We’ll be cooking up a storm in Wonderland Kitchen over the next few days, but taking a break from the internet to commune with friends and family. See you all in the new year! 2011 was the year of bread. 2012? I’m thinking we’re gonna need more jars….
There’s Nothing To Eat (Holiday Prep Edition)
In the days running up to Christmas, my mother would traditionally take masking tape and affix dire “Do Not Eat!!” warnings to all of the food she had prepped and packed into the refrigerator. Then, she would express exasperation when my father and I would complain that we were starving. What were we talking about? She had been cooking for days! Now that I find myself in my mother’s shoes, I can completely empathize. There is perhaps nothing more vexing than being tired and hungry and elbow deep in fancy food preparations, and realizing you’re at a complete loss as far as how to subsist until the festivities begin (unless you just keep sneaking cookies out of the freezer!). With… Continue reading »
Christmas Mead for Wassailing
I’ve worn a paper crown at Medieval Times and been to a Renaissance fair joust or two, but the Maryland Renaissance Festival takes the mutton leg for village size and patron dress-up commitment. A couple of summers ago while browsing the artisan wares, I spied a kit for “short mead” that I couldn’t resist after reading the tag line “if you can boil water, you can make mead in 7-14 days with this kit, two pounds of honey, and a gallon of spring water!” It was food science! It was $9! What was there to lose? I brewed that batch and was hooked. Unlike the strawberry wine that I had made earlier in the summer, this was relatively little investment… Continue reading »
Kiss Me, I’m Irish (and I Baked the Soda Bread)
Last Christmas I was gifted a heavenly amount of King Arthur flour, and as we cruise into Christmas 2011, I can’t help but reflect on all the bread and pizza and pies it has been turned into over the past twelve months. However, a package of Irish-Style Wholemeal Flour somehow wedged itself behind some boxes in the pantry and was forgotten about completely until this past weekend. Conveniently, the back of the bag offered a tempting recipe for soda bread, but it required buttermilk. I didn’t have any, but what does fresh Irish Soda bread need more than anything? Good butter, of course. So I decided I would knock down two pins with one throw, as it were, and make… Continue reading »
Butter Me Up
Homemade bread is pretty spectacular; homemade bread topped with homemade butter is…actually maybe taking the DIY homemaking a little too far? Nonsense, I say! Particularly if you, with all your baking prowess, own a stand mixer, simply affix the whisk attachment and toss a pint of heavy cream (leave it out on the counter for a bit to take the chill off) into that mixing bowl. Using the plastic bowl cover plus plastic wrap to completely cover any openings, run that baby until you break your whipped cream and the butter and buttermilk separate. Keep an eye on it so you can slow down the speed as soon as it comes apart. At this point, you should strain off the… Continue reading »
The Cowboy and the Lady (New Christmas Cookie Edition, Part 2)
So, as I was saying, Christmas 2011 is crying out for some new sweet treats, and I’m endeavoring to deliver. My first pitch was a peanut butter filled chocolate cookie, and though it had something of a utilitarian, PTA-meeting vibe to me, what it lacked in flash it more than covered for in tastiness. I had admittedly baked with skepticism, but I snacked with gusto. As a counterweight to that, I selected a chocolate mint sandwich cookie which brought new meaning to the idea of multi-step baking. No step was difficult, but the devil was definitely in the details. Dried fruit needed to be chopped, dough needed to be chilled, rolled, and cut into identical squares. Chocolates were unwrapped and… Continue reading »
