OCR Text |
Show 4 Supplement to Lakeside Review, Wednesday, November 21, 1984. Entire content is advertising. Christmas gifts are not simply obligations. Rather, they are carefully chosen or created to reflect the spirit of this most joyous of seasons, and to celebrate the bond between giver and recipient. The amount of money which goes into a gift is not important; more crucial is the thought behind it, and the effort which has gone into assembling it. For this reason, homemade gifts have always been popular; they are the most personal way of showing affection and appreciation. Food gifts have always formed somearea. While thing of an hand-knitt- sweaters and afghans endure beyond the Christmas season, cookies, cakes and other comestibles are quickly gone, leaving behind nothing but a memory. This does not have to be the case, for virtually every gift of food can be packaged in a container which, once empty, can still be appreciated and enjoyed. Baskets and brightly decorated tins are ideal for holding baked goods or a selection of homemade foods, as interestin;;. jars and bottles make fascinating vessels for homemade liqueurs, extracts and preserves. -- Another idea is to give the food with one or more of the utensils which go into its preparation: Cookie cutters, cake pans in fanciful shapes, or, fox a very special gift, a slab of marble to serve as a pastry board. A bread board makes a perfect frame for a coffee cake or sweet bread; so docs the pan in which it was baked. The addition of red and green ribbons and a sprig of mistletoe or holly adds a perfect finishing touch. Ideas such as these abound in a recently published volume, Gifts of Food (Crown Publishers, Inc.) by Susan Costner, which itself makes a perfect addition to a holiday gift of food. Recipes included in the volume cover every course on the menu, with a wide and mouthwatering selection of desserts, all arranged by season. Winter treats, most appropriate as the days get shorter and colder, and Christmas Day grows close, include a variety of favorites, traditional and untraditional. Among the latter are French Chocolate Truffles, Fortune Cookies and Chocolate Amaretto Kisses; among the former, a fabulous Marzipan-Wrappe- d Fruitcake, English Plum Pudding and spicy Pepper--nut- ' and nuts, arc spiked with orange liqueur, after each addition. Add the chopped almonds with the last making them treats for adults rather than addition of flour. The dough will be quite children. Speculaas are spice cookies, Dutch in stiff. Form the dough into several balls, origin, which are baked to celebrate St. wrap each one in wax paper, and refrigerate for several hours. Nicholas Day, December 6th. Custom dicPreheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil sevtates that they be formed with special speculaas molds but, if none are available, eral baking sheets. Remove 1 ball of cookie cutters will work just fine. dough from the refrigerator and roll it bePretzel Bread, common in many parts tween 2 pieces of wax paper to a thickness of Europe, dates back to medieval times of about A inch. If you have them, press when the pretzel shape was a variant on floured molds or rolling pin firmly into the the cross. For the winter solstice, dough. Remove mold and cut with a knife celebrants baked food in the between the designs or cut the dough into a pretzel shape as well, to symbolize the sun shapes with cookie cutters or sharp knife. and the seasons. Transfer cookies to a prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until SUGAR PLUMS cookies are golden around the edges. Remove to a wire cake rack and cool comballs YIELD: about pletely. Reroll trimmings and repeat the METHOD baking until all the dough is used. The speculaas will keep for several the raisins, apricots, figs, Finely chop weeks if stored in an airtight container. in food a and or coconut by hand, pecans, also freeze very well. processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend They the chopped ingredients together and moisten with the orange liqueur. balls, Shape the mixture into pressing gently to make sure the ingredients stay packed together. Roll each ball in granulated sugar. Stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator, with a piece of wax paper between the layers, the sugar plums will keep for up to month. They are traditional Yuletide specialties that are great for both giving and serving. All can be made in advance an added plus to ease the hectic holiday Season. Sugar Plums are confections which gained popularity during the Victorian era. These, melanges of sweet dried fruits flour cups teaspoon ground cardamom V teaspoon grated nutmeg 'A teaspoon baking powder 'A teaspoon salt 8 ounces unsalted butter 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 doiUsing lies, form a cone for each confection: Fold the doily in half, then fold in half again, twist the pointed end, and open up the cone. Put several confections in each doily and place in a shallow basket. Repeat until basket is filled. Tuck in a sprig of holly and attach a gift label. 1 Vz A INGREDIENTS TOOLS cup dried apricots V cup dried figs A cup golden raisins Vz cup chopped pecans V cup sweetened grated coconut 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (Grand Marnier or Cointreau) V cup granulated sugar TOOLS Vz t Rolling pin Wooden cookie molds (optional) or cookie cutters Baking sheets Wire cake rack PRETZEL BREAD 1 large bread METHOD INGREDIENTS l'i cups 1 envelope dry yeast 1 tablespoon sugar 3 egg yolks, beaten 3Vz to 4 cups flour cookies METHOD Sift the flour with the spices, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the butter mixture, beating thoroughly half-and-h- , Vs cup sugar teaspoon salt 4 ounces unsalted butter, chilled 1 7 ounces almond paste Vz 1 1 1 Heat the to lukewarm 105F. Combine the yeast and I tablespoon sugar and add the lukewarm half-and-ha- lf YIELD: about 4 dozen , The prettiest way to wrap the pretzel bread is to place it on a round wooden bread board and overwrap with clear cellophane and a ribbon bow. Tie on a few sprigs of dried or fresh flowers. Filling YIELD: Food processor. TO PACKAGE egg cup almonds, blanched and finely chopped Stir until the yeast and sugar are dissolved. Let proof for about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and 1 Vz cups of the flour, and beat 2 to 3 minutes to activate the gluten. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine remaining flour, Vz cup sugar, and the salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles oatmeal. Fold in the yeast sponge and beat for re- frigerate overnight. The following day, combine the almond paste, Vz cup sugar, the egg white, cinnamon, and almond extract, and blend into a smooth paste. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, dust it lightly with flour, and knead on a smooth surface for 2 to 3 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before rolling it into a rectangle 24x18 inches. Sprinkle the rectangle with sugar and flip it over. Spread the filling evenly over the dough to within 1 inch of all the edges. Sprinkle on the chopped almonds and tightly roll up the dough into a long cylinder. Roll the cylinder between your palms until it is about 36 inches long. Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and shape it into a large pretzel. Brush it with the egg white and water, sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds, cover and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake the bread for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it is golden in color and a cake tester comes out clean. If the bread colors too quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the bread from the baking sheet and allow it to cool completely before packaging. Wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, the pretzel bread will keep in the refrigerator for a week. It freezes very well. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger TO PACKAGE white or silver paper SPECULAAS The recipes below, for Sugar Plums, INGREDIENTS 3 1 s. Speculaas, and Pretzel Bread, are all reproduced from Gifts of Food. TO PACKAGE Give these cookies in decorated bags, or boxes. Team them with a wooden cookie mold as a special surprise. 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and 3A cup sugar egg white teaspoon ground cinnamon teaspoon almond extract cup chopped almonds Topping Sugar 1 egg white mixed with tablespoon water Sliced almonds TOOLS Rolling pin Baking sheet ' 1 |