Pontormo

Randi, this should help.. It was one of a gazillion sites discovered with a quick google search, so you should be fine. P.S. I am using this to plug the cardamom pistachio cookies I made from the Cookie Swap on Il Forno. (See Christmas Cookie thread.) Sooooooooooo good!!!!!

Conduct a search here on eGullet where packing supplies already addressed. If there's a Container Store near you, it's a great place for instant gratification. The Danish butter cookies that are sold really cheaply at drugstores are also a good, cheaper idea if aesthetics are not an issue. As you're hurrying back to your kitchen, dump the cookies themselves into the plastic shopping bag and hand them over to the hungry guys at your neighborhood construction site. Then you've got an empty tin for less than two bucks!

And for what it's worth, here's the traditional one used in my family to make decorated cut-out cookies, all iced except for the gingerbread men: MOLASSES COOKIES 3/4 c melted shortening 1 cup molasses 1 c brown sugar 1 cup thick sour milk [add vinegar to whole milk] 6 c sifted flour 1/2 t salt 2 t powdered ginger 4 t baking soda 1 T lemon extract I would up the amount and number of spices, including a little nutmeg or mace. I'd try subbing butter for at least some of the shortening, too, but I like the tang that lemon and soured milk contribute, amping up the effect of spice and cutting some of the effect of all the icing, piped decorations, silver balls, etc. Mix melted shortening, molasses and sugar. Add sour milk, then sifted dry ingredients. Add lemon extract. Mix until blended as a rather stiff dough and chill until firm. Roll to a 1/3-inch thickness. Bake at 350 degrees, 8-10 minutes.

Last time for now, I promise, but I just borrowed Villas's Crazy for Casseroles from the public library. On page 187, he's got, brace yourself, M.F.K. Fisher's Baked Tuna with Mushroom Sauce Ingredients include: 2 cans of chunk light tuna packed in oil 1 can Campbell's condensed mushroom soup Sharp cheddar cheese I quote the author: "...and if Mary Frances didn't find a thing wrong with using canned soup in this tuna casserole she served me once at lunch at her ranch in Sonoma, California, neither should we. Of course, she called the mushroom soup a 'sauce'..."

Let me pull you back from the brink! Now go lie down while the urge passes. I'll whip up some macaroni and cheese for you; that should make you feel better. ← Sandy, I have a question regarding mac & cheese as a side dish for major holidays in November & December. Is this an African-American tradition? A Southern tradition? Or just something I was not aware of in my years living in New England, the Midwest and Out West? It's a big thing to have at Thanksgiving for some African-Americans in Washington, D.C. However, in my family, mac & cheese is the main course, something that I am guessing became popular during WWII when my grandmother's generation was cutting back on the meat that she served over the course of a week.

It most certainly is NOT! Tuna fish is for sandwhiches. Full stop. ← Actually, Cake, really good canned tuna packed in olive oil is not just for sandwiches and in combination with noodles, there are some precedents to the casserole amongst so-called white folk who tan. It's great in a number of quick Italian home-style dishes that are probably based on wonderful things they do with dried pasta and seafood in Naples (see regional forum). While the best of the best imported brands of oil-packed tuna are extremely expensive, Geneva, distributed by Chicken of the Sea, is less costly and really tastes like something. Saute garlic in olive oil, add a couple of chopped canned Italian plum tomatoes (just the tomato, drained), stir and let cook 5-10 minutes then add the drained tuna, tons of minced fresh parsley, freshly ground pepper and capers. Dump cooked spaghetti into pan to make sure none of this great stuff is lost. Glass of red wine....

My stepmother's is indeed very dense, so thanks for the advice. Both figgy and plum puddings are traditional for Christmas & made the same way, right? Is the difference merely due to the fruit used, such as the difference between a raspberry and strawberry tart? Or are you saying the plum pudding is the true Xmas pud?

I am passing on the recipe my stepmother uses. It's from a cookery book that came with her first stove (10th edition, 1960). CHRISTMAS PUDDING 8 oz currants " raisins " yellow raisins 2 oz peel or 1/3 of that of marmalade 8 oz shredded suet 3 eggs 1/2 wineglass rum or brandy 1/2 oz mixed spice (??) 8 oz flour 8 oz breadcrumbs 4 oz sugar 1 1/2 oz almonds Juice of one lemon 1/2 t grated nutmeg " salt Sift dry ingredients. Prep fruit and mix in. Beat eggs & mix them with fruits, etc. Stir in the rum or brandy. Mix well until thoroughly blended. Fill greased basin 3/4 full & cover with greased paper. Boil 6 hours. I will have to do this without nuts, but I'd welcome any opinions about dark beer vs. brandy, the inclusion of flour here that isn't in recipes supplied above, or anything else that experienced pudding makers might wish to share. I like the idea of respecting the plum pudding origins, so I think I'll omit the regular raisins and include prunes, figs and maybe a few dates, apricots, dried tart cherries... I am not fond of glace' fruits, so I would probably want to go with zest from fresh orange.

I am about as white as they come though I want to come back in another life as anything but with a sultry voice for jazz. Blonde, blue eyes, skin the color of a boiled lobster if I don't wear five layers, a floppy hat and sunscreen at the beach. Growing up in the inner city, I played Goldilocks to three African-American bears in the big first-grade play. My mother was horrified; I never understood why she took an immediate dislike to my beloved teacher after the production until later when I began reading Black Like Me, Malcolm X and Sula in a new neighborhood where friends passed honey cake through the schoolyard fence on their way to temple. But I never, ever ate or heard of a green-bean casserole until my sophomore year of college in New England when a group of friends decided not to fly or go home for Thanksgiving and we all cooked for each other. I had never seen canned sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows either. Judging from that crowd, it might have been a Highland Park/Longisland thing. I have never seen it since, except in commercials. Better than the canned "yams" and actually liked the crunchy onion stuff.

Deer, deer, deer... Now, we're all waiting, feet tapping, to see what you'll come up with to remain on topic and in the spirit of the season. Winter Solstice today (6:35 pm GMT), Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Boxing Day, The Feast of St. Stephen... Gifted Gourmet just reminded me of the importance of oil in frying desserts for the Festival of Lights (thank you, Melissa), so maybe you could do something related to that holiday culinary theme?

Sorry, for misidentifying the modifier!

PS Could someone explain what these feet you bakers discuss are?

Folk: SEE PART II OF THE COOKIE SWAP ON IL FORNO!!! I am sorry I don't have the capacity to post pictures to make you gawk here, but look for a chocolate-dipped pistachio & cardamom cookie. TO DIE FOR!!! My cardamom is brand-new and the smell of the cooling cookies is delicious. They're also beautiful and fragrant with chopped dried cranberries (with a bit of toasted walnut bits, grated orange peel and a dab of Cointreau).

I figive U, Fresser. In my mind is a picture of your Lady Who Lunches in a Santa hat and red high heels gettin' wiggy wid dat, indeed. Wanna recreate that image for all of us? And yes, there will be sour cream, but I am going to do my London-born stepmother's hard sauce, too. And, jackal, thanks again. I will look at the recipe you linked and hope it helps me figure out proportions and more exacting measurements since I am definitely a recipe follower when it comes to this kind of cooking. I will PM if I prove clueless.

I had forgotten about jelly doughnuts which I am sure the children would love! However, I am pleased to hear that a Christmas pudding/Shavuot can be made this close to December 25. Do you have a recipe for the pudding you'd be willing to share? Thank you, Michelle and Jackal10.

I am in charge of homemade applesauce and dessert for dinner on December 25. 2/3 of cultural heritage of adults is Jewish (Russian, Eastern European & Israeli) and given the date that Chanakah begins this year, latkes and brisket will be served. My own family's traditions are largely British (thus title) and I do love Christmas pudding, though I don't know if there is any way to make one at this late date. While I usually make something with pears for Christmas, I welcome any suggestions for a different kind of dessert. Is there anything traditional for Chanakah that isn't a cookie? Anything you do or are doing in light of the coinciding religious/cultural traditions?

I second the Wows!!! for Ruth and Samantha, the green tea trees are inspired! A while back, elsewhere, I recommended a ginger spice cookie on Epicurious.com that originally appeared in Bon Appetit in March 2000. (I promise to write to Webmaster soon to delete erroroneous attribution of good suggestions soon.) I would like to repeat to anyone who is a real fan of ginger that this recipe is sensational, especially when lots of fresh grated gingerroot is added. 8 twists of pepper mill also recommended & half the amount of cloves. Rolled in a variety of chunky golden sugars from the natural food store & clear sanding sugar before baking, they're lovely. I have made them with butter alone and also with the same shortening/butter combo that the recipe recommends. The results are superior with butter...the richness in flavor is really missing with the amount of shortening required.

Dorie Greenspan's suggestions for variations on the Korova cookie work very well. I made smaller-scale cookies (log 1 inch in diameter), and baked them for only 10 minutes so that the texture is still a little chewy. The full 12 minutes result in a very crisp, sandy cookie. Half the batch was made with currants & a generous pinch or two of cinnamon. I added rum to the boiling water used to plump the fruit & drained them for about an hour while rolling the dough. FYI: Due to heat of my kitchen at the end of day, the dough was not crumbly or firm enough to make logs. An hour or more in fridge helped enormously to shape the logs. Ones with currants & Fleur de Sel? Thanks for all the inspirational praise, Ling! And for those of you who keep your Gourmet magazines, the issue for December 1995 has a reader's recipe that I highly recommend. The Apricot Diamonds Harris are in production right now. The puree is delicious. Am making 1 1/2 of the recipe since they're for a 9x9 pan vs. a full size baking sheet.

Do you have a digital camera? Share, though I'd vote for posts of the latter. And Alamut, I'll send you detailed instructions for an excellent chicken stock if you find a sure way to make guanciale!

Genny, regarding the contents of your refrigerator, I would like to second your resolution. I was thinking of something along those lines, but not in such witty terms. And Karen, Carrot Top, don't be so modest. I for one have learned a lot from you, as have the children of the corn. And as for ma petite chou-chou, well, there's no smilie icon with flushed cheeks, so let me merely .

indeed! I thought you might work in a kitchen where there's something other than oxtails being used for soup and for some reason....

Cool, Sandy! Thanks for posting link. (Right now, you don't need to register.) I am about to run out to three different stores. Safeway's a lefty, Whole Foods is entered on the right. Inspired by widely different responses to Trader Joe's and because I need a few expensive items for baking cookies, I will try that store...entered from the back and on the left, too, I think. Meanwhile, okay to ask another question if you or others are familiar with the reasons why supermarkets do what they do, why are more and more places clogging up the aisles with those piles of opened boxes and other displays that prevent two-way traffic or more than one shopper from squeezing through? They arouse cart-rage for me and I want to get out more quickly. It used to be just the low-end stores that did that, I thought, hoping to make you buy the plugged item even if you had no intention of doing so. However, is there something more sinister going on? Is it a ploy to make you slow down and spend more time shopping and therefore buy more? ETChange "Vic" to "Joe". Oops.

Now, let me jump in. I had no idea everyone would have the patience to fill in each and every blank. I know that I don't. So, for now, I'll just mention one thing I would like to accomplish. In 2006, I will make poolish. I will make poolishES! A couple of months ago, I lost my copy of Beard on Bread. I can't figure it out. Clearly, I am not a great housekeeper and am writing now on a laptop conveniently placed on a pull-out keyboard drawer so that the broad and ample space on the surface of my desk can accommodate piles of books, papers, receipts, envelopes, pens...along with Buff, or whatever his name is, the buffalo mascot of The University of Colorado, carved out of a grey stone veined in streaks of rust and black with broad bands of cloudy white on his nuzzle and what ought to be a furry coat were it not polished and smooth. Hmmm. Dusty, too. Perhaps I threw it out, hidden under a stack of newspapers. In any respect, for many of my generation, Beard made bread less than scary. This enormous, bald guy had an important role in the whole Back-to-basics, anti-establishment culture, especially for those of us who were too young to join in marches and all the other things that made long hair, sandals and tie-dyed shirts so glamorous. I got to watch my mother graduate with a big Peace sign pinned to the back of her robe, but all I ever did was stick avocado green flowers with orange centers on the cover of my loose-leaf notebook. But later, when I made bread, I could do at least one thing that hippies did when they lived in communes. I played Judy Collins ("I always cook with honey...") and Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell on the stereo and cooked fine-grain bulgur to mix into flour. When I went to grad school, I shopped in co-ops and baked bread on the weekends, trying new recipes until I honed in on the ones I loved best, finally moving beyond Beard to try more. However, Bread Alone by Daniel Leader and Judith Blahnik has been sitting on one shelf or another for a little more than a decade. It is kind of intimidating and very demanding of one's time since most of the recipes require sporatic care over the course of an entire day. I will resist the temptation to run out and buy something new, like the King Arthur baking guide. In this respect, my resolution resembles a number offered above. It may be warmer now, but yesterday was bitter cold. It will snow again, I hope. This is a good time to devote a day to following detailed instructions for making a poolish and coming back to it until it's dough rising and loaves cooling on the table. In between stages, I will get rid of the dust clinging to the brushed fabric of the couch and in the glow of the lights on the small living Christmas tree on the window sill that will not come down until the middle of January, I will read pages in books, not monitor screens. Then I will move on to chefs and levains.

Of all the posts submitted, this is the one that makes me the most curious, I must say! Thank you, thank you, everyone who has responded. This is fun ! Daddy-A's is sweet. Ling's is too, in a similar vein, although also in the literal sense that we have all grown to appreciate, especially when she shares the expertise of her sweet tooth. I find myself identifying with a number of the resolutions, but am pleased as well to see sentiments expressed that are either quirky and individualistic--surprising--or ones that are about adventure and pleasure. Duty isn't everything.

P.S. This thread is dedicated to Kevin72.