The Help's Moscow Mule

It's Labor Day!!!

Nice to have a holiday, and a Monday holiday beats a Friday holiday.

I know I've been slacking here, but I was just overwhelmed with other duties to keep up with the blogging.  I hope I can be more reliable with the posts. . .not sure if I'm ready for the weekly schedule yet.  Blogging has been a way for me to keep in contact with my far away cousins and friends.

I was supposed to host a get together with my work friends, but we cancelled in the wake of Hurricane Lester knocking at the gate.  This was unfortunate because Lester turned out to be nothing, and I know we would've had a nice time.

One monumental thing about this past weekend was trying Indian food.  Members of the Panda Club go to one of the local Indian restaurants, Kamana Kitchen, for lunch, and they keep going back for more.  Not being too adventurous when food is concerned, I never had the desire to try it.  The Help, on the other hand, has been itching to go.  The Panda Club had graciously offered to take him, but the last time they offered, the timing wasn't right.

In a weak moment this weekend, I allowed The Help to pick up food from the restaurant of his choice, and he chose Kamana Kitchen.  Luckily I had a message thread on my phone and piped in, "someone says chicken saag is good".  I had no idea what chicken saag could be.

To my great surprise, the food turned out to be delicious.  Of course, I didn't eat any lamb.  The mixed kebab was tasty (I ate the shrimp and chicken), and the chicken saag was also good.  There was absolutely nothing in the seasoning which I found offensive.  And no sign of the devil's condiment in any of the dishes The Help chose.

But there was something missing, and I realized it during my conversation with The Keeper.  The meal needed some kind of alcohol.  The Keeper suggested beer, but I don't drink beer (or any malt-based beverage).  I have a fine bottle of sake, but that wouldn't match.  Earlier today, I realized I missed the opportunity to have a Moscow mule. 

You can read all about the Moscow mule here, and I'm sure Otee's friend Rick, bartender extraordinaire at MW Restaurant can make a mean one.  At home, The Help is in charge of bartending, and had I been thinking straight on Saturday, I would've definitely put in my request.  The Help adds something a little special to his version.  The picture to the left showcases the special ingredient.

I think I will have one of these tonight. . .with a teriyaki steak!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

The Help's Moscow Mule

     1 1/2 oz vodka
     1 oz Domaine de Canton
     1 oz lime juice
     ginger beer (or ale)
     ice
     lime slices

Shake vodka, Domaine de Canton and lime juice.  Pour over ice into copper mug and fill with ginger beer (or ale).  Garnish with a  lime slice.

3M's Orange Macadamia Nut Cookies

I'd like to begin this week's post with a happy belated birthday shout out to two of my favorite people (and they happen to share a birthday!):  D2 and 3M.  I hope they enjoyed their birthday, even if the usual Admissions Day holiday did not give them a long birthday weekend this year.

One awesome thing about working where I do is being able to work with friends from small kid time (okay, "small" might be pushing it, but I mean pre-legal driving days).  Up until this school year, one of my small kid friends worked just around the corner from me.  It was great to have someone I could trust so close by.  I could get a quick answer to a work question or I could count on a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.  This year, 3M has a new work location, and while I'm happy for her, I'm selfishly sorry for myself.  I can't grumble too much because she still takes all my calls, and she promised to have lunch with me when the craziness of beginning a new school year dies down.  I'm still waiting for that day, but we are still less than a month into the school year.

In our younger days, 3M and I shared meals together at restaurants in Hilo and Seattle.  We've even spent Thanksgiving together.  Like me, 3M has a pretty good memory, and we might be the only 2 people I know of who can remember the submitter of recipes from an old 4-H cookbook.  Both of us like cookbooks, and as we get older, many of our conversations focus on what foods we plan to prepare for occasions.  Naturally, we share samples and trade recipes. 

I got this recipe from 3M years ago and finally got around to trying it.  She said her aunt gave her mom the recipe, and this has been a favorite cookie of hers.  And I know why.  3M and I both like hard cookies.  Soft and chewy cookies are not our style.  While I'm more for a snapping-hard cookie, 3M tends to like cookies which are buttery and melt in the mouth.  After years of baking cookies, I'm convinced that the melt in the mouth part comes from powdered sugar and cornstarch.

In addition to being absolutely delicious, this cookie is great for gift-giving.  If you use a disher, you can make cookies of uniform size which stack nicely in a plastic bag.  Pssssttt. . .Christmas will be here in 139 days, so it's never too early to practice!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

3M's Orange Macadamia Nut Cookies

     4 c flour

     2 c powdered sugar, sifted

     1 c cornstarch

     2 c butter

     1 c chopped macadamia nuts

     2 egg yolks

     1 tbsp orange zest

     4 tbsp orange juice

     granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch.  Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.  Stir in nuts.  Combine egg yolks, orange zest, and orange juice.  Add to flour mixture, stirring til moistened.  If mixture is too dry, add more orange juice, a teaspoon at a time (up to 2 tablespoons).  Using a #60 disher (about 1 tbsp), scoop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Flatten to 1/4" using a glass which has been dipped in granulated sugar.  Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

And while I didn't say much about D2 in this post, let me assure you...no need to be feeling too sorry for her.  She is sporting a new macbook air!

Cookie Jar: Orange Slices

I am candy-d out!  I think I overdid the Easter candy.  I figured it would be a full year before I saw one of my most favorite candies (Cadbury creme eggs) in the stores again, so I bought a bunch and ate my fill.  I went to three different Longs Drugs stores on the island to seek out their supply of creme eggs.  I just cannot get enough of those creme eggs!  The Ds like chocolate too, but neither of them will touch the creme egg (yay!  More for me).  D1 cannot get enough of those mini eggs.  D2 likes the Nestle Crunch eggs.  Nobody here is into Peeps, so I'm not sad to see those leave the shelves, but Cadbury chocolates will be sorely missed. 

As I was saying, I think I over-indulged in candy this year.  I still have some left,  but I'm in rationing mode.  Maybe a lesser person would feel like tapering off the sugar, but I'm all psyched up.  I want more sugar. . .but in a different form.  I want cookies, and I want cookies NOW!  I was planning to make the standard (chocolate chip cookies) but I'm kinda tired of chocolate (duuuhhhhhh. . .I wonder why).  Instead I will be making these orange cookies, thanks to Mr. Dependable's prolific navel orange tree.

These orange cookies are a cross between a shortbread and an icebox (known as ice cream cookies here) cookie.  Like a shortbread cookie, this cookie contains no egg.  And like an ice box cookie, the dough needs to be chilled prior to shaping.  For those who like precision cookies, roll out the dough and cut with a round cookie cutter.  If you're not so concerned with nice, manicured edges, shape the dough into a log and cut into slices when chilled thoroughly.  The cookies in the picture were made using the rolling technique. . .I wasn't as desperate to eat cookies then.

And no matter how lazy you are, don't forget the icing!  The icing is yet another way to pump up the orange flavor.  If you prefer crunchy cookies, as tempted as you might be to heavily ice the cookies, keep in mind that the more icing you use, the less crisp your cookie will be.  Lines of icing dry a whole lot faster than solid patches of icing.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Orange Slices

     3/4 c butter, softened

     1/2 c sugar

     1/2 c powdered sugar

     2 tbsp orange juice

     1/4 tsp vanilla extract

     1/4 tsp orange extract

     orange food coloring (optional)

     2 c flour

     1/4 tsp baking powder

     1/4 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugars.  Add in orange juice, extracts and food coloring.  Mix until well blended.  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt, and combine with butter mixture.  Proceed with 1 of the following shaping techniques:

• Chill dough until cool enough to handle.  Roll out to 1/4" and cut with 2 1/2" circle cutter.  Cut each circle in half and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.

• Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 6" long cylinder.  Chill overnight.  Slice 1/4" and then slice each circle in half.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  

Bake for 11 minutes (bake for 12 minutes if using Airbake cookie sheets).  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate with Orange Royal Icing when cool.

Orange Royal Icing

     1/2 c powdered sugar

     1 tsp meringue powder

     2 1/4 tsp warm water

     1/4 tsp orange extract

     orange food coloring (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small, deep bowl.  Beat for 7-9 minutes with electric hand mixer.  Fill pastry bag fitted with #2 round tip.  Decorate cookies.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

I didn't realize Thanksgiving was so close!  I saw some kind of Taste of Home post on Facebook and I had to actually run to the calendar to see for myself.  No shit!!!

The work week this week is only 3 (2 by the time this is published) days, but short weeks tend to drag on, and the kids are totally gone.  Adults too.

But in a few days it will be Thanksgiving, and that gives me something to look forward to.  Its not just the break from work.  I love Thanksgiving food.  I love all the white meat from the turkey and all that you can do with the leftovers. The other big deal about Thanksgiving is cranberry sauce.  I love cranberry sauce, and I think Williams-Sonoma makes the best.  I need to check the pantry to see if I have any left.  One year, I made my own cranberry sauce, and it was unreal sour.  Since then, I've left the cranberry sauce to the experts.

It doesn't seem right to have cranberry sauce outside of the holiday season, so I don't make anything with cranberry sauce beyond the holidays, however dried cranberries are fair game year-round.  I keep a Costco-sized bag of dried cranberries on hand.  The Ds sprinkle li hing mui powder on it and eat it as a snack.  I love to use dried cranberries in recipes as a substitute for raisins.

While cranberry orange biscotti recipes abound, the recipes I tried lacked orange flavor.  Bummer.  In my experiments with biscotti making, I came across a recipe which included a topping.  After tinkering with the ingredients, I came up with a recipe which has the pronounced orange flavor I was looking for - its in both the biscotti and the topping.  In addition to cranberries and orange flavor, this biscotti gets its crunch from chopped marcona almonds. 

This biscotti is a little trickier to make than my previous biscotti recipe because of the baked-on topping.  This biscotti needs to be sliced very carefully with a serrated knife.  Using too much pressure will cause the topping to pop off.   I suppose you could leave the topping off, but the orange flavor would be less prominent.

just after the first bake

slicing biscotti using a serrated knife

getting ready for the second bake

 click on recipe title for printable recipe.
Cranberry Orange Biscotti

     1/4 + 2/3 c sugar, divided

     2 tbsp + 1 tsp orange juice, divided

     6 tbsp butter, softened

     zest of 1 orange

     2 eggs

     1/2 tsp almond extract

     1/2 tsp vanilla extract

     2 c flour

     1 tsp baking powder

     1/2 c dried cranberries, chopped

     1/2 c marcona almonds, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine 1/4 c sugar and 1 tsp orange juice.  Mixture will be rather dry.  Set aside.  Grease 2 biscotti pans or line a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Cream butter and remaining 2/3 c sugar.  Add 2 tbsp orange juice, zest, eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Add cranberries and nuts.  Shape dough into 2 2" wide rectangles in/on prepared pan(s).  Using half of sugar/orange juice mixture for each loaf, pat onto top of each rectangle, taking care not to spill any on baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Using a serrated knife, slice 1/2" on the diagonal.  Place on a cut side and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.  Flip over to other side and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE:  Cranberry Orange Biscotti would make an excellent snack for Black Friday shopping, that is, if you choose to indulge in that sport.  After the stampeding sounds in Wal-Mart last year, I will be staying home.  There is no need for me to be in the throng of people.  I'm sure the Ds will be home too.  I know neither were happy last year.  I just hope Kikukat Mom's curiosity about Black Friday shopping was cured last year too.