Christmas British-ish Fish Pie

British-ish Fish Pie

Christmas was a bit turned about this year.  One of my sisters is in Louisville with the in-laws this year.   Since it was going to be a smaller gathering the day off, my mom was hosting but agreed to let me do the main.  Usually when it's a crowd, D will do a large roast beast of some sort.  Since it's me, I decided to do a dish I miss from my UK days and can't easily find outside the coziness of someone's home outside the UK.  I did 'fancy' it up a bit by adding Lobster since my uncle gives us a case of Lobster tails every year for Christmas.  By the look of the baking dish and how we usually eat other casseroles, I thought this would be good enough for 6 adults but really this could feed 10 since I did it in the deeper Creuset instead of a standard 12x9 pan.

British-ish Fish Pie

2 cup Vegetable or Fish Stock
3 cup Milk
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Flour
(If you are using a standard 'Lasagna' baking dish that is about 2inches deep, you can half the first four ingredients above.  I used a large Creuset baking dish that is the same size as a standard Lasagna pan but twice as deep. MORE room for Mash and goodness.)

400ml Heavy Cream (35%) (I bought a 500 ml carton and the rest is for the Mash)

2 Medium Lobster tails, uncooked
300-400 g Salmon
300-400 g Smoked Haddock or any white fish (no herbed or candied)
8-10 large Shrimp

1 small Onion
7 cloves
8 Black Peppercorns
3 sprigs of Thyme
1 T of Pernod (optional)
2 stalks Celery, minced (1/2 cup)
1medium Carrot, minced (1/2 cup)
1 medium Shallot, minced (1/4 cup)
Nutmeg, fresh

1 packet of frozen Spinach (1 lb), defrosted and drained in a sieve
3 - 4 Eggs, medium boiled (5 minutes), peeled, cooled and halved.

8 Potatoes (mashing, i.e. Russet), peeled and cubed
(The best way to estimate is to take the baking dish you plan to use and lay out the potatoes until full in one layer.  That should do for the amount of Mash you'll need with a little extra.)
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Cream
1- 1.5 tsp Salt
White Pepper to taste.
1/4 cup fresh chopped Parsley
Zest of 1 lemon.

You should start about 2-3 hours ahead minimum.  You can start 4-5 ahead if you want to take a pause.  You can make the Mash, Poach the fish and take a pause.

I don't like the taste of cooled off Mash so I don't start the Potatoes until an hour out.  But if you are trying to arrange the timing, the Potatoes need to boil covered in salted water in a large stock pot for at least half an hour until a fork goes easily through any piece.).  Drain the potatoes but leave in the pot.  Save some of the Potato water, about half a cup.  Throw in the Butter in chunks and the Cream and mash thoroughly with a Masher.  I try to mash until fluffy.  Season to taste with Salt and White Pepper. Add the potato water or more cream if they seem dry.  Set aside covered.

In a Braiser or large Pot, add the Milk and the Stock and bring to a simmer.   Pierce the Onion with the cloves and place in the braiser.  Leave the skin and shells on all fish and shellfish.  Place the Lobster, Smoked Haddock (remove the string) and the Salmon.  I place the Salmon on top and make sure the Lobster is in the liquid.  You may have to turn the lobster but it doesn't matter as the steam should cook it through.  Bring to a boil but immediately turn back down to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the shell is bright red.  Add the Shrimp for the last minute to just turn pink.  Turn off and set aside for at least half an hour.  Or right away if you want but the fish will be pretty hot to handle.

When the fish is cook enough to the touch, lift all the seafood out into a large bowl.  Strain the liquid and set aside.   Have a dish ready on the side to set the seafood you cut aside in 'groups'.  Remove the skin and the shells.  Cut all the fish into bite sized pieces.  I like it chunky so it doesn't end up tasting like tinned fish.  Take the leaves off another 3 sprigs of thyme and sprinkle over the fish and zest 1 lemon over top too. Set aside.

In the same braiser,  add the Butter on low heat.  Add the Celery, Carrot and the Shallot and sauté until slightly softened but not browned.  Sprinkle the flour over and mix constantly to prevent burning.  Lower the heat as needed.  You want to cook the flour through but you don't need to brown it like you're making a roux.  Just mix for about 5 minutes.  Grate some fresh Nutmeg over, like 1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp depending on if you're doing the bigger sauce recipe, 5-6 passes on a rasp per 1/4 tsp ish.  And add some White Pepper to taste.  The only reason not to use black pepper is not to speckle the dish.  It will look lumpy and oatmealy.  That's fine.  Add the reserved braising liquid gradually while stirring with a whisk.  Add the Cream.  You can turn the heat up to medium as you're doing this.  Let it BRIEFLY come to a bubble/boil and immediately turn down and take off the heat completely if your burner stays hot longer.  It will thicken the instant it bubbles.  Whisk briefly, fast then set aside to cool.  You can let this cool completely if you want and set aside covered if you want to assemble at the very end.

Preheat the Oven to 400F or convection to 375.

In the baking dish, spread out the drained Spinach on the bottom.  You don't have to be too fussy about it.  Just spread out loosely with your fingers.  You can use fresh Spinach that you wilt in a pan with some oil or water if you prefer.  Spread out the fish evenly over the Spinach so that each type of seafood is equally positioned throughout, particularly the Lobster :D.  I hope you remembered to peel and take the tails off the Shrimp.  Sprinkle Parsley over top.

Dollop the sauce over top covering most of it before you start spreading.  Actually, I tried to just drop instead of disturbing the fish layer.  Once it's covered you can gently spread with a rubber spatula.  Place the halved boiled Eggs evenly throughout.  I like to put the cut side down.

Dollop big scoops of the Mash on top in positions like in a muffin tin so you don't disturb the lower layers.  Keep doing that with a spoon until it's all covered.  then you can try to even out.  If you like your Potatoes crispy, you can run over the top with a large serving fork to make furrows.

Place a liner under neath in the oven or place the dish on a tray in the oven.  Place small pats of butter over the Potatoes if you want.  I did.

Place in the oven covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 10.  If you're not baking in a convect oven, covered for 30, uncovered for 10.

Serve warm with wedges of Lemon.

mmmmmmm

Saturday, December 25th - Korean Christmas with the Folks

Mini KimcheeQuiche

Last Saturday was Christmas with D's family.  This Saturday was with mine.  There were many points of distinction and commonality.  Thankfully, moreso this year than recent years.  Mom ceded to not making a Turkey this year. 

In Canada, Turkey is quite often the Christmas meal of choice more so than Roast or Ham.  Mom picked up the habit from our cousins who used to eat alot more 'western' food growing up than we did.  It naturally appealled to her since she has a propensity for drama and presentation.  It used to make sense when we would have an extended family meal but she continued to grow the size of her bird order despite the shrinking attendance at our table.  So for the past few years we had had an immediate family meal on Christmas with a boyfriend or two at the table and then have a bigger meal at the cousins.  That said, despite the five of us plus a couple of guests, less the couple of vegetarians, mom did not let that deter her from buying a 20 pound bird.  I know at my age I should let things go but I really can't when it comes to food waste.  You see there are two things you should know about mom, she does not like to serve leftovers and she doesn't really like Turkey in large quantities.  It works okay for Korean food because she'll often eat our dinner leftover for lunch the next day but not Turkey and she'll have already cooked something else before someone can get to the Turkey and the bread to eke out a sandwich.  20lbs should feed like three times the number of people at our table.  It drives me to complete madness.  We argue alot over it, I am not embarassed to say.  She thinks a smaller turkey looks less 'special', like an everyday roast chicken.  Grrrrrrr!

Vegetarian Japchae

Without my intervention this year, she decided with all the partners in Toronto this year, that she would do a Korean meal with the cousins over to ours.  Hallelujiah!  It did not mean that the volume of edibles was less in the end but the Turkey fiasco was sidestepped and the leftovers would be eaten or taken by our guests. 

Salmon Sprout Rolls and Avocado

Mom had planned a few appetisers and I added one that I thought up in a moment of Korean creativity.  You know, though, despite the years of living here, mom hasn't quite grasped the idea of courses.  If you have gone to a proper Korean restaurant where they serve you like 2 dozen banchan with your main, you'll know that they go for the overflowing abundant single table rather than cleared cycles.  So D was confused when mom's appetisers didn't make the rounds in the living room with mine.  Of course mom was equally confused why we handed her Salmon and Sprout Rolls, with Avocadoes on the side, before dinner.  We left her Tempura Prawns and Mini Korean Seafood Pancakes for the table though since well, mom cooked those last (even though they were starters :^P). She reluctantly bought the tempura at the Korean market because she wanted to be somewhat sensible.  Though she kettle cooked them over her gas hotpot stove because she doesn't believe deep fryers are effective and it was probably still a fair bit of work.

Mini Korean Seafood Pancake and Shrimp Tempura

My fusion add to the appetisers:

Mini Kimchee Quiche - cooked

Mini Kimchee Quiche

24 mini Tart Shells, defrosted

4 Eggs
1/2 c Milk
1/2 c Cream or Half and Half  (or all Milk)
1 1/2 T Flour
1/2-1 c Shredded Cheese (any Mild Melting Cheese)

1/2 c Kimchee, finely chopped (try to avoid the spines of the Cabbage)
2 T Korean Chives, finely chopped (or regular chives)

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place all the shells on a single baking sheet.  Dock the bottoms by poking the bottoms gently with a fork 3 or 4 times with a fork.  Place in the middle of the oven for 7 minutes.

Remove and let cool slightly on the baking sheet.  Reduce the oven to 330F.

In a large bowl or even better a huge measuring cup to facilitate pouring, beat the Eggs, Milk and Cream.  Slowly add the flour to avoid lumps.  Don't worry, they're unavoidable.  Just do your best. 

Place 1t of Kimchee on the bottom of each tart.  Add 1/2 t to 1 teaspoon of Cheese on top.  Fill the tarts with the Egg mixture.  Sprinkle the top with the Chives.

Bake in the Oven for 30-35 minutes.  Rotating the baking sheet halfway so the tarts in the front spend some time in the back of the oven.  Serve warm.  They were YUMMO!  I wouldn't make a full sized Quiche with this but it made an interesting appetiser.

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There were two 'Mains' though they were indistinguishable in volume from the 'sides'. Chap-jae (or Japchae, the "J" is somewhere between the J and Ch sound) and Slo Stewed Korean Short Ribs. Mom made the Chap-jae without meat though traditionally it contains bits of fried beef.  Chap-jae is Beanthread Vermicelli noodles fried in a slighly sweet sauce made from Soy, Brown Sugar and Sesame Oil.  The cooked noodles are fried in the sauce then tossed with the shredded vegetables, Mushrooms, Oyster Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Steamed Spinach, Onions, and Carrots.  Yum! We eat it with rice which I've never questions but I guess could be odd. 

Kalbi Chim

If you're familiar with Kalbi, as most are, then you know the general flavours involved in the Slow Stewed Korean Short Ribs or Kalbi Chim.  Except, the Ribs are not sliced thin, length or crosswise.  They are stewed in the slightly looser marinade and lots of good Red Wine for 4 hours.  This was the traditional way before the 'recent' use of BBQ in the last century.  Mom cooked them with Carrots and Moo (Turnip).  It was a hit with the carnivores and it smelled heavenly. 

Mom really cannot seem to grasp the concept of portioning.  She made each individual dish as if it were the only dish. There was a Seafood Slaw Salad which she mixed in a bowl the size of an infants bath tub.  No joke.  It's one of those large steel bowls that you use to make 'smaller' batches of Kimchee, so 2 ft in diameter and 1 ft deep.   I was exasperated but at least there wasn't a car sized Turkey to argue over.  There was Shrimp, Squid and Krabstick mixed with Shredded Cabbage, Carrots and Green Onions in a Wasabi and Rice Wine Vinegar Dressing.  She cut the Wasabi with regular Mustard so as not to overwhelm.  It was 70% Seafood to 30% Vegetables and I thought she could have made it 30/70 the other way.  I would have left out the Squid as well.   It's not a typical Korean dish but it was quite nice and refreshing. 

Bechu Kimchee

There was Kimchees of course but that will be another post.  V, my sister, had her German boyfriend try Kimchee for the first time.  We made sure it wasn't a very spicy piece.

The rice.  Mom has been adding beans to our simple steamed rice for many years to add a bit of protein.  Nowadays at ours, you will never find plain white Rice unless she is making Sushi or Kimbap.  Steamed Rice will always have a bean, tonight it was shelled Kong (Edamame), a bit of Quinoa and Wild Rice.  And the Rice it self is Jasmine.  Jasmine has a lower Glycemic Index.  This concoction is everpresent on our table.  It's why I never feel quite satisfied with a meal without a starch.  I'm a bit better about it but it is hard.

For dessert was an array of Rice Cake (Dhuk) and Slice Melons and Korean Pears. 

We drank some Argento Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Oh as well, V, my sister made some Mulled Wine.  Some folks prefer beer with Korean food so we had some Steam Whistle which Dad loves. 

A typical, diverse Canadian Christmas at ours.  Always an arguement or three but that's probably pretty typical as well.  Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 22nd - Queen Mother Low-lit, Slow-mo Reunion Dinner

K's Favourite Sticky Rice with Peanut Sauce

Queen Mother is one of those annoying places that people from Toronto get hooked on and can't get over.  It only takes one bad experience and you are happy to be liberated.  Four of us were meeting up for a Holiday catch-up and only K wanted to eat here but none of us, well except me, wanted to object.  S and J both, still living in Toronto, wanted to eat there less than I but did not want to fuss for the brief time we had together.  I on the other hand had just had a bad Pad Thai the evening before at Supermarket in Kensington and knew the only thing I liked on the Queen Mother menu was their Pad Thai but still not enough to have it twice.

K recently moved to Calgary so had an all too familiar hankering for the familiar and comforting.  We talked about moving on after drinks when we were seated but I knew that meant we were parked for the evening.  K was set on having their Sticky Rice with Peanut Sauce and given their agonisingly slow service, we knew that even as a starter only, that would not be a quick bite.  We even noted we could get way better, cheaper and quicker Sticky Rice a few blocks over in China Town.  Futile to even mention really. Their Sticky Rice is good.  It's really the sauce that does it.  I would really prefer if they just went all Asian instead of ill concieved UN foodcourt menu.

So we settled in and ordered some wine off their VERY limited and uninspired winelist.  J had only planned on a drink but decided, in error, to order some Spring Rolls.  She was in it for the long haul too.  S ordered an Italian Chicken Special.  I had the what I hoped would be the most innocuous and foolproof dish, the Vegetarian Roti.  K ordered the Pad Thai.  So what are you finding incongruent with this array?  That I am sat at this table is the first thing.  The second thing is the reason my presence at this table is amiss.  I do not like restaurants without a consistent direction.  Jack of All Trades is a Master of None.  I just made that mistake last night at the Supermarket.  What am I doing here, I railed in my head.

Phad Thai - only good thing on menu

For crying out loud, we just ordered dishes from five distinct culinary origins.  How could they possibly think this was a good idea.  Dude, I cannot bear those places you cannot describe to someone who asks what their genre is.  Not to mention we are taking this all in in a cafe named for the English monarch's late mum, which is decorated like her musty sitting room and lit so low you could go blind.  Of course there are non-chalant, indifferent, at times snarky staff.  All waify, bohemian-esque women who make you feel as welcome as a fart in an elevator.  Even in the slower times, you should expect to wait considerably long intervals for a visit.  The trick is to order it all when you are fortunate enough to have their attention.  Since we waivered on staying, we did not and thus waited even for a refill of water let alone completing our order as S polished off her Chicken.

Sahara Desert-dry Vegetarian Roti

So what of my harmless Vegetarian Roti?  It was incredibly dry.  Dry Dry!  It came with no sauce or side sauce.  If it weren't for K's leftover Peanut Sauce from her Sticky Rice, it would have been inedible.  There was notably more wrapping than stuffing and the curry was notably closer to South East Asian than the Caribbean from whence the dish should have hailed.

I think the next time we leave the suggestion for the reunion hanging, I'll jump in sooner :^D.  Though admittedly, it's harder when you can't keep up with the newer places and we try not to be too extravagant since we out of towners are likely to be eating out more than in while in town.  Still, I'll do my research and not repeat this tradition.

Cuisine: Not-even-they-know
Cost: $$-$$$
Ambiance: Dowager's dressing room
Service: Agonisingly slow
Wine list: Limited, uninspired

Queen Mother Cafe

Entertainment District
208 Queen St W
(416) 598-4719
Toronto, ON M5V

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Saturday, December 18th - Un Joyeux Noël avec la Belle Famille - Québécois style

We haven't fully worked out the kinks on where to go for Christmas.  It has fortunately not been too hot a topic since D is not really fussed either way whereas I am.  Also, fortunately, he's very pragmatic and spending an additional grand to do a weekend hop for a dinner is on the excessive side.  That said, it does mean alot to his folks.   Thus we did have an early 'first' Christmas with his family, my Belle Famille (in-laws) in Montréal this weekend.  Since we waffled back and forth about the dates and who would go when, we ended up paying through the nose.  In the end D is spending the rest of the week there and I am back in T-Dot with my family.  Then we'll send Christmas weekend with my family. 

Parmesan Tuile with Paprika

I feel at liberty to say, since I know they are not blog readers, that I do not know why D wouldn't just come back with me since he doesn't spend too much of his Montréal time at home and he has to sleep on the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE sofa bed ever made.  I don't think I slept at all for 3 nights except for the naps I took draped over the bottom end watching TV.  It was like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine comes out all crooked because of the bar in her back.  Except in this case it's D's father that defends the couch like a third child! D had suggested we get a hotel room but that's not Christmas to me.  I may rethink that next year. :^D

Whenever I hear the saying "Soup to Nuts", I think of D's mom.  Actually, I only heard the saying for the first time a few years ago when I moved to Vancouver.  It's the dining and less morbid equivalent of cradle to grave.  That said, her meals are more aptly described as "Nuts to Cheese".  There are always a selection of nuts.  She spiced some Walnuts, Pecans, Cashews, Almonds and Hazelnuts with Cumin, Paprika, Brown Sugar and Cayenne.  As well, she had plain.  The day before, she made some Parmesan Tuiles.  Simple melted piles of Parmesan Cheese that look fantastic, and taste insanely addictive.  A crown Jumbo Prawn cocktail and Roulade of Soft Cheese and Proscuitto made the rounds.  This was all accompanied with some Pommery Champagne.  This was all planned before appetisers. 

Cooking preparations had to start fairly early because D's mom ended up with quite a change in plans with her Dinde (Turkey).  Every year she orders a fresh one weeks ahead.  She ordered a 15 pounder for the 8 adults and 2 kids, allowing for some leftovers.  Well, there was some sort of growth problem in the flock because she ended up with a 22 pounder.  She was also not all too impressed that the bird had ice inside.  She's now convinced that they ran out and they actually provided her with a frozen and thawed bird.  Anyhoo, they had to borrow a larger roasting pan from next door.  It was a nice old vintage one with a lid.  That said. It was a tight squeeze.  Mom usually just uses the disposable aluminum ones, doubled up.  They're quite large.  D was convinced that for a bird that large, it would take 7 hours so after some gentle arguing and internet searches this is what we did:

Dinner starts at 8pm.  Turkey will hit the table at 9pm.  Want the Turkey to brown after roasting and rest for at least 20 minutes.  So the Turkey, stuffed and slathered in Sage Butter went into a 450F for 30 minutes with the cover on.  The oven was then reduced to 325F.  It was basted every 30 minutes for 4 1/2 hours.  We then took the lid off.  Put some foil on the legs and wing tips and continued for another hour with the lid off.  The result was an incredibly moist bird.  Even skeptical D who wasn't sure about the covering, had to admit that.

 

For the salads on the table, we had a Black Tomato and Fresh Basil with Olive Oil Salad.   They were lovely for winter Tomatoes! That was fairly expected as a salad for me.  What was less so was the traditional family table accoutrement of Celery and Black Olives. They're not oil cured or salt cured.  That is not to say that they do not like other Olives.  D loves good olives.  These are tinned pitted Olives.  The dish was something D's Grand Mere used to make and it has appeared on the Christmas table for decades. It's not dressed as a salad but it is served this way year in and year out.  The celery needs to be cut a very specific way though I didn't catch how. 

 

Starters were a Ceviche of Scallops in fresh Lime and Grapefruit Juice with peeled Grapefruit segments. For the less brave, there was a cooked Shrimp version. Yum!  Surprisingly, D's young nieces lapped it up.  I don't know if I was adventurous at their age.

 

D's family serves the Turkey carved.  Out our house, mom goes for the theatrics which can be tiresome especially when she makes a 20lb Turkey when only 4 people actually eat Turkey.  Oh did I mention mom won't eat leftovers.  Anyhoo.  The Turkey tonight was visibily tender and moist.  D loves the dark meat for the very reason I can't eat Turkey, the turkeyiness in the fat. Not pour moi!

 

 

On the side was Mashed Potatoes with 1/3 Orange Sweet Potato.  D's family always tops with Green Onions.  D's Oncle F doesn't like Onions.  I can't imagine a life without Onions but many others couldn't imagine life without Turkey so to each their own.  So they're used to having to setting a side a dollop of Mash without Onions for F.   There was also Sage and Mushroom stuffing that was made in the bird.  Stuffing doesn't photograph well so there isn't one.  

There was a bit of a kaffufle about the Stuffing actually.   I hadn't encountered this misunderstanding in almost a decade so I was a bit suprised and probably responded slightly more forcefully than necessary but it was because it was THE most common and aggravating lack of understanding about my dietary choices.  I do not like the taste of meat.  So, there is not Turkey Meat in the Stuffing but it was certainly soused in it and cooked for 5 hours in it so therefore IT IS NOT VEGETARIAN.  In fact, since most of the flavour of meat comes from the fat, it smelled more of Turkey than the Turkey breast.  Blech.  Even if I were a moral vegetarian, the argument that there was no Turkey meat in the Stuffing fall over.  Grrrrrr. I had said I'd be happy with the sides and I meant it.  With the Nuts to Cheese, I had more than enough food.

 

For first dessert was an assortment of Cheeses and Dried Nuts and Fruit.  We served it with a nice Buller Fortified Wine. 

 For real dessert was the Bouche de Noël  / Birthday cake.  D and his Niece G share birthdays around Christmas so Christmas Dinner always has a birthday cake for them.  Poor little D had several birthdays a child completely forgotten.  He'd grown quite accustomed to combined birthday  presents or nothing at all.   He never minded.  So now the tradition of the Chrismas Birthday cake is a great way of making sure he's celebrated. 

And of course my mom will INSIST he has a cake at ours.  He comes back to ours on Christmas Even, the same night as my sisters. Yay!

Joyeux Noël

Catch-up - Dec 20th - Christmas Pecan and Walnut Shortbread

Every Christmas, I make the holiday goodies. I have been doing this self-imposed duty for years. For a few years, my sister would at least help me by doing the decorations. Well, as she flies in so rarely now, she was doing the rounds and dropped her decorating duty this year. The thing is, I don't really care if they're decorated or not. O has always been the one with the collection of sprinkles stored at mom and dad's that she breaks out when I bake.

I was tempted this year not to bake. I had already made alot of cookies in Vancouver before going home to Toronto and was pretty full up with shortbread. I stopped making the fudge and truffles when I seemed to be the only one eating them. I didn't bother with my favourite pumpkin cheesecake for the same reason. See mom gets excited when we come home and stuffs the cupboards full of her korean goodies and won't let us eat a single leftover so she can cook us our favourites when we're home. But the cookies, I did. It wouldn't be Christmas, ... if I didn't gain 5 lbs.

This is an extension of the base recipe. I replaced the use of the vanilla with Kalhua. It didn't taste as strong as I would have like. I would double it and so that's what you're going to see in the recipe.

Pecan and Walnut Christmas Shortbread

1 lb butter room temperature
1 c sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar
1 t salt
2 T Kalhua
4 c flour
1 c chopped pecans
1 c chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325. Place racks at the 1/3 and 2/3 positions so they are equidistant from the top and bottom and you can bake two sheets at a time.

Use non stick pans or line the pans with the parchement paper.

Beat the butter and sugar until even.

Add the Kalhua or 1t vanilla extract and salt stir.

With the mixer on stir, add the flour carefully 1/2 - 1 cup at a time. When you have all the flour in turn up the speed briefly. Don't over beat because you don't want chewy but without water and all that butter, it shouldn't happen.

With the mixer on stir, add the nuts. Fold / stir untili evenly combine.

Line a shallow sheet pan with plastic wrap. In handfuls, spread the dough out and evenly press out on the pan, 3/4 cm thick (1/4 inch) Chill until firm. Now you could just chill and roll out but I was trying to minimise the mess. It was December in Toronto so I put the pan, covered, outside for 15 minutes.

Turn out onto a large cutting surface. Cut out shapes as you like. Try to cut them close to each other to save you time later. Decorate and place on baking sheet.

When all the dough is cut, (2 dozen or so) roll the dough back together. I decided to save time because this makes ALOT of cookies, to just roll a log and cut slices for the next batches.

Bake 15 - 20 minutes. Turn half way. Don't let brown.

Cool on racks and keep in wax paper lined tins. Keeps and gets better every day for weeks. MMMM

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 - Peppercorn Shortbread Coins and Cranberry Walnut Shortbread cookies

Times are tough and it's painfully evident around Christmas. Even moreso at Christmas at the office. Gone are the hay days of big, lavish, company paid Christmas lunches and parties. Actually, I missed them all together. Even when I was living in London, we only got a 10 pound voucher and my team went on a pubcrawl. In London, pints are fairly inexpensive so it went a long way.

My team here in Vancouver, has no allowance for Christmas celebration so we're having a potluck. My chintzy boss is brought 2 l bottles of soda and a box of chocolate. I mean really! The rest of us actually put some effort into it. There were pasta salads, muffins, samosas, fruit plates... I made shortbread. It is Christmas and that's what I do. I used to also make truffles but I ended up eating most of them as my family opts for the Quality Street Tins instead. Bah, they don't know what they're missing :-D

I've not made shortbread for a couple of years because I end up doing it all, including decorating all by hand. This year I had my handydandy Kitchenaid mixer so it went fairly quickly, but for the decorating.

These two batches I made here. I didn't decorate them. I made another big batch in Toronto when I went home with Walnuts, Pecans and Kaluha.... decorated!

These both were amazing cookies. I discovered something interesting you should note. White granulated sugar is sweeter in cookies. I used a light brown/white mix. Straight out of the oven, they weren't that sweet. Of course, they develop over time. Stored with parchement/wax paper in a good tin, shortbread will last for over a month if they last that long. And with all the butter and brown sugar, they get better and better everyday. I don't know the science, perhaps they're going 'sour' but thats the distinctive shortbread taste.

Bring 1 lb (4 sticks) butter to room temperature. It doesn't have to get completely soft. A few hours is enough and even better for rolling later.

Preheat oven 330F. The racks should be at the 1/3 and 2 /3 positions. ie. two racks evenly spaced but not too high or too low.

Peppercorn Shortbread

2 sticks butter (1cup)
1/4 c white sugar
1/3 c light brown sugar
Beat until smooth

1/2 t fresh black pepper
1/2 t fresh red pepper (from pepper corns not flakes)
1/2 t fresh white pepper
1/2 t fresh pink pepper
1/2 t fresh green pepper (from pepper corns not jalapenos :-D)
If you do not have these, then use what you have to have 2t fresh pepper + 1t for garnish
2 c unbleached flour
1 t salt
Mix all the dry on a flexible cutting board or in a bowl.
Slowly add to the butter/sugar while its stirring on low.

When fully incorporated, turn out onto some parchment paper or plastic wrap. Do it in halves and you'll need a piece about 2 ft long per half. You're going to roll into logs along the long edge. Do it in quarters if you like. I didn't know how much I'd get until it was too late :-D

Spread the lumps of dough out evenly along the wrap, this will help the rolling later. Roll smooth until you have a log about an inch in diameter or the size of a 1 dollar Loonie coin. Repeat. Place the logs on a baking sheet and put outside or in your fridge until cold. 1 hour is good, longer if you have the time.

Slice in 1/2 cm or 1/4 inch slices. Spread evenly on baking sheets lined with Parchment Paper (NOT WAX PAPER) or silpat. Sprinkle with pepper if you like. Bake for 10, turn the pans and then 5-7 more. I do two trays where one is baking while I'm slicing the second. I swap the tray on the higher rack for the lower at the half mark to encourage eveness. Just lightly brown. This will make several dozen cookies. Cool on racks and place in wax/parchment paper lined tins. They are fabulous and surprising. I got rave reviews an requests for the recipe which I adapted from Martha Stewart.

Yum!!!

Cranberry Walnut Vanilla Shortbread

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar
2 vanilla beans split and stripped of the tiny beans.
I used 2 beans because we have dozens we bought in Bali for nearly nothing.
Beat until smooth.

2 c flour
1 t salt (fine, course salt will give you chunky saltiness)
Mix all the dry on the flexi cutting board or in a bowl.
Add slowly to the butter. When it's just incorporated add:
3/4 c chopped walnuts (flexible but at least 1/2 cup)

1/2 c dried cranberries

Mix for 15-30s, just until the fruit looks evenly spread throughout.

Similar to the peppercorn, spread on 2 ft long pieces of plastic wrap or parchement paper. Shape into rectangles, roughly 5 cm by 7 cm, 2"x3". Chill until firm. Slice in 3/4 cm slices and spread out on parchment lined (not WAX) baking sheets. I do two trays staggered so I'm slicing while one is baking and the next goes in as one is about to be turned at the 10 minute mark. 10 minutes, turn and bake 10 minutes more. I also swap the higher tray for the lower tray for more eveness. Cool on racks and keep in tight tin with wax / parchment papper.

Sooooogooooo!