Ling

I had booze and chocolate yesterday. No painkillers, but the four cheese spinach dip with fried bread was a decent substitute.

I made a pecan tart today, and more Mexican wedding cookies. I had a few cookies, a slice of the tart, and also an assortment of the cookies my sister's mom brought over (chocolate crinkles, chocolate coconut square, and a piece of her pecan pie bar.)

Christmas Eve at my house (with my mom's side of the family): before dinner... -Pichet Ong's pate choux filled with smoked salmon mousse with dill -goat cheese mousse in Parm tuiles (French Laundry) main... -prime rib -roast vegetables -Chinese sticky rice -sausage, artichoke, sourdough bread stuffing -a bunch of other Chinese items...like these tiny seasoned meat balls folded inside a thin egg crepe, braised shiitake, some "special" Chinese soup, like the one made with black-skinned chicken or fish maw desserts... -a simple cookie tray (Mexican Wedding cookies, shortbread, Grasshopper squares--dark chocolate brownies topped with mint ganache, pecan pie bars, lemon bars) -the cream puffs filled with whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate Christmas with my dad's side of the family: -the same appetizers as above -mains will be turkey and roast pork, with the usual sides (sweet potato mash, mashed potatoes, peas, stuffing, etc.) desserts... -cream puffs -Tart Grenobloise -caramel cheesecake -same cookie tray as the one listed above

I can't seem to put down these cookies...

It's 1:48 a.m. over here. Just polished off over a dozen pecan sandies, warm from the oven. Bedtime!

That's great, Susan! I tried making poached eggs last week. Let's just say most of it went into the garbage. My mom made perfect poached eggs for me every morning when I was a kid...I thought it would be an easy thing to do, but evidently not!

I'm sure it will be lovely...almost as lovely as your writing, Racheld. I had the same Costco cookies today..the tiramisu flavour (new) and the chocolate cigarette ones are my favourites. But I did have room for all the espresso flavoured ones, and all the chocolate wafers too!

^I actually think I prefer the taste of the dough. Welcome to the dark side, tejon.

^Patrick: Beautiful, as always. I read that you used the Hershey Black Cocoa for this batch--do you find a difference in the taste? I like the extra dark colour of the macaroons...what about you?

Oohh...pierogi pictures! I love the tradition of making a family cookbook every year, Zuke! I hope you'll include a photo of this year's cookbok in this blog.

I sear them and keep them very rare. There's not much fat in them.

I know I said I wasn't going to eat sweets for a few days upthread...but I caved. What can I say... Had a selection of those Belgian chocolate cookies from Kirkland (Costco brand). My favourite has always been the chocolate cigarette cookie and the espresso one that's covered in chocolate. This year, they have a few new selections, like a lime one coated with white chocolate.

All the cookies are beautiful. Ruth, your picture makes me want to make PH's sables soon. I read on the forum that they're hard to pipe. Did you think they were worth the effort? They're certainly pretty!

I had a HK style bun from a Chinese bakery--it's rectangular, spread with Japanese mayo, and then topped with a thick, fluffy piece of steamed egg with chives. The sides of the bun are coated with mayo, and then pressed into "pork fluff", and there's mayo and pork fluff inside the bun too. Yum. Also had leftovers from last night's dinner, which was "meat cake" (like Chinese meat loaf)...rich pork with minced scallions and ginger, a bit of dried shrimp paste, minced cuttlefish for texture, and topped with salted egg.

^I'm glad they turned out well for you! The addition of cinnamon and currants is interesting; once, I added gingerbread spices (some nutmeg, some cinnamon) to a batch of the Korova cookies and they were pretty good as well. Like you, I also underbake to keep them softer. Jaz: your mini cookies (only 1" across!) are adorable!

I've made them before--they are delicious! (If you like egg nog, that is.) I just added the spices you find in egg nog to my regular recipe (2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 6 yolks, dash of vanilla).

I don't blind bake any graham crust (chocolate or regular). Just mix in some butter and sugar, and pack it down. They've never turned out soggy or anything for me.

Hapa Izakaya is another option if you're looking for a bustling atmosphere. Good food, too.

Sure, I have the recipe memorized. It's from the Five Roses cookbook, but I've made a few changes. 1 cup brewed coffee, cooled 6 eggs separated 1 3/4 cup AP flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp vanilla 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 tsp cream of tartar **Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. 2. Make a well in the center, add in egg yolks, vegetable oil, and brewed coffee. 3. In a separate bowl, add cream of tartar to egg whites. Beat until medium-firm peaks. 4. Beat the flour/egg/oil/coffee mixture until combined. Gently fold in thirds into the whites. 5. Pour batter into an ungreased bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Turn up the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 10 minuntes more. 6. Invert the cake until cool (but I always just wait for like 10-15 minutes and it pops out no problem, while it's still nice and warm!). Run a knife along the edge of the pan to release. (Entering it in Recipe Gullet now.)

^Yes. I know. Dessert is my one vice. Today I had a pan of soft, marshmallowy rice krispies. (Yes, a pan.) A box of chocolate cigarette cookies. (Yes, a box). Brownie batter. Brownies. Half a pineapple bun (Chinese sweet pastry bun). A few bites of pie. A chocolate Digestive cookie. I am going to lay down now. And I'm swearing off sugar for the next two or three days or else I won't be able to fit into my clothes for the three big dinners coming up!

Coffee chiffon cake Serves 10 as Dessert. This is a very simple, light cake. The original recipe came from an old Five Roses cookbook, but I've made a few changes. This is the first cake I started baking when I was 10 years old or so, so it has a special place in my heart. It is also a favourite of my mom's. I've probably made it about a thousand times over the years! 1 c brewed coffee, cooled 6 eggs, separated 1 c AP flour 1 c granulated sugar 1 T vanilla extract 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 1/2 c vegetable oil 1 T baking powder **Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. 2. Make a well in the center, add in egg yolks, vegetable oil, and brewed coffee. 3. In a separate bowl, add cream of tartar to egg whites. Beat until medium-firm peaks. 4. Beat the flour/egg/oil/coffee mixture until combined. Gently fold in thirds into the whites. 5. Pour batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Turn up the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for about 10 minutes more. 6. Invert the cake until cool (but I always just wait for like 10-15 minutes and it pops out no problem, while it's still nice and warm!). Run a knife along the edge of the pan to release. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Cake ( RG1540 )

too much eggnog

Same here. I want to make everything that PatrickS makes. Next up are macaroons! There are quite a few pictures of the Tarte Grenobloise in the Pierre Herme thread, but the pictures that particularly appealed to me belong to kthull. I knew I had to make that tart after seeing THIS!! Others include the banana cake recipe Wendy posted, and the butter cake from Sarah Phillips. The other "best" recipes I've found this year (which I've since adapted), are the Frog Comisssary carrot cake, and the Peninsula Grill coconut cake. I wouldn't have tried these recipes without Egullet!

Yes...still waiting. We're having dinner at Villa del Lupo on the 23rd, though. I neglected to mention much about the food my family eats on NYE. Usually, we have turkey on Christmas, and prime rib on NYE. This year, we're having prime rib on Christmas Eve, turkey (and another roast or two) at my aunt's on Christmas. NYE will probably be Chinese hot pot (like shabu shabu), which comes up sometimes instead of the traditional prime rib.

^Ok, I'll try that next time. Thanks!