just like Jacques, never fails me.

Onion Smothered Eggs
serves 2 generously

4 eggs
1 large onion, sliced into rings
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (lowfat or skim is fine)
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
2 slices toast

Place eggs in a pot of water to cover, bring water to a boil. Boil gently for eight minutes. Pour water out of pot and place pot under cold water tap for a minute or two. Bang the eggs against the side of the pot to crack then peel and slice crosswise into 4-5 slices per egg.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, (I use a Le Creuset dutch oven) saute the onions in butter. When soft and pale golden brown, about eight minutes, sprinkle with the flour and stir until the flour begins to toast in the butter. All at once add the milk, whisking until smooth and scraping up any brown bits that may have stuck to the pan. Add the parmesan cheese and stir. When the sauce is thick, add salt and pepper to taste. Add the eggs, gently spooning the sauce over them to coat. Taste again to adjust salt. Serve over fresh, hot, toasted white or sourdough bread.

Enjoy!