Twas Three Weeks Before Christmas

It is December 6th and twelve kinds of cookies are made and packed away – we are about halfway through the Christmas Cookie Marathon. This is a special time in my kitchen shared with my husband. Though it is normally not his territory, he has honed his skills as dough-roller-outer extraordinaire. With Christmas tunes in the background and flour in the air, I’m a happy camper. It is a time to relax and work and share some laughter after a busy fall at the inn. And, since many of my cookies must be packed and shipped by December 15, we start baking the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I don’t know what it is about food, but some of my earliest memories are in the kitchen, helping Mom. Most center on the holidays – with the bustle of preparations for large crowds and the excitement of the coming gathering. She was always patient with me – for I was not, and probably will never be, a “tidy” cook or baker. We had an extensive family and, with three brothers, there was no meal too big, no desserts too rich, and certainly no such thing as too many cookies.
Ah, yes, the cookies - this yearly tradition of making cookies at Christmastime started a long time ago…
I always loved to give home-made gifts – sometimes it was crafts, sometimes chocolates (when I was in high school I enrolled my boyfriend and myself in a chocolate-making course). I was never sure if he was all that interested in the chocolate, but we had a lot of fun and he liked to eat the creations. Over time, I settled on just giving cookies every Christmas. I would stay up late many nights and lug in big platters of cookies to every job I ever had. It became my “thing” to do for the holidays.

Soon friends were sharing their family favorites. Over the years, I’ve compiled my tried-and-true recipes, but I always like to add a new cookie just to keep it interesting.

Two years ago I decided to try my hand at making marshmallows. Gourmet printed a recipe for Toasted-Coconut Marshmallow Squares – this seemed the perfect little stocking stuffer gift for my Mom – a real marshmallow lover.

I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly – doubling the amount of coconut. You’ll see why later.

I think this would be a great recipe to make with kids – especially the final process. This year I made the recipe with my mom. She pronounced it too “fussy” but I think it’s fun, and there’s no denying that these are not the boring white cubes that arrive in those plastic bags. You will need a candy thermometer and will have best results if you make these on a dry day.

Toasted-Coconut Marshmallow Squares

4 cups unsweetened dried coconut
3 (3/4 oz) envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 cup water, divided
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350 and toast coconut in baking pan until golden – about 7 minutes. You’ll want to stir it frequently – it tends to brown around the edges first.

Spray a 9-inch baking pan or use a silicone one. I like the silicone – you can bend it to get the squares out. Sprinkle with ½ cup toasted coconut.

Sprinkle gelatin over ½ up cold water in mixer bowl – mix a little and let sit while you make the syrup.

Heat sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining ½ cup water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat without stirring, washing any sugar crystals down the side of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Ok, I don’t do the pastry brush thing – I just boil it. Put the thermometer in and boil until it registers 240. Remove pan from the heat and let stand until the bubbles dissipate.

This is when the recipe turns into a science experiment. With mixer at low speed, pour hot syrup into gelatin in a thin stream down the side of the bowl, increase speed to high and beat until very thick – about 15 minutes. Add vanilla and coconut extracts and beat 1 minute more.

Spoon marshmallows over toasted coconut in baking pan and press evenly with dampened fingertip to smooth top, then sprinkle with ½ cup toasted coconut and press in – I find that wearing food-grade gloves helps.

Let stand for 2 hours or until firm. This is a good time to get the kids – they’ll like this part.

Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and cut into the tiniest pieces you can. Put remaining toasted coconut in a bowl. Dredge the pieces in the coconut and watch them grow. This is why you want the pieces really tiny lest they become the blob that ate Lancaster County. The first year I could not believe that a small 9 x 9 pan would yield enough marshmallows for everyone in Terre Hill.

Even if you don’t like marshmallow, you owe it to yourself to try a small square. These are really heavenly.

Enjoy.

An Apple A Day

It seems like everyone is talking about the flu…be it swine or the regular run-of-the-mill variety. I’d rather avoid getting either of them. So it’s time to boost our immune systems and do all those things that Gram and Mom said to do – get plenty of sleep, gargle with salt water, clear your sinuses and…yes, eat an apple a day to keep those doctors away.

I know of a great place where you can get enough apples to carry you through the entire winter. Not far from The Artist's Inn, along Route 340 near Bird-in-Hand, sits the quaint store of Kaufman’s. The Kaufman family (now in its 5th generation) has been in the business since 1915, and they harvest apples—by the ton. Here are some of the huge bins piled up in the back of the store.

They currently carry Braeburn, Cameo, Cortland, Crispin, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Idared, Jonagold, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious, Rome, and Stayman apples. Sound like enough?

They also make cider – 102,000 gallons this year.

A visit to their store is a must on your next trip to Lancaster County. But don’t wait long….winter is coming! You’ll find the pretty apples inside, the outside bargain bins are shown here and are still great for baking pies and cakes, and making applesauce. Kaufman’s is closed on Sundays, but has a website, online store, and a blog.

Here’s an easy recipe I tried recently, courtesy of Whole Living. It goes well with baked pork chops (and I only changed the recipe a little).

Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin

· 3 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 medium leeks, white part only, trimmed of roots and tough outer leaves, thinly sliced crosswise, well washed and dried
· Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
· 1/2 cup dry sherry
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus leaves for garnish
· 2 tablespoons butter
· 1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
· 1 pound apples, such as Gala, Cortland, Baldwin, or Macoun, peeled, halved, cored, and cut

into 1/8-inch thick slices
· 1/2 cup freshly shaved Parrmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 10-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add leeks and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add sherry and sage and cook until liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 3 minutes; set aside.

Melt butter in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, arrange squash in overlapping layers; season with salt and pepper. Spread leeks evenly over the. Squash. Arrange apples in an overlapping layer over the leeks. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour.

Uncover and sprinkle cheese over the top. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is golden brown. The tip of a paring knife should easily pierce the gratin. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sage leaves. Enjoy!

The Bananas Foster Cheesecake Was A Big Hit Indeed!

Easter was coming and I usually make a cheesecake. I’ve made all kinds – chocolate, lemon, New York style, my mother’s creamy recipe, with every kind of fruit…..but this year I was looking for something new and different.

I love recipes and collect them from everywhere – the internet, newspapers, guests, magazines, friends…..I cut out the recipes and stuff them into my collection of cookbooks. I think I’m somewhat organized, but Bruce says that if I made a new recipe every day of the year for the next 20 years, I’d never run out. And so it was that I found this recipe –from a 1999 issue of Gourmet Magazine. They give credit to Café Vermilionville….a quick look on Google reveals an historic inn in Louisiana. Their crawfish beignets sound wonderful.

But back to the cheesecake. On Saturday afternoon, I start on the recipe. I am somewhat “storage challenged” at The Artist's Inn…and the specialty pans get pushed into the cabinet above the refrigerator. This means that there is no way (at 5’4”) I can reach them. Do I take the time to go get a chair from the dining room or a ladder from the basement? No. And there’s no tall husband around to retrieve the springform pan I see hiding in the far recess of the cabinet. I grab my handy wooden spoon and start poking. I manage to close my eyes just before I feel the first object come crashing down. The edge of a tart pan hits me between my eyebrows, followed quickly by the bundt pan and several mini-muffin pans. I know I’m in trouble and manage to reach into the freezer, grab an ice cube, and head for the bathroom. Watching the pink water run down the drain was not encouraging. The tart pan had left an inch-long gash. My only hope was that my eyes would not turn black and blue and that swelling would subside by the time I had to give a presentation on herbs the following Tuesday.

Apparently, some families are quite amused at another’s expense. So was the case for the Garrabrandts. As family members arrived for the holiday, I heard several jokes – “Jan, I think the recipe called for a “dash”, not a “gash”, another suggested planting a sprig of rosemary on my forehead and yet a third (this was my husband) thought it would look good with a jewel covering the wound. My day was not complete until that evening, as we were coloring eggs, Bruce’s niece, Heather, accidentally bumped the cup of blue die and sent a tidal wave of blue water heading my way. Now I not only was sporting a gash between my eyebrows but also had blue die from my forehead to my waist. Did I mention that I was wearing a cream and aqua sweater?

All’s well that ends well: The stains came out, my eyes never turned black and the swelling went down. Best of all the cheesecake was, indeed, a hit of the culinary kind. I hope that you have a less exciting adventure if you make it. I served the praline topping separately and found that it was just a bit much…..you may not need it at all. I also made a cream cheese crust – rather than the graham cracker one. As for that banana liqueur – I had it left over from some trip to the islands long ago, but the liquor store usually carries those cute little bottles by the check-out. If not, I think it’s a good excuse for a little trip to the Caribbean. You can also add to your rum collection while there. Enjoy!

For crust:

½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
nine 5 x 2 ½-inch graham crackers
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 to 13 Italian savoiardi ladyfinger cookies

For bananas foster filling:

¼ cup sliced almonds
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla
4 medium firm-ripe bananas

For cream-cheese layer:

5 large eggs
1 ½ pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
1 tablespoon vanilla

For praline topping:

1 ½ cups pecans
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap outside of entire pan with heavy-duty foil to waterproof.

Make crust: Melt butter and cool slightly. In a food processor finely grind graham crackers with granulated sugar and blend in butter until combined well. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of springform pan. Halve cookies crosswise and arrange upright, rounded edges on top, around side of pan, pressing lightly into crust to stabilize them.

Make filling: In a shallow baking pan toast almonds in one layer in middle of oven until pale golden, about 5 minutes. In a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet melt butter with brown sugar over moderate heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in liqueur, rum, cinnamon, and vanilla and simmer mixture, whisking until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat. Halve bananas crosswise and cut lengthwise into 1/4 –inch thick slices. Add bananas to butter mixture and cook over moderately low heat, turning them gently with a spatula, just until softened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Sprinkle almonds over bananas.

Make cream-cheese layer: In a bowl whisk together eggs until just combined. In a mdedium bowl with an electric mixer beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until light and fluffy and slowly beat in half of eggs, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally. Slowly beat in remaining eggs and stir in liqueur and vanilla.

Pour half of cream-cheese mixture into crust and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes. Cool layer on a rack 5 minutes. Gently spoon filling evenly over layer, arranging bananas so they are not overlapping. Pour remaining cream-cheese mixture over filling and put springform pan in a large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to reach halfway up side of springform pan. Bake cheesecake in middle of oven until filling is set in center and top is golden and firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool cheesecake in springform pan on rack. Chill cheesecake, loosely covered, 1 day.

Make praline topping: Preheat oven to 350. In a shallow baking pan toast pecans in one layer in middle of oven until a shade darker, about 5 minutes. In a 2 to 2 ½ quart heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar over moderate heat, stirring util smooth, and stir in water until incorporated. Stir in pecans and cool topping to room temperature. Serve cheesecake with praline topping. Serves 10 to 12.