Christmas Cookies!

I may have mentioned before that I have been baking Christmas cookies with my friend Laura since we were in high school. That's a long time--I won't say how many years! We have found a mix of cookies that we like and that we think go well together--this is what we make every year with new ones coming and going occasionally.

Oh, wait!

I forgot one of the cookies! The ones in the back that look like snowballs are called Sandies, also known as Russian Tea Cakes. The green trees and red poinsettias are Spritz, the rolled cookies in the front right are Laura's Bachan's Christmas Cookies, Almond Crescents are the ones with the colorful sprinkles and Butterhorns are in the center.

I thought I would start with the Butterhorns recipe with some updates, since I had already posted it once and thought I could get it out pretty fast. Turns out I need to get back into my blogging mode again--everything is taking a lot longer than I expected! I will be posting the other recipes in the coming days--except for Bachan's Christmas Cookies, they are Laura's family's secret recipe and I respect that. The other recipes are readily found online if you need them right away.

Butterhorns are my family's favorite cookie. You might remember my son-in-law Mitchell wanted to make them for table favors for his and Karen's wedding. More details are on my Butterhorns! post.

Laura is a much better baker than I, and she prefers the cookie dough be cut by hand instead of using the food processor, and divided into 4 balls instead of 5. She thinks the dough is flakier when cut by hand and when the dough is divided into 5 balls, the cookies are too small. I always trust Laura when it comes to baking, that's why the directions are a little different than those on the Butterhorns! post.

Butterhorns

Ingredients: 

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 lb. butter

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup sour cream

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Measure 2 cups flour and 1 cup butter into a large bowl. Cut butter and flour together until well-combined and butter is evenly cut into the flour.

2. Add 1 egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream. Combine gently with a fork until dough is mixed well.

3. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. Chop 3/4 cup pecans into small pieces and mix with 3/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 

5. Take dough out of refrigerator, sprinkle a little flour on the dough ball and roll into about an 11 inch circle, using waxed paper on the top and bottom, flipping occasionally and sprinkling more flour as needed.

6. Spread about 3-4 tablespoons of the sugar-pecan-cinnamon filling on top of the rolled-out dough and spread it evenly almost to the edge of the dough. Cut into 12 even wedges, and roll, starting with the large end and ending with the point. Tuck the point under the roll, shape into a crescent and place on cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 375ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

***

This year, Laura and I had a lot of helpers and that made this year the most fun and the baking went fast!

Rick is becoming an expert at making Spritz.

This was Jessica's first time baking with us! Sometimes when I edit photos I see Rick in the background. He makes me laugh.

I was so happy Keith was visiting from New York and was able to come over to bake! I was just about doing The Happy Dance all over the kitchen when Keith walked through the door. He's a special one!

Keith's sister Lauren is a special one too. Since I saw her last she has traveled Europe, learned to make French macarons, painted her house and is working on the special effects for a new movie.

Hmmm...Maybe Lauren will be a Guest Blogger and make macarons for FOODjimoto someday...

Right now she is working on the Christmas Cookies. Lauren has retired from her photography business--I could use some tips from her. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that her hand is in clear focus, but her face is not. I like it when my face is in soft focus.

All day the kitchen was bustling with activity.

Here, they are dipping the Almond Crescents in chocolate and then dipping them in sprinkles--they're a lot of fun to make. Keith and Lauren are fun to be around. Looking at the photo below makes me want to laugh and hug them.

Rick and Keith both have my heart--they are helping to keep up with all the dishes without being asked! It was the funniest thing--I heard Keith ask Rick while wiping a utensil, "Where does this go?" Rick replied, "If you don't know where it goes that means you don't do dishes here often enough..."

We all had to laugh because that's what Keith's grandma used to say to me through the years when I baked cookies or ate at her house years ago, and that's what the kids have grown up hearing. Keith said that's what he says when friends do dishes at his house. I love that.

We had such a nice day baking together. It was "ii kimochi"--a warm, wonderful feeling. Next year I hope my daughter Karen will be able to join us as well as Laura's sister Cherie.

Laura and I have been friends since childhood. It's comforting to have a friend like her--a friend I can count on through good times and sad. Thank you, Laura, for always being there for me and for sharing your wonderful children!

Next time, let's be sure to take a photo together at the beginning of the day instead of the end of the day when I'm all tired-out. Like I said, I like it when I'm a little out-of-focus.

Maple-Miso Dijon Salmon

Have you seen Closet Cooking? Of course you have.

Kevin Lynch has a great website, Closet Cooking, and chronicles his "adventures with food in search of flavour," cooking in a closet-sized kitchen. He takes great photos, too. His photo of his Maple-Miso Dijon Salmon inspired me to try his recipe and presentation--it came out so delicious that my husband exclaimed, "This is SO much better than a restaurant!"

I cooked this in the oven--it cooked fast, only ten minutes at 400ºF.

I served my salmon on a bed of oven-roasted asparagus and some micro-greens. Kevin served his on roasted beets and sauteed beet greens with some pea sprouts for garnish. When my dad grows beets again, I'm going to try that!

My husband prefers to have a bowl of rice with fish--are there any other Japanese-Americans out there that don't think a meal is complete without rice?

 Maple-Miso Dijon Salmon

recipe from Closet Cooking by Kevin Lynch

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white miso paste

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, grated

Directions:

1. Marinate the salmon in the mixture of the  maple syrup, mustards, miso, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic for at least 30 minutes.

2. Place the salmon on a baking dish and bake in a preheated 400ºF oven until the salmon just starts to flake easily, about 10 minutes. (For the last two minutes I put the salmon under the broiler for color.)

I didn't have any rice vinegar, so I used white wine vinegar. The amount of marinade will cover a small package of salmon from Costco. The leftover salmon tasted just as delicious the next day on salad--and again, just as the first day, my husband remarked on how tasty it was!

Itadakimasu!

***

This is my mom, Alice.

You met her in my Stuffed Peppers with Barley & Quinoa post.

She's the best mom--kind, patient, thoughtful and funny. She's also very talented. She taught me how to cook and sew, too. That took a LOT of patience!

Mom loves to grow things--she's got a green thumb.

Mom's also a little camera-shy, but is a good sport and models my boutique clothing--when I make her. That's my niece Leslie on the left--she's off to graduate school on the East Coast--we're all so proud of her!

My mom is funny--she makes me laugh when she fools around in front of the camera!

(Pretend you don't see this picture, Mom!)

My mom still takes care of me. She brings me flowers and vegetables to plant in my yard. I can't grow them as well as she (or my dad), but I have a little garden. Recently, she brought me some fall vegetables, and I planted them before the rain, so they're growing!

That's okra left from summer in the middle left. I didn't pull it out yet--it's still got some okra growing.

 My mom says I need to pick them when they're not so big so they aren't tough.

 This is kale.

 Romaine

 Cabbage

 Cauliflower

The smell of cauliflower growing reminds me of fall and high school. Across the street from my high school, the Kiyan brothers had a big field where they grew vegetables. In the fall the whole school smelled like cauliflower--and in the spring it smelled like strawberries. It's a nice memory of Mr. Kiyan (either one, I thought they looked exactly the same), working the field on his tractor. 

My little kaki--persimmon--tree is getting big and it's loaded with kaki this year! Time to get out the dehydrator and dry them!

Thank you, Mom, for the vegetable and flower plants and for taking good care of me even though I am old enough to be taking care of myself. And thank you, Dad, for always paying my way, even though I am old enough to pay for myself.

Love you, Mom!

Love you, Dad!

***

Maple-Miso Dijon Salmon

recipe from Closet Cooking by Kevin Lynch

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white miso paste

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, grated

Directions:

1. Marinate the salmon in the mixture of the  maple syrup, mustards, miso, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic for at least 30 minutes.

2. Place the salmon on a baking dish and bake in a preheated 400ºF oven until the salmon just starts to flake easily, about 10 minutes. (For the last two minutes I put the salmon under the broiler for color.)

Biscotti

You have got to try this biscotti. If you haven't made them before, don't worry--this was my first time making them and I'd say it was a success! As they were baking, my husband came home and was excited about the different aromas coming from the oven--and it brought a big smile to his face when I told him I was making Ethel's cookies. More about Ethel later.

You want to see the chocolate dipped biscotti you see in the background closer, don't you.

I didn't put the chocolate all the way across the cookie because the double boiler I melted the chocolate in was too small, next time I'll have to make the cookies smaller or find a wider bowl to pour the chocolate into!

Italian Cookies - Biscotti

from the kitchen of Pietta Menosse 
(by way of Ethel Nakamura)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cubes butter (3/4 cup)

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 tsp. anise oil)

2 tablespoons anise seeds

1 cup chopped walnuts, almonds or pistachios

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add other ingredients and mix well. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Shape into logs and flatten a little. Bake at 375ºF until lightly brown, about 20-25 minutes.

I put some flour on my cutting board to handle the dough since the dough was sticky. I wish I was baking with Ethel so she could teach me, and tell me about all the variations she's tried.

*Note: Ethel says, "If you feel the dough is too sticky, don't hesitate to add more flour to the batter. I add anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 C extra flour as needed. After a period of time, I think you can easily gauge how much extra flour to add."

 This is how I placed them at first.

 But they expand quite a bit.

It's better to place them side-by-side.

Take out of the oven and cut diagonally. The first two that came out of the oven weren't quite done--it's much easier to slice them when they're not too moist, like these. 

After slicing, lay the cookies on a cookie sheet and brown for 30 minutes at 300ºF.

They come out of the oven dry and crisp. That's why they taste so good with coffee or milk.

If you want to dip them in chocolate, melt the chocolate over a double boiler over low heat until it melts, then dip the biscotti and place on wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies are a little big, but my husband says that's not a problem--not at all!

Itadakimasu!

***

Meet my friend Ethel. 

When I was doing a street-fair with my crafts earlier this year, Ethel brought me a bag of her freshly baked Italian cookies. She said that her neighbor, Pietta Menosse, taught her how to make them--actually took her into her kitchen and taught her how to make these cookies. Ethel said that whenever she makes them, she thinks fondly of her neighbor that has since passed-on, and gets teary-eyed when her name is mentioned. 

 As I was making the cookies with the recipe that Ethel has so generously shared, I thought about the two of them baking together and what kind of advice they would have given me while I was baking. Whenever I make these cookies I will think of Ethel, and her neighbor Pietta as well.

As we left the craft fair that day and were a few hours into our six-hour drive home, we opened the bag of biscotti again and began eating. They were so delicious and we were so appreciative of Ethel's thoughtfulness to bring us such a wonderful treat!

Ethel and I share photos of our families--this is a picture of her granddaughter, Presley, and her classical Japanese dance instructor, Madame Hanayagi.

The little one on the right is Ethel's grandson, Kurt--look how cute he is!

Thank you, Ethel, for sharing your recipe and stories with me. I appreciate your thoughtful kindness and generosity.

***

Italian Cookies - Biscotti

from the kitchen of Pietta Menosse 
(by way of Ethel Nakamura)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cubes butter (3/4 cup)

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 tsp. anise oil)

2 tablespoons anise seeds

1 cup chopped walnuts, almonds or pistachios

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add other ingredients and mix well. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Shape into logs and flatten a little. Bake at 375ºF until lightly brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Take out of the oven and cut diagonally. The first two that came out of the oven weren't quite done--it's much easier to slice them when they're not moist. 

Lay the cookies on a cookie sheet and brown for 30 minutes at 300ºF.

Boiled Peanuts

I didn't grow up eating boiled peanuts. The first I heard of them were from my friends that grew up in Hawaii. Boiled peanuts are a favorite snack there. My son-in-law and daughter-in-law's families are from the southern United States--and they like boiled peanuts. Boiled peanuts are so popular in The South, they're sold at roadside stands. I recently went to the Farmer's Market in Clovis and found some fresh, green (raw) peanuts, and thought I'd give boiled peanuts a try.

I bought three pounds of green (raw) peanuts and split the batch into two--one I made from the recipe Marc Matsumoto has on his blog No Recipes--that one is made with five spice powder and star anise. I also thought chile and lime sounded good. I think they were both equally good!

When looking for peanuts to boil, don't be confused by the terms. 'Raw' peanuts can also mean dry roasted peanuts. You want 'green' peanuts--they're not green, but 'green' in the sense of fresh, uncooked. The peanuts I found at the Farmer's Market were obviously fresh-picked, they were moist and smelled like rich, fresh dirt. They were about $1.50 per pound.

Boiled Peanuts

recipe adapted from Marc Matsumoto

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh green peanuts

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons Ono salt

1 teaspoon five spice powder

2 whole star anise
1/2 cup mirin

1 clove garlic, mashed

few slices jalapeño pepper

6 cups water

Thoroughly rinse any dirt off peanuts.

Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let the peanuts sit in the brine overnight.

The next day, drain the peanuts and serve. Refrigerate any uneaten portion.

This is the Ono Salt I used. I bought it in the Hawaiian section of Marukai--several years ago. "Fresh ginger, garlic, pepper and salt are blended together to create a flavor for tastier foods."--that's what it says on the package. I keep it in the freezer.

From what I've read online, it may take longer to cook the peanuts so they're soft, depending upon how dry the green peanuts are. Some bloggers say to soak the peanuts overnight in water before cooking, some say it takes 6 hours to cook--the peanuts I bought were really fresh, so it took only 45 minutes to cook--I had to add 15 more minutes to my cooking time to get them soft, after 30 minutes they were a bit al dente.

Here's the recipe for the chile-lime boiled peanuts. Follow the same cooking directions above. They were good too.

Chile Lime Boiled Peanuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh green peanuts

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 jalapeño pepper

2 fresh limes, juiced and rinds added to pot

6 cups water

I can't wait to have my friends try boiled peanuts!

Itadakimasu!

***

We recently visited my daughter and her family.

My granddaughter Rachel is growing up fast!

She's watching some kids play in the courtyard where she lives.

She kept looking in, watching the kids play. I wondered what she looked like from the other side of the fence.

This little one always brings a smile to my face.

It's a lot of fun following her around trying to get a photo--she moves fast!

This little one has a hearty appetite!

Is it ever too early to learn to sew?

***

Boiled Peanuts

recipe adapted from Marc Matsumoto

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh green peanuts

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons Ono salt

1 teaspoon five spice powder

2 whole star anise

1/2 cup mirin

1 clove garlic, mashed

few slices jalapeño pepper

6 cups water

Thoroughly rinse dirt off peanuts.

Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let the peanuts sit in the brine overnight.

The next day, drain the peanuts and serve. Refrigerate any uneaten portion.

Chile Lime Boiled Peanuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh green peanuts

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 jalapeño pepper

2 fresh limes, juiced and rinds added to pot

6 cups water

Follow directions above.