Halloween cookie adventures!

Halloween is fast approaching.  Our family is in full anticipation mode.  Yard decorating will be in full swing this weekend.  OH how we LOVE Halloween!  I remember as a child, the air smelled electric on halloween.  Fallen leaves were exceptionally crunchy under foot.  Excited butterflies were tickling my tummy.  It was an exciting time.

Now with children of my own, I am hoping that their memories of halloween will be just as magical as mine were.  This year was the first year that my eldest son was keen on actually HELPING with making halloween cookies, and I have forced myself to harness my control freak nature in the kitchen so that we could enjoy the process.

This was my first experiment with royal icing, and I do think that it did turn out with a good consistency, though the recipe I used required me to dial back the consistency with water.

This is the one we used from the Joy Of baking:
Royal Icing Recipe

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. (The right consistency to cover or "flood" sugar cookies is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing. Another test is to take a cookie and place a small amount of icing in the center of the cookie. Using a small knife, push the icing to the edge of the cookie. If the icing runs off the edge, thicken the icing by adding a little more confectioners sugar. Conversely, if the icing is too thick, add a little water.) The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air.  Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

I used sandwich bags and snap clips for mini icing bags.  Reinforcing a corner with Tape so that the hole we cut would not expand as we used it.

One note would be to be careful with Black dye.  I did purchase some proper Wilson dyes for the project, but they didn't seem to be of the consistency or potency that I remember my mom used.  They were more Jelly like as opposed to the paste that I was used to.  I will have to research this.  Anyway, we ended up with inedible Black icing because it took so much dye to arrive at a proper black.

Oh well Lesson learned, and it did not hamper the cookie decorating experience one little bit.

We used a simple sugar cookie recipe as well...perfect for decorating!

This is the one we used:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Here is the end result:

I especially love the mummies... created and designed by my little guy.

Have a Goulish Halloween!
Sherri 

Canadian Thanksgiving

We just saw another Canadian Thanksgiving come and go.  It was wonderful to be able to experience it in Canada this year.

My memories of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays of my childhood always had a glimmer of excitement.  Mom and Dad cooking in the kitchen, wonderful smells permeating throughout the house, special place settings with the 'Good China', and it was the only times that we, as children, had the opportunity to drink out of tiny wine glasses that were usually stored high in the china cabinet so that we could join in the 'toasts' around the table.

One particular year, after a very filling meal and dessert, my mother declared that we should have a toast.  My brother, about 4 at the time, jumped up from the table and ran to the kitchen and proceeded to pull out the toaster with excitement.   We all looked on quizzically, and asked what he was doing.  He declared that he was getting ready to make the toast!...it was very hard to fill his hollow leg!

Whether it was just our immediate family, or whether relatives were visiting, it was always seemed to be a magical time.

This year we would be celebrating our thanksgiving with just our small young family, so we planned to make it a special time for our boys.  Since there are only 4 of us we were hesitant to buy the big bird.  My husband happened upon this recipe that would add a bit of magic to our day without having to eat turkey for the next few weeks:

Baked Chicken in Sugar Pumpkin

Here is what the final product looks like:

This was a very low maintenance bake as the pumpkin top seals closed and the chicken bakes sealed in its own juices.  Remember to put the pumpkin on a pan rather than directly on the oven grate as some juices will seep out from the bottom close to the end of the cooking time.

The Jus from this pumkin, including the juice that seeps out, is the best part of this recipe.  You will want to save every last drop.  I did have to add salt to it in order to boost the flavor, and I would probably be more generous in seasoning the bird with salt prior to cooking.

We served this dish with a basic Parmesan risotto, Maple baked Acorn squash, Cranberry, sour cherry & Red onion compote, Glazed carrots, Wild Mushrooms, and toasted pumpkin seeds (homemade from the pumpkin) .  The pumpkin seeds were the perfect last touch to this delectable meal.

Now on to Halloween!  Our favorite time of the year
Sherri 

Great food link

I was looking for a recipe for Laksa paste today and found it at this interesting blog by Miles Collins.  After  exploring his blog I felt compelled to post his link here.  There are a quite few recipes that scream to be tried. I hope you find it useful as well.

Miles Collins food blog