Merry Coffee

Enjoying a quiet cup of coffee before the house stirs . . . Merry Christmas!

Venice Again - Day 3

Somehow, our morning eggs taste a little better while sitting under Murano chandeliers.

Today was a busy one.  We visited the Accademia on our last trip, but I really needed another look.

Standing in front of The Feast in the House of Levin by Veronese (18.21 ft. by 42.98 ft.).  Originally titled The Last Supper, the Inquisition accused the painter of irreverence, indecorum and heresy, and demanded that he make changes to the painting.  Instead, Veronese simply changed the title.

Sala di Capitolo, Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia . . .

The ceiling is covered in gilded cherubs, each with a slightly different face.

Then back at Piazza San Marco for a bite to eat at Caffè Florian.  The food is delivered covered in these metallic mesh domes, to protect it from the pigeons.

We walked all over . . .

Until it was late, and even the gondole were covered up . . .

And ended up at the terrace in our hotel . . .

With the great view of Santa Maria della Salute.

In gratitude for the deliverance of the city from the Plague, the city of Venice built and dedicated this church to the Our Lady of Health.

We enjoyed some cappuccinos — how very American of us!  Italians wouldn't dream of having a cappuccino at any time except breakfast!  We also noticed that whenever you order coffee anywhere in Italy, it always comes with a few cookies.  It's such a charming, hospitable touch!

“Ah, che luna — oh, che nare

With such a moon and such a sea

And you and me

I get so dizzy when you're standing near

It's not the music that you hear

My heart is beating like a jungle drum

Let's take the minutes as they speed away

And hope it's true what people say:

When you're in love tomorrow never comes.”

                                — Frank Sinatra

Three Kings Day 2014

I have nothing but the greatest admiration for those who, efficiently after Christmas, or at the latest, New Year's, start taking down and packing all the Christmas decorations.  By the time they are back to work, Christmas is but a fond memory and are already perusing gardening catalogs, looking forward to the coming Spring.  Not me.  For one thing, Christmas is not officially over at our house until after Three Kings Day.  We usually host an Open House on the Sunday closest to January 6th, which is when the Catholic Church celebrates Epiphany, and gather friends and family one last time before settling in for the onslaught of snow and frigid weather.

Our Open House was wonderful, despite the fact that many friends were unable to come because of the snow.  Typically, on Three Kings Day I tend to make treats evocative of my Cuban roots.  We usually serve guava pastries, turrones (sweet nougats made of almonds, marzipan, or ground almonds) and hot chocolate is a MUST.  This year, I also made sandwiches, and cookies, and an almond spice cake.  

 

Here is the Coffee Bar set up to keep my chilly guests warm:  Piping hot coffee, with a little something something - Butterscotch Schnapps, Kahlúa and RumChata.  

Have you tried RumChata yet?  If NOT, please put this on your "Must Try" list for 2014!  This is a new twist on Horchata (hence, the "Chata" part of the name).  Spanish horchata is a sweet, milky drink made from the chufa, or tiger nut.  It tastes a lot like almond milk.   You can read all about horchata here.  It is delicious!  If you are ever in Spain, you must try it, but to truly enjoy it you must sit in a little café under sweltering sun, and wait an hour for the waiter to notice that you are even alive.  By the time you get your icy horchata, you would be ready to swear that it's the nectar of the gods!  Mexican horchata is slightly different and often made from other kinds of nuts, or even rice!  It's still delicious.  RumChata took the next step and made it into a liqueur.  Add some to your coffee, and you'll be warm and smiling in no time!

The Coffee Bar also included peppermint candy canes, and homemade Vanilla Bean syrup, something sweet without the alcohol.  There were also some dark-chocolate covered almonds nearby, in case anyone had a chocolate emergency.  That happens to me once in a while, so I'm very sympathetic.

There's always cake on Three Kings Day, so we can bury the Baby Jesus in its batter before baking.  Whoever finds the plastic baby, is King of the Day and wins a prize.  This year's Almond Spice Cake was delicious.  My son David gave it a thumbs up, and he's a tough cake customer!

 

Here's another treat:  Pecan Butterballs from the Silver Palate Cookbook.  I have been making these since 1984, the year I got married.  My sister-in-law, Angela, who is a wonderful cook, gave us the cookbook as a wedding present.  I'm on my second copy right now.  It wouldn't be Christmas around here without these little gems.  They are sweetened with a little honey, and they just melt in your mouth.  Here's the recipe:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, softened

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup shelled pecans, chopped moderately fine

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  Grease one or two cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter.  Beat in honey; gradually mix in flour and salt, then vanilla.  Add pecans.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Form balls by hand, the size of quarters.  Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; as soon as cool enough to touch, roll in confectioners' sugar.  Allow to cool and roll again in sugar.

 Yields 36 cookies.

Guests were asking me for extras to take home!  You'll want to double or triple the recipe, if you want any leftovers for yourself!

 

The basket of Chocolate Chip cookies held four batches of CCCs made by my son, John!  I love it when the family gets involved in the party preparations!

On Three Kings Day I try to bring out the gold in remembrance of the Magi who brought gold to the Baby Jesus, so this year, the table is covered in a gold cloth.  The covered platter held sandwiches of Tuna Salad à la Vizcaína (Basque-style), a delightful tuna salad recipe that calls for adding roasted red peppers.

The Christmas centerpiece was given a facelift.  I removed the wilted blooms, and replaced them with snowy white carnations, gold balls, and a little red cardinal that begged to come out and play.

After taking a look at his little cousin outside, he realized that he got the better deal . . .

 

It's time to put away the extra Christmas cards!

Now we can sit by the fire and enjoy the wonderful memories we created during this joyful Christmas season!  May you have a wonderful new year!

Tea Bread Tuesday: Cookies

Surely, at this time of year, it must be all right to take a detour from tea breads, and move into the realm of cookies, wouldn't you say?  I love cookies, but I don't enjoy baking them all that much.  I don't mind mixing the dough, but the baking process seems to take forever.  In and out of the oven with the cookie trays, the cooling racks . . . and they seem to me to be a bit persnickety with the oven temperature and the time in the oven.  They certainly aren't very forgiving if you become distracted . . . But, ahh . . . they are so wonderful! 

There's something magical about cookies, especially Christmas cookies . . .  So, instead of tea and bread, this week my husband and I enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee and a cookie plate, featuring Butterballs, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cranberry-Chocolate-Chip Biscotti made by my sister-in-law, Angela!

Angela is a wonderful cook.  Everything she's ever baked for us has been delicious, and I'm not just saying that so she'll read this and send us more biscotti (but if you want to, Angela, Lee loves the ones you made with pistachios).  She sent us the biscotti for Christmas and I hid it from the kids.  Am I a horrible mother?  See, the thing is that my kids do not have a very sophisticated palate and it seemed a waste to let them eat these scrumptious morsels, when they'd be just as happy with Oreos . . . and I did let them eat the homemade Chocolate Chip cookies, which is what they always ask for anyway . . .

For the Chocolate Chip cookies, I just followed the directions for Nestlé Toll House Cookies.  The Butterballs came from The Silver Palate Cookbook.  Here's the recipe for the Butterballs:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup shelled pecans, chopped moderately fine
¾ cup confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  Grease one or two cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter.  Beat in honey; gradually mix in flour and salt, then vanilla.  Add pecans.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Form balls by hand, the size of quarters.  Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; as soon as cool enough to touch, roll in confectioner's sugar.  Allow to cool and roll again in sugar.

Yields about 36 cookies.

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FLASH UPDATE ON THE COMPUTER SPEAKER:  My son, John, is taking it with him back to school.  I'm glad that it's going to be put to use, but this can be such a horrible setback!  The last thing a pack-rat needs is to be emboldened by someone actually needing something they've picked up.  They can't wait to say:  "See?"  "I knew it was a good thing to bring home!"  It makes it ever so much more difficult to discourage them . . .