Holiday Goodies

My kids beg for chocolate covered pretzels every holiday season. We have been making versions of these for years and years. Sometimes it's just the long rods with sprinkles, or the thick "pretzel shaped" ones. 

They are another easy, easy addition to the holiday cookie platter. And they look so pretty too. We made so many of these the other day. It's also the perfect project for kids who like to do this kind of thing. No stove required.

I have been using Candiquik for a very long time. It only shows up at my grocery store "sometimes" during the holiday season. When I see it, I buy every single package. It lasts all year and is perfect for lots of holiday projects (Valentine's, Easter etc). I especially like how it sets up so easily on the item you are dipping. I have always had great luck with this product. I just wish it was more readily available and I'm finding myself ordering it online more and more.

There was a long line at the meat case this Saturday at the grocery store and I was standing with the crowd. I enjoyed asking everyone in line how they make ‘their’ Tortiere pie. I was in the company of experts - it’s a serious subject in Maine.

Tortiere is a meat and potato pie seasoned with sweet spices, similar in flavor and texture to a coarse country pate but made with potatoes as the binding agent instead of fatback and Tortiere is enrobed in a double crust.

One cute older couple told me they were making 20 pies. She told me, “we have the time to make tortiere pies for our family - they are too busy to make it for themselves.” It is the season to make Tortiere pie. It’s a French Canadian treasured recipe and tradition and everyone makes it differently.

Some will only make it with a lard crust - I save my saturated fat calories for something more spectacular. Some sweet little old gray haired ladies insist that the only way to properly make the filling is with finely minced meats, hand done. My family, meaning my mother’s side of the family always made it with ground pork and beef, equal weights. I make my pie with a butter crust - I am a ‘no lard or Crisco’ chick.

If you peek into the kitchens of most observant Jews you will see a double sink. Don’t ask me how over 2,000 years Jews took “don’t cook a calf in its mother’s milk” and created a set of rules that necessitates at least two sets of dishes, crockpots, and strainers, but there you have it.  Meat and dairy products are kept strictly apart under Jewish dietary law.  To ensure that never the twain shall meet, usually one side of the sink will be dedicated to dairy dishes and the other to utensils used for meat.  And that’s where you can learn a lot about how a family likes to eat. 

One of my closest friends uses both sides for dairy.  She likes meat, but she doesn’t like to cook it.  My grandparents only had one sink.  Let’s just say that once my grandmother proudly waved a single spoon in front of my newly married mother’s face shouting proudly “See!  I do have dairy dishes!” Being ever so balanced, my sink usually has a few dishes stacked in both sides.

Is everyone familiar with panettone, a sweet, Italian bread loaf, full of candied orange peel and raisins? It comes in a very tall, lofty box we only see at holiday time. 

I am always excited to get my first one of the season. It's the perfect accompaniment to my afternoon coffee. The texture is reminiscent of my mom's babka recipe, another taste I love. I wish it was so easily accessible all year round. But then I guess it wouldn't be special.

Anyway, it is always nice to have Christmas morning or New Year's Day brunch prepped the night before. It makes life so much easier, especially if you have a house full of guests.

When you slice into the panettone, you will see it is very light-colored and airy. Once cooked, the top is very crunchy while the bottom remains soft and custard-like. Serve with warm maple syrup and something salty like bacon or sausage.