New Years Cheeses

Every December 31st we have a savory respite from the sweet with crackers and cheeses. Here is this year's cheese plate (clockwise from the twelve-o-clock position): blue, queso fresco, sharp cheddar, brie, goat milk feta, myzzithra, camembert, babybels, camembert.

Also in the spread are nuts, fruitcake, chocolates, cookies, and smokies in puff pastry.

Pizza

Mom's lovely homemade pizza.

To make 2 14-inch pizzas:
Make a nice simple dough from:
3 c flour
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
1 T yeast
There is an earlier post about basic bread; the directions are like that.
Let the dough raise once, and after it has done so, divide it in two and pat it out into greased 14-inch pizza pans. Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

Turn the oven on to 400. When it has heated up, put the pizzas in it. Bake them for 10 minutes, switching their positions halfway through. During that time, mix:

8 oz can tomato sauce
salt
pepper
herbs of your choice: Mom uses thyme, oregano (sometimes marjoram instead), basil, and sometimes parsley.

When the crusts are out, spread the sauce evenly over the two of them. Sprinkle on grated cheese (1 pound of mozzerella, 1/4 pound cheddar, mixed). Put on pepperonis or peppers and onions or whatnot.

Put them back in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on how you like your cheese on the merely melted --> cooked spectrum; this is for cheese that's cooked on the edges). Switch their positions halfway through.

Three Kings Day Feast

This year our Three Kings Day feast was inspired by medieval recipes. Mom has created medieval feasts in the past, the past being when I was one year old. That feast involved mummers, colored chargers, and wassailing the trees; this version was simpler but also exciting and delicious. We began with an appetizer of beef stew, which was spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and the like, but included only onions as vegetable. The menu also included baked chicken, carrots, spinach with bacon, and my favorite: whole wheat/rye pita! A side dish of macaroni and cheese comes from source recipes of the time called "makerouns." This word is the source of macaroni, but perhaps also macaroon?

Loucoum or Turkish Delight or Aplets and Cotlets or Fruit Candy

Many names; a nice candy. Mom made pomegranate/ blueberry loucoum this year, and it's quite lovely. The recipe originates in an MCP Pectin insert.

1 c fruit juice or pulp
1 package pectin
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t butter
1/2 c light corn syrup
1 3/4 c sugar
lemon juice (see chart)
1/2-1 c nuts, optional.

Measure fruit juice or pulp into a large kettle. Stir in pectin. Add soda; stir well to distribute thoroughly and to prevent soda from reacting in spots and darkening the juice. Place over heat. Add butter to reduce foaming. Heat to full boil. Add corn syrup and sugar; bring back to full boil, and boil vigorously for exactly 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add the amount of lemon juice listed below for the specific fruit used. Add nuts. Pour into 8- or 9-inch oiled square pan. The depth should be about 1/2 inch. Allow to harden for 24 hours. Cut into squares. Dust pieces with sugar.

Lemon Juice Chart

Cranberry juice mixes, pomegranate 2 T
Blackberry, boysenberry, grape, loganberry, red raspberry 3 T
Apple (juice or pulp), Youngberry 4 T
Apricot (juice or pulp), Black raspberry, cactus, kiwi,
peach (juice or pulp), quince, strawberry (juice or pulp) 5 T

Marshmallow

Mom likes her sugar aerated, seemingly, as she says this and the seafoam are her favorite candies. I like the marshmallow quite a bit too; I was apprehensive of it for a few years because of a few very minty batches. But now I'm quite converted. You can, I am told, flavor the marshmallow however. I think I like Mom's 1 t vanilla just fine. Interestingly, this recipe is taken from a lemon bar cookie recipe in the M-m-m-m More Cookies book.

1/2 c water
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 c sugar
1/2 c water
1 t vanilla

Combine 1/2 c water and gelatin in a large mixer bowl; set aside. In medium saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 c water; bring to boil. Boil 2 minutes. Pour over gelatin; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Cool 5 minutes in refrigerator. Beat about 10 minutes at highest speed or until very thick. Add flavoring, beat well. Pour out in a 9 by 13 pan dusted lightly with sifted corn starch, spread it out evenly; refrigerate to set. After it has set, dust another layer of corn starch on the top. To loosen, run a knife around the edge. Cut with a sharp knife; don't be tempted to wet the knife. As you pull the squares out one at a time from the pan, coat the edges with starch from the bottom of the pan and the top of the confection-- you want to use up all the excess.

Butter Toffee (or "Dot's Candy") or Toffee Popcorn

This quite-nice toffee recipe comes through Grandma, and she got it from her friend Dot. Dot's candy was perhaps her first exposure to toffee, so she called it "Dot's candy," although it is really a traditional toffee.

1/2 lb butter
1 c sugar
2 T water
2 T corn syrup

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Boil, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from pan and desired shade of brown is reached-- it will pass a pinkish tan into an orangey tan. Darker is better (but, of course, not burnt). Pour onto buttered marble slab or into buttered pan to cool. While still warm, score into desired size and shape pieces. Break into pieces when cool. Also good poured over 5 qts corn while still golden.

Sponge Candy or Seafoam

This recipe is a great favorite of my mother's, and it is her mother's recipe. I have heard her reminisce about the big chunks of it available at the BYU candy counter back in the day. I think Iggy is quite fond of it too. It is quite like the Australian candy bar "Violet Crumble."

1 c sugar
1 c dark corn syrup
1 T vinegar (Mom uses apple cider)
1 T baking soda

Combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, without stirring, to 300 F, or until a little of the mixture dropped in cold water becomes very brittle. Remove candy from heat. Quickly stir in soda; mix well. Stir thoroughly so that the cell size is small enough, or the candy will collapse. Every year, Mom is afraid that she has over-stirred it. But she has not. But she has had over-stirred seafoam, so it's possible. Pour into lightly buttered 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 by 2 inch pan. Do not spread as candy. To break into even pieces, score twice or more with serrated knife and break apart by hand-- this will yield relatively even pieces.