Month: November 2007

Traditional Christmas Cooking

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 28, 2007
1 Comment on Traditional Christmas Cooking

Kakisky via MorgueFile.com

Christmas is a time of year when families around the world gather together and observe traditions that are the same for them year after year and yet vastly different from those that other families share around the block. There are very few universal Christmas traditions any more and there is nothing wrong with that. In America however, there are some recipes that many people consider traditional holiday cooking and there is little that will be done to dissuade these opinions. The truth is that many of these traditional holiday foods are largely traditional in specific regions rather than the United States having one nation-wide traditional Christmas dinner.

For example, my family usually served turkey and ham. Appetizers always included black olives and a relish made with pepperoccini. Many families are like mine and serve both ham and turkey. While others answer quite quickly that it is neither. One of the best all-American Christmas cooking ideas I’ve ever seen was lasagna. There are no right or wrong traditions — only those traditions that work well for you and your family. If you feel the need to change a long-standing tradition for a large extended family, by all means discuss it with everyone involved. Otherwise it is your tradition and you should feel free to make it your own.

Tags Christmas, holiday cooking

Recipes

Pumpkin-Walnut Biscuits

Post author By Guest Post
Post date November 26, 2007

Here’s a fun recipe that makes a slightly sweet biscuit. It’s a nice alternative to the ordinary biscuit, and makes a very tasty snack. The original recipe called for pecans, but I’ve always used walnuts.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/ cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup pumpkin pureé
1/3 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 400°F. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. Cut butter into mixture until it looks like small peas. Stir in nuts. In a glass measuring cup, combine pumpkin and half-and-half. Stir into flour mixture. Dough should be stiff. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times. If the dough is too wet to handle (which it often is), add more flour. But be careful not to add too much so that the biscuits end up coated with flour! Pat dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with 2-inch cutter or glass with 2-inch diameter opening. Place biscuits onto lightly greased baking sheet, about one inch apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Food Fiction & Essays Special Occasions

Some Thoughts About Thanksgiving

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 21, 2007

Morano Vincent via Flickr

Each year America has a holiday in November that has taken on almost a religious reverence. It happens tomorrow and we call it Thanksgiving. We give this holiday so much honor that it ranks with us along with Christmas and Easter as an important holiday in the hearts of family and as a nation. But this holiday, so rich with tradition, has it origins in the earliest days of the founding of this nation.

For me, I’ve always associated Thanksgiving with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, pumpkin pie and large gatherings of family and friends. It is a time of abundance and being thankful for the richness of life. But, the early years of the explorers who came to the American continent were difficult ones indeed. Those explorers, the Pilgrims, faced harsh weather, unpredictable relations with the natives, disease and other challenges as they carved out homes from the wilderness they found here. Because their earliest homesteads were in the northeast, the winters were harsh. Their ability to build houses that could keep them warm, as well as their ability to find sufficient food, was a constant worry to the men and women trying to raise families in America.

Tags holiday cooking, Thanksgiving

All Things Pumpkin

Tips for Buying Fresh Pumpkin

Post author By Guest Post
Post date November 14, 2007

If you’ve decided to forgo the canned pumpkin this year and give fresh pumpkin a try, here are some tips for choosing one that won’t let you down.

First, you want to make sure that you’re not buying a Halloween pumpkin. You want the smaller, darker orange sugar pumpkin for cooking.

Then you want to check the rind and make sure it is firm. If the rind is soft, this is a sign of either immaturity or improper storage.

Also look at the color quality of the skin. If it is shiny, the pumpkin may be underripe or waxed (which could mask bad quality).

To avoid mold or bacteria growth, look for a pumpkin with the remnant of a dried-out stem still attached. Give it a little push — if it moves, move on. If it holds firm, you should be O.K.

Once you get your selected pumpkin home, store in a cool spot with good air circulation — not the refrigerator. It should stay good for up to a month.

Of course, if you’re looking for other types of winter squash, these tips work just as well.

Flavor Blending Well Stocked Pantry

How to Use Herbs and Spices

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 14, 2007

Angel Lior via FreeImages.com

My memories of Thanksgiving, which happens in the U.S. next week, are infused with the scent of herbs and spices, expertly used by my grandmother. The use of herbs (such as oregano, thyme and marjoram) and spices (such as ginger, paprika and chile) is a very common technique cooks depend on to expand upon the taste, flavor and afterthought of a dish. In this post, I provide a few suggestions on how to best use herbs and spices when preparing meals and following a recipe. These may help you create unique and tasty meals with your Thanksgiving leftovers.

Substituting Dried Herbs for Fresh Herbs

Since dried herbs possess a stronger flavor than fresh leaf herbs, you will need to adjust your habits when adding dried herbs to a recipe that calls for fresh herbs. Simply substitute 1/3 of the amount to adjust the strength in taste. You don’t want your final results to carry an overpowering favor. Also, there are some dishes that just require fresh — those whose main ingredient is an herb just don’t taste right when made with dried herbs.

Tags herbs, pantry, spices

All Things Pumpkin Special Occasions

Pumpkins and Thanksgiving

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 7, 2007

Now that your jack-o-lantern has been laid to rest, it is time to think about pumpkins in a different way — as food and home decor.

Pumpkins are an integral part of November’s main holiday in the U.S. They are the prime ingredient in the most popular dessert, pumpkin pie. But you can also use pumpkins a variety of other fall recipes such as pumpkin soup (my favorite is a curried pumpkin soup), pumpkin bread and even pumpkin cookies.

But they also make great decorative items. Toss a few miniature pumpkins and gourds together, add some maize and a wicker cornucopia and you’ve got a perfect fall decoration.

Recently, I visited the atrium at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. They made great use of pumpkins for decoration. I thought I’d share a few of them with you here. I’ll be putting up a whole gallery of images later — after I’ve settled into my new home and the holidays are through.

Well Stocked Pantry

Strategic Pantry Stocking

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date November 7, 2007

hilarycl via MorgueFile.com

With the number of holidays coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to discus the staples of the kitchen. How often have you looked into your pantry (whether it a cupboard over your sink or the walk in closet variety) at the end of a day and wondered how you could transform the random ingredients you have on hand into a satisfying family meal? Don’t answer, on the grounds it may incriminate you.

With busy lives — and who isn’t crazy busy in the months of November and December, what with all the family, friend and co-worker get-togethers — it’s often hard to think or plan ahead. Statistics show that most people don’t think about what to have for dinner until after 4pm that day. And when day is done, what we want is to find comfort in our personal time, not the frustration of what to cook or the disappointment of a mediocre meal.

Tags pantry, well-stocked kitchen