Sugar Cookies (Multi-National)

      If you were to ask me what my best memory of the holiday season is, it would be staying up to three in the morning baking cookies.  Macaroons, Spritzes, Peanut Butter Blossoms ,Smooches and Kolachkies.   Mounds and mounds of them flow out of the kitchen each year like some well oiled machine.
      Although I make a wide variety of sweets during the holidays, there is no cookie that I make in such mass quantity as my Rolled Sugar Cookies.  Every year I have at least seven people request them, make them for about four Christmas parties which I cater, and then lets not forget the ones used to for the family Christmas party.   But, the funny thinig is, I wouldn't have it any other way. 
       The origin of this cookie is very complicated. Most likely, it is a relative of the German heart shaped Lebkuchen, which would put its founding around the 13th century.  Unfortunately so many European countries have different claims to the sugar cookie.  So the true story of who made this Christmas miracle will always be left to legend. 
       Though my mom is a great cook and baker, the recipe which she used till I was the age of seven was like so many other kitchen mistakes.  They spread out to far, they burned to easily, and the taste was just never there.  When I started getting committed to baking I quickly found the problem.  Unlike most cookies, you should never use baking soda in rolled sugar cookies.  Baking powder is a must since it does not produce as much oxygen as soda.  Also, you should use real vanilla extract.  Imitation vanilla extract never has the right flavor.

(These cookies can be made as thick as you like, however, you should make sure that you cream the butter very well unless you want large bubbles which you can kind of see in the non-iced cookies show above.)

Rolled Sugar Cookies

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces.

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside.  Cream together the butter and sugar beating until very smooth.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in the flour incorporating small portions slowly into the batter (do not use a mixer it never turns out right if you do sorry).  After half of the flour mixture has been incorporated add in the vanilla and continue incorporating the remaining flour.

Once the cookie dough has been well mixed, divide it into two equal parts and then wrap it separately with plastic wrap.  Chill the dough overnight.

Divide each dough half in half once more and roll the dough onto a generously floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness (don't worry the dough never expands outward just upward so thick cookies are not your enemy).  Using your chosen shapes cut out the shapes form the dough putting using as much dough as possible to avoid having to re-roll scraps. 

Place the cookies on a ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350* oven.  Bake for about 7 minutes or until bottom of cookies begin to turn golden brown.  Remove the cookies immediately from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  Decorate the cookies with method of choice, some of which are shown below.

Makes 5 to 6 dozen (depends on the shape of cutter)

(The time of year that I make the most sugar cookies is surprisingly not Christmas but Valentines Day.  I probably get on average 50 orders engraved with special messages in Royal Icing, one special order from this year was a question of "Will You Marry Me?")

 Cream Cheese Icing

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and spoon onto cookies, gently smooth over with the back of a spoon or a metal spatula. Decorate with colored sugars, sprinkles, or royal icing

Glossy Icing

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 teaspoons light corn syrup.

In a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar, milk vanilla, and corn syrup.  Divide the icing into two portions and add enough food coloring to gain desired color.  Start off light as you can never get the color to become lighter.  Dip each cookie slightly in the icing, and allow 10 minutes on a cooling rack for icing to harden.  Decorate with piped royal icing. 

Long Island Iced Tea (United States)

      In the 1970's there was a bartender by the name of Robert Butts, who worked at the Oak Beach Inn in Long Island, mixed probably the strongest highball known to man.  Rather then giving it a name that would immortalize him in bars across the world forever, he gave it a name that gave a false since of security to its drinkers.
      You can drink all you like, but you'll never taste an ounce of iced tea in a Long Island Iced Tea.  The drink itself is a mixture of vodka, gin, tequila and rum which is then given it's particular taste with triple sec, sour mix and a splash of cola.  Let's just say that this is not the drink which you want to binge on as the high alcohol content puts most on their faces after the third round. 
      There have been many versions of this recipe that have been given a multitude of different names omitting one or two ingredients but still calling it an iced tea.  My version that follows omits the sour and cola in favor of a raspberry Razzmatazz, some lime juice, and Sprite. 

Raspberry Long Island

1 cup raspberry vodka

1 cup gold schlagger tequila

1 cup dark rum

1 cup gin

11/2 cups razzmatazz

1 cup sprite

1/2 cup pureed raspberries

In a large pitcher mix together all of the ingredients and stir well.  Serve over ice

Serves 5

Black Bean Soup (South & Central America)

      Black Bean Soup is a bit of a cunundrum in the culinary world.  There is a hodgepodge of multiple nations which call themselves the originator of this dish.  The black turtle bean is grown in so many South and Central American countries that no one variation of this dish is said to be the original, though each country would start a war to prove that their ancestors were the originators. 
      In Brazil the national dish is Feijoada and is made with black beans and beef making a very hearty soup.  In the kitchens of the Caribbean Islands, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, Sopa de Frijoles, a mixture of black beans and cumin is mixed with cream to make something a bit lighter with a full body taste.  Their are many other dishes throughout these countries which use the black bean and surprisingly, each of them have their own unique flavor. 
      As of late there have been many American chefs, mostly in "Latin Fushion Restraunts" who have placed adaptations of the soup onto their menus.  Primarily because of the way that different condiments can make the black soup a mosaic of color. 
      One thing that you must remember when making this soup is that is it very important to soak your beans overnight before you begin to cook them.  Like many of its family members this bean is very hard and can not cook without adding a large amount of water to soften it. 

Caribbean Black Bean Soup



3 cups black beans (black turtle beans)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil chopped

1 1/2 cups minced onion

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup chorizo finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 quarts chicken broth

4 cups water

3/4 cup sour cream, plus extra for garnish

Medium Salsa (optional garnish)

Soak the black beans in a bowl of cold water overnight.  Drain and pat dry.  In a large skillet heat the olive oil and saute the onion garlic and chorizo.  Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the cumin and saute for one minute longer. 

In a large saucepan combine the black beans, broth, and water and bring to a boil over high heat.   Place the sauteed mixture inside the pan; reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the black beans have become tender.  Allow the soup to cool slightly and pour the mixture in batches into a food processor/blender. 

Puree the soup, place back on the burner over a low heat.  Mix the sour cream into the soup and heat the soup through.  Spoon the soup into serving bowl and garnish with the salsa and extra sour cream.  Serve immediately.

Serves 8

Lady Locks (European)

      Someone asked me once, if I could go back to one time in the history of the world what time and place I would choose.  I think he was a bit surprised when I replied that I wanted to travel back to the day of my parents wedding.  I didn't think it strange, after all, this was the one day that I knew my parents were completely happy for an entire twenty four hours, a time before the strains of being an adult in a not so perfect world took away their foolish optimism.   
      I also wanted to go back to this specific time, because many of the attendants are no longer alive, one person in particular was my great grandmother from the Vonderau side of my family tree.  Through my many years of cooking I have been told by my father how all of my bakery could never compare to his grandmothers.  How most days, she would wake up at five in the morning and begin baking so that by seven when everyone else had woken up, they could have some type of pastry with their coffee.  The after makeing a glorious breakfast, she would sneak away for barely even a period of five minutes and flawlessly make all of the beds and pick up all of the laundry. 
      For many years I had searched and searched for a recipe, or even a subtle hint at what my grandmother had used in her bakery.  Unfortunately, like so many woman of the time, she had never placed a single one of her recipes on a piece of paper preffering to keep them in her mind.  While a girl she had memorized what her mother had done in the kitchen so that she could recall every step without the need of a recipe card. 
      After years of searching and pleading with relatives, my grandmother finally remembered that on the day of her marriage to my grandfather, my great grandmother had given her five recipes to celebrate the wedding.  I rmember the first time that I laid eyes on them.  They were three pieces of paper that had been stained from ages of use.  The scent of the ingredients had soaked into the paper almost as if my great grandmother was trying to give me a hint about what to do.   
      The one and only recipe that I intend to share with the rest of the world, is her recipe for lady locks.  Known also as cream horns or clothes pin cookies the dessert comes from mid eastern European countries such as Germany and Poland.  The cookie does bare some resemblance to the popular Italian "canoli" however the shape, preparation, and filling are very different.  The cookie/pastry came to the United States with some of the first American settlers and has been a common treat in many of the Atlantic states, especially Pennsylvania since the countries founding.
      Originally woman would use wooden clothes pins to give the cookie its hollow cone shape (hence the name clothes pin cookies), but today you can buy many different sized metal forms from a variety of different culinary stores such as the one pictured below from cakeandbakesupplies.com

Lady Locks

Dough

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 sticks margarine (trust me on this one)

2 tablespoons lard (Crisco butter flavor is best)

1 cup water

2 egg yolks

Filling

3 cups whole milk

9 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups margarine

1 1/2 cups cream cheese (use a 12 ounces from a 16 ounce container)

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus extra for dusting)

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sift together the flour sugar and salt into a large bowl.  Cut in the margarine and lard with either a pastry blender or two butter knives.  Mix in the water and egg yolks.  Form the mixture into two balls (of equal size); wrap the balls in plastic wrap; and place into your refrigerator to chill overnight. 

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350*.  Divide the two dough balls in half.  Mix 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup powder sugar and sprinkle your board/work surface with enough to roll out the first dough ball.  Roll out the first 1/4 of the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.  cut the square into 6, 3/4 inch strips;  then repeat the process with each of the dough balls.  Next wrap one strip around each of the dough forms, and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake each batch for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove the finished cookies from the dough forms and place on a rack to cool.  Meanwhile, mix the flour and milk, reserved for the filling, in a saucepan.  Cook on medium heat until thick.  Put the mixture in a bowl and place a piece plastic wrap over the bowl.  Refrigerate until the mixture becomes cool.

When the mixture has cooled, beat the margarine, cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Add the milk mixture and the vanilla.  Beat the mixture until it has the appearance of whipped cream.  Place the filling into a pastry bag with a large round tip.  Pipe the filling into the middle of each of the baked cookies.  Dust with the reserved powdered sugar and serve.  (If you would like to make the cookies ahead of time, you may do so and freeze them in a single layer container.  You may also do so with the filling, but do not pipe it into the cookie until you intend to serve it).

Makes 2 dozens



Baby Back Ribs (United States)

      The idea of cooking meat over a grill is something that has existed since the dawn of time, but, barbeque is strictly and American idea.  Like many other American classics the idea of barbeque came about through a "melting pot" of ideas.  Creole cooking, southern soul food, french gastronomy, all of these were components in the invention of barbeque.  And as every full blooded American will tell you the true king of barbeque is a plate of baby back ribs smothered in a barbeque sauce.
      Many people shy away from cooking this dish, as it is rather labor intensive.  But, as I say to many of the people who learn to cook from me, "If you want easy then there are only two aisles in the supermarket that you should visit, boxed dinners and frozen meals!"  Cooking requires labor, especially if you want your food to taste good. 
      The secret to a great slab of baby back ribs is to use your oven.  Slow cook your ribs in a 200* oven so that you won't charbroil them trying to cook them on the grill.  Secondly, pick a marinade that compliments your intended barbeque sauce.  If you want something sweet then put some honey in your marinade, if you want spicy then give your marinade some cayanne.  Lastly, cook the ribs over a low flame.  If you have properly slow cooked your ribs then you should not need a blazing inferno to finish the process, keep the heat low and give the flavors time to come together.
      The recipe that follows is something that I reserve for very special occasions.  Adapted from a recipe that once appeared on the menu of the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland Ohio.  Unfortunately they no longer carry them, but luckily after some trials and alot of errors I mimiced the taste in a way that produces for a family of eight not a dinner rush of fifty.  But you may want to consider the dinner rush size as people can't seem to get enough.

(When I need a quick gift, I make the grill glaze and jar it. About one batch gets me 3 jars full.  Once the jars are sealed you have about a good 2 weeks to use the glaze.)

Melon Baby Back Ribs

2 cups watermelon rind
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 pounds baby back ribs

Using a sharp kitchen knife cut the fruit away from the rind leaving a 1 inch line of red fruit on the rind.  Place the fruit on a serving platter onto a platter and use as an appetizer, as you will not need the red part for this recipe.

Seperate the green rind from the small amount of red going into the white, until you have about two cups of the inner rind.  Discard the green and place the inner rind into a blender/food processor and purree.  Strain the pulp and discard the juice (this should leave you with about 1 1/2 cups pulp which is what you actually need).  In a sauce pan combine the remaining ingredients, except for the ribs.  Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and then reduce for a light simmer, and keep it as such until the sauce is your desired consistency (45 minutes usually does it but you made need and hour).

Split the ribs, so that they can fit onto two cookie sheets.  Cut two pieces of alluminum foil that can wrap around each set of ribs.  Slather half of the thickened sauce over the ribs and wrap in the aluminum foil.  Let the ribs marinade overnight wrapped in the foil. 

Preheat your oven to 300* and set the ribs onto the cookie sheet seam side up Bake for 2 1/2 hours or until the rob meat has pulled back (aka when the meat from the cut side of the bone has pulled off of the bone about 1/2 of an inch).  Remove the ribs from the foil and brush the other half of the barbecue sauce onto the ribs.  Grill the ribs on a well oiled grill grate, over medium heat, for about 4 minutes per side.  Do not allow the sauce to burn.

Serves 8

Limoncello (Italy)

      The person who coined the saying good things come to those who wait, must have been a maker of some type of wine or spirit.  When making any type of alcohol time is the main ingredient, which is why not everybody tries to make there own.
      I have a rule when it comes to making any type of alcohol, it it takes more then a year for the flavors to ferment, then you might as well just buy it.  One such drink is the Italian favorite Limoncello. 
      One of the famous Italian "Digestifs" (after dinner cocktails) Limoncello is composed of four separate ingredients.  Lemon peels, sugar, water, and vodka.  It hails from the island of Capri where it is drunk as a shot by the masses to sooth the stomach after a large meal.
      Making the Limoncello is not labor intensive, but if you are not willing to wait then you might as well forget it; as the recipe that follows takes about an eighty day period to finalize the fermentation process.  One last suggestion is that you double or triple the recipe and give bottles to friends, they are sure to love you for it. 

Limoncello

15 lemons

2 bottles (750 milliliters each) 100 proof Vodka

3 1/4 cups sugar

5 cups water

Peel each of the lemons, avoiding the white pith.  In a large glass jar place the lemon peels and to the jar add the first bottle of vodka.  Seal the jar and place it in a cool dark place for forty days while the flavors ferment.

After the forty days have passed bring the sugar and water to a boil.  Bring to a slow simmer for no more than 5 minutes and then allow the mixture to cook.  Into the jar add the other bottle of vodka and the sugar syrup.  Reseal the lid and place the jar back into the cool dark place for the remaining forty days.

When the Limoncello has fermented for the full eighty days strain the liquid into 4 separate bottles.  Seal each bottle and place in the freezer to chill until ready to serve (bottles can be stored in the freezer until ready as the alcohol will not freeze).  Serve cold in shot glasses. 

Makes 4 bottles

Scones (England)

      When it comes to breakfast bakery, I think of myself as a bit of an expert.  Especially when it comes to this classic English breakfast treat; which I have had the pleasure of enjoying in its country of origin. 
      Historically the scone was nothing like the tasty bread product that we know today.  What started out as a circular griddle cake, had a major face lift and went main stream when the leavening agent baking powder became available to the Brits. 
      The scone today is usually a biscuit like item that is made with flour, sugar, baking powder, and some sort of berry; made soft with some type of milk solid so that the consumer is not trying to digest a rock first thing in the morning.  The dish is then served with some cream and jam to add some calories and some added flavor.
      My recipe, which appears later, does not adhere to all of the original rules of scone making; but I can guarantee the end result is definitely something that will give you a pep in your step in the morning. 

P.S. if you are not a fan of blueberries all you need to do is substitute your favorite berry and go crazy; though I do not suggest trying to mix up your choice of chocolate.

Blueberry White Chocolate Scones

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 pint blueberries

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (5 ounce) bar white chocolate (cut into tiny squares)



In a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, blueberries and cornstarch; mix these ingredients over medium heat until the mixture has thickened.  Allow to cool while you are preparing  the scone batter.

In a medium bowl cream together the butter and sugar.  When it has reached a smooth consistency add in the eggs one at a time; mixing well after each addition.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, next add 1/3 of the sour cream mixture and mix very well.  Repeat this two more times mixing well after each addition.  Fold in the vanilla and set aside.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with a sheet of parchment paper and pour the batter into the pan.  With the blueberry mixture make a double S pattern.  Next sprinkle the white chocolate pieces over the batter.  Finally using a clean butter knife run a series of strait lines opposing that of the S's you just made creating a swirl pattern. 

This is how the scones should look when out of the oven just before you cut them

Place the scone batter into a 350* oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the side of the scones turn a deep golden brown.  Allow the scones about 5 minutes to cool and then remove from the pan.  Allow to finish cooling and cut the scones into rectangular pieces.  Serve as is, or with whipped cream.

          When I served this scone recipe to friends I added some cream stewed berries and some shredded coconut, it was a really good way to start the morning with something small

Serves 10