My grandmother gave me a copy of Marjorie Standish’s Cooking Down East cookbook for Christmas. It’s full of simple New England style recipes including one of my absolute favorites, Shredded Wheat Bread. Whenever I’m home and my mother makes this I eat it like it’s going out of style and without fail she gets annoyed with me because I always toast freshly baked bread. Everyone has their “bad habits,” right?

I woke up early on Saturday morning determined that Shredded Wheat Bread was going to be the first item I mixed with my new Pink KitchenAid and after a quick conference with “Mummy Dearest” on the phone I began measuring ingredients. I’d only baked bread once before this attempt and it didn’t come out at all so I was very anxious to have this particular cooking experiment be a success. The KitchenAid mixer is officially amazing. I seriously stood in awe with my mouth wide open as 5 plus cups of flour were mixed into a gorgeous mass of dough. My arm would have literally fallen off before I ever stirred all of that in.

Making bread is time consuming. It rose for two hours, then had to be punched down, and given time to rise again. After that I shaped the dough into loaves and sat them on the counter until they doubled in size. I finally had my first slice of freshly baked bread around 2:00 pm in the afternoon, but it was so worth it and almost as good as my mom’s.

Secret Ingredients	Yeasty Beasties Activate
Whirl, Whirl, Whirl, Whirl	Allow to Rise (You Can Take a Nap)
Eureka!	Whack it Down and Divide in Half
Shape Into Loaves	Wait Until They Double in Size

Butter

Slice & Toast (If You Dare)

On Christmas Eve Eve my mother and I made a number of desserts including a Chocolate Yule Log.  I’ve wanted to make a Yule Log ever since I was a little girl and I saw one on a holiday episode of the NBC show Sisters.  For those of you who were fans that was the episode where everyone gets food poisoning from drinking Georgie’s homemade eggnog, Frankie punches out Mitch, and Teddy wanders around in the snowy backyard talking to Charles Dickens’s ghost.  To each their own I suppose.  Anyway, 10 years later my mom and I finally got around to whipping one up.  It was an utterly harrowing experience culminating in my mother being covered from head to toe in cocoa powder and me forgetting to add in all of the cake flour.  It seems that too many cooks in the kitchen and too much “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” yields a less than ideal baking environment, but by some miracle the cake came out and was actually quite good. Obviously flour and measuring are seriously overrated.

At last I’m finally the proud owner of my very own pink KitchenAid mixer. Thank you Mommy! It’s a perfect thing of beauty. Honestly, I have an uncontrollable urge to go buy cartons of whipping cream, pour them in the glistening bowl, and watch fluffy peaks form (without the chance of giving myself Carpal Tunnel syndrome). I’m in awe and I can’t figure out what I want to create first. Will it be something simple and traditional that I make all of the time, for instance Chocolate Chip cookies? Or should I try to recreate the amazing Wheat Bread my mother made for Christmas? There are just too many wonderful possibilities. What do you think I should make?!

In honor of Hanukkah I made Potato Latkes for dinner.  My mom cooked these when I was growing up, but her version was fried and unfortunately I spent the weekend eating brie and bon bons so I was extremely excited to find a recipe online for a slightly more healthy version of this childhood favorite.   These baked latkes are absolutely delicious!  They come out of the oven crispy and firm and pair perfectly with apple sauce and sour cream.  Finally, I sprinkled a few freshly chopped green onions over the top for a festive touch.

You Probably Need to Scrub & Peel	Much Better!
Watch Those Knuckles	Stir in the Egg, Flour, Soda, & Salt
Spoon Onto Baking Sheet & Flatten	Relax! I Used Low Fat Sour Cream

Sometimes the simplest meals can leave you feeling the most satisfied.  This easy Beef Stroganoff is great to prepare after a long day at work.  It’s quick, hearty, and the leftovers are delicious.  Admittedly, I did cheat and used one of those McCormick spice packets, but honestly what happens in my kitchen stays in the kitchen…Basically I prepared the dish from the recipe on the back of the packet and added red and green peppers to liven up the color.  It definitely wasn’t “gourmet” by any stretch of the imagination, but it tasted good — and really isn’t that the only thing that matters?

Peppers & Mushrooms	Saute
Brown	Add Water & Spice Pack
Simmer	Stir in the Sour Cream
Hide the “Evidence”	Serve Over Hot Noodles

In an effort to be adventurous in the kitchen my love affair with all things Dave Lieberman continues. I have yet to make a recipe from Dave’s collection that I didn’t find thoroughly delicious, and these Chicken and Black Bean Empanadas were no exception. The chicken mixture is spicy, smoky, and surprisingly hearty, and I’ve said it before but it definitely bares repeating — I honestly believe that puff pastry is the world’s perfect food! The twist on this dish is the great Tomato and Pineapple Salsa Fresca that is served on the side. I loved the tanginess of the pineapple, jalapeño, tomato, and scallion mixture. I actually was extremely shocked that these flavors worked so well together. I even ate the leftover salsa the next day at lunch. Obviously that held up much better on day two than the empanadas, which I definitely do not recommend as a leftover meal. Freshly baked is definitely best in this case as they became quite soggy overnight.

Everything Starts With Onions	Let’s Add Some Heat
Add the Chicken & Beans	Cool the Filling
Stir in Chopped Cilantro	Dice, Slice, and Mix Up the Salsa
Roll Out the Pastry Dough	Divide Into Equal Parts
Layer With Chicken & Bean Mixture	Dampen the Edges, Fold Over, and Seal
Brush With Oil and Bake Until Golden	Now Where’s My Margarita?