Its been one long year of reflection, growth and of course cooking and writing. Most of the cooking for 2017 was a balance of between eating healthy and cooking for my Man. A challenging balance to say the least...one day fried chicken the next day salad...lol. However challenging, the year of cooking was filled with joy, memories and a very happy Man after each meal.
I've risen from my euphoric incubation and started cooking and writing again. First up, the Christmas Eve cake. A long standing favorite ... Lemon Cake, but this year instead of the heavy sugary frosting of butter and powered sugar I found a light delicious alternative made of whip cream and cream cheese.
Now, you might think that the combination of whip cream and cream cheese would be heavy on the tongue, palette and stomach for that matter...but somehow in the magical world of culinary science, the whip cream cuts the heaviness of the cream cheese and surprisingly very little sugar is used and instead of a dense, rich, sweet cake frosting a light, fluffy, melt in your mouth goodness engulfs your tastes buds.
Okay, so you're saying, "...okay, enough already! What's the recipe..?!?!". Glad to oblige. I found the recipe at Allrecipes coupled with the video. Super easy and bonus budget friendly. The frosting recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/19108/whipped-cream-cream-cheese-frosting/
Next up was the annual making of the Galette. I made two, of which both received rave reviews. I ventured in a different direction for both...well, in a way. I continued with my classic Julia Child/Jacque Pepin Galette basic recipe, but instead of sweet apples, like Pink Lady or Macintosh, I went ultra classic with the Granny Smith apples. Shocker! I haven't used Granny Smith in ages wanting to introduce more "flavor" into the recipe by using alternative selection of apples.
Gotta admit there is something about the taste of the classic tart, crisp Granny Smith apple that blends so well with a buttery flaky crust of a Galette. From now on ... classic Granny is the way to go for me.
The second dessert was the traditional family pie turned into a Galette...the Mincemeat pie
(Sorry, no picture). My Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother all made, baked and ate Mincemeat pie and I'm no exception. This year however was a game of "see who can find Mincemeat first".
Thank goodness I started my hunt early. After 5 grocery stores and wandering down countless aisles scouring up and down baked goods to canned stuff the game of "find the Mincemeat" was off to a very sad start. No one had a single jar in stock. One very nice person said, "...we have freeze dried...", she said sheepishly. Before, I responded I cringed at the thought and took the small package in my hands examining it for all it's flaws. The condensed version of already dried fruit left me speechless...and I'm rarely speechless. I politely handed the package of freeze dried fruit concoction back to the sales clerk and said, "I just can't" and bolted from the store like it was on fire.
I ran home determined to make the Mincemeat myself. The recipe is simple, but wholly cow...that's a whole lotta dried fruit!!! Not the most budget friendly filling, unless you buy it premade. I forged onward to the great search guru in the sky...Google.
Thank goodness for the supreme being named Google. A mere search on the web with the words "near me" revealed only specialty stores or places where "old folks" shop had Mincemeat. Well alrighty then. I called the local Piedmont Market and inquired if they actually had in their possession a jar of the precious mixture. Gratefully, they did ... "... several jars...", she said. I flew as fast as my little Kia would take me and bought a single jar. Why not more? I didn't want to deprive another person if they too had been on the great Mincemeat adventure as well.
Onward. The Mincemeat Galette was the easiest and flavorful pie full of raisins, apricots, ginger...just to name a few coupled with the most important ingredient..RUM. With a side of ice cream its a warming and filling dessert, just what the season requires after a meal of roast beef, lamb or turkey with all the trimmings. I highly recommend this fruit pie alternative.
Last up, Mothers NYE cake aka Mommies' Birthday Cake which actually turned out to be a homage to the Mincemeat Galette minus the "Where's the Mincemeat" game. First of all, I have a confession. Yep,...I used boxed cake mix. When it comes to my Mom's cake I don't take chances and by now I'm exhausted and baking a cake from scratch wasn't my idea of fun. But, the idea for the cake was brilliant. Sacrilege, you might say, but it's a life and time saver. I used white cake mix and added a teaspoon of vanilla extract in the batter before it's baked. I used the same whip cream-cream cheese frosting, but a confetti of dried fruit on top made of dates, candied ginger, apricots, cranberries. Oh, and the surprise was a thin layer of fig jam spread on each layer of cake. It added a savory sweetness to the cake without being overpowering.
Before the fruit is placed around the top of the cake I sprinkled a random layer of candied sprinkles. If you look close you can see them. Subtle, but just the extra something to add to the festive occasion. With all that going on ... was the cake any good? All I can say is ... Its gone. I even ate a slice and was very sorry I didn't take a second slice to go. Fun alternative and very New Years Eve looking.
I'm back my friends and exploring our love of the culinary arts on a new level...more to come on a monthly basis. Even might explore healthy options to post. The important thing to remember whatever the option ... cooking with love makes any recipe taste better.
Au bientot, Lady E!
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