M. Lucia

The recent pecan pie thread and the presence of needed ingredients has made me want to make pralines. You know, pecans + sugar= crumbly goodness. The kind we always buy when we’re in Charleston. I have made these before, but the problem is I can’t find my candy thermometer. I know it’s here somewhere. Well, I’ve done it before, how hard can it be, soft ball stage and all that? Brown sugar, milk, pecans and a dot of butter go into the pan. Before I know it, a bubbling mess: I got that under control. But then things weren’t looking good. Looked like it was separating. I just kept cooking. Like grandma taught me. Things started to look worse. It should take about 15 mins to get to soft ball, but of course I didn’t look at the time when starting. Hmmm, that Mozart piece was starting when I began, how long is it? Only 10 minutes, I have some more time. It’s gotten really dark colored and looks grainy so I’m ready to give up. My experiment seems to have been a failure. I take it off the heat and beat in some more butter until it comes together. I quickly plop it down on some foil. It actually doesn’t look too bad. When they have cooled, I try one. They’re not just not bad, they’re really good! From dispair to triumph. Sure they are a little darker than usual but they are less crumbly and hold together really well. I think these are some of the best I’ve made! Unfortunately, I wasn’t really able to take pictures as the time was crucial. I only realized afterwards how unflattering the above shots are. That’s some bad lighting there. Apologies. The pralines weren’t actually that dark, more a brunette hue. Anyway, they were all packaged up and I gobbled down the rest.

What to do when tangerines are on sale 8 for $1? Make juice and candy the peel. I do this whenever oranges are on sale, as the peel keeps for months in the fridge, I just snack on it, but it can be used for baking or coated in chocolate. The tangerines didn’t peel very nicely, but that’s ok. They get blanched 4x to remove bitterness. Then cooked in a sugar syrup to which I added some orange blossom water. Laid out to dry (it was hard to get a picture without glare from the greased foil). They will later be rolled in granulated sugar to finish.

This being a baking thread, I thought I’d toss in some corn muffins I made to go with dinner. I lightened my standard skillet cornbread recipe by using part flour and part cornmeal (normally I use all cornmeal, this being southern cornbread). Sorry for the poor photography.

Despite the simplicity of the ingredients, these are more than the sum of their parts. Vanilla Buttercreams 1 stick butter (1/4 lb), 1 box confectioners sugar (1 lb), vanilla extract, bitter chocolate I used Nielsen-Massey vanilla and Cadi butter (Barcelona company) that I had on hand. My family is taking a year off from our annual holiday gathering at the family farm in Tenn., so I will be sending these to my uncle who helps me make them every year, along with bourbon balls. When you knead together the butter, sugar and vanilla it seems like it will crumble and never come together, but eventually it does. Make balls (yeah, they look like mozzarella) Roll in Melted CHocolate Easy! I had this idea, since I have a bottle of rose water sitting on the counter, of making rose creams. Hmmm. Must be the subject of future investigation (when I have more time). Does anyone know how I keep the chocolate from pooling around the bottom and making little feet? How do I make perfectly round chocolates?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I didn't consider the temperature being too hot, but I think that's it. Especially since k8's recipe is similar to mine proportionally. I will definately try that next time, and also try the Baking with Julia recipe when I get a chance. Now, I had hoped to do this in "real time," but I started behind schedule. So I'm going to toss a bunch of stuff up here and then hopefully I can share the Christmas baking with you all in a timely fashion. In the meantime, there are lots more questions coming, so thanks again for all the feedback!

Ok guys. I'm still looking for brownie advice, I know it's out there. So make my brownies better. Or share your favorite recipe. Please!

Basic Sugar Cookies Here is where some serious lack of equiptment and ingredients come into play. I’m making the cookies when I realize I only have brown sugar. That’s ok, I go with the flow, use almond extract, some cardamom, nutmeg, cloves. Dough is made and chilled. I have a rolling pin but no cookie cutters. Well I guess I can just use a knife, freehand style. This is comical: have you tried doing a star freehand? I stick to basic things like candy canes. Baked. They seem just right. Can smell the spices. Hmm, no food coloring so the royal icing will be white. Use a ziploc bag for some rudimentary piping. I found some white chocolate in the back of the cabinet and am eager to be rid of it. Dunk some pretzels in it and top with sprinkles. Of course, get sprinkles all over the floor as well. Cookies, brownies, pretzels: Taken to a friends Christmas party. Being students, they were quickly devoured. I really can make prettier, more professional looking cookies with better equiptment. I promise. But I have arabic vocabulary to memorize, papers to write. However, these tasted just as good as ever, and that’s the important part.

Having grown up in Baltimore, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in this. Ditto on having a miximum of crab. Using crushed crackers instead of breadcrumbs is the secret to making them light. Saute in a mix of oil and butter for flavor. Here is a recipe that my family has used forever, and I would swear you can't find anything better. 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup minced onion 2 eggs, lightly beaten (sometimes I only use 1) pinch each: Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, cayenne pepper 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over 1 cup crushed Saltines or soda crackers unsalted butter vegetable oil Combine the mayo, onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt and cayenne. Add in the crabmeat and 1/4 cup of the cracker crumbs. Shape the mixture into cakes about 1 inch thick. Coat the crab cakes with the remaining cracker crumbs. In a large skillet, melt 1 dab of the butter in 2 spoons of the oil. Add half of the crab cakes and cook over moderate heat until golden and crisp, ~3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining. Serve with lemon wedges.

Then some brownies. This is the recipe I have always made and I am a little dissatisfied with it. It could be because I don’t really like brownies much, so I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Here’s the part where you all come in: advice! Here’s my recipe: 3 oz. bitter chocolate 1 stick butter Melt in a double boiler Add 1 1/4 cup sugar, pinch salt Remove from heat, break in 2 cold eggs Stir in 1/2 cup flour Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Top should be dry but toothpick should still be moist when removed. Immediately remove to the freezer for about 10 minutes. Continue to let cool at room temp. So I think better chocolate is important (I just had ghardelli). My other problem is that while the inside was gewy and almost underbaked the outer edges were a bit dry. This would probably be improved by a better pan and maybe some of those magi-strips. It is quite dense and fudgy, but it needs some tweaking.

Next up some very simple things. Oatmeal cookies. Normally I add chopped up medjool dates, I prefer this to raisins because the cut sides of the dates make them much more moist. However, I had neither raisins nor dates, so it was plain cookies. Added some extra cloves for spice. These also went quickly in the dept. I actually prefer to make them different sizes for casual events because sometimes you want a big cookie, sometimes you just want a little one.

Having enjoyed the foodblogs and diaries on EGullet, I thought I would try to document my holiday baking process and benefit from all the knowledge out there. As noted in the title, I am by no means an experienced baker so everyone’s advice will be welcome as I go along. A couple notes about me: I am a student, and the first part of this was will be done in my appartment kitchen which is quite lacking in baking equiptment (as you shall soon see). Since my mother no longer bakes, I have inherited her tools but have not yet moved them up here, so I don’t want to buy anything I already have. I am also on a budget and at the early stage I will try to use only what’s already in my cabinets and avoid purchasing extra ingredients. About pictures: I think pictures are really great to follow the process. Unfortunately, I don’t have a digital camera, but I do have the camera on my cell phone. So no artistry here, just bear with me. Ok, enough equivocating, let’s get on with it! First, something I baked a little while ago for the first Christmas party of the season. Guiness Ginger Cake The recipe is from Claudia Fleming’s the Last Course, I have enjoyed her desserts at the restaurant and I really like this book. The recipe can be found on epicurious as well. I couldn’t help nibbling on the pieces I sliced off to make the bottom flat, let’s just say the bottom was very flat. It was very moist and had a great aroma and there were no problems with it sticking to the pan (that part is always scary). I made a sort of lemon sauce to go with it, adapted from the Joy. This was a hit! It disappeared in seconds with multiple people going after the last slice. Someone told me it was the best thing they had eaten in recent memory. Wow.

Congrats on the church! My friends and I have made gingerbread houses for years, it's our tradition. Some of my friends have switched to using glue guns for their base structures(!!) but I persist with just icing. I get teased every year when something collapses but we always have a lot of laughs. Pecan pie: one of the best things about the holidays. Here's how i do it: 1 cup syrup (Lyle's golden or dark karo) 1 cup brown sugar 4 eggs, beaten 5 tbl butter, melted 3 tbl bourbon 1 tbl vinegar 1 1/2 cups pecans 1 unsweetened pie crust Put nuts into crust. Combine remaining, pour into crust. Bake 350 for 50-60 minutes. I like to turn the pecans on top to make a design, like a christmas tree, if i have time. See, don't be intimidated by pie. Southern cuisine was not meant to be complicated.

possibility of snow= Thick Split Pea Soup for dessert Richard Donelly Cardamom Choc. Bar I'm not one for chocolate, but I really enjoy these. Good luck Percy!

Too many holiday festivities recently. Just some roasted veges and leftover tortellini for dinner. Chufi- that looks gorgeous. How do you do the braised pheasant?

Thanks for sharing your recipe. I love divinity but have never tried making it. You can't get it up here, so I may try making it myself one of these days. Hope your dad enjoys!

Stuff medjool dates with almond paste. Also frangipane tarts and all those slavic filled breads.

When I was about 8, I was in a restaurant with my mom discussing what to order. The waiter overheard me and remarked to my mother that he had never heard someone my age say they couldn't decide between the asparagus plate or the mussels. However, I was also a very picky eater. I loved salads and boiled peanuts but I had no taste for meat and my mother would force me to eat a tiny fillet mignon every few weeks. For years, I decided I didn't like anything at Thanksgiving dinner and would eat only the rolls. Luckily, I have gotten over this, and I am now known for eating just about anything. I am always worried when parents don't encourage their kids to try new foods, and I know many in my generation who have a very limited repertoire and therefore can't cook anything other than pasta.

I have enjoyed Food and Wine's Macaroni and Cheese with Buttery Crumbs Isn't the crunchy part on the top just the best? It's nice to use a mix of cheeses also.

Just had to chime in here as I used to have fattoush almost every day. I agree, the important thing is sumac. Fine dice veggies, purslane, lemon juice, oil, etc. I have such a weakness for those fried pita when they are just starting to soak up some of the salad juices. Though toasted pita is good too. And definately mint (nana) ma kibbee nayyeh.

I was going through some files, and found this picture I thought you all might appreciate. I think this was in Saida, and the subject is senioura: a special sweet biscuit they make there. I found the pastries I sampled in Saida to be exceedingly sweet- certainly the sweetest I'd ever had, which is apparently what they are known for.

Damascus Bakery. Also Oriental Pastry Shop and Sahadis.

This is unusual b/c it is a quick bread version of stollen, but we have had the recipe for ~40 years so it has been reliable. I find it is a bit more moist than the traditional stollen and much easier to make. 2 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp bkg powder 3/4 cup sugar salt, mace, cardamom 3/4 cup ground blached almonds 1/4 lb cold butter 1 cup cottage cheese, whirled in processor til smooth 1 egg 1/2 tsp each vanilla and almond extract 2 tbl rum 1/2 cup each currants and golden raisins 1/4 cup chopped candied citrus peel 3 tbl melted butter 2 tbl vanilla sugar Combine flour , baking powder, sugar, salt, mace, cardamom, and almonds. Cut in butter. Blend cottage cheese, egg, vanilla, almond, rum, currants, raisins, peel. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture. Mold into a ball, knead 6-8 turns until smooth. Roll dough out to 8x10 inches. Brush dough with melted butter. Crease dough just off center and fold smaller section over larger. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Best after 2-3 days.

Spinach fatayer, loosely based off Annisa Helou (as if I ever actually follow a recipe). Had with some hummus I picked up at a local Syrian place. Followed by baklawa. Nice pictures, Susan.

There are usually so many goodies laying around for the holidays including: boubon balls, pralines, vanilla buttercreams, fudge, cookies, sugarplums, etc. We usually have pecan pie and if there is something else it would be caramel cake. You know, lots of little thin layers so that you can have as much caramel in there as possible. I am thinking of trying this recipe this year. Melissa- what is a Lane Cake?

Oh my. I have neglected this thread, and maybe that's a good thing because you all are making me drool. Hooray for spinach fatayer as well. I have to confess a weakness for the pine nut finger baklava but I am not too fond of the cream filled stuff. Living by Taj al-Malouk in Beirut was dangerous. Did anyone notice the diet stuff on Abdul Rahman Hallab? They even have diet syrup-yikes! I have only ever made ghourabiya and nammoura at home. Maybe I should forgo the usual holiday goodies and bake some of those, or just make a trip out to Atlantic Ave. However, I haven't had middle eastern pastries in the U.S. that add up to those in the ME (I've tried a couple local places and Shatila). Do you all (in the U.S.) order from abroad or locally?