traditional foods for the holiday season

[DrakeMaiden]

I am such a sour dough nut! I love it. When we were in montana the grocery store would sell the 50# bags of bread flour and I would just make loaf after loaf. He in Louisiana I havent found a package more than the regular 5#. I should check at the Sams but we don't have a Costco.

Right now I am also just buying the 5# bags, because I would have to drive to Seattle to get some really good flour in the 50# bag. But, with the holidays, the 5# bags were on sale for a good price so I stocked way up. Sourdough is addictive, isn't it?

 

[HiDelight]

I like my flour in bags ..big bags too!

Robin Hood First for me ..the bread flour ..the cake flour ..the multigrain the rye the whole wheat ..even the plain old boring white ....it is all good.. (bless you Canada for your brilliant fields of wheat and wonderful baking fours)
http://www.robinhood.ca/

and when you can not find Robin Hood second is our tried and true King Arthur! http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

if you can find Eastern European or Russian market see if they have the Canadian flour there they import it here in the US for the Eastern European and Russian market ..it is very good flour and makes a brilliant loaf of sourdough

 

[HiDelight]

you guys inspired me with talk of cookies ..

who is baking this weekend and what are you baking????

I had all kinds of serious stuff planned for today and canceled it all

I am going to push through a serious case of the blues here and do cookie dough with the chipmunk today ... tomorrow have his brother sister, my faux daughter in law, dear friend and hopefully her son to come decorate the cookies ..with my husband and myself

then we are going to go shoot potato guns! that is a garden inspired holiday event !

I need advice form anyone who bakes cookies and paints them

can I just take a baked cooled cookie put a layer of white background royal icing on and then paint decorations on top with corn syrup paint? or how? I have two teens who are very talented and I want to give them a chance to make really pretty cookies

anyone have ideas? I have the gingerbread done and have a two types of sturdy looking roll out cookie for them to paint
and then I am going to do
Greek walnut cookies (ball cookie)
Italian lemon cookies (drop cookie)
chocolate Normandy sables (shortbread)


I have lots of interesting cutters so it should be fun I think?

royal icing and tons of sprinkles for the little kids



maybe a big pot of kale with sausage soup to help cut the sugar buzz?

I love reading your posts I can see folks mulling over ideas

 

[digitS']

Salmon would be nice . . .

Your husband did a great job with his camera, HiD ! The series of photo's of the eagle with "his" salmon are super. (HiD's signature line )

We often sympathize with the prey but, gee, we have to remember that if'n you don't eat soybeans and brown rice . . . things can get kind of tuff for a predator.

Just what amount of energy is expended crashing into the water, fighting a fish to the shore and part way up the bank . . . then being drug back to the water??

I'm sure I would have wrenched an ankle in the process . . . not to mention breaking a nail .

Steve and his digits

 

[vfem]

Turkey here.... for Thanksgiving and Christmas eve.... however, we eat lasagna Christmas day. Don't know why... just always have! Side salad, lots of cheese.... mmmm

 

[Greenthumb18]

Here are some cookies i made their Sugar cookies with royal icing. It was fun to decorate them. I plan on doing some baking this weekend maybe some gingerbread cookies, pandoro cake, and others if i have the time.

 

[curly_kate]

anyone have ideas? I have the gingerbread done and have a two types of sturdy looking roll out cookie for them to paint
and then I am going to do
Greek walnut cookies (ball cookie)
Italian lemon cookies (drop cookie)
chocolate Normandy sables (shortbread)

Do you have a recipe for the lemon cookies? I LOVE lemon!!! It's snowing out today, so I'm going to do some baking. I have a lot of zucchini frozen, so I'm going to make as many loaves of bread as it takes to use it all. I also made chocolate sugar cookies for decoration - heaven!!! Here is where I found the recipe:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateSugarCookie.html

I made cream cheese icing.

 

[HiDelight]

(cross post)

thanks Steve I will tell him and he will be flattered .

we are both freaking out because there was a young gray whale in those same waters just a little farther south and that is NOT the norm for this time of year ..as spectacular as it is it is not a healthy sign so we called the hotline and hopefully nothing is wrong ..omg it was so beautiful he got a ton of pictures maybe a blog post will follow I hope!


(back on topic)

thanks for posting the cookie pics how festive they are ..I honestly can say I am doing better because of cookie dough ..suddenly today a couple of three year olds will be grinding it into my carpet ..a teen will be expressing his angst in cookie dough ..and a couple of moms assisting and two grandparents sitting back and enjoying the view

I made a big plate of cookies so we could test each one ourselves in a quiet room with something alchololic ...cookies and booze

here is the lemon cookie recipe it is like a little lemon biscuit with a very lemony glaze..I credit La Salle Bakery in Providence RI for my addiction to these things http://www.lasallebakery.net/
I grew up blocks from this place used to walk with a dollar get a spinach pie and some lemon cookies ...then walk home eating them at least two to three times a week..and they are still there ..the same as when I was a kid on those streets ..I am so glad some things DO NOT change!!!!

anyway this is my version of their lemon cookies and I can not site it because I just put it together from other recipes that came close

Italian Lemon Cookies

cream together well
1 cup butter *unsalted
1 tbl baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 rind of 1/2 lemon grated (more or less I usually end up using 2 lemons rind and all between the cookies and glaze)
1 tble fresh squeezed lemon juice ( more or less ..reserve rest of lemon for glaze)
1 tsp good vanilla extract
add in
3 eggs (your own are much better they will make a nice golden cookie!)
add alternating mixing just to mix (do not over beat you just want things mixed together)
total of 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
1/2-3/4 cups of half and half (or whole milk)

you want a sticky biscuity dough out of this ..fridg it over night and then just put a tbl more or less in a heaped pile on the cookie sheet back at 400F for 7 min or until done slightly golden on the edges is good and if you touch the tops it should bounce back

take out and right away glaze with lemon glaze and put the kind of sprinkles that are colorful and look like jimmies on top ( this kindhttp://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/180640/2/istockphoto_180640_rainbow_sprinkles.jpg not sure what they are called) I have asbestos fingers can pick up the hot glazed cookie and dip them in the sprinkles but be careful! ..they are the thing that makes the whole cookie perfect

glaze is just 1 lb powdered sugar a pinch of salt fresh lemon juice and heavy cream to taste and the rest of the lemon rind ..you want the kind of textured glaze you used on cinnamon rolls for this...beat the whole thing up well

enjoy they are really easy and very good cookies! they should look like little mountains with snow caps and sprinkles!
I will try to take pictures today I am really bad about it lately

it is sometimes just hard enough to sum up the energy to participate in and complete a task photographing it is just one more thing