A warm welcome to Melissa Bourbon, who was kind enough to join us today on very short notice!  Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas.  She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.

She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox and two romantic suspense novels to be released in 2012.

And now, Misa ~

I wanted to be a chef, once upon a time.  My dad said, “Go to college for two years, and then we’ll talk about the culinary institute.”  So I did.  And when two years were up, I went to my dad and he said, “You’re half way there, why don’t you just finish.”

So I did.  And I’m so glad because I think living a writing life is a lot more condusive to having a family and maintaining my sanity than the life of a chef would have been.  Plus I can still fit in my clothes, which is a good thing and might not have been the case had I’d gone into culinary arts since I also greatly enjoy baking.

But the perk of not cooking for a living is that I get to cook now and thoroughly enjoy it.  One of my new all time favorites, ever since I was invited to attend The California Strawberry Commission’s fabulous blogger event in Dallas last summer.

One of the things on their menu was Mahi Mahi tacos (straight from the California strawberry cookbook).

Can I just say... these tacos are an absolute favorite for me now.  Ever since that night in Dallas, I’m in love with Mahi Mahi tacos.

Why?

Three reasons.

    •    The Fish.
    •    The Chipotle Avocado Sour Cream.
    •    The Strawberry Salsa.

First, the fish.  It’s seasoned with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Chili, if you want.  Then you grill it.  Muy facil.

Next, Chipotle Avocado Sour Cream.  This just entails our cream, chopped up avocado, and a teaspoon of chipotle chili in adobo sauce (comes in a can in the International/Mexican food section of your market).  Mash it all together and there you have it.  Delicioso.

The Strawberry salsa is made up of chopped red onion, strawberries, mango, papaya (I use frozen mango and papaya), and cilantro. It's a sweet salsa, and my absolute favorite thing.  Extra cilantro on my portion.

Serve on soft corn tortillas and ENJOY!  I implore you, try this dish.  Everyone who ever has it absolutely loves it!  When I need inspiration for my writing, I don’t turn to chips or cookies or cereal (okay, well, sometimes I do).  I make Mahi Mahi tacos with strawberry salsa, and oh my gosh, I’m sure my books are better because of it.

Don't miss Melissa's latest book, A Fitting End. 

Former Manhattan fashion designer Harlow Jane Cassidy has a gift for creating beautiful dresses.  But when Harlow becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she’ll more than her sewing skills to unravel the mystery…

Business is booming at Harlow’s custom dressmaking boutique, Buttons & Bows, even with the presence of her great-grandmother’s ghost hanging around the shop.  But thanks to the fast approaching Margaret Moffette Lea Pageant and Ball, Harlow has her work cut out for her when Mrs. Zinnia James hires her to make her granddaughter’s pageant gown.

With the debutant ball getting the whole town of Bliss, Texas into a tizzy, Harlow knows her dress has to be perfect.  But when a local golf pro is found stabbed to death with dressmaking shears, the new deputy thinks Harlow and Mrs. James conspired to commit the crime.  Now Harlow has to finish the dress on time and clear her name before the next outfit she designs is a prison jumpsuit…

Learn more about Melissa at her website.

Steamed Pudding

by Sheila Connolly

My family didn't have a lot of food traditions.  I've already mentioned the omnipresent roast beef at any gathering of more than five people at our home--never a ham!  For years we catered to one crochety older relative who loved creamed onions and mashed turnips, but those disappeared from our lives when he did.  My New York grandmother kept us supplied with wonderful cakes and cookies, so we didn't bake much for the holidays.  The one constant exception was steamed pudding.

This really is a throwback recipe, harking to old English custom.  If you read descriptions from the day, it sounds rather disgusting.  I checked my Williamsburg Art of Cookery (1742), where the recommendation for plum pudding was to combine pounds of raisins, orange and lemon peel, walnuts, suet, breadcrumbs, salt, sugar and flour--plus one teaspoon cinnamon and one-quarter teaspon each of nutmeg, mace, ginger and cloves (ten pounds of ingredients and a grand total of two teaspoons of spices?  Talk about blah!).  Then pour it into molds, "tie down with a clean scalded cloth and boil gently for ten hours."  Yes, ten hours.

Another options was to put your pudding into a floured bag and boil for a few hours--I have to hope that the flour created a crust, or the thing would be one soggy mess.  Or maybe that's what they were aiming for.

The "modern" version is not limited to the fruit and nuts variety.  When I say modern, I'm referring to the Boston Cooking School Cookbook (aka "Fanny Farmer"), the 1947 edition--my family's Bible for basic cooking.  For as long as I can remember, we had Steamed Chocolate Pudding for Christmas dinner.  As you can see, it shows penciled edits by my mother, my sister and me, added over the years.

Steamed Chocolate Pudding

3 Tblsp butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour (we preferred cake flour because it gives a finer texture)
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter, then add sugar gradually, then the egg.  Sift the flour with the baking pwder and salt, and add alternately with the milk to the butter-sugar mixture.

Melt the chocolate (Fannie et al. did this over boiling water, but they hadn't invented microwave ovens in her day) and add the to mixture.

Turn into a buttered mold.  Steam for 1 3/4 hours.  Serve with whipped cream.


Sounds simple, doesn't it?  The challenges are (1) to find a steamed pudding mold (I have three, the rather plain family heirloom, and a couple of fancier ones I bought for myself) and (2) steaming the thing.  The instructions say, fill your mold no more than 2/3 full (this will expand!), cover it (place a layer of buttered wax paper beneath the cover so it won't stick), place the mold on a trivet in a kettle containing enough boiling water to come halfway up the mold.  Keep the level steady, adding more boiling water as needed.

It had never occurred to me that the effect here is cooking it at precisely boiling temperature, 212 degrees F.  Baking it in a low oven would not create the same affect.  On the plus side, you can do this on the stovetop, if your oven is occupies with a turkey/goose/roast.  On the minus side, you can't tell how it's doing, all sealed up in there, and you have to take the timing on faith.

A couple of comments, gleaned over the many years:

--The blinking thing floats!  You really have to find a way to weight it down so that the lower part stays both level and consistently submerged, or you'll end up with an unevenly cooked cake that tilts to one side.

--Butter everything well, or some part will stick somewhere.  It'll still taste good, but it won't be a pretty presentation for guests.

--If you use unsweetened chocolate, the pudding will not be very sweet (you can compensate by sweetening the whipped cream).  You might prefer semi-sweet chocolate.

Ah, but when it works, it's a delightful smooth and light cake that melts in your mouth.  It's worth the trouble!

One last note:  the 1947 cookbook offers pages of alternatives, involving cranberries, blueberries, carrots (!), figs, mixed fruit, ginger and orange cream, plus, of course the traditional plum and suet puddings. 

Have a happy New Year!

A Recipe for a Simple New Year

Can you believe it? Our Christmas Cookie Contest resulted in a tie between Raspberry Rollups and Spicy Ginger Cookies!  Please help us select the winner in a run-off between them.  We realize that a lot of people are on vacation, traveling, and well, not reading their regular blogs right now, so we're giving you until January 5th to vote!  [Click on the right column...]

It's almost New Year's. Can you believe it? Where did the time go?

What's your resolution? Do you really need to make one?  Resolutions don't need to make us feel like we're losers (or need to lose) or need fixing. Resolutions can be positive -- created to build up all those around us and make our community (family, friends, the world) stronger.  Can yours be simply to love a little bit more, to care a little bit more, to take just a tad more time to pay attention to someone?

Could it be to offer a kindly word? A word of support? To donate a dollar to a worthy cause?

One of my new year's resolutions is to make life a little simpler so that I'm not a crank or crackpot. [This would help a whole horde of people, believe me!] Over the holidays, I realized that the perfectionist I long to be must go. She gets in my way. She makes me tense. Martha Stewart can take a hike. I like simple. I like easy-to-make foods. I like simple decor. During the past few weeks, whenever I strived to do too much, it never failed that I fell behind or fell short [and got mightily snappy!].

So my resolution is to simply...my desk, my kitchen, my life.

And I really have to simplify this next month because I have a book due (#5 in the series) and a new book coming out, (Clobbered by Camembert), and travel with my husband and travel to tout the new book, and birthday celebrations and...

You get the idea. I've got to find time to BREATHE!

One of the best ways I simplify is by cooking something easy or cooking somthing I've made before so the recipe and instructions are almost by "rote" and doesn't require a lot of thinking or extra stops at the grocery store, etc. I'd like to share one of my favorite meals, perfect for New Year's or any time during the cool winter season!

Enjoy.

LAMB STEW WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

SLOW-COOKER

Ingredients:

2 pounds lamb stew pieces (bone in)

6-8 Roma tomatoes

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 cup arugula

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

8 fingerling potatoes

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:

Turn on slow cooker to 8-10 hour setting.

Put lamb in pot.  Add ½ cup arugula (reserve rest to adorn meal).

Peel and chop onion small bits.  Then peel and chop tomatoes.  Add to pot.

Add herbs, salt, pepper, potatoes, stock and water.

Cook for 8-10 hours. 

Serve with Parmesan cheese shredded on top of portions. Adorn with more arugula.  {Note: This is great served warm the next day.  Reheat in a slow oven, approximately 200 degrees for 1 ½ hours.}

To round out a great new year's meal, here are a few other suggestions using recipes we've had on Mystery Lovers Kitchen before:

Radicchio & Burrato Mozzarella Appetizers

Fall Pumpkin Seed Salad 

And choose from any number of desserts from our recipe file (It's on the upper left, see it??). That recipe file includes these scrumptious offerings (direct links provided here):

Butter Pecan Cheesecake by Krista Davis or
Charmed Blueberry Pie by Ellery Adams or
Frozen Yogurt Bites by Cleo Coyle

And for breakfast the next morning, 

I promised I would reprise this tasty 

Bacon with French Toast and melted cheese recipe:

Savory French Toast (my recipe)


Enjoy the day, the year, and your life.

Say cheese!

* * *

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

Chat with me on Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for my mailing list

 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

And watch for CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT, coming out February 2012.

* * * * * * * *

 

BOOKSELLERS LINK

The Cocoa Conspiracy

Hi Everyone,

It’s wonderful to be here, visiting the “Kitchen” during the Holiday revelries. Krista has been so sweet to invite me to chat about my December book, THE COCOA CONSPIRACY, which is the second in my Lady Arianna Regency-set historical mystery series.

Now, December is a perfect month release month for the book because a great deal of the action takes place in the winter of 1814 at the Congress of Vienna  . . . where the art of drinking, eating and partying was raised to new levels of exuberant excess. Sumptuous suppers, sparkling champagne, lavish ballrooms filled with the rich and the royal dancing until dawn. Trust me—there wasn’t a more swinging city on the planet! In fact, Tsar Alexander of Russia, one of the main party boys, gained so much weight during the festivities that he had to send to St. Petersburg for a whole wardrobe (we girls can sympathize with that!)

My hero and heroine have come to Vienna in order to find an English traitor who is threatening to plunge Europe back into war. To unmask the villain, they must root out a cunning conspiracy—armed only with their wits and expertise in chocolate...

One of the fun things about writing the book was adding some of the real life people who attended the Conference as “color” characters. Metternich, Tsar Alexander and Talleyrand, the French Foreign minister are all fabulously fun. But there is an even more delicious historical figure.

Marie Antoine Carême served as the personal chef to Talleyrand, the charismatic French Foreign Minister, during the time period of my story . . . Now forget Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay—Carême was the first celebrity chef, and in his astounding career, he cooked not only for Talleyrand but also for Napoleon, the Prince Regent of England, Tsar Alexander and the Rothschild family. Known as the Chef of Kings, (and the King of Chefs) he revolutionized many elements of haute cuisine, but he is perhaps best known for his amazing skills with pastries. So how could I resist having him and Arianna cross cooking spoons!

Now, in my research, I came across a number of Carême’s orginal recipes, but they were a bit daunting in size. So I’ll share a modern version of one of his classics (He invented the Charlotte Russe in honor of the Russian Tsar, as well as Nesselrode Pudding, a great favorite of the Prince Regent, which was named in honor of the Russian Foreign Minister, Karl von Nesselrode.)

Charlotte Russe
(recipe courtesy of Paula Dean/Food Network)

Ingredients:

1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water, for softening gelatin
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
3 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon homemade vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Homemade angel food cake or ladyfingers
2 tablespoons sweet sherry (don't use cooking sherry)
1/2 cup fruit preserves, optional
7 large egg whites
Fresh berries or cut fruit, for garnish

Directions:

Soften the gelatin in a bowl with the water. Pour in the milk and completely dissolve the gelatin. Let it sit while you prepare rest of filling, stirring it every now and again to keep gelatin from separating and settling to bottom.

Sweeten 2 cups of the cream with 1 cup of the sugar and beat it with a handheld electric mixer until it is fairly stiff. Add vanilla and fold it in. Stir in dissolved gelatin and gently but thoroughly fold it into whipped cream and set it aside.

Cut cake into ladyfinger-sized pieces, about 1/2-inch thick by 1-inch wide and as long as your mold is deep. Line bottom and sides of a 3-quart mold or bowl with cake, being sure that there are no gaps in it. Hold back enough cake to cover top of mold or bowl. Sprinkle cake with sherry and spread it with a thin layer of jam or fruit preserves, if using.

Beat egg whites to stiff but not dry peaks with a handheld electric mixer, then fold thoroughly into whipped cream and gelatin filling. Spoon filling into cake-lined mold, making sure there are no gaps or air pockets between filling and cake. Press reserved cake on top of filling.

Chill until cream is set, 4 to 6 hours. When you are ready to serve, gently run a knife around edges of mold to make sure that the Charlotte has not stuck to it, then invert onto plate. Carefully lift off mold.

Lightly sweeten remaining 1 cup cream with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until it is stiff. If you like, you can put it into a pastry bag and pipe it onto the Charlotte, or simply spoon it on, using it to cover any gaps in the outer layer of cake. Garnish with fresh fruit.

You can read an excerpt from THE COCOA CONSPIRACY, and  learn more about Careme and the history of Regency England at my website: www.andreapenrose.com

Gourmet Potato Pancake Festival and Esther's favorite Latke Recipe from Cleo Coyle

Cleo Coyle, latke lover, 
is author of The
Coffeehouse Mysteries

Potato pancakes (latkes) are the favorite Chanukah food of my beloved Village Blend barista Esther, and I think she would have thoroughly enjoyed Brooklyn's 3rd Annual Latke Festival, where 15 chefs from around the world recently battled each other in a gourmet potato pancake cook-off.

To see a short, fun video shot at this festival for New York's Channel 1, click here. Attendees got their fill of an astounding global mashup of flavors with toppings that included figs, goat cheese, duck confit, caviar, quail eggs, cured meats, pickled vegetables, chiles, and even chocolate sprinkles.

Inspired by Brooklyn's Lakte Festival, and the last night of Chanukah, I am delighted to share two latke recipes with you today. The first recipe is a reprise from last year, when one of our followers, Nancy Phillips, informed us that her teenage son Connor (an aspiring Iron chef) came up with an amazing latke recipe based on my Autumn Potatoes post. Wouldn't Connor's recipe have made a wonderful entry in the Brooklyn Festival?!  



To see the original teen Iron Chef post, click here.

To download a PDF of Connor's Garlic Carrot-Potato Latkes with Dill, click here.

As for the second recipe, well...let's just say it's Esther's best. :)

Esther's Roasted Garlic 
and Herb Latkes (Potato Pancakes!)

Below is my barista Esther's own unique spin on her mom’s traditional latke recipe. To the classic pancake, she adds the sweet and pungent flavor of roasted garlic along with the aromatic notes of rosemary and scallion. Serve these babies plain or with sour cream on the side. Delicious!


This recipe was featured in my Coffeehouse Mystery Holiday Grind...

If you're new to me or this blog, the Coffeehouse Mysteries are culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the ten titles includes the added bonus of recipes. Holiday Grind includes an extra-large recipe section with holiday treats, a glossary of coffeehouse terms, and instructions on making your own specialty coffee drinks at home. To learn more about my Coffeehouse series, click here.

-------------------------------

To download this recipe in a PDF document that you can print, save, or share, click here.

Makes 2 servings or about nine 3- to 4-inch latkes; for family-size meals, you’ll want to double, triple, or quadruple this recipe and have two frying pans working at the same time.

INGREDIENTS:

10 garlic cloves, roasted and smashed (See “How to Roast Garlic”
     at the end of this recipe.)

¾ cup finely grated onions (2 to 3 medium size onions)

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons salt

1½ pounds Idaho baking potatoes (about 3 medium russet potatoes; yes,
     russets are the best type to use here)

1 large egg, beaten with a fork

Canola or light olive oil

Sour cream (optional topping)

DIRECTIONS: 

Step 1—­Prepare aromatics: First, preheat the oven to 250°F. In a large bowl, combine the garlic with the onions, scallions, rosemary, and salt.

Step 2—­Grate potatoes: Do not peel your potatoes. Grate by hand 

with a simple box grater, or use a food processor. Add the grated potatoes to the bowl of aromatics and stir well.

Step 3—­Press out moisture: Place the potato mixture in a large sieve and press down to strain out moisture. Esther notes that getting rid of excess moisture will help you cre­ate latkes that are crisp and golden brown.  

Step 4—Add egg: Now return the mixture to the bowl and stir in the egg to finish your latke batter. Cook immediately.

Step 5—­Fry pancakes: Place a heavy frying pan over me­dium heat and add oil, at least ½ inch deep. As Esther says, “Don’t freak over the amount of oil. It’s the temperature of the oil that makes for greasy latkes, not the amount of oil. Besides, the mitzvah is the oil!” When the oil is hot enough, begin cooking. (See note below on judging when the oil is hot enough.)


NOTE: If your oil is too hot, you’ll burn the latkes. If your oil is too cool, your latkes will be greasy. Test the oil with a drop of water. When it dances or bounces on top of the oil, it’s ready. If the oil begins to smoke, it’s too hot! Also keep in mind that if you crowd the pan with too many latkes, the oil temperature will drop dramatically, so don’t fry too many at once—­for big batches, have two pans going at the same time. 

To fry: Pack potato mixture into a ¼ cup measuring cup. Turn out onto a plate in a little mound. Do this four times. 

Place the four mounds in quick succession into the hot oil and immediately flatten each mound into a 3- to 4-inch pancake. (Flattening is important or you may have latkes that are cooked on the edges but raw in the mid­dle!) Cook each pancake for about 3 minutes on the first side, until the bottom is golden brown. 

Now flip and cook the other side 1–3 minutes until it’s golden brown, too. Do not flip more than once, but Esther suggests lightly press­ing the pancakes a few times with your spatula during the cooking process to make sure the centers cook. Drain in a single layer on paper towels. Keep finished latkes warm in the 250-degree F. oven while you’re cooking the rest of the batter... 

Serve warm with sour cream.

* * * * * * * * * * *

How to Roast Garlic 


Roasted garlic is delicious smashed on crusty French or Italian bread and (of course) mixed with mashed potatoes. Now that’s how to eat with joy! ~ Cleo

Using peeled cloves: Place your peeled cloves into a small ovenproof dish, drizzle with a bit of oil (olive is best), and add a splash of water. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes or until the garlic is soft.

Using a whole head: Cut the top off the head (the pointed end), and wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30– 40 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Remove from the oven. Let the foil-wrapped garlic cool down enough to handle. Pop the warm, roasted garlic pieces out of their skins and you’re good to go. 

Happy Chanukah!


Merry Christmas!


and


Happy New Year!

         

~ Cleo Coyle, author of  

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

To get more of my recipes,
enter to win free coffee, or

learn about my books,
including my bestselling
Haunted Bookshop series,
visit my online coffeehouse:

CoffeehouseMystery.com

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are national bestselling

culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village 

coffeehouse, and each of the ten titles includes the 

added bonus of recipes. 

 

The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure

Book #1 of 
The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries, which Cleo writes
under the name Alice Kimberly
To learn more, click here.



It's a Tie!

Can you believe it? Our Christmas Cookie Contest resulted in a tie between Raspberry Rollups and Spicy Ginger Cookies!  Please help us select the winner in a run-off between them.  We realize that a lot of people are on vacation, traveling, and well, not reading their regular blogs right now, so we're giving you until January 5th to vote!

I thought today might be a good time to share my new cover.  The Diva Digs Up the Dirt won't be released until June 5th, but the cover is here!  Oddly enough, I wrote about a calico cat in the story.  Little did I know at the time that a calico kitten would join my household! 

After all those holiday feasts, we're ready for something a little bit lighter around here.  Not too light, after all, we're still in festive mode.  But this soup was exactly what we needed.  It's a perfect busy day recipe.  Serve with some freshly baked bread and it's a snuggle by the fire on a cold night meal.

The key here is the sausage.  It doesn't cook long so the flavor depends a lot on the sausage.  Make sure it's one that you like!  I used spicy turkey sausage, but it would be great with chicken or pork sausage, or even your favorite wieners!

Sausage and Kale Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 package sausage
1 small package mushrooms (cremini, white, or shitaki)
2 1/2 - 3 cups chicken broth
1-14.5 ounce can minced tomatoes
1 bunch fresh kale
1-15 ounce can beans (navy, kidney, or pinto)


Slice sausage into bite-sized pieces and kale into two-inch (roughly) pieces (discard any tough kale stems).  Dice the onion and the garlic.  Heat olive oil and onions and cook until translucent.  Add sausage and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Pour in the chicken broth and tomatoes, and add the kale.  Bring to a gentle boil and simmer 25 minutes.  Add the beans and simmer another five minutes.

ENJOY!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to all of our readers. We hope you're enjoying the holiday in the warm embrace of family and friends. We're taking the day off today, so we thought we'd share our holiday meal plans.

But first, a teensy bit of holiday business!  Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite Christmas cookie recipe.  I'm sure some of you noticed that we have a tie between Raspberry Rollups and Spicy Gingerbread Cookies!  We took a day to think about what to do and decided that we should have a run-off.  The ballot will be up soon.  Please vote for your favorite between the two super-finalists! 

Krista

I'm making a traditional German Christmas dinner with roast goose, potato dumplings, homemade bread, red cabbage with chestnuts, cranberry salad (okay, that's not German!) and a Yule Log for dessert.  Wishing you all good friends, good food, and food cheer!

Riley
I'm having a honey-glazed ham, three-bean salad, Sister Schubert rolls, fruit salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. After that, I'm planning on enjoying some chocolate cake. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Avery
I'm making our traditional Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding, green beans dredged in butter, fresh salad, and I'm attempting a gluten-free Tiramisu.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  [I'll always have my grandmother's sugar cookies and some homemade chocolate truffles, in case.] Happiest of Holidays to all!

Wendy/Annie
I'm actually leaving on a jet plane today, so we're having a festive holiday brunch:  gingerbread waffles with a warm candy-apple compote and freshly whipped cream, vegie sausage, and a pot of strong English breakfast tea.  Enjoy this season of giving!

Sheila
My mother's go-to holiday meal was always a standing rib roast of beef.  Me, I'm afraid to cook large (and expensive) chunks of meat, and while I'm happy if they turn out rare, I know there are others who don't like that.  So I checked with my memory-keeper daughter, and she answered promptly, "ham and scalloped potatoes."  For dessert we usually have a steamed pudding.  it was invariably chocolate, but in recent decades I've experimented with cranberry, which is also good (especially if you live in the town where Ocean Spray is based!). Have a wonderful holiday meal with family and friends!

Cleo
Okay, after Sheila's amusing post, I feel a little silly but...we are having a large (and expensive) roast of bone-in prime rib. (Sheila, you're invited!) This is becoming a yearly tradition for us, simply because a nearby store has been selling beautiful (and expensive) prime ribs every Christmas at serious markdowns--as long as one waits until a few days before the holiday to purchase. (Can you tell we're writers?!) I'll be encrusting my handsome hunk o' beef with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Dinner will include a retro salad of iceberg wedges drizzled with thick and creamy homemade gorgonzola dressing; garlic mashed potatoes (my healthier version made with carrots); and my special holiday sprouts. Dessert will be a Christmas cake served with a fresh (moka) pot of espresso. (What? You thought I'd be serving tea?) Merry Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Santa's Little Helper

This is the fat man's big day ... the mother of all "all nighters".  As any good college student will tell you, the only way to survive a stress-filled night is to load up on sugar and caffeine.  Personally, I think a little booze helps, too.  Not enough to get loaded, mind you, but just a hint to bring on a bit of mellow in the midst of the holiday hubbub.

So tonight, ditch the traditional milk and cookies and leave Santa a Peppermint Mocha, loaded with serious chocolate, a hint of caffeine, and a wee tipple of peppermint schnapps.  If you live in the great white north, you can make the hot version ... if it's still balmy in your clime, choose the milkshake option.  Top either with whipped cream and crushed candy cane for a festive presentation, and you're sure to earn a permanent spot on the "nice" list.

Peppermint Mocha (Icy Version)

1 pint dark chocolate ice cream
3 Tbs. strong cold coffee
3 Tbs. peppermint schnapps
2 Tbs. whole milk

whipped cream
crushed peppermint candy

Scoop ice cream into your blender.  Top with milk, and let it settle for a minute.  Add coffee and schnapps. Blend well.  Pour into one or two large cold glasses.  Top with whipped cream and crushed candy.  Serve with straws, of course.

Peppermint Mocha (Toasty Version)

3 Tbs. good dark cocoa powder (I prefer Scharffen Berger)
3 Tbs. granulated sugar
pinch salt
1/2 c. strong coffee
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. peppermint schnapps

In a saucepan, whisk coffee, cocoa, sugar, and salt over low heat until smooth.  Simmer, whisking, for about 2 minutes, making sure you get the whisk all the way around the pan so nothing scorches.

Add milk, increase heat to medium low, and cook (whisking on occasion) until steam rises and tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan (about 12 minutes).  DO NOT BOIL.

Add vanilla and schnapps.  Divide between two mugs (if you feel like sharing), top with whipped cream or marshmallow fluff, and sprinkle with crushed candy cane (or hang a cane off the side of the mug to use for stirring).

These recipes can both be doubled easily.

~~~~~~

What do you leave out for the Elf-Meister?  Come on, share!

And happy holidays to one and all!!

~~~~~~

Wendy is the author of the Mysteries a la Mode. Visit her on the web or on Facebook. She also writes the Pet Boutique Mysteries under the name Annie Knox; you can follow Annie on Facebook, too!