The Garden Apartment

Grandma Angie's all butter Cherry Christmas Cookies

As a child, I looked forward to eating Grandma Angie's cherry Christmas cookies every year. As an adult, I enjoy honoring her tradition and the memories these cookies bring back. Read on for the story, or scroll down for Grandma Angie's recipe.

Grandma Angie with a bratty young me, 1983 

Grandma Angie was the stereotypical Grandmother: kind, nurturing, good at spoiling young children, and excellent at baking things. 

As a child, I loved visiting Grandma Angie's. I knew that I would receive something sweet: butterfingers, cookies, or an entire container of cool whip (seriously) if only I joined her to watch Wheel of Fortune. 

Most of the treats she gave me were things my parents rarely allowed me to eat. So I would hide my treats in a very secret place: the top drawer of my nightstand. 

My mother could often be found dumping butterfingers out of this drawer, much to my dismay. 

This Thanksgiving, my dad compared me to Grandma Angie as he watched the quantities of butter I used. It was a holiday, after all, and despite my general belief in eating healthy and fresh things, holidays presume the honoring of family traditions. In my family's case, butter is a big tradition.

Dad explained that whenever grandma's cooking was complimented, she decided that it was the butter, eggs, or cream that made it good. Thus, every year, she would add more butter, more eggs, and more cream. Apparently, by the time she hosted her last Thanksgiving, it had gotten out of hand.

This is why I was not surprised to discover that my favorite childhood Christmas cookie's primary ingredient is butter. In fact, there are only four other ingredients: sugar, flour, vanilla, and a maraschino cherry on top of each cookie. 

Clearly, maraschino cherries are not something I seek out these days. My adult-self does not believe that something so sugary and processed can rightfully even be called a cherry. But, in honoring tradition once a year, I do break out a jar of the sweet red "cherries" I loved as a child.

In fact, as a child I was addicted to maraschino cherries. Growing up in a small town, I'd dictated a rule for dining at each of the town's two restaurants. When I ordered a Shirley Temple, it had to arrive with a maraschino cherry for each year of my life. At the age of 4 or 5, this wasn't too much of a problem. But, when I turned 9, my sister-- who was a waitress at one of the restaurants-- put her foot down. From then on, I was only allowed one cherry. This was very disappointing.

Perhaps that is why I was so excited when Grandma baked these cookies for Christmas. I could eat multiple cookies, and multiple cherries all at the same time. What a wonderful, wonderful thing.

As an adult, I can see why Grandma Angie liked making these. They are so simple, appropriately festive, and an all-around good cookie. I whipped together a batch of these in no time last night, and they turned out well. These would be the perfect cookie to bake in a crunch before a holiday gathering. If you don't have maraschino cherries in your pantry, you can use some homemade jam instead.

Grandma Angie's Christmas Cherry Butter Cookies

Makes 4 dozen small cookies

• 2 sticks butter
• 8 TBS white sugar
• 2 cups flour (scant cups)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 24 Maraschino cherries, halved

Grandma Angie's Directions:

Cream sugar and butter. Add vanilla. Add flour until combined. 

Roll into small balls, each the size of a small walnut.

Press a cherry in the center of each one, for decoration.

Bake on un-greased baking sheet at 400 F for 15 minutes.

Katie's Passover Seder Feast {and a recipe for gefilte fish}

Katie invited me to document her Passover Seder Feast from prep to meal. Read the story, or scroll down for her homemade gefilte fish recipe.

Katie and Mike were married nearly one year ago. Now, they are expecting their first baby. Feeling the crunch of oncoming responsibilities, Katie organized a large Passover Seder dinner as a "last big hurrah before somebody had a baby." Hoping to document the happy moments and delicious foods shared with friends and loved ones, she asked me to join them in a bit of a photojournalism adventure. As a true mark of her generosity, she also invited my husband- who bore no camera or food blog credentials- to join the table of eighteen family members and friends.

Passover is the celebration of the Jews' exodus from slavery in Egypt. According to Katie, it is widely considered to be the Jewish food holiday. She further describes the holiday as falling into the category of "They Tried To Kill Us, We Won, Let's Drink! Jewish Holidays." Certainly, there's a more Orthodox explanation, but Katie's synopsis is helpful for those of us who are not Jewish.

The food prep for the large meal began one night before the Seder. I joined Katie to document the prep work. When I arrived at her house, I found her and her younger brother Mike navigating a large table through their dining room. "This is exactly what I should be doing during the fourth month of my pregnancy," Katie cheerfully chided her brother, before enthusiastically embracing me in a hug and moving on to the ten plus grocery bags littering the dining room.

And with this, the fun began. First up were two large stockpots of chicken stock for the matzoh ball soup. A fish stock was also prepared, which would be used for poaching the gefilte fish, a traditional fish served at the Seder dinner.

For those non-Jews wondering exactly what gefilte fish is, it is deboned fish which has been ground with a mixture of carrots and onions, shaped into ovular patties, poached in fish stock, then served and eaten cold. Sounds appetizing, right?

The process of making gefilte fish from scratch is impressively tedious. It was Katie's first time making it, though her culinary degree gave her an edge over the average home cook. First, and most importantly, the bones from the fish had to be removed. 

The reason behind the removal of the bones is that the gefilte fish is something that can be made in advance and eaten guilt-free on the Sabbath. An important rule of the Sabbath is keeping it a day of rest. Removing bones from fish is considered work, and thus, the gefilte fish is pre-prepared to be boneless and completely ready to serve work-free on the day it's eaten. 

Katie grinds the deboned and chopped fish

Before I left for the evening, Katie removed the bone from the legs of lamb, butterflied each leg, and removed the silver skin. De-boning the leg was only slightly easier than removing pin bones from fish.

Katie looked tired, and we retired for the evening. 

I returned to Katie and Mike's house the next evening to find a beautifully set table  and a small group of close friends and family who had been assisting throughout the day.  

Before the guests arrived, Mike's grandmother expertly shaped the Matzoh balls for the first course soup.

Katie's friend Alex carefully prepared the Seder plate, reading the Hebrew inscriptions on each plate to determine where to place the bitter herbs, boiled egg, lamb shank, and salt water. 

Then, Katie and Alex selected the readings and prayers for the first portion of the dinner. Katie joked that the four passages instructing the participants to drink wine would all be included.

And finally, the guests arrived. Some guests were very anxious for food.

Despite growling tummies, the guests would have to wait. The beginning of the Passover Seder meal is a (rather long) series of prayers and symbolic gestures. 

The guests were seated, and prepared themselves for prayers.

The meal began with the lighting of candles by Katie and Alex.

Mike presided over the table and led the prayers (with participation from all guests), assisting the non-Jewish guests in understanding the various symbolic gestures. Pointing to their open front door, he explained that the door was left open and a seat left empty to demonstrate that there was always more room at the table.

We dipped the bitter herb in salt water, symbolizing the tears of the ancestors and remembering the bitterness of their slavery.

The matzoh was broken, and the middle piece was wrapped and hidden by Mike-- who promised a present to whoever found it at the end of the meal.

We dipped our fingers into our wine glasses and dotted wine onto our plates for each of the ten plagues: "Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild beasts. Cattle disease. Boils. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death of the first born."

 

 

After the Seder plate and initial prayers had been read, it was time to serve Katie's delicious matzoh ball soup. 

Next, came the much awaited homemade gefilte fish.

All agreed that Katie's gefilte fish tasted much better than it sounded. The Jewish attendees understandingly appreciated her efforts the most, after a lifetime of eating jarred gefilte fish, which is stored in a jelly-like substance. Descriptions of this fish were usually accompanied by a wrinkling of the nose and a look of disgust. Katie's fish was well received by all- Jewish and Gentile alike.

Next, it was time for the main course: garlic and herb roasted leg of lamb, potato kugel, quinoa, lemon salmon, and asparagus. 

Everything was delicious, though all agreed that Katie's leg of lamb was the star of the show. 

The food, drink, and good company made for hours of lively conversation. 

As I left Katie's house with a full stomach and smile on my face, I couldn't help thinking it impossible that having a baby would prevent her from hosting many future celebrations with family and friends. 

To see more photos from this beautiful gathering of friends and family, visit my Flickr photo set documenting this event here.

* * * * * * * * * 

Katie's Gefilte Fish

Recipe adapted from the 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook (by way of epicurious.com)

Katie's notes: We only used 2 kinds of fish (no carp): half and half whitefish and pike. If possible, purchase the fish from a store which will fillet, debone and skin the fish for you (it was a lot of work!).

Many people think it is a crime to put sugar in gefilte fish, but she prefers hers a little sweet, liking the pairing of the sweet fish with the spicy horseradish. 

For the gefilte fish balls

• 1 (1 1/2-pound) fillet of whitefish and (1 1/2-pound) fillet of carp or pike (at fish store, ask for whole fish, filleted and skinned. Retain the heads and bones. Many stores will also grind the fish for you)
• 2 large onions (about 2 cups when grated; don't tamp it down)
• 1 stalk celery
• 1/2 medium carrot
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup corn oil
• 1 cup matzo meal

For the cooking

• Heads and bones from fish
• 4 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped into 3-inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots, peeled

We made the stock and then saved it for the next day, when we poached the fish balls. All ingredients were combined and the simmered for about an hour or so. Fish stock does not need to simmer like chicken stock. Some chefs say 18 minutes is all it needs. 

All the ingredients for the gefilte fish balls are combined and allowed to sit for at least 2 hours-- though we did it overnight. Then the balls are formed and poached in the simmering fish stock. Cooking time will depend on how big you make the balls, but ours (formed with two serving spoons) took about 15 minutes. 

So, I Married a Hokie

 A weekend of Virginia Tech football brought about some reflection on my marriage, local food culture, and turkey legs.

 

When John and I first started dating it was mid-December of 2004. We liked each other immediately and did what any newly love-struck young people do: we spent a lot of time with each other.

Of course, I should have understood John's (rather blunt) foreshadowing. You see, about two weeks into this relationship I was told, "You're lucky football season is over."

And then came September of 2005, which marked ten months of Tiffany and John and the beginning of a new Virginia Tech Football season. As a Midwestern girl transplanted on the East Coast, I was very naive. "What exactly is a Hokie?" I asked.

To this day, I still have not been given a very solid answer to this question. In short, the explanation is that the word hokie appeared in a song dedicated to the University many many years ago, and was later adopted as the mascot. In case you are wondering, the mascot  pretty much looks like a sassy orange and maroon colored turkey- which made me giggle a little bit in the beginning. Of course, any wondering I do about the validity of a turkey as a mascot brings about a whole chorus of John's friends discussing how ridiculous leprechauns are (I am a Notre Dame fan).

I've come to learn that this Hokie culture is an amazing thing. For example, one of John's good friends has a two-year old son. When he was just a year old(and barely talking) he could respond to questions like "What does the Hokie Bird say?" (warble, warble, warble) This toddler even knew how to say "VT!" and to throw his arms up in the air when Virginia Tech made a touchdown.

I've also learned that there is such a thing as a Hokie Pokie Elmo doll. Hokie Pokie Elmo joins us whenever we watch a Virginia Tech game on television. And, in case you are wondering. . . the Hokie Pokie is danced at every Virginia Tech home game during third quarter. You have to appreciate a team whose fans are willing to jump up and down to Metallica as their team enters the field, but then three quarters later is also willing to do the Hokie Pokie.

 

Okay, so let's get down to business. This is a blog about food. Usually this is a blog about locally grown foods, often organic and healthy. You're probably used to seeing gorgeous and colorful photos of the farmer's market, as well as some pretty good looking creations from my kitchen.

Brace yourself: you are in for some very classy photos of our weekend tailgate. (Please take note of the amount of preparation that went into this tailgate- and then take note that I spent my entire  Saturday with all boys.) I'd also like to clarify that this is something I refer to as local food culture: in other words, eating turkey legs is an experience unique to Virginia Tech football.

So, here we have it: This is Jones- the grill master. His recipe was pretty simple. He basically doused the legs in garlic salt and lemon pepper. This step took place many many times, whenever the legs were rotated. The legs stayed on the grill for about an hour, and Jones would often close the grill's vents to allow the turkey legs to smoke. 

Plastic forks are the new vogue grilling tools.

But just look at the end result. . . delicious.

And, as you can see, I've learned to fully embrace Virginia Tech culture. After all, I haven't met a Hokie I didn't like (and those turkey legs were really good).