Eggnog

What to do when you’re homesick at Christmastime? Make all of your favorite family recipes, of course. At least that’s been my strategy lately. I hail from a long line of bakers and this is what we do for the holidays.  Tackling one recipe a night (more or less), I've slowly amassed a collection of time-honored sweets: My brother’s rocky road, Grandmother Mom’s pecan balls, Aunt Candy’s almond-frosted shortbreads, and the almond biscotti recipe I found in college (as well as a few fun additions: Sparking Berries, peppermint bark & Double Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies!).

As always, the pièce de résistance was my mom’s signature eggnog recipe. To be clear, homemade eggnog is nothing like what you find in grocery stores. Made from eggs cooked overnight in whiskey, and stirred with whipped cream, milk, vanilla and nutmeg, it is a potent cup of creamy deliciousness. Each of these recipes congers up fond memories of Christmases past, but none so much eggnog. Just the scent of it alone takes me back to sipping bits of it as a young girl, the cheer of family gatherings, laughter-filled card and dice games, and late night chats with my mom. Over the years, circumstances inevitably changed - family was scattered and loved ones were lost - but these recipes continue to be a core part of the holiday season for those of us who are together.

It was both comforting and thrilling to carry these traditions forward and share them with my ‘new’ family this year.  Looking ahead, I expect that things will continue to change and my holiday traditions will evolve as Konrad and I blend our families' customs. Nonetheless, I think its safe to say that at least eggnog will continue to be a part of Christmas for us -  I couldn't imagine the holidays without it!
 
Mum's Eggnog
6 eggs
2 cups whiskey
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup whole milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Separate eggs. Beat yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Stir in 1 cup of whiskey. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Just before egg yolks are ready, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar until stand. Mix egg whites with the yolks and stir in the remaining cup of whiskey. Let sit one hour or longer.

Beat whipping cream with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Fold into egg mixture and add milk.

Serve with a garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.

Maple Pecan Tart

Among many other things, I am thankful for maple sweets. I love all things maple, so when I found this recipe for a Maple Pecan Tart, I was smitten. A decadent pecan tart made with real maple syrup? Nevermind the fact that it also called for straight up corn syrup (the evil ingredient we try to avoid), it had Thanksgiving written all over it. Nothing that we consume on holidays counts anyway, right? Despite some minor cooking issues, it was definitely as tasty as I'd hoped. The crust and pecans were browning well before the filling had set, so I covered it and baked everything on reduced heat for double the time. Crisis averted. We shared it with Konrad's family and it was enjoyed by all, or at least so they said ;)

Pink Lady Cake

It was prettier before the cover smeared the frosting :(

So, it seems that birthdays change as we get older. It certainly helps when they fall on a weekend, so you can treat yourself to a lavish dinner out or toast drinks with friends, but weekday birthdays are pretty lackluster. This year mine fell on a Tuesday and promised to be especially uneventful. I expected to be at the office late and that the husband would be away on business. He purposely scheduled it so that he would be back the same day, but it was unlikely that I'd see him before eleven. Figuring that I'd be on my own, I got to thinking about what I should do. The obvious self-pampering options - facial, mani/pedi or hair appointment - weren't as enticing as they might have been since I'd had the works done a few weeks earlier for the wedding. I decided, instead, to bake a cake. I suppose it sounds pretty sad to be making your own birthday cake, but baking is something that always makes me happy. Besides, it was a great excuse to try a recipe for Pink Lady Cake that I'd been eying for months. So, that's what I did. The day turned out somewhat differently though. Konrad ended up catching a nasty cold and, after a sleepless and fever-ridden night, had to cancel his trip at the last minute (poor guy!). By the time I got home that night, he was feeling a bit better though and even had a present (a fun new camera!) and my favorite flowers waiting for me. So, we made dinner, had some cake and spent the rest of the evening looking at our newly posted professional wedding photos. All in all, it was a quiet but not a bad start to my thirty-second year :)

Roasted Butternut Squash with Chickpeas

This is my new favorite recipe: Roasted butternut squash mixed with garlic, chickpeas, red onions and topped with a zesty lemon tahini sauce (I followed Deb’s lead and nixed the allspice). I absolutely love it.  So much so that I went out and purchased extra squash after our voluminous farm share provisions ran out (noteworthy because we'd sworn off squash until next year!). This last time we substituted green onions, what we had on hand, and tossed in extra parsley. I dare say the combination made it even better.  Hearty, tasty and healthy, it’s the perfect fall dish.

Married!

So, here's something I never thought I would do. A week ago today I married my longtime sweetheart, Konrad. The day was perfect in every way: We were surrounded by our closest friends and family, blessed with a radiant New England fall day and both the ceremony and reception came off blunder-free. Well, blunder-free except for the small matter of Fr. George mixing up our vows, which we will laugh about for years. At the end of the night, a good friend took the opportunity to jokingly remind me how opposed I once was to the institution of marriage. Ever the sentimentalist, this got me thinking of the bygone days. Its true, my eighteen-year-old self would certainly not approve. But then again what did that girl know about life or love? I haven't lost any of myself in the exchange. On the contrary, I've gained a life partner. Circumstances change and people change, so I am letting myself off the hook. Life is full of the unexpected, and I hope that I will always be open to what ever might come my way.

Sixth Harvest

The sixth installment of our farm share arrived today! We got macintosh apples, sweet corn, buttercup squash, red kuri squash, cabbage, red kale, leeks, russet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beets and green leaf lettuce. As I unpacked everything, I got to thinking about how, in just six short weeks, the program has completely changed the way we eat. Our fridge is literally overflowing with fresh produce! Knowing that we only have a limited amount of time to enjoy everything definitely curtails our inclination to snack when we're out and makes processed foods seem increasingly unappealing. It has also made us more purposeful shoppers since we usually only go to the grocery store to pick up items to complement our weekly rations. I will be very sad when the program ends. In the meantime though, with fresh leeks and potatoes on hand, Potato Leek Soup is on our menu tonight!

Ikea Cinnamon Bun Love

We have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. We love it for its fun and affordable, if ubiquitous, furnishings and do-it-yourself philosophy. The possibilities are endless, but therein lies the problem. This is no place for the indecisive, which means Konrad and I are doomed every time we step foot in the place. Inevitably, we are always there til the bitter end, weighing options in the aisles amid the screaming children, until tired sales associates chase us out. We are those people. Thank goodness there are cinnamon buns waiting at the store bakery to sweeten the madness.

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time here. Our wedding is just a few weeks away and the fact that family will be staying with us has provided the much needed motivation to finally fix up the spare bedroom/study, which has served as a wasteland for empty boxes and orphaned items since we moved in. High time too, seeing as the promise of this extra room is what prompted us to move to the 'burbs in the first place. After three Ikea trips in the past month, two rounds of merchandise returns and one U-Haul rental, we've come away with a comfy futon, the big black mirror that we've been eying for years, a dissertation-writing worthy desk for me (which my crafty fiancee salvaged and revived from the depths of the "as-is" discount section), and lots of yummy cinnamon rolls, of course.

Konrad spent the better part of Sunday afternoon putting everything together (one of the many reasons I'm marrying him!) while I worked on the seating chart. The room is slowly starting to feel like a place where you might actually want to spend some time - at least our cat, Kitty (Lady Katherine de Bourgh), thinks so!

Rainbow Chard

Ever heard of rainbow chard? Me neither. We had no idea it was until it ended up in our farm share this week. Trolling the web for inspiration, we came across a great new culinary resource in The Bitten Word. Working from this recipe, I subbed in walnuts for pine nuts (what we had on hand) and sauteed the chard in olive oil with garlic, nuts and basil. The recipe said to mix the basil and nuts with the chard after removing it from heat, but I added everything to the pan before the chard was quite done, and let it cook together for a few minutes before serving. I also left out the butter just because its a bit too rich for my liking and the recipe didn't really need it. We topped everything with freshly grated parmesan cheese and served it on a bed of toasted pearl couscous prepared with vegetable broth. The combination of ingredients resulted in a dish with great texture and wonderful flavor, which is something that we'll definitely be making again.Turns out that rainbow chard is pretty fabulous, at least in this entree!

Insect Encounters

Anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm not an outdoorsy girl. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely believe we should do everything we can to conserve our resources and preserve our natural habitats. I am fully committed to doing my part, but that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy spending extended periods of time in the great outdoors. I don't like dirt, and, most of all, I don't like insects. So, when an enormous grub fell out of the farm share corn that I was shucking last night and into my hands, I was pretty horrified. I started to rethink my enthusiasm for farm produce before I got to thinking about the alternative - cooking with conventional fruit and vegetables, many of which are likely to have been genetically modified and saturated in toxic pesticide. All things considered, I guess the occasional insect encounter is a fair price to pay for produce that is grown the way it should be. Nonetheless, the trusty kitchen tongs have become my new favorite tool. Anything leafy that comes our way will first be inspected using those... at least for a while.

Farm Share

Today was the start of a farm share program on campus, which I'm super excited about. I've been wanting to invest in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for a while and jumped at the chance when my school announced that it would be hosting a program with Warner Farm this fall. Each Tuesday, for the next eight weeks, we'll receive a share of the harvest. The fun part is that we don't pre-select what we receive; we get what the farm sends us. I think it will be a great incentive to learn how to prepare different vegetables - ones that we don't ordinarily buy. At least, that's the plan. As expected, there was a big box waiting for me at the pick up site, brimming with fresh produce. This week, we received sweet corn, beefsteak tomatoes, red peppers, jalapenos, red leaf lettuce, rainbow chard, eggplant, butternut & spaghetti squash, macintosh apples and strawberries. Now we just have to figure out what to make :)

Lemonade

It occurred to me that summer was almost over and I hadn't made any real, honest-to-goodness lemonade. Being that it was already Labor Day, I decided I best do something about that. I went old school for the recipe and pulled out the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Following the age-old instructions, I made a simple syrup (subbing in turbinado sugar) and then let it cool before adding lemon juice, lemon zest, equal parts water and plenty of ice. The result? Predictably, summer in a glass. Pure happiness!

Multi-tasking Carafe!

Tomato Salad

On Thursdays there is a farmer's market in the center of town. I stopped by to wander around and stock up on fresh tomatoes, with every intention of talking Konrad into making us tomato salad (salata de rosii) for dinner - a simple Romanian dish that he introduced me to when we first started dating. He makes it by combining crusty bread, feta cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, and diced tomatoes. It's easy enough to make, but I never make it as well as he does. Hearty yet refreshing, it was the perfect meal for a hot summer night.

Cherry Cake

I made a cherry cake for my mom the other day. This is what I do when I am especially missing her: Bake her favorite things. I used this recipe from Joy of Baking but reduced the sugar and added extra almond extract. I've never been a huge fan of cherries, so I had pretty low expectations. The cake was actually kind of amazing though, with a rich texture and delicate flavor. All in all, I'm sure that my mom would have been "tickled," which is what she always used to say whenever I'd do anything in the kitchen :)

Quinoa and Feta Stuffed Peppers

Gone are the days of living down the street from our favorite restaurant. West Side Lounge, we miss you! Of course, we can (and do) drive there, but its just not the same. So, on some Saturday nights, we have to improvise and create our own delectable entrees. This Saturday, Quinoa and Feta Stuffed Peppers were on our menu, which we adapted from this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and created with fresh produce purchased from Russo's.