Almond Crescent Cookies

This week's Christmas cookie is presented to you by guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic. ~Elise

When I was a child my parents hated me enough to put me into a table manners class called Ms. Etiquette. I learned to say please and thank you, how to identify nine types of forks, and all of it culminated in a High Tea final exam. The tea party was boring as heck, but there were these delicious little almond crescent cookies.

Almond crescents are a very basic tea cookie recipe. They're very buttery with a pronounced almond flavor. Matched with a cup of Earl Grey or Almond Rocker they're a great excuse to call over friends on a rainy day for a small tea party of your own.

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Posted by Garrett McCord on Nov 30, 2007

Cranberry Salsa

Filed under Salsa

Cranberries are only in season for a short time in the fall. Once they appear in the supermarket, fresh in bags, snatch them up while you can. They will last frozen for a few months, but even then, after a few months they will begin to get a bit iffy, so fall really is the time to enjoy whole cranberries. I tried to find frozen cranberries at our local grocer in February with no luck.

This is a quick and easy salsa recipe made with fresh cranberries, apples, cilantro, and chilies that is especially good with turkey (see our turkey tacos), but can be used with any dish that calls for fresh salsa.

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Posted by Elise on Nov 30, 2007

Patricia's Holiday Fruitcake

Filed under Bakery

Every year around this time, we anxiously await the arrival of a package from my dad's friend Fred. What we crave is a loaf of the most wonderful fruitcake, packed with dates, raisins, and glazed cherries, a raisin bread on steroids, made by Fred's elegant and gifted wife Patricia. As soon as the loaf arrives, dad opens it up from its foil wrapping, pours bourbon on it, wraps it up again, and hides it from the rest of us until Christmas day. He has to hide it or we would be tortured everyday by wanting to eat it and not being allowed to. I've never understood some people's aversion to fruitcake. Maybe it's a bit like opera, or anchovies, things that you need to develop an appreciation for. Too bad, really, because this fruitcake is terrific, and it would be a shame not to make it just because one had a fruitcake prejudice.

After several years of my begging dad to see if Patricia would be willing to share her recipe, my father finally got the nerve to ask, and she happily offered to it to us. (Thank you Patricia!) To give you an idea of its appeal here, this loaf I baked lasted a day an a half between 3 people. The minute my dad finished the last crumb he made plans to make another loaf the next day.

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Posted by Elise on Nov 30, 2007

Shopping Alert - KitchenAid Mixers

Filed under Shopping Alerts

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Updated Saturday, Dec 01, 2007 12:30 am, PST

Today at Amazon.com several KitchenAid mixers are on sale.

The KitchenAid Classic 250-Watt 4 1/2 quart stand mixer is on sale for ~~$139~~ ~~$159~~ ~~$174~~ $149 from $269. Free shipping is available.

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Posted by Elise on Nov 28, 2007

Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Salsa

Filed under Salsa, Turkey, Wheat-free

One of my favorite things to make with leftover turkey is turkey tacos. Usually I have some leftover cranberry relish (I always make too much) to go with the tacos in lieu of salsa, but this time I thought I would make some fresh cranberry salsa from scratch, which turned out surprisingly good. Cranberries just pair so well with turkey, even regular cranberry sauce is going to taste as satisfying with a turkey taco as tomato salsa. Just add a little chopped fresh or pickled jalapenos.

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Posted by Elise on Nov 25, 2007

Turkey Stroganoff

Filed under Main Course, Quick, Thanksgiving, Turkey

What to do with all those turkey leftovers? We decided to make turkey stroganoff with some of ours. Stroganoff is a classic Russian dish, popularized in America after World War II, which typically has beef and mushrooms served in a sour cream sauce. Turkey doesn't have as strong a flavor as beef, so this stroganoff improves with the addition of some leftover turkey gravy, and extra herbs such as thyme. Stroganoff tends to be a bit rich with all that sour cream; to lighten it a bit, substitute plain yogurt.

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Posted by Elise on Nov 24, 2007