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My Christmas Tree is Pink, and ...

... My Prince Will Have Lots of Money!

(My Christmas tree is Rose, and my Prince will have a lot of money!)

I am no longer the cute little girl who dreamed of meeting a handsome Prince Charming ( preferably rich ... because, frankly only 8 years venal ambition of girls is at its height!).

I passed the age "Teen Drama" to enter the age skeptical.

Yet skepticism has never met: I still believe in Santa Claus ...

... and even more in the spirit of Christmas!

Every year I decorate the tree earlier.


It is not pink, but ...


... it diffuses into the house its waves of happiness and serenity.

The fishing rod suits him better than the chihuahua, right?

Photos taken at Macy's in Minneapolis.

Cookie Jar!

It takes 2 or 3 days to make a nice assortment of cookies, and enough tins to store. The hardest part is starting, because then the greedy pleasure of seeing all these different cookies are very encouraging! When done, I filled a basket with a little of each, and I reconstructed the set every day.

Cookies "Pinwheels" (rolled cookies)

Ingredients:

- 350 g flour
- 1 pinch of baking soda
- a good pinch of salt
- 110 g sugar
- 220 g butter at room temperature
-
1 egg - 1 teaspoon flavoring vanilla
- jam
cranberries - chopped walnuts or hazelnuts

Method:

in a container of average size, mix flour, salt and baking soda.

In a mixer bowl fitted with the K beater, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Pour the flour in three batches. Stop mixing as soon as a dough is formed.

Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours to 3 days. It can also be frozen.

Divide dough in half. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough into two rectangles or too thin nor too thick. Spread the jam, sprinkle with walnuts, then roll into log. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 150 ° C.

Cut lengths of dough about 6 mm. Place on baking sheets covered with parchment paper and bake 15 minutes or until what cookies are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container.


Cookies "Thumbprints"

Ingredients:

- 350 g flour
- 1 pinch of baking soda
- a good pinch of salt
- 110g
sugar - 220 g butter at room temperature
-
1 egg - 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
- red fruit jam or apricot

Method:

In a medium container, combine flour, salt and baking soda.

In a mixer bowl fitted with the K beater, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Pour the flour in three batches. Stop mixing as soon as a dough is formed.

Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours to 3 days. It may also freeze the dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 150 ° C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Collect half tablespoons of dough into small balls. The file on a baking sheet, flatten slightly, and form a hollow thumb. Fill with red fruit jam or apricot. Bake 15 minutes

or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container.


Kourabiedes (Greek New Year's Cookies)



for about 70 cookies Ingredients:

- 220 g soft butter
- 90 g sugar
- 1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp orange juice Brandy
- 1 / 2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
- 100 g ground almonds
- 310 g flour
- very fine zest of one orange (optional: this is not traditional)
- 70 cloves
- sugar


Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F or 165 ° C.

In a large container, beat butter with electric mixer at medium speed to high for 30 seconds.

Add sugar and yeast. Beat, scraping down sides of bowl whenever necessary.

Add egg yolk, orange juice or brandy, and vanilla.

Pour In flour, zest and ground almonds. Finish mixing with a silicone spatula if necessary.

Take about half a tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Insert a clove in the center.

is Itty Bitty Jam House, which has occupied the 70 cloves (with a hammer, it makes sense when working with nails ...!)

Bake about 12 minutes or until bottom of cookie is lightly browned.



Cool on a rack before icing sugar sprinkle abundantly. Remove cloves before serving.

These cookies will keep several days in an airtight container (separate layers of cookies with waxed or parchment paper).


Christmas Cookies Frozen ...

Like every Christmas I decorate sugar cookies for with my children. This year, they are the ones who have done almost everything. I'm very proud, of course! The bottles have replaced Glaze Ziploc bags, but the recipe has not changed for a royal icing, beat egg white with powdered sugar and a few drops of lemon juice. Add a couple drops of food coloring, if desired. If icing is too thick, add a little milk until right consistency. If it is too liquid, add sugar.

is an activity to do with family or friends. For cookies, you can use the basic recipe for cookies or Pinwheels Thumbprints, reducing cooking time.


Caramel Spice Christmas


If I had to pick a recipe again before Christmas, this would be it. These caramels are delicious! My advice is to carefully observe the mix of spices - it's easy with small measuring spoon. When in doubt, I would put a little less.
is a recipe adapted from "Gingerbread Caramels" Martha Stewart (hers are stronger in the ginger and nutmeg).

Ingredients for 100 caramels (half of recipe):
Baskets For Christmas, I count 50 caramels per person / family.

- 2 cups whipping cream or 480 ml
- 1 cup glucose (or corn syrup) or 240 ml
- 2 cups of sugar and 300 g
- 80 g butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 / 4 cup molasses or 60 ml (or 4 level tbsp )
- 1 / 2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
- 1 / 3 teaspoon salt
- 1 / 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 / 3 teaspoon Cage
ginger - 1 / 3 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 1 pinch of powdered clove
- a teaspoon of vegetable oil to taste neutral

equipment: a candy thermometer, a heavy-bottomed pan with high edges, parchment paper pan or square baking dish 20-23cm square (or a small rectangular dish, a drip pan, ...). Consider using a larger dish, if you double the recipe! And to wrap caramels: cellophane or waxed paper or waxed (I found anywhere in the U.S., but I do not know where they are located elsewhere).

Method:

Line a square pan 20-23cm side with lightly oiled parchment paper. The paper should go up on the edges.

In a large heavy saucepan over medium high, bring to boiling cream, glucose, sugar, butter and molasses. Mix with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved.

Continue to cook stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 248 ° F or 120 ° C. It takes about 30 minutes.

Here, the temperature is about 110 ° C. The mixture was taken and the volume is still quite fluid.

Meanwhile, remove the bottle of vanilla flavoring, and prepare the spices and salt in small bowl. Stir the caramel regularly.

The volume has reduced the caramel has thickened, it is ready: the temperature reached 120 ° C or 248 ° F. Attention at this stage: the temperature rises very quickly.

Remove from heat immediately and add the spices and vanilla flavoring. Mix well and pour into the mold quickly without scraping the saucepan. Let freeze at least 12 hours.

12 to 24 hours later, lift the caramel plate holding the parchment paper and turn out onto a cutting board lightly oiled (I prefer to cover the cutting board with parchment paper). Remove the parchment paper caramel. Using a kitchen knife, cut strips and then cut into small square or rectangular caramels. Wrap in cellophane or waxed paper.

Caramels will keep one month in an airtight container.



Cookie Exchange


I mentioned in my previous post: I worked hard for my cookie exchange! Here's a preview of what I reported this exchange of cookies. I swapped with my friends, my fifteen dozen cookies cons as many dozens of cookies varied. The efforts of each to deliver 180 cookies at once have been richly rewarded, and especially we really had fun, drank mulled wine and nibbled fabulous "Appetizers" (appetizers), such as French baguette croutons and brie covered with dried fruits and nuts in the oven: an American classic.



Each year for Christmas Macy's stores offer an extraordinary lively exhibition where you walk like a fairy tale. This year's theme is "A Day In The Life Of An Elf," "A Day in the Life of an Elf." This could not be better to illustrate this post about cookies and Christmas treats. Enjoy!

In the kitchen of the Elves: Workshop gingerbread.

It's so good in the kitchen, a small cat was asleep in a barrel.

the Elf Baker

the Elf Pastry

Elves and Confectioners making machine candy "candy canes"

the Elf Chocolatier

At the end of this wonderful world, you can enjoy pastries in the real "Mrs. Claus' Bakery" Bakery of Mrs. Claus. They include:

cupcakes,

snowmen gingerbread,

Christmas cookies, chocolate

of "sugar cookies iced covered with" sprinkles "

and beautiful decorated sugar cookies.

I've shown you the factory "Candy Canes" Santa's Elves. Here's a video of Santa Claus personally visit the workshop and explained how it goes ... Ho, Ho, Ho!

A snowstorm is announced in Minneapolis that night from about midnight until Saturday morning. What a great coincidence! If there is a time of year during which I love the snow forces me to stay home, it is that Christmas! On the menu this year: Jacques Scallops, Duck in Salt Crust, Risotto alla Milanese, and Yule Log. And you?

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas!

Hairstyles Blonde & Brown

I do more cooking, I .... National Vanilla Cupcake Day

... sew.

To my dismay ...

For me sewing is a pleasure or a relaxing hobby, but a chore that stresses me so that I could cry. A slight exaggeration.

Yesterday, my friend Sandra kindly asked me if I intended to write a post about Thanksgiving. This post was started a long time. My idea was to tell the day of Thanksgiving since 7.00 am, the time that I began to knead rye rolls with raisins and cranberries, until 17:00, the time to eat. I told step by step these ten times and I joined the recipe from my apple pie and cranberries, pie and pumpkin and caramel, my casseroles, mashed and roasted vegetables, cranberry sauce, the gravy, and of course the roasted turkey. I told my envy and my great pleasure to prepare Thanksgiving dinner at home, such as Christmas, whereas before we gladly let invite to the table of our friends Americans to embrace new traditions.

I was telling the story of the liquor sage who saves lives, as well as my favorite for buttercup squash, and while they were roasting, my break reading the newspaper (a newspaper special day Thanksgiving). I told my development plan for shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, the day when we can make the best deals of the year-one condition: get up at night for exceptional opening at 4 o'clock in the morning or, as some shoppers crazy, downright camp outside the store since the day before ...). I told

surprised to hear knock on the door so early, and the joy of receiving a gift from a beautiful friends Apple pie, to thank us. If you know the history of Thanksgiving you know that day, thank you. Thank ... it seems so easy, and yet ... that is our big chance here in the U.S. have an official day dedicated entirely to this action.

All American Apple Pie

I told my pleasure to relax in ending this ticket rather than the four painful ... miserable ... endless felt pouches I have left to finish for my Cookie Exchange on Monday. My American friend, with whom I went back into the Cookie Factory last year, will be our hostess Monday. This week, when I went to lower it and cook dozens and dozens of cookies to be decorated at the Cookie Factory, I brought the Christmas Tea. A delicious tea Cafés Joan of Arc of Orleans. She exited mugs ...



Not just any .... His, "Just call me Martha!" In reference to Martha Stewart, the American divinity of "cooking, entertaining, decorating, scrapbooking-sawing" , well made me smile ... at first. And then my friend start talking about the cookie exchange, stating that this year we went "professional" and that we needed to make cookies in containers worthy of ... Martha Stewart. But Martha is a Fairy (it even points out that the cup!). I could have run out and buy boxes of cookies from the Martha Stewart brand, exactly. They are so beautiful. I hope that some participants will have the good sense to do so, because I would love to receive. But ... pleasure to share something he is not multiply when we offer homemade? Tell me if! Otherwise, I could never finish the last pockets. I've done eleven ... It does me good to speak of what is finished!

Unfortunately ...

... I accidentally glued one recent photo of the ticket by crushing all that was over, almost all of the long note on Thanksgiving. Before going to save an urgent errand, this version is amputated then I quickly copied in my duplicate (one meant to serve for the loss of the original ticket). The good news is that I went out to buy something I wanted for a long time: Kitchenaid ice cream maker bowl :-). In perceiving the disaster, I was so sick at heart, I was so disappointed that I could not even cry ... (Friends bloggers, I'm sure you understand me!).

I do not have time to rewrite all the recipes (because of the seam to finish, more than 180 cookies at lower bake and decorate if I have time ... all for tomorrow , you see ...). However I take at least two recipes that are excellent candidates for Christmas dinner: roast turkey, and a gratin of sweet potatoes.

Enjoy!

Roasted Turkey



Williams Sonoma recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 turkey from August to September
kg - 1 yellow onion, cut into 6
- 3 large yellow onions cut into thick slices
- 8 to 10 sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted at room temperature

For the broth:
- 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 small carrot cut into large pieces
- 1 small stalk celery, cut into large pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 peppercorns

Method:

Approximately 1 hour before cooking, remove turkey from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 325 F or 165 C. Remove giblets and neck from the cavity. Reserve the neck, gizzard and heart to cool the broth. Remove and discard any fat packets of the cavity. Wipe the turkey with paper towels.

Season inside with salt, pepper, and add the onion. Tie legs together with string, and the wings near the body (I did not, but I tightened the wings to the body with toothpicks). Butter the white top with a piece of gauze previously passed under cold water. The piece is a square of gauze which, when folded in half, becomes a rectangle large enough to cover the entire surface white. Choose a baking dish the size of the turkey (not larger if possible). Place thick slices of onion in the dish, then the turkey on top.



Roast turkey until thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh, away from the bone displays a temperature of at least 77 to 80 degrees C (170-175 F). It will take 3:30 to 4:00.

Meanwhile, prepare the broth:

In a saucepan over high heat, bring to a boil on his neck, the gizzard, heart, vegetables and enough water to cover everything up to about 12cm. Remove the foam that forms on the surface, reduce heat and simmer, half covered, for 2 hours. Add a little water if the liquid level drop too. Filtered to keep only the liquid. It should stay about 750 ml of broth. Pour into a saucepan and reduce by one third over high heat. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Allow broth to cool until the sauce gravy .



20 minutes before the end of cooking the turkey, gently remove the gauze. This is normally not problem, since whites were initially buttered.



When the turkey is cooked, transfer to a cutting board, remove twine and cover with aluminum. Let stand 15-20 minutes.

For gravy: Deglaze

residue in the dish with the broth. Strain and degrease everything. The recipe uses the fat collected to make a roux, I use butter. In a heavy saucepan, pour 3 tablespoons of flour and butter, and cook, turning constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the broth gradually, stirring, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the gravy is slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm until serving.


Galette or Gratin Bicolor Sweet Potato and Yams



A recipe for Bon Appetit magazine.

Ingredients:

- 40 g butter
- 80 g brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon shaved and unpacked
grated fresh ginger - 1 tablespoon loosely packed open and lemon zest
- 750 g of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 1 cm thick
- 750 g white-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
- 35 g flour
-

salt Method:

In a small saucepan Melt the butter with the sugar, ginger, lemon zest and salt a few minutes until sugar is dissolved. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 400 F or 205 C. Prepare a round dish with high edges. For option gratin, buttered dish. For option cake (that of the original recipe) depositing aluminum at the bottom of the dish and butter (it will reverse all once cooked). Divide the flour between the two kinds of sweet potatoes and mix by hand until the sliced potatoes are well floured. Divide the butter-sugar mixture between sweet potatoes. Mix well.

Arrange slices of sweet potatoes in a circle, overlapping them slightly and alternating colors: a layer of sweet orange, then a layer of white sweet potato. Finish with the remnants of sweet butter.



Press to compact and cover with aluminum. Bake 1 hour to remove the aluminum bake 30 minutes more. Cool 10 minutes before tipping onto a plate if desired. Serve with

lemon wedges (I prefer without lemon).

This dish can be made 4 hours ahead and then heated 30 minutes in oven heated to 400 F or 205 C.





Charter for cooking a roast turkey unstuffed and uncovered, in preheated oven at 325 F or 165 C.

- 3.5 to 5.5 kilos: from 2:45 to 3:00 a.m. Cooking
- 5.5 to 6.5 kilos: from 3:00 to 3:45
cooking - from 6.5 to 8 kg: from 3:45 at 4:15
cooking - from 8 to 9 kg: from 4:15 to 4:30
cooking - 9 to 11 kg: from 4:30 to 5:00
cooking