Arranging a Bagels and Lox Platter

 

New Year's Day is the perfect day for a lazy brunch with friends, to sit around in PJs and recap the events of the night before. It's also the perfect time for a bagel spread- what hungover hostess wants to spend the morning cooking? All you'll have to do New Year's Day is pick up the bagels and arrange the toppings on a platter- easy!

So today I figured I'd share my tips for making your bagel platter look a little nicer.

1. Arrange all your toppings neatly. Fold your smoked salmon slices in half and line them up. Line up your tomato, red onion, and lemon slices (if using) next to that. It's neater looking and easier to pick up.

 

2. I love using radicchio to make bowls to hold toppings. I saw this tip on an episode of Barefoot Contessa.  All you have to do is cut the core from a head of raddicchio, remove the two outler leaves, and fit them into each other to make a bowl. You can fill that with your cream cheese, whitefish, whatever.

 

3. Finally, I like to fill in any empty spaces with bunches of fresh parsley or dill. A little green alwasy makes everything look better.

 

Raddicchio Bowl

 

If you need to take up more room, you can put some bagels on the platter. Otherwise, just pile them in a big bowl lined with a napkin.

 

  

Simple and effective! What are your favorite presentation tricks?

Recent Reads

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!! Mine was wonderful, spent with my husband and family, and possibly a little too much Jack Daniels, courtesy of my brother.

 

I'm on a bit of a work hiatus for the next few days and looking forward to diving into a new pile of books I got.

Source 

Which got me thinking, since I usually devour a book a week, I figured I may as well start sharing my recent reads and reactions to them. I figure I'm not the only one with a little downtime on my hands now, so here’s some books I've read over the past month or so:

 

How to Love an American Man, by Kristine Gasbarre

Kristine Gasbarre is pretty terrible at relationships, and after a string of failed ones followed by the death of her grandfather, she moves back home to live with her grandmother. While back in her hometown, Grandma dispenses love and marriage advice while Kristine falls for a sophisticated, but difficult to pin down, local doctor. At times, the author is truly immature, and her actions sometimes are frustrating, but I loved the relationships she had with her family, and her grandmother’s love advice.

 

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Lead, and Parent, by Brene Brown

Dr. Brown is a vulnerability researcher, and this book discusses the way many of our fears, shame, and feelings of inadequacy keep us from living a wholehearted, connected life. She points out that many of these feelings are shared among people, and that throwing light on these dark corners of our emotions reduces their power and gives us courage to really be ourselves. The book is written in a very straightforward, plain style that makes it easy to understand, though her teachings may be harder to actually apply to our lives.  It’s a great and encouraging book, and though it takes effort and courage to improve ourselves, Brown shows the benefits of doing just that.  Excellent choice for improving ourselves.

 

Don’t Sing at the Table, by Adriana Trigiani

This is one I really read and re-read, one of my all-time favorite books. I’m a sucker for family history, and this book memorializes Trigiani’s two Italian grandmothers, sharing their histories, personalities, and life lessons. I also come from a large Italian family, and I see a lot of my relatives in this book. It fills in the gaps just a little for me where my grandmother’s family lore left off. Love it.

 

Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, by Fannie Flagg

I am on kind of a Fannie Flagg kick lately. Admittedly, this is not the deepest or most original novel, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. It’s about an old Southern lady who dies, goes to Heaven, and comes back.  Flagg’s descriptions of Heaven and life seem fairly prosaic and often oversimplified, but it’s a wholesome and fun read. I really liked it. 

 

Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline, by Lauren Winner

I’m always up for a civilian take on religion, and have recently gotten into author Lauren Winner. She converted to Orthodox Judaism only to later convert to evangelical Christianity. I really enjoyed her first memoir, Girl Meets God, so I picked up this second book. It’s a short tome that highlights Winner’s favorite parts of Judaism, things she feels are missing from Christian worship. As part of an interfaith household (I am Catholic, my husband is Jewish), this book was useful in helping me to see ways to combine and celebrate our different faiths.

 

The Tao of Martha: My Year of Living, or Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off the Dog, by Jen Lancaster

 

Oh, Jen Lancaster. I loved her first few books, but am now finding myself a little tired of her shtick. How many times can she mention her under-theAmbien-influence midnight shopping sprees? How many times can one person give themselves food poisoning, and why does the reader need the details? She’s definitely worth checking out if you’re unfamiliar with her, but for me, I’ve hit my Jen saturation level.

Any book recommendations?



Seafood Salad

 

Merry Christmas!! Today, I just have a quick last minute recipe if you’re doing the Italian Seven Fishes Christmas Eve dinner. This comes by way of my friend Laura, a great Italian cook who’s taught me most of what I know in the kitchen. 

Seafood Salad
1 lb fresh calamari, cleaned and sliced into rings
1 red bell pepper, cut into very thin slices
1/3 of a small red onion
Olive oil
Olives
Capers 
Lemon zest, to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Throw in your calamari and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until calamari turns white and opaque. Don’t overcook! (I always remember the old Italian idea, 30 seconds or 30 minutes for squid, anything in between and you have shoe leather).  

Drain calamari well and toss with olive oil to taste- I never measure, sorry! Add your red pepper, onion, zest, olives and capers. I didn’t include amounts for those, just do what you like. I love olives and capers, so I included quite a bit of them. 

Let this sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.  

To prepare a day in advance, combine everything except the red onion- that tends to get overpowering if left to sit overnight. Add that a few hours before serving. 

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

Holiday Weekend Recap

I might be having too much fun with my Instagram collage apps, but thought I'd share a few snapshots of the weekend.

This past weekend was full of holiday parties, family, and friends, so it really felt like Christmas to me. It was my family's annual "Cousins' Party," where all our (duh) cousins get together, and the fourth annual gathering of my girlfriends from college.

From top left:

reason for the season, snapped late Sunday as we brought our giving tree gifts just in time! // pile of Secret Santa gifts // the cousins tearing into presents // at Jenn's holiday party // huge pile of apps // my parents' Christmas tree

Snowman Sugar Cookies

I hate making sugar cookies. Every year, I have these visions of beautiful cookies, decked in colorful icing and sparkly sprinkles. I get all excited and plan what I'm going to do.

And then I start to create my masterpieces and the reality is nothing like the vision, and I get frustrated.  Lines don’t come out straight, I can’t get the icing colors right, and I always underestimate the complexity of the design. 

Eventually, I begin accidentally on purpose cracking cookies, so there’s less to decorate.   Then I swear I’ll never do this again, which is a joke, because (of course) they’re my husband’s favorite. 

So over the years, I have figured out the simplest way to execute these and have them still look good. They’re still a bit of a project, though, and this is a really long post, so consider yourself warned!!

Okay so first, start with the cookies. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them to make your life easier.

Neil's Scalloped Sugar Cookies, from Great Cookies by Carole Walter
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup (1 and 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 or 2 tsp cold water as needed

Combine flour, sugar, butter in bowl of food processor, fitted with the steel blade. Pulse to combine, then process for approximately 10 seconds, until the mixture is the texture of fine meal (it will look crumbly and not much like dough).

Combine the yolks and vanilla in a bowl, and add to the processor's work bowl. Pulse to combine, and then process for about 10 seconds until a mass forms. If it looks very dry, add a tsp of water. Empty the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a disk. It will seem rather dry and crumbly. Don't worry.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days. Dough can be frozen for up to three months.

To bake: Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with foil.

Working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll out on floured surface until about 1/4 or 1/8 inch thick. Using your cookie cutters, cut into your desired shapes.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

**If you don't plan to decorate these, you can brush with an egg wash and top with sprinkles.

Next up, I use Wilton's royal icing recipe:

Royal Icing, from Wilton

1 1/2 tbsp meringue powder (you can substitute powdered egg whites as well)

2 cups powdered sugar

3 scant tbsp warm water

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks. This will take 7-10 minutes on a stand mixer, 10-12 on a hand mixer.

To Decorate:

Supplies:
White glitter sprinkles
Holly berry sprinkles
Black food coloring
1 pastry bag fitted with a round tip with a small opening- I usually use a #6
Skinnier black tip
1 pastry bag, fitted with another small round tip (again, #6 for me)
1 black food coloring pen

Dump your white glitter sprinkles out on a plate for dipping. 

Take one third of the icing and tint it black. Add a few drops of water to thin the consistency slightly. It should NOT be too runny, more like sour cream. Add this to the pastry bag fitted with the coupler.

Fill the pastry bag fitted with the TIP and no coupler with 1/3 of the white icing. 

Using the white icing, outline the body of each snowman in white. Leave the hat part alone.  After you pipe, press each snowman into the plate of glittery sprinkles. 

Then, using your black frosting, pipe out the outline of the hat. Fill this completely in with black frosting.  Press holly berry sprinkles in for hat detail. Allow to dry partially. 

Thin the remaining white frosting with more water, until it is pourable. Using a spoon, spread it around the snowman’s body. Let dry.

When dry, use the food coloring pen to draw dots for the snowman’s coal eyes, mouth, and buttons.  If you don’t have a food coloring pen, you can use the black frosting, just transfer it to a new bag and cut a very small hole. Let dry fully overnight, and then store airtight. 

These cookies will keep for about a week.  You can freeze them, fully decorated. Defrost at room temperature, as condensation in the fridge can melt the icing.

Bayou Bars

These delicious cookies are pretty much pecan pie in bar form. They're from, of course, Great Cookies, and named "Bayou Bars" by the author because they contain some classic Southern dessert flavors- pecan, brown sugar, and coconut.

Mississippi Bayou Bars, from Great Cookies by Carole Walter
For the Crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 cups flour, spooned in and leveled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

For the Topping:
1 10 ounce package sweetened flaked coconut (about 3 and 3/4 cups)
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (dark is important, for both color and flavor)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups broken pecans, lightly toasted.

Prep:
Heat oven to 350. Toast pecans for 7 minutes, until lightly brown. Cool.

Tear a large piece of aluminum foil and fit it over a 10 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 1 inch jelly roll pan. Generously butter the bottom and sides.

Make the crust:
Melt butter in a saucepan, and set aside to cool to tepid. Add flour and sugars, blending with a fork until large crumbs form.

Distribute crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan, using a flat bottomed glass to spread evenly and flatten. A small offset spatula will help you work the crumbs into the corners.

Bake for 20 minutes, until top is set and edges brown. While baking, make the topping.

Make the topping:
Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor, and process for 15 seconds, until finely chopped. Set aside.

Strain together flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Place eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Stir in corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture, then blend in coconut. Don't overmix, or too many bubbles will form. Pour mixture over hot crust and then sprinkle the pecans over the top.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until the edges begin brown and the top feels set. Place on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around sides of pan to loosen edges. Using a sharp knife, make seven cuts across the narrow side and seven cuts across the wide side, to cut into 64 bars. Let air-dry on a cooling rack before storing.

Store airtight, between sheets of wax paper, for two weeks. These cookies freeze beautifully, just defrost at room temperature.

Molasses Spice Cookies

These cookies are so perfect for winter. They are chewy, warm and spicy; amazing for a snow day. 

 

My husband and I ate these warm out of the oven, with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Holy cow, that combo was one of the best things I ever made. You have to try it. 

 

Molasses Spice Cookies, from Great Cookies by Carole Walter

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

2 cups all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp cloves (I used nutmeg)

2 cups sugar, divided

¼ cup molasses

1 large egg

 

Melt the butter in a 3 quart saucepan. The dough will be mixed by hand in this pan. Cool to tepid.

 

Strain together 3 times the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves (or nutmeg). Set aside.

 

Using a wooden spoon, stir 1 and ½ cups sugar, molasses, and egg into the butter, mixing until smooth. Add the dry ingredients in two parts and blend well. Cover with wax paper and chill for an hour. 

 

To bake:

Position shelves in upper and lower third of oven. Preheat to 375. Lightly butter cookie sheets. 

 

Shape dough into 1 inch balls by rolling between the palms of your hand. Place the remaining ½ cup sugar in a shallow dish and roll each ball in it. Flatten ball slightly and arrange 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

 

I like to chill cookies for 10 minutes in the fridge before I bake.

 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops begin to crack. Toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back. Remove from oven, let stand 2-3 minutes, and then loosen with a spatula and cool on a rack.

 

Makes about 40 cookies. Will keep airtight for up to 2 weeks.