Family & Food!

 Hi All, Cara/Andrea here. For me, holidays are all about family . . . and food. I like to cook, and so does my older brother and my sister-in-law. In fact his two kids do too, so Christmas dinner is a real family affair. MY SIL (who has a PhD in English and teaches at the University of Massachusetts in addition to her culinary skills) has a wonderfully warm open kitchen that she festoons with lots of flowers and candles. Everyone gets busy around the large work island, chopping veggies, sauteeing garlic, crafting appetizers . . . and guzzling good wine.

They are all vegetarians and try to stay local and organic, so this year, a favorite cookbook source was a volume on New England maple syrup recipes. The maple glazed salmon was a huge hit with everyone, as was the pecan maple tart, which topped off the meal. After scarfing down half of it, I decided I better copy the recipe, which I'll share here. Maybe it will become a Christmas tradition in your house. (My SIL uses a Christmas tree-shaped pan, and tops the finished tart with sprinkles of fresh pomegranate seeds, which adds a lovely festive touch!)

MAPLE PECAN TART

Crust:
1 1/4 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 stick butter

Filling:
3/4 c maple syrup
2/3 c sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
2 T flour
1 c chopped pecans
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

For crust: combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until it has the texture of crumbs. Press into 9" square  pan and bake 15 minutes.

Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Combine all filling ingredients except pecans and beat well with electric mixer. Stir in pecans and then pour mixture over crust. Return to oven and bake 35-40 minutes.

How about you? Do you have a favorite recipe that you serve every Christmas? Have you discovered a new one lately?

Comments

[Laura Vivanco]

"They are all vegetarians [...]. The maple glazed salmon was a huge hit with everyone"

If they're eating salmon, I think that makes them "Pescetarian": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pescetarian

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
Yum! That tart sounds wonderful, Cara/Andrea. But you stole my idea! I'd been thinking of posting a recipe or two for my post day! *g* On second thought, one can never have too many recipes, right? *g*

My family is small--just my sister and her husband, but we do have our own Christmas dinner tradition: we start with homemade French onion soup and then finish with a big crab Louie (fresh crab) and homemade herb rolls. Besides the usual pumpkin and apple pie for dessert, we also have spritz cookies and Russian teacakes.

I also like to try a new recipe to add to the meal. Last year I made Indian pudding that had molasses. It was . . . okay. Won't make it again. This year I tried corn pudding. It was . . . okay. Won't make it again. *g* I also made Pineapple Pound Cake and it was delicious, but a bit too sweet for my tastes.

[Maggie Robinson/Margaret Rowe]

Yum! I have a "specialty" that I call Idiot Dip. It was requested by my daughters at the annual Christmas Eve cocktail party we always have.The Robinson family must have it at all special occasions and get-togethers.

1 can of Hormel hot chili
1 lb of the cheapest processed American cheese you can find

Patiently unwrap all the annoying individual wrappers off cheese.Layer cheese with spoonfuls of chili in microwave-save bowl and nuke for 9-10 minutes. Stir. Serve with Cool Ranch Doritos.

I know, it sounds ghastly and probably will kill you, but the kids love it and I can remember the recipe!

[Andrea Penrose]

Laura, thank you for the correction—I use vegetarian very loosely (ie no red meat) but pescetarian sounds ever so much more elegant!

Sherrie, we can NEVER have too many recipes, IMO. Your dinner sounds scrumptious. I tried a new recipe for ginger molassess cookies this year, with mixed results. For some reason they ended up really gooey (too heavy handed with the molassess, I think) But they tasted great. Will have to tinker with it, because they were good enough to try again.

Maggie, food and memory are very linked, so it's great that your kids have a traditional favorite. And easy is good!

[kay]

The salmon sounds wonderful...Our family loves the hot fudge pudding cake recipe from Hersey. Have it every year. Nothing better than chocolate cake with hot fudge dripping all over it.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, the chocolate pudding cake sounds divine. Will look it up right away!

[theo]

Christmas eve for us is a standing rib roast, sauteed mushrooms and salad. That's it, because we're going to be so stuffed by the end of the holiday season, I don't dare make a lot of stuff. I do make a knock your socks off sugar cookie I don't have to roll at all and my gran's shortbread, but that's about it.

The salmon sounds wonderful. Alas, I can't have the nuts for the tart. :(

[Andrea Penrose]

It all sounds lovely, Theo. Sorry about the nuts. I'm glad I don't have that allergy because I adore walnuts, almonds and pecans.

[Sherrie Holmes]

Cara/Andrea, if you like I can e-mail you an old tried and true hot fudge pudding cake recipe that my mom used to make 50 years ago and which still stands the test of time. It's pathetically easy.

Maggie, you can buy good tasting, cheap American cheese at Costco that DOESN'T have those silly plastic wraps around each slice. I used to disdain American cheese, as I am a cheese connnoisseur, but Costco's is tasty! By the way, your dip recipe was an old standby at office potlucks where I used to work.

Sherrie, off to make herbed dinner rolls (a ridiculously easy yeast roll that melts in the mouth)

[Lyn S]

I am getting hungry for all these new recipes. Specially the maple syrup stuff. I love a recipe created by a Spanish chef married to a Yankee. He combined his heritage flan with her maple syrup. My daughter loves maple candy, but not flan so I get to eat the whole pan. I can email/post the flan recipe if anyone would like. My husband and son rarely eat sweets (one Hershey kiss is enough for my husband -- silly man), so I rarely make desserts. Off to raid the pantry.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Lyn, I'd love the recipe! If you get a moment, will you e-mail it to me at [email protected]? Thanks!

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, and Sherrie, I would LOVE the hot fudge pudding cake recipe! (You know where to find me!)

[Anne Gracie]

No, no, put the recipes in the comments, please, then we can all have them.

Lovely blog Cara/Andrea, that spread looks beautiful. Love the Xmas tree pan for the pumpkin pie. And the pomegranate looks lovely. I love pomegranate but for so many people it's too tart. Funny, when I was a kid we'd pick and eat pomegranates with delight and I had no memory of them tasting tart.

[Andrea Penrose]

Good suggestion, Anne! Anyone who wishes to share a recipe, please write it here!

I love pomegranates too, The seeds are tart, but sweet emough for me—and so beautiful, The lush red is really delicious!

[Lyn S]

I am including both the URL and recipe. I added using silicon mitts. I love them. No more getting burnt when the potholder gets wet.

Maple Custards with Sugared Pecans From December 2006 Food & Wine
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/maple-custards-with-sugared-pecans

One of José Andrés's favorite American sweets is pecan pie. "We love nuts in Spain too, but I confess I find pecan pie a little heavy. This version is my attempt to lighten it up a little." This twist was inspired by tocino de cielo, a rich, eggy cousin of flan.

ACTIVE: 30 MIN TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 30 MIN PLUS 6 HR CHILLING SERVINGS: 12

INGREDIENTS
3 1/4 cups pure maple syrup
16 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)
1/4 cup sugar
Salt
Boiling water
Whipped cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Spoon 1 teaspoon of maple syrup into each of twelve 1/2-cup ramekins, swirling to coat the bottoms. Arrange the ramekins in a large roasting pan.
2. In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk the yolks with the whole eggs until blended. Whisk in the remaining 3 cups of maple syrup. Pour the mixture into the ramekins. Carefully pour enough very hot water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 55 minutes, or until the custards are just set.
3. Using tongs or silicon mitts, immediately remove the ramekins from the hot water and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the custards for at least 6 hours or overnight.
4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the pecans and stir to coat with the butter. Cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Put the sugar in a large bowl. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pecans to the bowl with the sugar and toss to coat. Transfer the nuts to a baking sheet, shaking off any excess sugar. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Let cool.
5. Carefully run a thin knife around each custard. Dip each ramekin in a bowl of boiling water, then quickly invert the custard onto a plate. Spoon whipped cream over the custards, garnish with the sugared pecans and serve.

MAKE AHEAD
The custards can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. The sugared pecans can be stored overnight in an airtight container.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, THANK YOU, Lyn. Looks divine!

[Anne Gracie]

Oh, YUM, Lyn, thanks for sharing
I'll try this when our weather gets cooler.

[Nick Matyas]

Its really nice post....
I was searching this kind of posting .....
I just liked it....
Thanks....

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