Cookie Exchange

Looking for a fun, easy and affordable get together this holiday season, consider hosting a cookie exchange. Simply invite 6-8 guests and ask them to bring 3 or 4 dozen of their favorite homemade cookies. Provide drinks, snacks and bakery boxes so everyone can take home an assortment of goodies.

You can structure your cookie exchange in a variety of ways:

Heirloom Recipes
Ask your guests make and share a recipe that was handed down to them from a previous generation. This is a great way to learn about your friends’ backgrounds and family traditions. One of my childhood memories includes the walnut thumbprint cookies made by my Polish Grandma Otsie. The shortbread base melted in your mouth and the cookies were topped with pastel colored buttercream icing.

Cookie Decorating
In addition to exchanging cookies, you and your guests could decorate already baked cut-out sugar cookies. Have on hand icing, food coloring and edible decorations. A few years ago, I took a class from Richard Prince, the pastry chef at the Bonbonerie in O’Bryonville. Now, several times a year, I make his recipe for butter cut-out cookies with milk fondant icing and decorative buttercream icing. (See November post.)

Children’s Tea Party
Kids love tea parties and one with a holiday theme could be extra special. Most children also love to bake, so this is a way they could share their creations with their friends. Serving hot cocoa or apple cider would be a nice addition. Peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches could be fun too.

Dessert Buffet
A cookie exchange could be incorporated into a dessert party. Serve champagne, hot toddies or Irish coffee and provide a selection of festive desserts. A store-bought Bûche de Noël (yule log cake) would be especially nice. I like to serve a variety of sweets that include: chocolate (cheesecake, brownies or flourless cake), spice (Bundt cake or cookies) and fruit (tart or pie). A small selection of cheese and fresh fruit is also lovely for dessert.

Chocolate Gingerbread House Petit Fours

I brought these to a New Home Holiday Open House last weekend. Leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with such a clever idea. I baked the chocolate gingerbread in a 13x9 cake pan. I cut the cake into 1-inch squares. A portion of the squares were cut into triangles for the roof. I made a whipped chocolate ganache as the glue to hold the base to the roof. Cinnamon red licorice made for tasty chimneys and a dusting of powdered sugar finished them off.

These were relatively easy to make and they looked so darn cute.

French Green Lentils

How can it possibly be that I am just now discovering French green lentil beans. I served them for my protein at Thanksgiving with braised root vegetables and a red wine sauce. The dish was out of this world. Tonight I made a room temperature salad with lentils, butternut squash, mushrooms and tarragon.

I like their deep dark green color and the texture just works for me. I can't wait to try out more recipes. Here is the salad:

Lentils with Tarragon, Butternut Squash and Mushrooms
2-3 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cube
1/2-1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
1-2 shallots, quartered
2 Tbsp, plus 1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb French green lentils, picked over
2 cloves garlic
2 dried bay leaves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange butternut squash, shallots and mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool.

2. Combine lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a 6 qt saucepan; add enough cold water to cover by 3". Bring to boil over med.-high heat. Reduce to med.-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender but not mushy, 10-20 minutes. Drain in colander and let cool on a baking sheet.

3. Make vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine vinegar and honey. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/4 cup oil in a steady stream.

4. Transfer lentils to a large serving bowl. Pour vinaigrette over lentils, and add tarragon; toss well to combine. Toss in squash, shallots and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and serve, or cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator up to 4 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Giving the Gift of Food

I give food gifts all year round to friends, neighbors, relatives and teachers. But the holidays are my favorite time of year to share food with others. The gifts I give are usually homemade or local food products. You can find all kinds of recipes and ideas on the Internet at websites like MarthaStewart, Epicurious and Foodtv. Try wrapping your gift in a tea towel or cloth napkin tied with ribbon for a gift that lasts after the food goodies are gone.

Homemade Food Gift Ideas:
 Cinnamon or vanilla sugar in small glass jars
 Hot fudge or butterscotch sauce
 Mini loaf of quick bread such as cranberry, pumpkin or zucchini
 Fruit and nut granola in cellophane bags
 Tin of your favorite holiday cookies and a copy of the recipe
 Chocolate truffles in candy boxes
 Basket of muffins or scones with a jar of honey butter
 Buttermilk pancake mix with blueberry lemon sauce (see recipes)

Buttermilk Pancake Mix
(Makes approximately 4 ½ cups dry mix)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup sugar
½ cup dry buttermilk powder
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients and whisk together to distribute evenly. Refrigerate the mix in a sealed container and use within three months.

Instructions for use:
1. Measure 1 ½ cups mix into a large bowl
2. Whisk together 1 large egg, 1 ½ tbsp melted butter or oil, and 2/3 cup water in another bowl or large measuring cup.
3. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mix and stir until just combined. If the batter seems too thick, add more water by the tablespoonful to reach the desired consistency.

Blueberry Lemon Sauce
(Makes 2 ½ cups)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Cook in a saucepan on medium heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir frequently. Cool completely and store in glass jars in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Although a bit unorthodox, a vegetarian Thanksgiving can still be a very satisfying meal. All of the traditional flavors can be incorporated into the menu. Here is what I am serving today:

Simple starter-
Kenny's Cranberry Cheese from KY, seeded wheat crackers and green grapes

Dinner-
Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese and Pomogranate dressing (Martha Stewart)
Braised Root Vegetables with Lentils and Red Wine Sauce (Deborah Madison)
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Fruit Conserve (Barefoot Contessa)
Macaroni and Cheese
Garlic/Rosemary Sweet Potato Bread

Dessert-
Apple Tart
Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream
Peanut Butter Pie
Port Wine

Peanut Butter Playdough

I started making peanut butter playdough when my oldest son, now age 11, was a toddler. His younger brother still asks me to make it every now and then when a friend comes over. I make the playdough, put out cutting boards and give the kids kitchen utensils to manipulate the dough with. This includes small rolling pins, mallets, garlic press, cookie cutters and bench scrapers.

I can usually count on this to be at least an hour long activity. At the end, the kids eat the dough, so snack is taken care of too.

Peanut Butter Playdough

1 1/2 cups Creamy peanut butter
1/2-1 cup Powdered milk
1/2 cup Powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together until the peanut butter is dry and can be manipulated. Add more powdered milk or sugar if necessary.

Thanksgiving cutout cookies

I made these one year for my son's Thanksgiving play. Truly a labor of love!

BonBonerie Cut-Out Cookie Recipe

I got this recipe years ago when I took a class at Williams Sonoma from Richard Prince, the pastry chef at the BonBonerie in O'Bryonville. I make these cookies for just about every holiday you can think of. There is a photo gallery of decorated cookies on the BonBonerie website that I refer to all the time. You will need a Kitchen Aid mixer and a kitchen scale for these recipes.

Butter Cookies for Cutouts
from Richard Prince, Pastry Chef at the BonBonerie

Cream 3 minutes:
1 lb unsalted butter
1 lb sugar

Beat in:
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla

Sift and add one cup at a time:
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1lb 8oz. all purpose flour

Do not overmix dough.

Note: This recipe requires a stand mixer (5 qt Kitchen Aid).

This dough can be rolled out immediately, cut and baked. Or you may find it easier to chill the dough before rolling. Roll to thickness of 1/8 in. to 3/16 in.

Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Bottom of cookie should be lightly browned.


Milk Fondant Icing

Bring to boil:
½ cup whole milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light Karo corn syrup

(It is convenient to microwave this mixture right in a glass measuring cup.)

Add to:
1lb 4oz powdered sugar (sifted)

Mix smooth with hand whisk. Do not overbeat, you don’t want a lot of air bubbles in icing.

Flavor with:
4-5 drops of lemon oil (optional)

Note: Dip baked cookies in icing to coat the top. Dipped cookies will dry to touch in 1-2 hours. Allow 6-8 hours or overnight to set completely.


Decorating Buttercream
(for piping details)

Cream until smooth:
6oz butter (room temperature)
1lb powdered sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pure vanilla

Add:
1 tbsp evaporated milk (you may need more)

Beat briefly until light and smooth.

After piping on dipped cookies, this icing should set 6-8 hours or overnight. This icing does not dry hard but will “crust” so cookies can be handled.

Do not refrigerate cookies decorated with this icing but do serve them within 4-5 days.

Be My BFF

Want to be my best friend forever, just stop by with some pistachio macaroons from Frieda's bakery in Madeira. That is what my BFF Delphine did last week. She actually brought an assortment of macaroons: pistachio (my fav), raspberry, hazelnut, lemon and chocolate.

I love these little multi-colored cookies. I was in Paris the first time I had them. My husband and I were wandering the city one day when we happened upon Laduree. This is a magical place. They have a display case full of all different flavors of macaroons. They are just so absolutely beautiful. I love how they are crisp on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.

I have only made macaroons once. I must put this on my to do list for the winter. Actually, I think they would make a great holiday cookie.

New Word of the Day: Autolyse

One of the greatest things about cooking is that there is always something new to learn. Last night, I was a student assistant at an artisan bread class at the Midwest Culinary Institute taught by Sara Schuk and Mark Frommeyer of Blue Oven Bakery. Because my husband Jeff is the real bread baker in our house, I was given instructions to bring back all of the information that I learned to him.

Sara and Mark are a wealth of information. This was the first bread class that they had ever taught. They shared recipes for 3 seed and whole wheat loaves. When I first walked into the classroom, Sara was making the 3 seed dough. She told me that it was autolysing. She swears by this step, where you mix only the flour and water together and let the mixture rest for 20 minutes. Then you add the other ingredients and knead.

Jeff had heard of this technique, but had not tried it. He consulted his Bread Baker's Apprentice book by Peter Reinhart and sure enough there it was. I'm not quite sure that I understand all of the implications of autolyse, but it has something to do with promoting hydration and helps cut down on kneading or overworking the dough.

Other tips I learned from Sara:

*Always mix bread dough on lowest speed of mixer even if a recipe says medium speed, just mix it longer
*Add water to your mixing bowl first, then add flour (then autolyse!)
*Bread dough should be somewhat sticky, a dry dough will yield dry bread
*Add salt at the very end
*Taste your dough to make sure it has enough salt
*When shaping, create as much surface tension as you can
*Score bread right before baking using a lame (a thin sharp blade used for baking)
*If baking on a pizza stone, preheat on your oven's highest setting for at least an hour
*Use ice cubes in a pan under the stone to create steam in the oven

You can find Blue Oven at Findlay Market on Saturdays and at Awakenings Coffeehouse in Hyde Park Square on Sunday mornings in the winter. From June through October, they are a regular vendor at the Hyde Park Farmers Market on Sundays from 9:30-1:30.

Local Foods on WVXU's Impact Cincinnati Thursday

Great line up of local food experts! Jolene was my teacher this summer for Introduction to Food Sources. Val was our resident canning expert at the Hyde Park Farmers Market. And Susan and I participated in a local foods discussion together at the public library.

From WVXU:

With Thanksgiving almost here, cooks are preparing menus and making shopping lists, getting ready to share a wonderful meal with friends and family. This year a growing number of people are looking close to home for their Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.

Join Impact Cincinnati, Thursday, November 19 at 9:20 am, as we discuss the local food movement.

Guests include: Midwest Culinary Institute Instructor and local cooking teacher Jolene Struebbe , founder and moderator of the Cincinnati Local Foods Group and local foods blog Cincinnati Locavore, Valerie Taylor and co-founder of the Central Ohio River Valley Local Foods Initiative which produces an Eat Local Guide, Susan Miller-Stigler.

Homemade Butter

Last night, to go with our dinner of cheese scones and tomato soup, I finally made homemade butter. I have wanted to try this ever since I started buying local milk and cream from Snowville Creamery. Their website gives directions for making butter, ice cream and cheese.

To make butter, this is what I did:

Let cream warm up a bit to 55-65F
Pour cream into food processor (about half way to top)
Process beyond the whipped cream stage
Butter will separate from the buttermilk
Strain and rinse butter under cool water (save buttermilk for another use)
Press butter with wooden spoon until water runs clear
Ta da, you have butter!

Thanksgiving Wines: Are You Sweet or Savory?

If ask Chuck Warinner, owner of the Dilly Deli in Mariemont, for a recommendation for a Thanksgiving wine, he is likely to ask if you have a sweet or savory family meal. According to Chuck, when you pair wine for Thanksgiving, it is important to consider the entire meal, not just the turkey. Does your family tend to serve sweet potatoes with mini marshmallows and sweet cranberry relish? Then you are a sweet family. If you all go for sage dressing, herbed beans and mashed potatoes, you are the savory type.

For the sweet meal, Chuck recommends a dry or slightly sweet Riesling, a light and fruity Beajolais or a Pinot Noir. He says, “Throw a Riesling on the table and it will go with just about anything.” Rieslings tend to leave the palate cleansed and refreshed. For Thanksgiving, Chuck likes a Riesling the deli is currently offering as one if its wines-by-the-glass, a 2007 Kerpen Riesling Kabinett for $21.99. For a Pinot Noir, he likes 2007 Row Eleven Viñas 3 at $18.99.

Chuck believes that a savory meal can handle a wine with more weight, like a bold, spicy red. At his Thanksgiving table, Chuck always serves an American Red Zinfandel. Red Zins are considered America’s heritage grape and some of the best wines produced in California. Chuck likes the Zin’s spicy, jammy, and peppery hints. He favors the 2006 Burnet Ridge Zinfandel North Coast (the label reads “a wine made among friends”) for $18.99 and a 2007 Saldo from Orin Swift Cellars for $29.99.

Others choices for the savory meal include Syrahs and Cabernet Francs. Chuck likes a locally produced 2007 Kinkead Ridge Cab Franc for $17.99. In fact, Chuck believes the Kinkead Ridge wine is outstanding and possibly the best Cabernet Franc produced by the winery.

You don’t want the wine to dominate the meal, according to Chuck. The focus should be on the food. So he stays away from recommending big, dry Cabernets or buttery Chardonnays. He thinks it is better to stick with wines that have a simple fruitiness and spicy character. Having said that, Chuck emphasizes that it is important not to sweat it too much and serve what you like. Also, he suggests offering a few types of wine to appeal to a variety of palates.

Sometime in November, the Dilly Deli will have shelf labels shaped like turkeys to indicate their Thanksgiving recommendations. Three turkeys are reserved for staff personal favorites and their top recommendations. The Dilly Deli Wines & Gourmet, located in the Mariemont Strand next to Starbucks, is open Monday through Thursday, 10am-9pm, and Friday and Saturday, 10am-11pm.

Cheese Course

For our book/dinner club last night, I wanted to serve something a little different. So I built a meal around a cheese course. I tried to keep the meal light and served a first course Warm Mushroom Salad (Barefoot in Paris). The next course was a Curried Winter Squash soup using blue hubbard, cheese pumpkin and butternut squash. The soup was simply garnished with a swirl of Snowville Creamery cream and caramelized apples. To help transition to the cheese course I served a small scoop of cranberry/orange sorbetto from Dojo Gelato at Findlay Market.

The cheese course was made up of the following:

Cashel Blue cheese from Ireland
Taleggio from Italy
Manchego from Spain
Pierre Robert triple creme brie from France
Prima Donna Gouda from Holland
Pear Hazelnut Paste
Walnut Whole Wheat Bread
Wheat crackers
Red Grapes

Brown Butter Sauce Oh My

I made cheese ravioli for dinner last night using my new Kitchen Aid pasta attachment. I had spent so much time rolling out the sheets of pasta and making the ravioli, that I forgot to put together a sauce to go with it. Usually, I make a simple tomato cream sauce.

So I improvised and made a brown butter sauce. This could not have been easier. I happened to have European style butter and used that. I heated it on the stove until it turned light brown and had a nutty fragrance. I added some kosher salt and some coarsely chopped spinach for color.

I tossed the ravioli with the brown butter sauce and oh my, it was amazing and so simple.

Fresh Turkey Talk

When Erin Payne, Herdsman at Greenacres Farm in Indian Hill, tells you that their fresh, free-range turkeys are “the best turkey you’ve ever tasted, hands down,” you believe her. Erin comes across as an honest, down-to-earth animal authority. When we visited the turkeys, Erin talked to them using their language, making some pretty impressive turkey sounds.

Every year, Greenacres raises turkeys for Thanksgiving without using artificial stimulants or antibiotics. The turkeys are rotated on pastures that are so full of worms and bugs this year that they are expected to average around 20 pounds. This season, Greenacres has 265 Domestic White and Broad-Breasted Bronze turkeys to sell and will accept orders until they are sold out.

According to Peggy Schatz, Farm Sales Director, the turkeys are processed on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and are available for pickup on Wednesday. When you pick up your bird, she includes a helpful booklet with recipes for preparing turkey, dressing and gravy. Additionally, the farm store has fresh eggs, herbs and seasonal vegetables from the farm available for purchase.

Erin likes to brine her turkey overnight to add flavor and seasonings to the bird. In addition to roasting, many customers smoke or grill their Greenacres turkey. Generally, their turkeys are too large to be deep-fried. However you choose to prepare your turkey, Peggy and Erin believe there is no comparison between their fresh, locally-raised, sustainable turkeys and conventional frozen birds you find in most supermarkets.

Fresh Turkey Tips
• When ordering, plan for 1/12 to 2 pounds per person, plus extra for leftovers.
• Order ahead, but pick up one to two days in advance at most.
• Remove giblets and save for gravy stock.
• Before cooking, rinse bird under cool running water and dry inside and out with paper towel.
• Coat outside with olive oil or softened butter for even browning.
• Instead of stuffing, fill turkey cavity with aromatic vegetables such as carrots, celery, onions and garlic, for better cooking and food safety.
• Use a sturdy stainless steel roasting pan with a rack.
• Plan on cooking time of 10-15 minutes per pound.
• Contrary to most recipes, it is generally better to roast at lower temperatures first and save higher heat for the end to brown the bird and avoid drying it out.
• Remove turkey when temperature reads 180°F with an instant read thermometer inserted between the breast and leg.
• Let rest 30 minutes before carving with a sharp knife.

Greenacres Farm is located seven miles from Mariemont at 8255 Spooky Hollow Road. For more information, you can contact them at 891-4227 or store@green-acresfarm.com.

Inspired by Jungle Jim's

A trip to Jungle Jim's yesterday inspired last night's Asian dinner. I started by making a lemongrass/ginger broth and added shiitake mushrooms, carrots and baby bok choy. In went the vegetable dumplings, and we had an awesome soup. I served edamame and sauteed spring rolls and we had a meal. Perfect for a chilly evening.

The simple broth recipe came from my Gisslen Professional Cooking text book:

4 stalks Lemon grass
1 oz Ginger root, peeled and sliced
4 Scallions, sliced, including green part
1 qt Water
to taste Sea salt or Soy sauce
as needed Cilantro leaves

Trim off and discard the tops of the lemon grass stalks. Crush the bases, then chop coarsely.

Combine lemon grass, ginger, scallions and water in saucepan. Simmer 10-15 minutes until the water is lightly flavored. Strain and season to taste with sea salt or soy sauce.