Decorate Your Tree -- In Frosting!

After admiring the Christmas tree cupcakes mentioned yesterday, I came across this Christmas tree cake, decorated on the same principle, from Dessert Recipes Grill.

Wow.

(Here are the cupcakes, in case you've forgotten. They're cute, too.)

     You'll need icing decorating tips and, of all things -- ice cream cones.  Unlike the cupcakes, the cones are cut in half, then fixed to the side of the cake.

Go here for decorating instructions, and the recipe for the cake.  This video, on making the Christmas Tree cupcakes, helps too. (The link to the cupcakes recipe is here.)

Wouldn't these be pretty on your holiday dinner table?

(This also ran on the Christmas Goodies blog --

 lots of holiday cooking ideas you might enjoy.)

It's Coming Back!

    Yes, the Christmas Goodies blog is finally waking up... and starting with a batch of Thanksgiving goodies, to get you warmed up.

These will also run concurrently on our Holiday Goodies blog; until the Christmas and Hannukah recipes start. Be sure to subscribe to both!

Look for more very soon. Glad you're here.

Well, I'm not!

Goodbye For Now

Christmas Goodies is closing down for a long winter's nap...but we'll be back in the fall, with more ideas for your holiday season. (Who knows -- maybe in the summer, if we get in the Christmas spirit!)

Meanwhile, stop by our 'other' holiday goodies site for frugal recipes, and celebrating the other holidays in our year, from St. Patricks to Halloween -- with some surprises in between, like National Pie Day and Tax Day!


See you soon.

The Seven Fish Dishes Rise Again!

(This was also printed in my other blog, A Brick Looks at Life. Stop over and say hi...)

     Every Christmas Eve, we have seven fish dishes.

We're not Italian, nor Catholic, though the custom stems from Italians celebrating the Seven Sacraments of the Church. Somehow, though, we've been doing this ever since the girls were little. They've loved it so much, they've taught their partners to love it, as well.

It IS nice. The table is set with best china: dishes I inherited from my Grandma Pearl. (They must be c.1910-20.) Colored goblets for the wine (usually a nice red) and fruit juice. Specially-chosen candles, napkins and often crackers, those silly British party favors that give you a paper crown, a prize and jokes.

On to the menu -- the best part of the festivities. This year, it was:




New England-style clam chowder

Angels on Horseback  (oysters wrapped in bacon)

Swordfish Bites - with a zippy Vietnamese marinade

Shrimp Scampi Brochettes

Arctic Char...topped with mustard sauce, then lingonberry preserves. The delicate meat, much like trout, was served on a bed of sauteed bitter greens.**

Pompano... topped with a green olive salsa**

Scallops Rockefeller   (similar to Oysters Rockefeller, but with kale, instead of spinach)

Mako shark...topped with a lime and cilantro sauce.**

If you came up with 8 fish dishes, instead of 7, you're right! I am very lucky to have Daughter #1's partner enjoy this so much that he brings several dishes. (You can also enjoy his expertise -- he's the co-owner and head chef at the Interstate Bar and Grill on Santa Fe St. in downtown Denver, famous for its "scratch-made comfort food.") The starred items (**) are his. 

We were supposed to have whole lobster for Dish #9, but were just too full. That happened the next day instead, at Christmas dinner.

Then for dessert:  Sachertorte, The Mama's Christmas sugar cookies... and hot strong coffee, to help us all bear up. Whew. We'll spend hours talking, with people periodically getting up to clear table, load the dishwasher and sneak leftover bits of their favorites.

Here are some previous years' menus, including 2017 and 2016's version. My Christmas Goodies blog has several more years' choices. (In fact, it will include this post, too.) 

You might enjoy doing this next December for the people you love!

Merry Christmas!

Praises sing to the Newborn King. We celebrate His birth...
               and the hope and peace He offers to all.

Have a meaningful and restful Christmas.

Christmas Eve...And Seven Fish Dishes

     A long time ago, when the girlies were both little, we began having seven fish dishes on Christmas Eve. (The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian Catholic tradition, to celebrate the seven sacraments. No, we're not Catholic. Or Italian.) I was experimenting with featuring a country during the Christmas season, so our daughters would get to know other cultures and tradition. What I didn't know was that this particular meal would become our tradition for decades!

The Christmas Goodies blog includes several years' worth of these. Here's one year  to check out. Previous years have longer lists and more recipes than this one. (Life was zany that year. So sue me.)



This year will be different. For one, it's still on Christmas Eve. (We were going to switch it to Christmas Day, to give ourselves a better crack at things. But Daughter #1, for the first time, will be spending the day with Boyfriend at his family's house on Christmas. I am trying not to think about how hard that will be, not to have her here.) 
    For another, Daughter #1's boyfriend, D, is an accomplished cook who runs the kitchen at Interstate, the Denver cafe he owns with his brother. I've tasted his food, and it's outstanding. What's he going to think about my home-cooking-and-general-fooling-around methods?

    He is a nice guy, and probably will be fine with it. Still, I wonder. 

I only have four dishes to do this time around. D has offered to make two, and Daughter #1 wants to contribute one, as well. Also, the girlies asked for their old favorites (#4 and #6), which keeps my experimenting down to a minimum. So here's the current menu:

SEVEN FISH DISHES -- 2017

1. Lobster bisque  (D's contribution)

2. Smoked whitefish  (ditto)

3. Sushi of some kind (Daughter #1's offering)

4. Angels and devils on horseback  (oysters and chicken livers wrapped in bacon. recipe's here)

5. Feeding the Fishes 'concrete'  
        (caviar mixed with sour cream, yogurt and spices: the caviar, plus peppercorns, gives it a gravel pit look. This one's served with crackers -- maybe blini, if I have the time and energy.)
    You get the joke on this, right? Guys that have displeased the Mob, pushed overboard with 'concrete galoshes.' When asked where they are, they're 'feeding the fishes'... 
    Well, I thought it was funny. The dip really DOES look like speckled concrete.

'Ummm...I don't get it.'

6. Shrimp Scampi  (tender shrimp, sauteed in butter and garlic. recipe's here)

7. Teriyaki Salmon fillets   
         (baked with lemon juice and a judicious coating of jarred wasabi teriyaki sauce. Or use this.)

A bottle of wine. Sparkling water, mixed with fruit juice.  Maybe some of the mead, leftover from Thanksgiving.

   Plus some side dishes: rice, green beans (simply cooked with lemon juice and a sprinkle of bacon), clementines, a basic green salad...and frozen strawberries, whizzed in the blender with honey for a slushie effect. You need some accents as 'refreshers,' or all that seafood gets a little cloying.

For dessert:  Hot coffee, Sachertorte (another Brick favorite), a variety of cookies...and some chocolates. (Maybe some of the Mozartkugeln I snagged at Tuesday Morning. These guys are amazing.)
                        
 
 
     To be eaten slowly and savored, as we celebrate another wonderful year. 





This post also ran on the Brickworks blog...

Cookies... Mmmmmmmmmm

 Work is done at Tuesday Morning this week. (Thursday night was long and difficult, and finished with relief. To my friends who got scheduled to work this weekend -- I'm sorry.) Only one more day, then my stint as a holiday temp is done. The bum knee, no thanks to Charley the dog, is doing better.

Life, appraisal and teaching-wise, is quiet. No one wants to worry about this during the holidays...except for the person who's gifting a special piece, and wants to make sure it's protected before it's sent off. I've even done a last-minute appraisal on Christmas eve afternoon! 

Our oven has been acting up for weeks  -- and the Brick, after tearing it apart this afternoon, announced it needed a new circuit board. (Yes, that translates out as 'expensive.' I am getting used to its quirks, though -- like the need to set temps 25 degrees higher than I normally use. (Son #1 figured this one out.) I can make do. In fact, I made the Brick promise that he could easily put the stove back together now, so I have it for the Fish Dishes!

We still have a bunch of work to do before tomorrow night (and the Seven Fish Dishes), not to mention singing for three services in the morning. Stuff is Everywhere. However, most of the presents are wrapped, plans are reasonably complete...and I feel pretty serene about it all.

How can you help but think about cookies this time of the month? The Mama's wonderful sugar cookies are a pleasant memory. I don't have time to roll out more cookie shapes, but I will bake up two delicious quickies, instead.

First up is Hogmany Shortbread, a crispy, rich cookie that literally takes minutes to push into a pan. Other names for this buttery cookie include 'parliaments' (or 'parlies') and 'petticoat tails.' It's traditional for New Year's, as well as Christmas.

SHORTBREAD

3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 cup regular sugar
2 cups butter

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Soften or melt the butter, then mix in flour and sugars to make a soft dough. (For even better results, chill dough for at least 30 min., up to several hours.) Pat out onto ungreased pan in a circle, or spread out into a 9" x 9" or 9" x 13" pan or sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20-30 min., until barely brown. Let cool, then cut into squares or fingers. Store in a covered container; makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Shortbread fingers, from Wikipedia

Next up is one of my favorites -- a cookie that looks like a snowball, and is just as easy to form. This recipe comes from Reader's Digest, but is almost word for word like the Mama's version. I've also heard it called Mexican wedding cakes, or its crystalline namesake.

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar  (plus about 1 cup more for frosting)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans taste best)

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Soften or melt the butter, then mix in the other ingredients. (Add additional flour if the dough seems too mushy or soft.) Form balls, using your hands. (Tip: wet them, or rub lightly with butter, to keep things from sticking.) Bake on an ungreased pan for 10 minutes, until firm and lightly touched with brown. While the balls are still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Makes approx. 4 dozen.

These cookies are both particularly good with hot drinks, an interesting book...and a snowy afternoon spent cozily by the glowing lights of the Christmas tree. 

If you'd like to try more cookies:

Moneysaving Mom's Angel Face Cookies are a tasty cross between a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle.

Hundred Dollars A Month has 25 different cookie recipes to try.

Betty Crocker's site has 24 days' worth of cookie recipes.

Oh my.

(This post also ran on the general Brickworks blog. Look for this year's version of the Seven Fish Dishes this weekend!)