Christmas spirit: I haz it

No, I didn't misspell accidentally; I did it on purpose. Those of you who visit LOL Cats often will understand that that type of spelling is quite common.

Anyhoo, after almost a month of wondering where my Christmas spirit had gone, it finally arrived during our church social. It was a small, festive get together with friends, a carol sing, and holiday food. The carol sing's what did it for me.

I drove home feeling positively giddy. I'm very tired right now, but happy.

This feeling of Christmas spirit may not last too long, but I'm going to hang onto it for as long as I can.

I'll let you know what tomorrow brings.

Cooking With Kitten: Candy Cane Cookies

These cookies have been a holiday tradition in my family since I was a kid. I'm making them for a potluck supper tonight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup 10x confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

*NOTE*: If you don't like almond extract, use 2 teaspoons vanilla. Or, and I just thought of this, you could substitute peppermint extract for the almond. After all, these are candy cane cookies.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Thoroughly mix butter, confectioners' sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half; blend food coloring into one half.
2. Shape 1 teaspoon of dough from each half into a 4-inch rope. For smooth, even rope, roll them back and forth on lightly floured board (Mama Cat uses wax paper). Place ropes side by side; press together gently and twist. Cut into 2-inch segments; place on an ungreased cookie sheet and curve top to form the candy cane.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for nine minutes or until set and very light brown around the edges. If you wish, mix 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy and 1/2 cup granulated sugar; immediately sprinkle cookies with candy mixture.

NOTES:

1. If you use self-rising flour, omit the salt.
2. You may wish to make a double recipe of dough and color one of the batches. The 1/2 teaspoon of coloring is a gauge; if you want redder cookies, add more coloring. Don't add more than 1 1/2 teaspoons, though, or the dough will become too wet.

I'm going to make another batch soon, and when I do, I'll take pictures and add them to this post.

My Friend Brian's New Blog

You must go to this new blog, Purple Shirt of the Week. My friend Brian is obsessed with all things purple, and he started this blog to document his love for purple attire. Check it out.

P.S. He is also the lead vocalist for the band Talking to Walls, which is on my list o' links.

Tell him Kitten sent ya!

Cooking With Kitten: Gateau de Minuit

As promised, here is the recipe for the cake I baked for brunch yesterday.

The real title of this recipe is "Brown Sugar Pound Cake." However, it got its new name since I baked it at midnight two nights ago. It sounds much more interesting than its original name.

This recipe originally came from the cookbook Moosewood Celebrates, one of the latest volumes from the Moosewood Collective (and you know how much I lurve them). It's a neat little cookbook filled with menus and recipe ideas for holidays all throughout the year.

Pound cakes got their name because, traditionally, they required a pound of each ingredient: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, etc. While this particular recipe doesn't require a pound of each ingredient, it does use higher amounts than what you may be used to for a modern pound cake.

So here's the recipe (taken from pages 374-375 of Moosewood Celebrates):

CAKE:

• 2 cups butter, at room temperature (that's 4 sticks)
• 3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups unbleached white pastry flour
• 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk or water

CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:

• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and dust it with flour.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder and flour. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well blended, another minute or two.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake should be golden brown, firm, and pulling slightly away from the pan.

While the cake bakes, prepare the glaze and topping. In a small bowl, mix all of the glaze ingredients together until smooth. In a cup, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the topping and set aside.

When the cake is done, cool upright on a rack for 10 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate, leaving the baking pan in place for another 10 minutes before removing it. Then apply the glaze and topping while the cake is still warm. Using a pastry brush, quickly coat the surface of the cake with the glaze and immediately sprinkle the topping on the moist glaze. Carefully tip the cake a bit while sprinkling, so that sugar will adhere to the sides as well as the top.

It's very, very delicious!

Un Petit Dejeuner Francais

I'm glad I've been able to stretch my Thanksgiving break out for a few days, not only because it's my favorite holiday, but because I've had such a blast this year with everything I've done.

Thanksgiving Eve, I spent a wonderful night with my French Meetup group, and today, spent brunch with them. It was a very nice late morning/early afternoon of conversation, food, and petanque. What is petanque, you ask? It's the French version of bocce. I ended up playing on a team for several rounds. I'm pretty good at it, but if I get too cocky, then I start having problems.

I made a brown sugar pound cake to bring to the brunch. Only two slices went. I really wasn't surprised; we all ate lightly, given that it was right after Thanksgiving and we're still burning off turkey calories. I started mixing around 11:15 last night, and finally put it in the oven around midnight. My friend called it the "gateau de minuit." I think that's what I'll call this cake from now on. I'll post the recipe tomorrow, if I get the chance.

Meanwhile, I need to finish cleaning the condo. I'm putting the Christmas tree up tomorrow, and I need to be organized!