A Cocktail and A Pie

Banish Pink Ladies?  I think not.  The elusive elixir has a stronghold on Blanchette Christmases as strong as any meat pie, and each generation seeks the endorsement of the older generation as to its perfection - in taste, consistency, and, yes, color.  Sometimes I've wondered, "If I topped Pepto Bismol off with Vernor's ginger ale, would anyone notice?"

With meat pies, the questions always get asked, "does it need more sage?" "why baking soda in the mix?" "should I add more bread?" - and this year, our adopted French Canadian, Annie Hoover, added "do you cook it before you freeze the pie?"

The answer to the sage question can only be judged by the older generation taste testing; baking soda cuts the richness of the pie; and enough bread to turn the liquid gelatinous are pat responses to the other. But do you cook the pie before freezing?  Annie did.  Perhaps Linda will be able to tell us which is better:  frozen pies precooked or not.

With Pink Ladies, the main question - which you can gather from previous entries - is usually, "who wants to make the Pink Ladies?"  Papére was a hard act to follow....

Papere making his signature drink

But my father did it pretty well.

Funny that a cocktail and a pie can invoke such insecurity in us all.  But truly Pink Ladies and Meat Pies are the Blanchette yard stick.  

So it was that this Christmas (we actually coasted past Christmas with everyone declaring they were too stuffed to have a Pink Lady, until Dec. 29th when tradition tugged at us) we proclaimed, "Uh!  We have to have Pink Ladies!  Who will make them?"

All eyes turned upon my daughter Emily's future father-in-law who was meeting the extended family for the very first time.  Something about Joel, both in demeanor and looks (check out the video toward the end), was so Papére that we suggested he prepare Papére's traditional drink, which - like a great sport - he did to much aplomb!  Minus once again the Vernors, Nana declared these the best Pink Ladies ever though they would have been made perfect with Vernors.  Check out the video below.

Of course, after the festivities and the company left, I began cleaning out my recipe files where I found my "can't leave home without it" recipe card for Pink Ladies, written hastily some 37 years ago before I left my family's home in Canada for the wilds of California.  I think it makes Papére's technique more clear and perhaps next year, we'll con Joel into another attempt at perfecting Papére's Pink Ladies one by one (with Vernors for sure!).  LOL as they say.

Hardy Appetit!

Pecan Squares ...p103

The last of my 2010 Christmas concoctions was Pecan Squares.  My daughter contributed this recipe and to quote her, "if you like pecan pie...oh my...these are to die for.  I can't even stand to think about these - they are that good!"

Well, after a couple nights' frenetic Christmas goody baking,  I decided I could assemble the bottom layer of this recipe one night and the rest the following day.  Great idea, but when I assembled the other layers, I forgot I hadn't baked the bottom layer.....  I couldn't quite figure out why the bottom layer was so doughy until I realized my mistake!  Not wanting to pitch all the expensive pecans, I opted to extend the baking time of all layers to what they would have equaled separately, fearing the filling may be pecan brittle or pralines when finished.  (Mmmm...bourbon and pralines!)  Alas, granted I'm not sure what the "accurately baked" recipe tastes like, this faux pas was still yummy and delectably acceptable to bring to our New Year's celebration where everyone exclaimed they loved it.

I'll have to try it again another time....after the holiday sugar rush has subsided long enough to consider baking once more!

unbaked....all layers!  be sure to bake the bottom FIRST.

After baking, crisp but still delicious!

Hardy Appetit!

Pink Ladies ...p117

Papére Making Pink Ladies

Pink Ladies were the celebratory toast of choice at my Grandpa Lou's & Grandma Alma's home on Christmas Eve (and sometimes New Year's) all the while I was growing up and has been ritualistically prepared and served up by a male annually at one of our homes since.

So shock it was this year when no male volunteered to take up this honored tradition of bartending the Pink Ladies....  turns out we decided no one really likes them, it's just something we continue with in order to connect with the Lous before us....  it is the process of watching the eldest gentleman concoct something unusual rather than the consuming of this pepto-bismol colored, sugary, frothy drink that we all like.

But when push came to shove, I couldn't let it go, and minutes before the New Year struck, I broke tradition and became the first female to concoct the libation.

The directions are somewhat vague, and my memory of how they did it, even vaguer, so it was a good thing only one person watched me (and that, a perfect stranger - thank you, Bucky, maybe you are meant to continue this!), and no pictures captured the comedy.  I am assuming when they say "mixer" they don't mean blender....  The blender worked fine until I added the Ginger Ale.  Well, you can imagine the mess I made....BUT I did successfully fill about 10 little glasses with the concoction, which the critic proclaimed almost perfect (ha! she wasn't in the kitchen!) - Vernor's Ginger Ale, which, like us, originated in Detroit, would have made them "perfect."  After finding about 9 half-full glasses remaining in the kitchen, my sister and I concluded that maybe, just maybe, some traditions are not meant to be carried on....

Sorry, Papére!  Peut-être l'année prochaine!  Somehow mom's words rang in my ears that night, "If Louie had been here...."  I would love for someone - male or female to comment with the correct preparation technique.


Hardy Appetit!

Benné (Sesame Seed) Cookies ...p102

"Open Sesame"

One thing I love about blogging is it satisfies my perpetual student desires.  After all, did you know that the term "open sesame", used in Arabian Nights, came from the way the sesame seed pod bursts open when ripe?  I can just envision some hungry desert nomad sitting alongside a sesame plant, imploring "open! sesame!" for tiny morsels of nutrient rich food.  I also just learned that African slaves carried benné seeds (their term for sesame seeds) to our shores, where it was readily assimilated into Southern cooking.  And, for a little pipsqueak of a seed, sesame packs a wallop in nutrients: manganese and copper, as well as calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber.  Copper aids in the relief of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation.  For more info, check out whfoods.com.

and why did Southern Comfort change their logo?  I miss the Plantation!!!

These cookies are one of our favorite Christmas treats as much because of what they aren't as  what they are -  flavorful, delightfully crisp nibbles,  but NOT that sweet!  They're the perfect antidote to over consumption of sugar during the holidays.  We keep a tin full to nibble on.

My only negative comment would be the expense of sesame seeds - since this recipes calls for a cup (and you will want to make the entire recipe), I'd like to find a source for a cheaper purchase.  I actually ordered my pesto pine nuts through E-Bay and have enough pine nuts to last a year (another product I cringe at buying for their expense).

The critic really enjoyed these tasty cookies....a shot of bourbon helps, but next Christmas, I'll have to order the real stuff: Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon! 

Hardy Appetit!

Butter Tarts ...p108

Aside from meat pies, the week between Christmas and New Year's wouldn't be, well, the holiday culinary delight it is without baking tarts - butter, raisin, or pecan.

When we lived on the farm in Northern Ontario, our kitchen closet served as a refrigerator for the leftover turkey carcass and the tins of treats mom would prepare for just that one week of the year.  Freezing temperatures outside turned an uninsulated indoor closet into perfect cold storage.  I'm not sure what it was about the kitchen on the farm - so much of our growth happened there, not physically but spiritually, evident in the dynamic balance of joy and sorrow, love and hate, discussion and outbursts, fun and work. The uniqueness of that time for my family from 1969-1980 can't be overstated, though we've been told it greatly impacted many caught in the ebb and flow of the turning tide.  I remember feeling like Neil Young wrote the song  Helpless just for us: our own time of helplessness that sprung forth eternal hope.

There is a town in North Ontario
Dream comfort memory to spare
And in my mind I still need a place to go
All my changes were there....

...in that kitchen, toasty and warm from all the cooking going on, windows frosted over from the subzero temperature outdoors, a mature cattail left on the sink window ledge to explode into indoor snowflakes, cupboards festively painted red and white, people communicating, arguing, playing cards, eating....all my changes were there.

A wine glass ensured the perfect diameter for my little tart shells.

 I've always worked endlessly to flute tart edges, often resulting in tears that would cause the filling to seep underneath and make the tart difficult to get out.  But now,  I've discovered this perfect little edge maker from Pampered Chef which, trust me, makes the job so...much...easier! 

Another little trick I pulled this year, was to put the raisins and walnuts in the shell separately from the butter filling....that, too, made the preparation cleaner.

Remember to remove the brown sugar, butter combo from the heat before adding the beaten egg, which will quickly cook instead of blend with the combo.





...et VOILA!

 So if there's one food that affords me a flashback, it's mom's delicious raisin tarts.  I can pop one in my mouth and the taste unleashes a morsel of memory.  Years later, I discovered butter tarts through my sister Lisa.  When I asked her the recipe, she exclaimed they were just mom's raisin tarts minus the raisins!  While I'd like to state mine are good, hers are delightful.  I hope she'll comment on her secret!

Hardy Appetit!

Christmas Meat Pie ...p40

The month before Christmas sets off panic in my brain as I try to remember exactly how to make my Grandma Alma's traditional meat pie.  [no worry now!  you'll always find the recipe in our hard copy or right here] What cut of fresh ham do I need?  [picnic preferred]  How many pounds?  [1 lb per pie]  Does this include the bone?  [no]  Where did I buy it last year?  [Ainsworth]  Which grocery store would even grind pork anymore?  [not Walmart, not HEB, not Kroger]. 

For several years now I have been blessed to have the closest expert on hand - my mom who had to master the art in order to capture the heart of her husband (through the approval of Grand-mere!)  Every year was a ritualistic "does it need more sage?"  "how 'bout more allspice?" questioning of my father, who would dutifully taste and critique until it was just like his mother's.  I have no doubt mom outdid her in one area:  pie crust.

She's one who needs no recipe, goes totally by feel (she always tells me that's my problem, I'm afraid to touch the dough!) and always her pie crusts hold together and often outshine the filling they enclose.

Mom, remember when your pie crusts would mysteriously lose their fluted edge - it was I who would sneakily break off pieces to eat, leaving unfluted pies!  And, while we all love the meat pie, our favorite was her turning the leftover dough into the pastry delight of "puppy dog tails...."

Note the puppy dog tails on the tray!

 Truth be told, as a child I wasn't too fond of the meat pie filling.  Traditionally we'd come home after midnight Mass to eat a piece of meat pie, then on Christmas morning we'd top a piece with an egg, cooked over easy, and lots of salt and pepper.  If we were frugal, we'd have one pie every month throughout the rest of the year, finishing just in time to begin again....however, now, I cherish the meat pie tradition so much I wouldn't dream of not doing it as it has maturated into a strong sibling bond.  (Ok, my husband would be sorely disappointed to not have meat pie Christmas morning!  "Forget the presents!  Where's the meat pie?")  Now that several of us sisters are close, one massive meat pie making party in early December kicks off the season with us instructing the younger generations in the art of making pie dough (though none of us truly measures up to mom here!), tasting the meat filling for the proper seasonings, and showing how to put decorative touches on the crust.  Mom, bless her heart, though paralyzed on the left side, made the dough for 40 pies last season!

This year, many were traveling elsewhere for Christmas, so it was just us - mom and me.  Mom wore the appropriate "Canada, Eh?" t-shirt in honor of this French Canadian recipe and her boys Lou.  I think my hubby was so delighted that we were still going to make pies, he jumped at the chance to help us turn out a few.  Eight altogether.  One eaten Christmas morning, topped with eggs, coupled with coffee.  No other morning like it.

Hardy Appetit!

Pecan Tassies ...p102

After popping one of these in my mouth, I immediately flashbacked to my sweet Aunt Lynn's, a Roseville kitchen, during the Christmas season....  It was in my mom's and her kitchen where mustard sandwiches were born and fanciful paperbag creations were fashioned.   The fifties really were Ozzie & Harriet, Leave it to Beaver. And yes, my grandmother really wore Harriet dresses every day! 

I must confess that these "tassies" I began over Christmas - one of the recipes I never tried before.  However, I only got the pastry mixed and pressed into the mini-muffin tins when - for one reason or another - the filling wasn't completed, the tins were wrapped in foil and stashed in the freezer for future use. 

So after my quick look back, welcome to the future:  finishing pecan tassies in what might be freezer-burned yukka! 

My daughter Trish said it best:  "Wow!  These taste like mini-cheesecakes!"  And they did.  They were a bit crumbly (maybe a result of freezer burn?), so the 2nd tray I allowed to sit in the frig overnight - they came out easier, and were even creamier.  I think these will be a regular on my Christmas trays!

Hardy Appetit!