Christmas Countdown Day 11: 11 Pipers Piping

For Christmas Countdown Day 11, I had originally planned on preparing cream puffs (because you "pipe" the cream filling into the pastry), but since I was at home and my family is not too keen on eating dairy, I had to go another route. Since friends had previously mentioned on Countdown Day 7 that they had thought the chicken pot pies were for "11 pipers piping," I decided to go with pies. I had also considered making pirouette type cookies and filling them with some sort of white chocolate peppermint cream filling, but I didn't really want to think about how to bake tubular cookies.

I decided to make mini pecan pie tarts because they bring up fond childhood memories of my mom preparing these tarts for me to share with my kindergarten class and because...they're easy to eat! I went with my mom's recipe for the pie crust and followed a slightly modified Allrecipes recipe for the filling.

To prepare the crust, I mixed 3 oz of softened cream cheese with 1.5 cups flour and 1 stick of softened butter. Once the dough was prepared, I rolled the dough flat and cut out circles of dough to place into my mini muffin pan. I found that after the dough was rolled out once, it was a lot harder to re-knead (to roll out additional circles from the remaining crust), so I only managed to make about 24 mini tarts.

For the filling, I found that I often run into a issue with making my batter slightly lumpy - as if the egg has cooked. In fact, even though I've made the pecan pie filling many many times, I still cannot quite figure out if I've been improperly tempering the egg. I do vaguely recall making this filling in the past without ever running into this lumpy filling issue but...I really don't know. Perhaps I will start taking pictures of this process to reference...which I conveniently forgot to do this time around.

To avoid any possibility of cooking the egg in the melted butter, I whipped the eggs in a separate bowl from the rest of the filling and added the whipped eggs back in after everything (aside from the nuts) have been added in. But I have to admit that even after waiting for the filling to come to room temperature before mixing in the eggs, it STILL looked like I had cooked the eggs in the filling. Maybe I shouldn't have used a stand mixer for this? I still don't know...

The only other modification I made was that I added less sugar - 3/4 cup brown sugar - and slightly more nuts, depending on how runny the filling was looking. After spooning the filling into the tart shells, I popped them into a 350 F oven for 15 minutes.

Christmas Countdown Day 10: 10 Lords a Leaping

If you thought Christmas Countdown Day 8 was bad, wait until you hear about Day 10: 10 Lords a Leaping. For today's Christmas Countdown dish I decided to go with....nothing. I simply couldn't think of anything. People had suggested using frog legs (which is really a rather good idea), but I really don't like frog legs at all. Alternatively, the idea of roasting rabbit had also been posed, but I also cannot stand eating rabbit meat. I had considered making La Galette des Rois, but I really didn't feel like eating it! Finally, I was all set to make popcorn (which I figured "leaps" around when it is popped...except that it really just pops) drizzled with white chocolate and peanut butter (to make a sort of golden - and thus royal - color), but then I got really weird looks from my family and decided not to waste food on what would surely be a doomed project.

Instead, I went to Stella's Bakery in Maryland and ate a delicious "Bougatsa." The first time I had this pastry was many years ago at their grand opening (or what I thought was their grand opening because they gave these out for free) and ever since then I have always dreamed of having this pastry again. It's a rather simple pastry - puff pastry with a filling made of cream custard, cinnamon, and topped with powdered sugar - but it's just so good! It's kind of like eating a Portuguese egg tart...but not. And when warm and eaten alongside a cup of coffee, it's perfect!

And then I thought about it (a lot) and realized - this pastry kind of captures the elements of what I wanted to create in my 10 Lords a Leaping dish! Like a Galette des Rois, the pastry was made with puff pastry...and like the golden popcorn, the custard filling of this pastry was golden!

Okay, I know this is a giant stretch, but what can I say - I really had nothing else to use!

Christmas Countdown Day 9: 9 Ladies Dancing

So Day 9 is where it starts to get hard...9 ladies dancing clearly does not have an obvious food translation, so I had to throw in a splash of creativity for today's dish. I tried to brainstorm as many feminine foods as possible and came up with: seafood and ladyfingers. To incorporate the dancing aspect, I figured I'd introduce some sort of alcohol element into today's dish to "get the ladies dancing!" So on the savory side I figured I could do a seafood in wine dish or for the sweet side I could make a tiramisu. But since I'm at home for Christmas and my family tires of me making endless desserts that they are forced to consume, I chose to take the savory route.

I kind of ended up making this recipe on the fly, incorporating whatever ingredients I could find in the kitchen - this I do not recommend. For instance, I grabbed a container that I thought contained salt and did not realize until the very last minute that I had been using sugar all along. On a similar note, after I thought I had finished the dish, I would come across another ingredient that I thought would be a delightful addition and I would end up doing...something wrong (i.e. I spilled a whole bunch of sea salt into the pan when I only meant to add a pinch). Also, once I started adding ingredients into the pan, I realized I had no idea where I wanted to go with the dish and spent countless seconds staring blankly at the pan. Lastly, though I was ultimately okay with using plum wine for my sauce, I think it could have been nice to use tequila instead (and really make those ladies dance).

Anyways, for today's dish I chose to make roasted shrimp atop a bed of corn and sweet onion in a plum wine sauce. I had envisioned using smoky, fire-roasted shrimp for this dish, but alas, I just roasted the shrimp in the oven and all that really happened was that it...cooked. But if you have access to a grill, I'd highly recommend you grill the shrimp instead; the charcoal flavor could have played wonderfully against the sweet flavors of the rest of the dish.

To prepare the shrimp, I pre-heated the oven to 400 F and spread a layer of shrimp in a roasting pan. I seasoned the shrimp with salt (well actually, I used sugar but I would've preferred salt...) and pepper, a dash of lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. I then placed the pan in the oven and roasted for 15 minutes (or until the shrimp turned pink and were fully cooked). Because I didn't realize I had used sugar instead of salt until the shrimp were done, I sprinkled salt over the shrimp as soon as they were out of the oven.

For the corn and onion relish, I first sauteed diced garlic in melted butter and then added in the diced onion. After the onions were browned, I threw in the corn and seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley. I then added a splash (enough to form a thin layer in the pan) of plum wine as well as a bit of water and sauteed until the sauce slightly reduced. Because I was going for a slightly sweeter taste, I ended up adding a little bit of brown sugar...as well as an accidental sizable amount of sea salt. I couldn't quite figure out where I really wanted to take the sauce, so I chose to just remove the pan from heat and eat it as is. I'm still not too sure what I wanted the sauce to be like - it was fairly sweet with notes of plum wine, but also very salty because of the sea salt - but when I couldn't taste the overwhelming salty flavors, the sweet flavors were quite nice with the shrimp.

Christmas Countdown Day 8: 8 Maids a Milking

I really lamed out with Christmas Countdown Day 8 - sorry! I had wanted to do something nice like chocolate souffles with vanilla ice cream because maids a milking reminded me of cows and I wanted to capture the black and white theme (as well as the milk aspect), but...I ran out of time. So I went with...

Oreos in milk.

Lame, I know. I had wanted them on ice cream but by the time I got around to this, I was too tired to even eat ice cream...

I chose mini oreos for this because, well, they're way cuter than normal oreos. And also you can throw multiple cookies into a glass of milk and eat them with a spoon!

Ok, I know this day 8 post is just terrible. But I swear I had an excuse! It was the night before I was planning to head home for Christmas, so I had lots to do, including making these...

Christmas cookies (and white chocolate and peppermint coated pretzels)! I know it's no excuse, but I really wanted to make these and spread Christmas cheer around to my friends and coworkers - which (I think) I did, so...success for the spirit of my Christmas Countdown, even though these cookies had absolutely no part in my Christmas Countdown!

Christmas Countdown Day 7: 7 Swans a Swimming

I was really looking forward to Christmas Countdown Day 7 because it would finally be my last day of poultry/fowl/bird gifts! Granted, my original plan had been to make a simple vanilla creme brulee and place chocolate swans atop the creme brulee, but then I realized I could just make a chicken pot pie (chicken "swimming" in the creamy pot pie mixture!). When I invited friends over to partake in day 7 of this countdown, most people thought the dish was inspired by "11 pipers piping" and felt that I was really stretching it for swans a swimming...but in my head it works perfectly, so chicken pot pie it is!

I took a lot of shortcuts with this recipe and went for frozen prepared pie crusts and puff pastry sheets. Normally, I also use rotisserie chicken for my pot pies, but for this batch, I went for plain old chicken thighs! But if you have the chance to use rotisserie chicken, I highly recommend you go that route - it's delicious!

I began the process by sauteeing diced onions in melted butter then tossing in my cubes of chicken thighs (I am very partial to dark meat). Once the chicken was sufficiently cooked, I tossed in my cubes of potatoes, carrots, celery, and sliced mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes. I then added in stock (I used duck stock, which I had prepared a while back from my Turducken) and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and chicken bouillon powder. I then let this all stew for about 15 minutes on medium-high heat.

While the filling was stewing, I preheated the oven to 425 F and prepped my deep dish pie crusts and puff pastry sheets. I had defrosted the puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator overnight and let the pie crust defrost on the counter for about 10 minutes. I unrolled my puff pastry sheets (which was actually a rather difficult task - if you over-defrost the puff pastry, it gets really sticky) and pricked holes on the bottom of my pie crusts. 

After letting the vegetables cook and soften for 15 minutes, I added in ~1/3 cup flour, ~3/4 cup milk...and then additional stock (as needed) to reach a desired consistency. Mix well until the filling thickens and then remove from heat and pour into the pie crusts. At the very last minute, I second guessed myself and added more stock because I was afraid the filling was too thick and would somehow dry out while baking...but that was a mistake - oh well! Just know that if your filling is too runny, a) it's still edible and b) if you refrigerate, the filling will set nicely in the fridge and will be less runny the next day. 

Once the filling was all poured in, I placed a single puff pastry sheet on top of the pie and sealed the pot pie shut! I also poked little slits in the top of the puff pastry to let steam escape from the pie while baking.

I folded up the edges of my puff pastry (instead of cutting the excess pastry off) because...well I like puff pastry! I placed the pies on a baking sheet to allow for easy removal from the oven and popped the pies into the oven for 30 minutes (or until the puff pastry is golden brown). Enjoy!

Christmas Countdown Day 6: 6 Geese a Laying

For Christmas countdown day 6, I decided to take the challenge of...roasting a goose! I've had roasted goose before, usually for major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, and I always remembered it being absolutely delicious - like an entire bird of dark meat with an amazing layer of delectable skin. And I've heard that the high fat content in geese help keep the meat more tender, so I was excited to face this roast goose challenge!

Surprisingly, you cannot easily find geese in New York City, and I simply do not know why. Whole Foods does sell a limited number of frozen geese, but they sell them at $10/lb, which I simply was not willing to pay for this challenge! After trekking around to Citarella, Trader Joe's, Dean & Deluca, and Dickson's Farmstand Meats, I was just about ready to give up, until I magically found a goose at Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown...for about $5 per lb. I quickly scooped one up and lugged it home.

To brine the goose, I chose to take a more Asian approach and create a brine of dried star anise, soy sauce, orange juice, salt, pepper, and water. After an overnight brine, I plopped the goose onto my roasting pan, wrapped foil around the ends of the drumsticks and wings (to prevent them from burning too quickly), filled the bottom of the roasting pan with some water, and threw the bird into a 350 F oven. I then decided to take the existing brine and reduce it and use to baste the goose. But naturally the brine required some tweaking (because it was kind of bland...) so I added a little more soy sauce, a lot of brown sugar, and a little bit of honey. I then brined the goose every 20 minutes (in retrospect, probably a bad idea - I'm guessing I shouldn't have opened the oven quite so much) until the goose reached a temperature of 170 F, which for my 10 lb goose, took around 2 hrs and 45 mins.

The goose was flavorful, but not quite as good as my dad makes it...and the meat was significantly more dry. Thankfully, goose on its own has a delicious flavor (at least much more so than turkey), but I still wish I had managed to cook a slightly more moist goose. At the very least, I think a little bit of gravy could have really helped the slices of meat that had little to no skin attached...but I just really did not feel like throwing together a gravy at that point. I still think goose is a worthwhile substitute for turkey at Thanksgiving/Christmas/etc, but I do not think I will be roasting another one again - or at least not until I learn how to not overcook my poultry...

Christmas Countdown Day 5: 5 Golden Rings

To be honest, I was quite excited for 5 golden rings. And for good reason too - think about how much emphasis is placed on this gift in the song?? All week, I had ambitiously worked on planning 5 golden ring-inspired recipes to produce for day 5 of my Christmas countdown, but when I looked at how much food I have been cooking and eating for the past few days (as well as thought about how much I will have to cook and eat for the next few days), I decided to just stick with one recipe.

And for my one recipe, I went with something that I knew would be delicious - rum cake (in the shape of rings, of course).

This recipe was actually taken from Allrecipes: Golden Rum Cake Recipe (I know, I said I wouldn't use a recipe...), but in all fairness, this was a recipe I had used long, long ago. I made some minor tweaks, but still kept the spirit of the original recipe intact.

My first major change was that I did not make a giant Bundt cake and instead poured the batter into a donut pan to produce what I had hoped would be beautiful golden rings. But after baking, I quickly remembered that whenever I make rum cake, the cakes have a nasty habit of sinking, so I knew I would not emerge with beautiful golden rings. But cake is cake, regardless of how it looks, so I went forward with it!

Just to note a few of the tweaks I made to the recipe (in case you're curious and want to try my version out):

• Left out the walnuts (because I don't like them)
• Used 1/2 cup of milk instead of 1/2 cup of water
• Replaced 1/2 cup of vegetable oil with 1/2 cup of melted (and cooled) butter
• Used Malibu Coconut Rum instead of dark rum (to get that delicious coconut-y flavor!)

Also, when I poured the rum into the glaze (after removing it from heat and pouring into a separate bowl), I noticed the glaze instantly began to congeal and form these unsightly clumps. So I simply poured the whole mixture back into a pan and reheated on the stove until it was one uniform mixture again. And I even reaped the benefit of slightly burning off some of the alcohol flavor (great for those who are not partial to alcohol!).

Clearly the rings were not beautiful, especially since they did not separate from the pan (oops), but I figured I had to at least show them so that I could check "5 golden rings" off of my list. On a more positive note, the cupcakes turned out better...