Belated Christmas Cookies

Every year the munchkin and I make and decorate sugar cookies for Santa. Only this year, the woman who runs our favorite Lebanese restaurant sent the hubby home with a bunch of homemade cookies. So I talked the munchkin into leaving those out for Santa and putting off our decorating until Boxing Day, when mommy would be less busy and cranky.

I've been on the hunt for a decent sugar cookie recipe for years. One that doesn't taste like paste, as most of them seem to do. I tried Alton Brown's last year, and despite his claims of awesomeness, was not impressed. This year, I gave Paula Deen's recipe a shot, and folks, I think we finally have a winner.



The down side is that these cookies can spread a bit in the oven (as evidenced by Fatty the Cookie Man on the top right up there). But not too badly, and I say it's fair trade-off for edible cookies--these babies are buttery and sweet and aided enormously by the hint of almond extract.

After the cookies were out of the oven I whipped up a batch of not-royal cookie icing in various colors, dug out some of the munchkin's old paintbrushes and a collection of colored sugars, and let her go to town. Too bad Santa missed out on these.

Christmas Dinner

We had eight people for dinner this year: the three of us, my father, uncle, mother-in-law and the hubby's aunt and uncle. Here's what I made (or, in the case of the ham, procured):

Swedish Glögg*
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Logan Farms Honey Glazed Ham
Asiago, Potato and Bacon Gratin
Bourbon Carrots
Brussels Sprouts with Pecans
New Orleans Style Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

The spinach and artichoke dip was a smashing success. The recipe made so much I thought we'd have tons leftover, but it was pretty well gone within an hour. I substituted frozen artichoke hearts for canned because that's what I had on hand, and served it with festive red and green tortilla chips. I wish I'd taken some pictures, because it looked great. I love that this dip isn't over-spinachy, the fatal flaw of a lot of spinach dips.

The ham was the traditional honey-glazed model from Logan Farms, which beats The HoneyBaked Ham Company hands down, if you ask me. How much do I love not having to mess with a main course at the holidays? Lots and lots.

I've had limited success with my potato gratins in years past, but I think this year was the one I finally got it right. One of problems has been the potatoes browning, so this time I kept them in a solution of water and cream of tartar while I was peeling and slicing them to prevent browning. Also, this recipe calls for boiling the sliced potatoes briefly before compiling the gratin. What this means is you can make the whole shebang ahead of time and then keep it in the fridge until you're ready to bake. Tres convenient.

I really wanted to do these glazed carrots with candied chestnuts, but alas there were no chestnuts to be found at any of the stores near me. I even looked at Williams-Sonoma, which I know has had (very expensive) jarred chestnuts in the past, but no dice. So instead a settled for rather boring glazed carrots which were just fine.

This was only the second time I've ever made Brussels sprouts. Also only the second time I've ever eaten them. I'm trying to get over a lifelong bias against them, because I've heard they can actually be delicious when prepared right. The first ones I made were eh, but these were significantly better. I still wouldn't say they're my favorite veggie ever, but weren't bad. However, slicing the sprouts ended up being a bit time-consuming (for the hubby, who was recruited to help). I wonder if they'd be as good if you just halved them instead?

The bread pudding is favorite of mine. I'm not always a big fan of Emeril, but the man knows how to make a bread pudding. Of course, being a card-carrying member of the I Hate Raisins Club, I omit the detestable little bastards from my version. I always forget how much this makes, though. A 13"x9" pan full of bread pudding is A LOT of bread pudding. Next time I should probably cut the recipe in half and make only a quarter of the whiskey sauce called for because you just don't need that much. I could probably cut way back on the amount of bourbon in the sauce, too, because hoo boy, is that stuff strong.

* This recipe, given to me by a Swedish friend, is as follows:

Swedish Glögg

Glögg is the traditional drink in Sweden and Finland during the six weeks leading up to December 25–a cold, dark time of year in Scandinavia. It's similar to a variety of historical mulled wines, such as wassail and gluwein.

1 bottle of red wine
1/4 - 1/2 cup vodka (not spicy or flavored)
10 whole cloves
1 tsp cardamom seeds
4 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
peels from half a lemon
1/2 - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Crush cinnamon and cardamom in a mortar. Peel lemon (make sure no white inner membranes are included, as this will turn your glögg bitter). Put all spices and peel in a glass or plastic jar with a lid, pour over the vodka and cover. Let stand overnight. Strain the vodka and discard the spices. Mix the spiced vodka with the wine and sugar in a large pot or kettle and heat until steaming–DO NOT BOIL. Stir and taste. If not sweet enough, add more sugar. If it’s too sweet, add more wine and/or plain vodka to taste.

When serving glögg, drop a few slivered almonds and raisins into the bottom of the cup (or, if you're me, pass on the raisins) and enjoy with traditional Swedish ginger snaps.