the big day is tomorrow!

i expect everyone is doing the same thing today - cooking, baking, prepping, wrapping.

i finished off my last gift this morning, a shirt for my father in law. stuffing is done, bread is rising, turkey is brining, cranberry sauce is made, chestnuts are roasted & peeled & ready for braising, and i'm just getting to work on the buche de noel (hallelujah for finding chestnut cream, which was sold out at a couple of places!) and the pecan coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow.

tonight, we will go to christmas eve service at first unitarian, then home for fondue by the tree, fruitcake, and egg nog. then, after we've hung the stockings and chased the kiddo off to bed, assembling the coffee cake for its second rise, doing a bit of calligraphy, and getting the table set for xmas dinner. i've already done the flower arrangement (in a vintage salad bowl, so it's low enough to talk over):

and then it will be time to relax!

a treat for all!

we just survived our annual tree-trimming party!

the biggest hit turned out to be the cross-cultural dessert: mincemeat (for xmas) hamantaschen (for purim). everyone was saying "wow, best pastry ever" and stunned to learn it was also vegan and gluten-free.

the chocolate-pecan balls (an accidental invention from last year, which i think will become a new tradition) and chestnut shortbread were also a hit.

mincemeat (n.b. this makes lots - make a batch of tarts now, and freeze the rest for more tarts later!

1 lb golden delicious apples, cored and diced finely, peel left on
1/4 cup hazelnut oil
12 oz sultanas
12 oz golden raising
8 oz candied orange peel
12 oz brown sugar
grated zest and juice 1 orange
grated zest and juice 1 lemon
2 oz almonds, chopped
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves

combine all ingredients. let steep together, covered, overnight.

spread in a glass baking dish. bake at 225f for 2 hours.

hamantaschen dough

2 1/2 cups jeanne’s gluten-free flour (and more for rolling out)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold shortening (i used a mix of 2/3 earth balance, 1/3 crisco, but you could use butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange juice (from about 1 large orange)

combine dry ingredients. rub in shortening with your fingers till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. sprinkle liquids over and stir in with a fork. chill 2+ hours.

when firm, roll out with more flour, till about 1/8” thick. cut in 2 1/2” circles, put a tsp of mincemeat in the middle, and fold up the edges to look like a triangle. pinch to seal. bake 15 min at 350.

chestnut shortbread

1 cup shortening (i used 1/2 crisco, 1/2 earth balance, but you could use butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups chestnut flour

cream shortening together with sugar, beat with a wooden spoon till fluffy. stir in chestnut flour. chill.

when somewhat firm, shape into logs about 1 1/2" diameter. chill again until firm.

slice into coins about 1/4" or 3/8" thick. bake 12 min at 350.

chocolate pecan balls

2 cups jeanne’s gluten-free flour
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shortening (i used 1/2 crisco, 1/2 earth balance, but you could use butter)
3/4 cup icing sugar (plus more for coating)
2 tsp vanilla

combine half the flour with the pecans & salt in a food processor & chop finely.

cream together shortening, sugar, and vanilla. stir in pecan mixture and remaining flour. chill.

shape into balls about 1" big.

bake 10 min at 350.

let cool for 2 minutes, then roll in icing sugar and cool on a rack.

skyfall: cardigan season

i grew up with james bond, loving the suavity as i imagined myself to be highly sophisticated despite being a kid in a small town (i remember quoting annie hall in my grade 7 class and being surprised that the other kids weren't impressed). so, i am one of those hold-outs who is not so keen on daniel craig. he's a rat-face thug, in my books. so i have not rushed out to see skyfall yet.

this could change all that.

this dries van noten cardigan worn by "q" is taking the internet by storm! and for good reason, there are some clever details: how the striping intersects with the assymetric zippered front, what looks like a garter-stitch stripe going down the shoulder and sleeve. and it looks like slash pockets on the side seam? i want to make this. i guess i'll have to drag myself out to see the movie, and take more notes.

in other news, our big tree-trimming party is tomorrow, and i am so not ready... between being sick, and workload craziness, it's a fiesta of bad timing. argh.

xmas fruitcake: step 2

today we bake!

all of my fruit was smelling lovely and luscious (and tasting pretty good too - you've got to taste as you go, right?) after a night in sherry. tonight, once i got the kiddo fed & in bed, i stirred up the batter and folded in the fruit. recipe is delia smith's dundee cake with a few twists.

then came a tricky bit: arranging almonds on top in concentric rings (ruddy health food store only had with skins on, so i blanched them while i was cooking dinner). it's not precisely symmetrical, but just fine, i think.

and of course i had to do it twice.

then ready for the oven! for 2 or 2 1/2 hours. ugh. and then cooling for 30 minutes in the pan before unmolding onto a rack. double ugh. did i mention i got going on these after the kiddo was in bed? which is to say, tired now. but if i hadn't had to stay up, i might have been tempted to put off fixing the dishwasher, which would not have been good.

and boy, do they smell wonderful!

xmas fruitcake: step one

haven't had fruitcake at xmas since mum died, it's one of the many things i miss a lot. so this year, i'm making my own. i started a couple of months back making candied peel, and then glace cherries. now, it's time to get baking so it has time to "ripen" before the holiday season.

i looked at a lot of recipes, and had a real time deciding which to choose. so many had different twists, different things to recommend them! i've finally settled on delia smith's dundee cake. with a few twists.

first off, i switched out currants for dried apricots (one of the ingredients i found tempting in some other recipes). i also upped the glace cherries content, since i spent an entire bloody week making them. i decided to steep in sherry rather than whiskey as i like sherry for dessert-y things (why yes, i am a middle-aged lady, nothing wrong with that) and also it's slightly less alcoholic and the kiddo is going to end up eating some of this.

and finally, when you dream, dream big: i'm making a double batch, so we'll have one for our tree-trimming party at the beginning of december, and one for christmas eve carolling.

another busy day!

and not over yet.

so far, i've made lentil soup, coq au vin, and the components of lasagna which i am about to assemble. also went to a volunteer appreciation luncheon, and entertained a sick kiddo.

and i put the finishing touches on this wee cardigan which my husband took to a baby shower in the afternoon! half of the lasagnas and coq au vin are also to be delivered to the new parents, whose son arrived a full month before he was expected! yikes. he is doing fine, his parents are a bit tired though.

i almost forgot to introduce myself. my name is stilton, geronimo stilton.

so, the kiddo wanted to be geronimo stilton this year (he's even perhaps given up on being a bug scientist, and wants to be a newspaper editor instead). we started with this...

... then this...

... finally got to this...

... ha, it almost fits me...

ta-dah!!

now to get to work on christmas.