Christmas Gingerbread

Christmas Gingerbread

Originally uploaded by ted_major

We used to make these at Christmas when I was in high school, and they were delicious. Mom found the cookie molds and the recipe recently and I made them again. The recipe noted that the spices needed increasing, so adjusted them a bit, and in looking at other recipes also found the secret ingredient for gingerbread: cayenne pepper! Just a dash brings out the heat of the ginger.

• 2 ¼ cups brown sugar
• ¾ cups water
• 3/8 cups molasses
• 1 Tbs. Cinnamon, ground
• 1 Tbs. Cloves, ground
• 2 Tbs. Ginger, ground
• 2 (or 3!) dashes cayenne pepper
• 8 Oz. (1/2 lb.) Butter
• 1 Tbs. Baking Soda
• 1 Tbs. Water
• 8 Cups White Wheat Flour (I used white whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup or molasses in a saucepan and cook over moderate heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add butter. Stir until butter is melted and the mixture cools. Dissolve baking soda in remaining tablespoon of water and add to mixture. In a large bowl, combine flour and spices. Add the sugar/butter mix to the flour mixture and stir. Chill for several hours. Divide into small portions, roll out and cut out gingerbread men. Place on greased cookie sheet.

To make the ginger bears in molds, don’t chill. Lightly oil the molds once before making cookies, and then flour before each cookie. Take a small portion of the dough and press into the mold. Thinner cookies show more detail than fat ones. Turn over and shake out. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

(12-23-2009: edited to reflect ongoing spice experiments)

Cheese Grits Casserole

Outside the South grits are a foreign and sometimes weird food. There’s no doubt that they can be phenomenally bad. The worst grits I ever had were “cheese” grits at a waffle house outside of Charlotte, NC, in the late 1980s: a bowl of grits with a slice of American cheese food product on top. Disgraceful. They should have known better (and probably did, more to their shame).

Grits at their best are another thing all together, and this cheese grits casserole comes close.

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup grits (best to use stone ground if you can get them, otherwise regular grits will work, but under no circumstances consider “instant” grits)
• 6 oz grated sharp cheddar (1 1/2 cups); use other cheeses as desired–Gouda is fabulous.
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 2-quart ceramic or glass baking dish. Cook grits according to package directions. Remove from heat and add 1 cup cheese, and butter. Stir until melted. Add milk, eggs, and pepper; mix well. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Wild Rice Supreme

• 1lb canned cut up mushrooms
• 1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice mix
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 lb. country sausage
• 1/2 cup cream
• Seasoned salt
• Tabasco, salt, pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package. Saute sausage and onions until brown & soft. Add cream, chicken soup, and spices. Mix in chopped mushrooms. Pour into casserole and bake 20 to 30 minutes until bubbly.

Sugar Cutout Cookies

Making Christmas Cookies

Originally uploaded by ted_major

The family recipe for making Christmas cookies. The secret’s the almond extract: don’t think of making them without it.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix flour salt, and baking powder together, then work into butter-sugar mix. Wrap in foil and chill until firm. Roll a small amount at a time to about 1/8″ thick. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat) and bake 5-8 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Ice with a mix of confectioners’ sugar, a few drops of almond extract, milk, and food coloring, mixed to a spreading consistency. Add sprinkles as desired and let dry.

Gouda-roni

Macaroni and cheese is a classic comfort food. Recently, we’ve come across goat gouda, which is an amazing hard cheese from the Netherlands with a sweet, caramelly butterscotch flavor.  Great as a snack, even better in mac & cheese.

• 8 oz penne rigati or other short, tubular pasta of your choice
• 3 Tbs butter
• 3 Tbs flour
• 1/2 Cup milk
• dash salt
• few grinds of white pepper
• 4  oz goat Gouda, grated

Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, make a classic bechamel sauce: melt butter in a 2 qt saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a roux, then stir in milk, salt, and pepper and cook until it starts to thicken. Add cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Add drained pasta and stir until well-coated.

Cornbread

Cornbread

Originally uploaded by ted_major

I’ve blogged previously that the corn pone is the ne plus ultra of cornbread, and it is. Nonetheless, there is a place in the world for corn muffins. They’re sweeter and fluffier, and they’re better as leftovers. You will need cast iron muffin tins–ask your grandmother or cruise yard sales and thrift stores. Visit antique stores as a last (and costly) resort. They’re critical, though, so do what you must: you’ll need 2, or better yet, 3 of them.

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal (you can’t go wrong with Pollard’s or other fine, stone-ground meal)
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk (you may need to add a little more to get a smooth consistency)
• 3/4 cup oil or shortening

Preheat oven to 425F. When the oven is hot, put the muffin pans in while you mix the batter. Combine the dry ingredients, then mix eggs, oil, and milk, and stir into the batter. Take the muffin pans out (one at a time), grease lightly (cooking spray works well) and put a tablespoon or two of batter into the pans. Repeat with other muffin pans in turn. Bake until golden brown, about 20 mins. Makes 12-18 muffins.

Greek Salad Pitas

I’ve only had a very few outstanding sandwiches in my life–the Vietnamese grilled pork on baguette at Pho Que Huong on Green Springs, and the Cuban steak sandwich from Little Miami in Lake City, Florida–and this is one of them. The combination of fresh bread, salad, yogurt, feta, and meat is sublime. As an added bonus, the leftover spread can be thinned with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and some lemon juice to make a great salad dressing for the remaining romaine and feta.

For the spread:

• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese (4 ounces)
• 3 heaping Tbs Greek-style yogurt
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the sandwich:

• 4 pita breads
• 4 large leaves romaine lettuce, torn in half
• 1 cucumber, sliced into half moons
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarse chiffonade
• Sliced meat (we used steak, but grilled pork would also be good)

Combine all spread ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and mix with a fork. In each pita, put a schmear of spread, then add a couple of slices of meat, some cucumber, mint, and a lettuce leaf. Yum! (I’ve read that a couple of slices of tomato and red onion make a fine vegetarian version, but haven’t confirmed.)

French Chicken in a Pot

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 small celery stalk, chopped coarsely
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 250F. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, enameled cast-iron ditch oven over medium heat. Add chicken breast-side down, then add vegetables and herbs. Cook about 5 minutes until browned, then turn chicken breast-side up and cook about 7 minutes more until chicken and vegetables are browned. Put lid on dutch oven and place in oven until done, about another hour and 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board, then strain juices, adding lemon to taste. Serve chicken au jus.

White bean and Pasta Soup

Thanks to the October ‘09 Bon Appetit for this one. Use some of your white beans with garlic and sage for this recipe; save the rest for Tuna and White Bean salad.

• 3 TBS olive oil
• I large onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped carrot
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 3 1/2 cups (or more) water
• 2 to  cups white beans with garlic and sage with 3/4 cup  cooking liquid
• 4 small tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 cup small pasta

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery. Sauté until all vegetables are soft, about 12 minutes. Add 3 1/2 cups water, cooking liquid, and tomato and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 25 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Mix in beans and pasta; bring to boil. Cook until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite, adding more water to soup by 1/2 cupfuls if very thick, about 10 minutes.(I had to add a one half cup of water) Add salt and pepper to taste.

White beans with sage and garlic

Thanks to the October ‘09 Bon Appetit for this one. It is a great base recipe that can be used to make White Bean and Pasta Soup and White Bean and Tuna Salad.

• 1 lb white beans, soaked overnight
• 8 cups water
• 1 sprig fresh sage
• 1 head garlic, unpeeled, with the top cut off
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 3/4 tsp salt

Place beans in a large pot, cover with water, and add garlic, sage, and peppercorns. Boil about an hour and a half, until soft, then add salt, and boil another half hour or so. Makes about 6 cups of beans.