Truffle Mutt

Christmas Bake-a-Thon Continued

In order to keep my pet project interesting, I decided to move on to something I hadn’t tried before.  I pulled out my list of things-to-make and spotted ‘spiced nuts’.  A candied mixture of brown sugar and hot sauce, fantastic!   

I found the recipe in one of my Epicurious magazines and had wanted to try it for some time.  So, I made a quick visit to the website to read the reviews, and since the comments weren’t all that negative I decided to give it a try.  If you’re interested in the recipe I’ve linked it here, but I would recommend a couple of changes to the original.  First, I’d use a mixture of nuts, not just the toasted pecans.  I would also, as several other reviewers pointed out, use at least four cups of nuts.  There’s plenty of candy to evenly coat that amount.

The end result turned out great.  So great that I’m not sure this batch will survive the two long weeks until Christmas.  The flavor is well suited to all the different nuts and I think the mixture makes the presentation a bit more interesting as well.  It’s got a sweet & savory flavor with a nice warmness to follow.  As an added bonus, if you use a store bought roasted nut mix (just remember to omit the salt), they’re amazingly easy to make.  That might not be such a good thing though; now I’ll probably be more inclined to eat them.  *Note to self: next time make these no more than 30 minutes before needed!   

Springerle: A Christmas Tradition

For Christmas this year I have been given the full responsibility of supplying all things sweet.  That means I need an amount of cookies, candies and cakes that is sizeable enough to feed 17 people.  To most people this might mean a trip to the store to buy some pre-made gingerbread men and a pumpkin pie, but that's not the case here.  Instead I’ve been rummaging through every cookbook I own in search of inspiration, and I'm happy to report that I've compiled quite the list of potential nominees.  Checking the calendar though I see that I don't have all that many baking days left, even less when you consider that I haven't bought any presents yet either.  So, unless I want to start removing items from my newly prepared list, I need to get going. 

Not wanting to stray too far from Christmas tradition (for my family’s sake) I did save a few spots on the list for classic treats.  You know which ones I'm talking about.  They're the recipes your Mom has written on some old and worn out piece of paper, the faded ink is smudged from some age-old encounter with a wet ingredient.  The ones that only succeed in escaping from the confines of the recipe box at one specific time during the year, Christmas.  And like mandarin oranges and egg nog, these fleeting morsels should be consumed at every opportunity because their end is inevitably drawing near.

Love at First Sight

I’d like to introduce you to The Professional Chef, 7th Edition, by the Culinary Institute of America.  Yes, the actual textbook used by CIA students.  Need I say more?  This little (actually rather large) gem is the most recent addition to my ever expanding cookbook collection.  I’ve been eyeing it for some time now, but just recently gave into temptation and bought it.       

I’m sure it’s probably mildly strange to get this excited over a textbook, but knowing that hasn’t dampened my spirits any.  This book is truly amazing and I would say a must have for all food enthusiasts.  It covers everything!  As it should I suppose, it is a textbook.  The techniques are demonstrated clearly with step-by-step instructions and it’s loaded with pictures.  I would recommend it to anyone.  At least to anyone that I think might care about the detailed effects of heat on starches, or that broccoli is part of the cabbage family.

The only potential downside to the book would be the size of the recipes.  They can be quite large.  So, you do need to be quite comfortable with downsizing measurements.  If not, the worst case scenario is you end up with 6.5 lbs of Italian buttercream.  Seriously, worse things could happen. 

The Debut

Hello everyone.  I’ve finally made it!  After a year of keen, but silent observation, I’ve found a voice.  I’m so excited.  I feel like you’re all old friends and I’ve enjoyed visiting your kitchens on countless occasions.  But I admit that I feel a touch of stage fright peeking out from under my rock.  Eek!  Look at all of you out there watching me.  My mouth is dry and my hands feel clammy.

My name is Liz and I am from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  I am an Oil and Gas Accountant by profession and although I enjoy it, I wouldn’t refer to it as my calling.  It’s food I love.  And having a career so unrelated, has driven me to find ways to release my long buried food energies.  This seems like the perfect opportunity.