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A couple of years ago, I talked about The Pink Cookies. Keith’s family has been baking it up for Christmas for a few generations. Anyway, I’ve gotten pretty good at making them so I’m now going to contribute a variation. I hope the family approves! It is the same recipe for the dough, miniaturized, dipped in green tea white chocolate, with colorful sprinkles. These would make great treats to celebrate Chinese New Year on February 10th!
Hello all. How was your holiday weekend? I hope it was spent well with the people you love. This year Keith and I threw a “Friendsgiving” party. We had quite a delicious menu and some great company. We brined and spatchcocked (butterflied) a couple of turkeys raised by Stacey & Bill of My Fine Homestead. It only took an hour to cook, much faster than when roasting the turkey whole. The skin was crisp and the meat was moist and flavorful. It was also a nice re-introduction to Thanksgiving turkey for our friend Dawn who had not had it for about ten years. Speaking of Dawn, she is quite the baker. She brought a galette filled with three types of thinly sliced squash, caramelized onions, and some ricotta and parmigiano cheeses. The buttery crust had an exquisite balance of the thin flaky and tender layers. Another hit was her pear and ginger cheesecake. Mike brought a sinfully good pecan pie. I’m not a disciplined baker so my contribution was a pumpkin pie made by Grant Achatz‘ family. Thank you Whole Foods Madison for stocking it! Our friend Kiley brought some delicious extra aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Rush Creek cheeses which she helped to make. We went traditional for the sides: turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, green bean casserole, and my “must have” sweet potatoes with marshmallow. I love an American Thanksgiving. My Plate
This dessert is popularly known as brazo de Mercedes (translation, the arm of the Virgin Mary) in the Philippines. With the population consisting of about 90% practicing Christians (mostly Catholic) it’s no surprise that religion has influenced the food. Or could it be the other way around? Maybe brazo is that good! Filipinos love to get together and eat, a lot. I don’t think I can remember ever going to a Filipino party with less than 50 people attending. If you wanna be in the know they are called prayers not parties (but of course they have those too). I kid you not, it’s possible to never have to cook for a month if you just go all the prayers and parties. I am speaking from experience living in Champaign, Illinois where there is a huge Filipino community. With Easter coming up this weekend, this dessert is sure to show up on many tables. Brazo de Mercedes
Gun deer season was nearly a month ago here in Wisconsin. For those of you who aren’t hunters, or don’t know hunters, it’s difficult to understand how big an event this is. In Wisconsin, it’s like the Packers playing the Bears, Bratfest, and fried cheese curds rolled up into one. Now, I’m not a hunter. It’s not that I have a moral aversion to hunting. More like a moral aversion to sitting in the cold woods for hours. In fact, I believe if we’re going to screw with the ecosystem (pretty much a given) it’s our responsiblity to try to manage the results. And part of that is taking on the role of the predator to control the deer population*. As a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist, however, I decided to outsource my predation duties to another. My friend Jeremy Wilson was kind enough to share some vension from his freezer. A few nights ago we enjoyed some excellent tenderloin, which we prepared using Jeremy’s suggested recipe.
Hello there, have you finished holiday shopping yet? I’ve got more than a few on my list to go plus a tree that needs to be bought and put up this weekend. For friends out of state I like to shop for gifts from Wisconsin Made, Bavaria, and Fromagination. Shopping online is very convenient especially when you’ve got some cookies baking in the oven. I know what you’re thinking. I promise, this is anything but another boring cookie recipe. Just look how sinful and delicious they look. Grown-up Cookies
About two or three years ago I was given the recipe for “Pink Cookies” by Keith’s mom, LaDonna. I think it’s because she had gotten so sick of making them for so many years. Plus, Keith probably eats about two dozen of these cookies around this time of the year. (I hope not too many more). It was inevitable that I had to learn how to make them. The recipe can be traced in the family as far back as the early 1800′s. After much pleading from Keith, I hesitantly made my first batch of the family’s traditional cookies. As you can see below, I’m not very good at frosting. I used a bit too much liquid in the mixture. The cookies also need to be a bit thicker. (Sigh) Give me a couple more years to get it right. My Pink Cookies
Hi there, how was your Thanksgiving? I hope you finally feel better after the weekend of gluttony. Keith’s family drove all the way to our house from upstate NY. It was wonderful to get to spend some time with them since we don’t get to see them very often. Our party included five adults and two grand dogs, Ollie & Nikita. I’ll let you guess which dog matches what name below.
We hope everyone had a great time yesterday. Keith and I love our little town in Wisconsin. Here are some pictures. From the library drill team, miniature horses, big trucks, brats, and strawberry-rhubarb pie. What could be better? By the way, the last pic is of Eileen from the Innovation Kitchen which will be opening this coming weekend! Have a great day
Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to a new beginning and new adventures. Do you have any resolutions? Last year I was going to run a half marathon by the end of the year. That didn’t happen because I ran too much too soon so I got plantar fasciitis on both feet. This year, I’m gonna start slow. The plan is to do a 5K every month or two. In fact, I’ve already signed up for one on January 23rd. Wish me luck and best wishes on your resolutions. |
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