Christmas Sugar Cookies

Ana, my wee little helper, and I made some simple sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. She wanted to leave some out for Santa, along with a glass of milk and some carrots for the reindeer.

I measured the ingredients and gave the scoop to her and she poured them into the mixing bowl. She wanted to stay a safe distance when I was beating the butter and sugar as a few flecks started flying around... but, we managed to make the cookie dough and refrigerate it without too much mess.

Then, after a couple of hours, I rolled out the dough and cut shapes with the Christmas themed cookie cutters and Ana patiently and enthusiastically decorated every one of the 3-dozen-odd cookies we made with this batch of dough!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger powder+nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkles and other decorative things (optional)

Preparation

1. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer till smooth and creamy
2. add beaten egg and mix some more till fluffy
3. add the flour, baking powder and flavoring spices and stir or knead to form a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hrs
4. then, roll out a small portion of the dough to ¼ inch thick (keeping the rest refrigerated until ready to roll out) and cut into favorite cookie shapes, decorate with sprinkles if desired, and arrange in an ungreased cookie sheet
5. bake in 350°F oven for about 7-9 minutes till edges are a bit crisp, take out of oven and leave on the hot cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire rack to cool

Chicken in Plum Sauce

Boneless skinless chicken breasts, marinated in a simple marinade. The plum sauce is sort of a sweet-and-sour sauce with ripe red and black plums in season. But, at other times I use prunes and goji berries instead.

Serve with mograbiah tossed with pan-seared carrots and kale.

Ingredients
2 smallish boneless skinless chicken breast
marinade: orange juice, red wine vinegar, ginger powder (or fresh grated), chili powder

for the plum sauce:
4-6 medium prunes pitted, soaked OR Plums, pitted and sliced
1 Tbsp goji berries (optional)
1 Tbsp orange marmalade OR Jalapeño jelly
¼ cup applesauce or pear sauce (if using fresh plums, else can be omitted)
2 Tbsp plain distilled vinegar OR 1 tsp Tamarind paste (for sourness, adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger, or 1 Tbsp dry ginger powder
3-4 cloves of garlic finely minced
2 medium shallots diced very finely
1 Jalapeño or Serrano chili, diced finely
salt to taste
1 tsp canola oil



Preparation

1. Sauce: sauté the shallots, chilies, and garlic in a sauce pan, combine the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer till plums are cooked; mush up the plums and thicken the sauce to desired consistency; dice some of the plums for added texture and presentation. If using prunes, soak in warm water for about 10 minutes, drain and combine with the rest of the ingredients and grind to a fine paste
2. Chicken: Meanwhile, in a skillet, sear the marinated chicken breasts and cook them to desired doneness; I usually slice them thin or pound them to flatten the breasts for marinating; uniform thickness ensures uniform cooking
3. Serve: If desired, remove some of the plum slices from the simmering sauce before mushing them up, to serve on the side. Serve with veggies and rice or couscous or freekeh or mograbiah as done here

Plantain Squash Koottu

Green Plantain, with its potato-like meaty starchy texture, along with watery squash like opo squash or chayote squash is an interesting combination for me.

This koottu is like most other koottus I make usually, only, I used a combination of toor dal and chana dal in this one. Toor dal cooked well and mashed gives some body and the chana dal cooked just enough gives the nutty texture in every bite.

Serve with rice or roti, or enjoy it as-is - a nutritious bowlful to counter the cold winter blues :)

Koottu ingredients that I usually use are pictured here:

grated coconut
urad dal
par-boiled rice (optional)
dry red chilies
cumin seeds

Dry roast them and grind them with just enough water to form a smooth paste, and add to the dals and veggies that make up the koottu.

Ingredients:
Koottu paste
1 plaintain
1 chayote squash
1-2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
salt to taste
curry leaves or cilantro, slit green chilies - for garnish

Tempering: 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds
Preparation:

1. Dry roast and grind the koottu ingredients, keep handy
2. Dice the plantain and chayote squash (peel them first, of course) to bite size chunks
3. Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker or saucepan till mushy, mush it a bit and keep handy
4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the turmeric powder, sauté a bit, then add the vegetables and chana dal, some salt and just enough water, allow to cook
5. add the koottu paste and fresh grated ginger, simmer for a few minutes more till flavors meld
6. Tempering: heat oil in a small pan, when it shimmers, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, turn off heat and add the tempering to the finished dal; stir well before serving
7. Garnish with curry leaves or cilantro and slit green chilies

Simple Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie is D's favorite. When we first got married, we used to go to the farms and pick different varieties of cherries and then can the pie-cherries at home so we can make cherry pie any time. But, over the years, cherry crop has been iffy, and many farms don't offer U-pick for cherries anymore... so, we just end up picking berries every summer.

Anyway, I am not really a big pie fan, so I make pies about twice or thrice a year at the most. But, every once in a while I don't mind a slice of pie. And something wholesome and homemade like this cherry pie, with a small scoop of ice cream satisfies my sweet tooth for months at a stretch.

Ana does not like cherry pie. She likes the banana cream pie, she doesn't mind pumpkin pie, but, she finds the cherry pie a bit too tart to her liking, despite the bit of sugar added to compensate for the tartness.

Ingredients

Filling: 2 16-oz cans pitted tart red cherries (water-packed) 1½ cups sugar 1/3 cup cornstarch 1 Tbsp butter ½ tsp almond extract a few drops red food coloring (optional) some milk and extra sugar

Double-crust Pie Pastry: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 2/3 cup shortening 6-7 Tbsp cold water

Preparation:

1. Double-Crust Pie Pastry: Mix together flour and salt; cut in the shortening; sprinkle a Tbsp of water at a time, toss with fork, push aside and add another Tbsp and so on till all the flour is moistened; form the dough into 2 balls; roll one ball into a 12-inch flat circle; do not overwork the dough; save the other ball for the top crust
2. Cherry Filling: Drain cherries, reserve 1 cup of liquid; combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and stir in the reserved cherry liquid; cook over medium heat till thick and bubbly; remove from heat, add the cherries, butter and almond extract, and food coloring, if using; allow to stand till it gels a bit
3. Place the rolled out pastry on a pie plate carefully, without stretching, allow to fall over the edge and trim around the edge; add the cooled cherry filling
4. Top Lattice Crust: Roll out the second ball of dough and cut into ½ inch strips; weave the strips along the top to make a lattice crust; brush top of pastry with some milk and sprinkle with sugar; flute the edges - i.e., pinch them into a zig-zag shape, or simply press down with tines of fork like for single-crust banana cream pie
5. Bake in a 375°F oven for 25 minutes or more till golden
6. Cool the pie on a rack before serving

Chicken in Cranberry Sauce

This Chicken in Cranberry Sauce dish came about experimentally on Thanksgiving. We were not making turkey, and I was not well enough to plan any special menu, but, since D likes chicken, I decided to make something different, something interesting, for him for Thanksgiving meal.

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin cutlets, marinated in a simple marinade, and pan cooked till mostly done. Meanwhile, the cranberry sauce, with fresh whole cranberries and seasonings was done in a separate pan. Then, the chicken was thrown into the sauce and simmered till done. Garnish with some olives and fresh herbs.

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices/cutlets
marinade: red wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger powder
1-2 Tbsp canola oil

for the cranberry sauce:
1 cup whole cranberries
2 shallots finely minced -OR- a small red onion finely minced
4 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 Tbsp brown sugar (or more if desired)
1-2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
¼ cup white wine (optional)
1 Tbsp canola oil or butter
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in the marinade for about 20-30 minutes while assembling the sauce ingredients
2. Sauce:Sauté the shallots and garlic; combine the sauce ingredients with about a cup of water and allow to simmer on medium-low till cranberries are done - they mush up when pressed with the back of the spoon; mush some of the cranberries for thickness, and leave the others whole for presentation; adjust flavors to taste
3. In a hot pan, sear the chicken pieces, and allow them to cook through but not get rubbery and tough; poke with a fork or slice with a knife, if juices no longer run pink transfer the chicken pieces to the sauce and simmer till chicken feels done to your liking
4. Garnish: with sliced olives, cilantro, chives or any other favorite fresh herbs