Posted on 12/14/2016 4:32:03 PM PST by Jamestown1630
A fun thing to do for the Holidays, especially with kids, is to make paper snowflakes. I once decorated the picture windows in my office building with these, and everybody wanted to know how to make them – I guess they hadn't learned this important skill in school ;-)
Searching around the web, you can find many patterns; but I like doing them free-hand, and being surprised by what comes out. Here is a ‘refresher course in paper snowflakes’, but there are many other instruction pages on the Web. Once you've got the folding of the paper down, it's all up to your imagination:
http://www.theluxuryspot.com/diy-spotting-a-refresher-course-in-paper-snowflakes/"
My husband really likes Apple Cider, and I had never thought of making it until a few days ago, when we were enjoying a jug we’d bought. Here is an easy ‘crock-pot’ recipe that we’re going to try this weekend, and I can imagine that it does make the house smell absolutely wonderful. (This is not hard cider, which I’d also like to learn but which seems nearly as exacting as making wine. My husband likes to tell of getting unpasteurized cider in the country when he was growing up, and leaving it alone for awhile to become ‘fizzy’. His story always reminds me of Dom Pérignon’s purported quote about ‘tasting stars'):
http://wellnessmama.com/25946/apple-cider-recipe/
Many years ago, Dr. Marc Cathey, who was the Director of the National Arboretum, had a gardening radio show on a local station here. He was a very charming, avuncular presence every weekend, and I tried never to miss him. Each Christmas, he would share his ‘Christmas Tree Preservative Recipe’, which I wrote down and now can’t find; but I think it was very similar to the ones you find now on a google search, using water, Clorox, corn syrup and lemon juice:
http://www.food.com/recipe/christmas-tree-preservative-399438
Dr. Cathey’s obituary:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002952.html
-JT
Glad your mom is doing better. Just got a text from a friend who is on the road for many hours now in the middle of the night to see her mom who has slipped into a coma and they say her heart may stop at any time. It is never a good time to be critically ill but the holidays does make it worse.
Good to know re the liquid. I have a big bag of soaked black beans and I need a recipe, this could do it!
I think it would be nice. Goat cheese seems to work well with root vegetables.
I’m making this famous Mississippi Roast this weekend - Sam Sifton at the Times has been promoting it this week. Dragging out my old slow cooker crockpot for the event.
Unfortunately, I’m not cooking this Xmas - spending it away with friends at a very old inn in PA.
Mmmmmmm....that Mississippi Roast has lots of
interesting flavors....ranch dressing and pepperoncini.
I’m putting it up at 9am. Snowing heavily and all the Christmas lights on up and down the street - including my own! So beautiful.
Do you read Sam Sifton?
Aw, that’s lovely. There’s a house like that in the NJ town I own a home - actually several.
That’s very nice.
Actually, even when dressed up, I manage to look like I’m going to paint the garage.
No......can be true. LOL.
I came across this site after looking for leg of lamb recipes. There are great Southern recipes here.
http://thelocalpalate.com/recipes/
Nice find...fantastic recipes....all Southern yumminess.
The grilled pork with collard green agrodolche and the grilled pork steaks with sweet corn pudding/fig mustard sound terrific.
There are some amazing chefs here in the South. They do these artisan dinner/wine pairings and they have been fantastic.
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This caught my eye. I love anything coffee-flavored.
Coffee Semifreddo with Salted Pecan Croquant
From the TLP Test Kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina
Thumbprint Cookies / Lemon Curd
METHOD 1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2.Whisk salt and flour together in medium bowl. 3.Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, place butter and sugar in bowl and mix on low until combined. Increase speed to medium and mix until light in color. 4.Add yolks in 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until just combined. 5.Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix on low until dough forms. 6.Lightly whisk egg white in small bowl. 7.Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip each ball in egg white then roll in chopped pecans. 8.Place balls on cookie sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake 4 minutes then remove from oven and indent with thumb to make small well in middle of each cookie. Return to oven and bake an additional 7 to 9 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. 9.Remove from oven and let cool completely then place #2 tip in piping bag and fill with lemon curd (you can also fill a zip close bag with curd and cut off corner to use as piping bag). Pipe lemon curd into center of cookies and serve.
Lemon Curd 1.Place sugar, lemon juice, yolks, and whole eggs in small non-reactive saucepan. Whisk to combine. 2.Place over low heat and cook until mixture begins to simmer and thicken. 3.Strain into a bowl through cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer then add cubed butter and stir until butter is melted. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of lemon curd and refrigerate to cool.
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ING ¾ tsp k/salt 2 c flour cup unsalted butter ½ cup br/sugar 2 yolks tsp vanilla egg white
Lemon Curd cup sugar ¾ cup l/juice 5 egg yolks 2 eggs 4 oz butter, cubed
The black walnut pie looks nice. I’ve never had black walnuts, but have read that they have a very unusual taste; I’ve wanted to try making something with them.
Just wanted to thank you for the Apple Cider recipe. I tried it last week and loved it. I took the “used” apples and made a no-sugar added apple pie from them. That was also amazing since they had been soaking in the spices overnight.
I liked the cider, too, especially drinking it warm.
It wasn’t what my husband is used to - I think it was the spices - but I’ll definitely make it again, for me ;-)
We did think that the recipe came out a too weak, so we cooked it down a lot.
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