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Christmas Countdown Week 1: 🎄Holiday Mindset🎄
Published: Tue, 11/28/23
It's the rituals - big and small - that allow us to connect with all the love behind us, and all the love yet to come.
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"As we gather around the table this holiday season, let us create memories and magic, celebrating the true spirit of the season." |
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🎄Holiday Mindset🎄 ~A Few Words From Susan~ |
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On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was sitting with my granddaughters, talking about all the family we'd be seeing over the next week, reminding them how loved they were.
As we talked, I realized how 50 or 60 years from now, they'd be having the same conversation with THEIR grandchildren...and how, although I wouldn't physically be there, by teaching them the traditions that my grandmother taught me...I would be with them, along with the ancestors I never met who passed their love down to me.
That, to me, is at the heart of why we establish and pass on traditions - the rituals - big and small - that allow us to connect with all the love behind us, and all the love yet to come.
Traditionally Yours, Susan |
Trivia Question❓In Italy, what traditional Christmas dish consists of a sweet bread loaf studded with raisins and candied fruit, shaped like a dome or circle? Answer at the bottom of the newsletter |
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I’d like to talk to you about preparing Christmas foods at the very start of the season.While many Christmas foods CAN be prepared in advance of the holiday season and frozen or stored to reduce stress, there are some foods that SHOULD be prepared early so that the flavors have time to fully develop.
Consider starting a few of these foods right after Thanksgiving, so they will be at their peak over the Christmas holidays! |
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Tip of the Day |
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As you gather all the ingredients for your holiday baking, don't forget to check your pantry stash of spices!
Take a moment to organize and evaluate your supplies – discard any expired items and make a note of what needs restocking. |
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Christmas Fruitcake
My husband's great-aunt sent his family fruitcake every year as children, so he grew up associating fruit cake with Christmas. I had no experience with any fruitcake other than Italian Panettone, which is really more of a bread, so I needed to do some research. This is the recipe I came up with, and I've been baking it annually since 1982. :)
Ingredients: 2 cups dark raisins 1 cup golden raisins 4 cups candied fruit mix, including cherries and pineapple 1 c dried figs, coarsely chopped 1 cup peach preserves 1 1/4 cups brandy, divided 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg pinch ground clove 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed 6 eggs
Directions:
The night before baking, combine the fruits with the peach preserves, 1/2 cup of brandy and the vanilla in a large bowl. Cover, and set aside to marinate.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 300, and grease and flour 3 9x5 loaf pans.
Combine the flour and spices, and set aside
Mix the nuts into the fruit mixture.
Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and beat until fluffy.
Fold the flour mixture into the butter, sugar, and eggs, and stir until well combined.
Pour the batter over the fruit. Mix well, and divide into the prepared loaf pans. Cover each pan with foil, plan on a cookie sheet, and bake for 2 hours.
Remove the foil, and bake until browned, which will take another 30-40 minutes.
Take them out of the oven, and pour 1/4 cup of brandy on each loaf. Cool completely, and wrap tightly in foil.
Store at room temperature for 2-6 weeks before eating.
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Plum Pudding |
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This is another tradition that comes from my husband's family. He was used to a traditional British Christmas - Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, and Plum Pudding with hard sauce for dessert. (I'll omit the hard sauce recipe, as I usually order mine on Amazon - this is the one we use every year).
I used to used to include silver pudding charms that were meant to indicate your fortune for the year...but they were sterling, expensive, and wound up disappearing every year, so now I just wrap a penny in waxed paper and use that instead.
I do use a traditional pudding mold, but you can use a metal coffee can if you don't have a mold - just cover it tightly with aluminum foil while steaming.
Please note that I use butter instead of lard - purists may cringe, but I fine it tastes just as good, and my vegetarian daughter can eat it this way.
Ingredients: 10 slices white bread - I use Pepperidge Farm, as it has a dense crumb 1 cup milk, heated 1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs, separated 1 1/2 cups raisins, lightly floured 1/2 cup finely chopped figs 3 tablespoons finely chopped lemon peel or citron 3/4 cups butter 3 tablespoons brandy 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon mace 1 teaspoon salt
More brandy!
Directions:
Heavily butter your pudding mold.
Place a steamer insert in a pot, and fill with water so it will go half-way up the mold. You'll want a pot that can fit the lid with the pudding inside - I use a pasta pot with insert.
Crumb the bread in a food processor, and add the egg yolks, butter, and spices, and combine until smooth. Add the raisins and figs, pulsing a few times to combine, but not puree them.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold in the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared mold. Wrap your pudding charms (or coins) in waxed paper, and push them down about an inch into the batter.
Cover the mold, place it in the steamer, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, and steam for 6 hours. Check the water periodically and refill as needed.
Allow the pudding to cool in the mold for about 10 minutes after removing from the water.
Remove from the mold, and wrap in a brandy soaked linene cloth or dishtowel. Place the towel wrapped pudding in a zipper bag on a plate in the back of the refrigerator and allow it to stay there for 3-4 weeks before serving.
To serve, remove the cloth, place the pudding in a steamer (above the water - you don't want it to get wet) and heat until warm. Serve with hard sauce.
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Pfeffernusse
The FIRST official cookie of the year - every year. This was a special "bakery cookie" we had when I was a child, and so I made sure they were in my repertoire when I started Christmas baking.
Ingredients: 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup butter, softened 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon anise oil 2 Tablespoons dark Karo syrup 1 bag confectioners sugar
Directions:
Mix flour with baking soda and spices
Cream butter and sugar; add egg, Karo syrup, and anise oil.
Add flour mixture and beat until well combined.
Place dough in a zipper bag, and refrigerate 1 hour or over night when ready to make the cookies, preheat oven to 375.
Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece out to 14 inches long, and slice each roll into 1/2 pieces. The Cestari Bench Knife is great for this, as it has the measurements engraved right on it!
Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets, and bake for 7-8 minutes.
Remove from oven, and while still warm, coat then cookies with confectioners sugar.
Store in an airtight container for at least a week before eating so the flavors meld - I have kept them for 5-6 weeks and they were still great! |
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Special Offer for Newsletter Subscribers |
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The Cestari Bench Knife will get a workout during holiday baking season, starting with measuring and slicing the Pfeffernusse recipe above. Save 20% with code BENCHKNF through December 5. |
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💡 Answer to Trivia Question: Panettone.
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WOULD YOU LIKE A COOKIE TURNTABLE? |
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