Snowballs: Made 2 - Need 6

My sister Mary suggested I post the recipe for snowballs, one of our all time favorites.  These cookies are delicious. They get eaten up quickly, so make lots of them.

This is a foolproof recipe. As long as you have the time to roll out the balls, they will come out just fine.   The nuts give the snowballs a bit of added texture. I think Mimi used walnuts but I'm not sure. Pistachios might be an interesting alternative.

According to Mimi's notes, she and my brother (TD3) once made two batches of snowballs - about 138 snowballs, enough for her and Tom, but not enough to share. Six batches would have been much better than two. You can't make too many snowballs.

This recipe originally came from Rose, my favorite neighbor in our old neighborhood. I was a very friendly child who loved visiting anyone, anytime. Rose and John lived across the street from us in a little red house. 

John worked for the state highway department. In the winter, he drove one of those gigantic snowplows that come out during blizzards to clear snow off the turnpikes. 

Sometimes John would park his plow on our little street. I remember looking out the window at the big orange plow towering over his little red house, thinking to myself,  "John's home, I must go over and see what he's up to". Years later Mimi told me John brought the plow home when he was too drunk to turn it in at the end of his shift.

We moved away from that neighborhood when I was 8. Many years later, when my daughter Juliette was about 6, we drove down my old street, parked in front of the little red house, and knocked on the door. I had no idea if Rose still lived there.  When Rose opened the door I said, “Hi Rose, it’s Dottie.” She looked at me, and then at Julie, and said, “Where’ve you been?”

I came in and sat down in Rose’s little living room, which looked just like it always had…dark curtains drawn low, old overstuffed furniture, a coffee table with ashtrays, a cribbage board, little multi - colored pegs of incense (to mask the smell of cigarette smoke), a cigarette box, a lighter, a deck of cards and a candy dish. Rose and I happily retold old stories while Julie ran around the backyard. It was a wonderful day --  I was so happy to see my old friend.

I always thought Rose and I were friends because she lived across the street and let me do things I couldn't do at home, like eat candy before lunch. During our visit I realized, had I met Rose as an adult, she would have become my good friend. That was the day I discovered that little children don’t grow up and develop their own personalities....we have them all along.

I love that memory of Rose. It was the last time I saw her.

Here are Rose's wonderful snowballs.
To serve: Place each snowball in a mini cupcake liner. 
To store: Keep in an airtight container to prevent the snowballs from dying out.

Pecan Tartlettes - lots of work but worth it

For as long as I can remember, Mimi and Pat Mitchell got together to make Christmas cookies. One of the cookies that Mimi will always be associated with in my memory are pecan tartlettes. When I was very young, they were too grown up for me. But now they are one of my favorites too.

Mimi used to complain about how long it took to make a cookie that was eaten so quickly. Still she made pecan tartlettes for many years.

Here is the original recipe. The dough for the crust is delicate. The crust tastes nothing like the pre-baked miniature crust shells sold in grocery stores.

Auntie Pat continues to make wonderful Christmas cookies each year, including pecan tartlettes. For this recipe, she always makes a double batch --  about 3 dozen tartlettes.  

The time consuming part is spreading the dough out in each muffin tin. Pat remembers Mimi getting on the phone, and chatting with her friends while pressing the dough into each little muffin cup. To help spread the dough, try using a wooden spoon or pestle to arrange the crust around the edge of the muffin cup.  

For the crust

Cream together:
  3 oz. cream cheese
  1/2 cup margarine

Add:
  1 cup of flour

Chill (dough) for one hour.

Press 1" ball into 1” x 3/4" deep mini muffin tin. The dough should cover the bottom and the sides of for each tartlette.

For the filling

Beat the following 5 ingredients together:
  1 egg
  dash salt
  1/4 cup light brown sugar
  1 Tablespoon margarine
  1 teaspoon vanilla

Add
  3/4 cup chopped pecans

Put 1 heaping Tablespoon of filling into each little cup (will be about  2/3 full).

Place a pecan half on top of each tartlette.

Bake @ 325^o Farenheit for  25 minutes.

Cool.

Once cool, remove tartlettes from tin.  Makes 2 dozen

If you double the recipe

Crust
 8 oz cream cheese
  2 sticks of margarine
  2 Cups of flour

Filling
 3 eggs
 1 pound brown sugar
 3 Tablespoons margarine
 3 teaspoons vanilla
 2 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Bread pudding crawl for the holidays?

My mother never met a carbohydrate she didn’t like -- her words, not mine.

There were some carbohydrates Mimi liked so much she never made them. Or if she did, she didn’t tell us where they were hiding. Bread pudding was on the top of that list.

Mimi was a stay at home mom who prepared three meals a day for her family. Until I was 8 years old, my Dad came home for lunch. Though my mother spent a good part of each day cooking, she stayed very slim. I once asked her how she did it and she said,  “I fast between feasts”.

I might have been in college the first time I saw a homemade bread pudding on the countertop. When I asked what it was, Mimi explained that her mother always made bread pudding with day old bread. She didn’t follow a recipe, but instead mixed up ingredients on hand, making sure to add lots of raisins.

Here’s a recipe that appeared in the Wellesley Townsman. As you can see “Mimi approves this recipe”. 

If you’re in the mood for something more decadent, Jitterbug’s bread pudding with the rum crème Anglaise sounds delicious. I am sure Mimi would approve.  

Or, if you're in Boston and want to go on a bread pudding crawl, there are lots of restaurants to check out.

 

 

Sour cream banana nut loaf in my sleep

Rum isn’t the only secret recipe ingredient. Another one is sour cream. Mimi and I used to struggle to make banana bread that wasn’t dry…until we found this recipe, originally printed in the Confidential Chat column of the Boston Globe.

 

A few tips from my sister Mary, who bakes delicious desserts:

·        Keep this bread in the oven for a good hour to make sure it is done.

·        Poke the center of the loaf with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, with no batter on it, the loaf is ready to come out of the oven.

A few tips from me:

·         Remember to set the timer.

·         Remember that you are baking something.

·         Do not go out.

·         Do not take a nap, unless you are confident someone else will come home, smell your burning banana loaf and take it out of the oven for you (I was sleeping on the porch the last time this happened).

George Clooney and Rum Balls

My mother loved George Clooney almost as much as she loved rum balls.

Being a pragmatic person, Mimi knew the odds of meeting George were slim. Rum balls on the other hand were at least seasonally accessible.

The most labor intensive part of this recipe is rolling the rum balls. Be sure to make them a few days before you plan to serve them so they can age. The older rum balls get, the better they taste.

This recipe only calls for 2 Tablespoons of cocoa. I have seen other recipes that call for 1 Cup of cocoa, but they are too chocolately for me.

If you are making a double batch, use 2 12oz. boxes of Vanilla Wafers.

You could mix the vanilla wafers the day before, cover with plastic wrap overnight, and roll the rum balls in powdered sugar the next day.

YIELD: Not as many as you'd like.

Rum balls -- invite a friend to roll them out with you, especially if you are making a double batch

Crush the vanilla wafers in a food processor or Kitchen Aide mixer. If you don’t have a food processor, in batches, put the vanilla wafers in a zipped plastic bag and crush them rolling a rolling pin back and forth over the contents of the bag (use freezer bags if you have them).

Use a melon scoop to scoop out the rum ball dough.. it will help keep you from making the rum balls too large.

When you have finished rolling out your cookies, be sure to store the rum balls properly so they don't dry out.

Substitutions

Substitute any dry cookie for the vanilla wafers including graham crackers or shortbread cookies. Better yet, if you are ambitious, try baking vanilla wafers from scratch. 

To make non-alcoholic rum balls, substitute vanilla extract, apple or orange juice for the rum.

Instead of sprinkling confectioner’s sugar on your entire batch of rum balls, roll half the dough in pulverized pecans or walnuts. Or roll them in crystallized sugar, ideally without any food coloring since some people are allergic to artificial food coloring.

Vegan Rum Balls
For an alternative to the traditional rum ball recipe here's a recipe for Vegan Rum Balls with cashews, raisins and Medjool dates. Yum!

Cherry Cordial Rum Balls
You could also make Chocolate Cherry Cordial rumballs.

Sunday Dinner on Halcyon Road

Today I renamed my blog....

 

I named my blog On Halcyon Road for lots of reasons. First, because I love old, dated words. Though halcyon isn't yet an entry in the Dictionary of Lost Words, it must be on the waiting list. 

 

Second, halcyon is a romantic word that brings back wonderful memories of my Irish American grandparents who lived on Halcyon Road. Here's a picture of my grandparents as I remember them. They are standing in front of the church where my parents were married.

 

I can still hear my Dad talking about Halcyon Road. My mother maintained that Duff (her nickname for him) sounded like a character straight out of a Damon Runyon novel. When my dad talked about his parents, instead of calling them by their names he'd refer to their house -- "I spoke to Halcyon Road today”. Turns out, halcyon means tranquil and free from disturbance or care, a definition that perfectly suits my memories of those days.

My grandmother, Ann Walsh Duffy, was a wonderful cook who kept a beautiful house, as they used to say. Every Sunday, Gram and Gramp invited their children over for dinner with their families. We’d all arrive in the early afternoon, soon after noon Mass, still wearing our “Sunday clothes”. The house would smell wonderful. There was usually lamb or beef roasting in oven.

Thanks to Gram -- and Mark Bittman -- I’ve learned how to cook and serve a delicious Roast Lamb. Following Mark's simple instructions, the lamb is always cooked perfectly. To make sure the roast isn't overcooked, I always (alright, not always. Mostly my husband Matthew does this) take the lamb out of the oven “when it reaches 130 for medium rare (125 for very rare) in its thickest part (check it in several places)”.

 

Auntie Louise & Sophia Loren make lasagna

My mother's grandfather, Nuno (Giuseppe Buccelli), was born outside of Naples in Mirabella. Nuno emigrated to America when he was around 17 years old. Nuno had 5 brothers. Several of Nuno's brothers came to America as well, but at least 1 remained in Italy. After Nuno's first wife (Mimi's grandmother) passed away, Nuno married Nana, who Mimi dearly loved.

Mimi and Duff with Nana and Nuno

When Nuno's youngest daughter was born, he named her Louise Helena in honor of Queen Helena, the Queen of Italy (1900 to 1946).

Making gravy with Auntie Louise.

When my mother was young, she and Aunt Louise spent a lot of time together. As I was growing up, I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with Aunt Louise as well. She was a lot of fun.

 

Duff once asked me why, wherever we went, Aunt Louise was always there. I remember asking him, "Why wouldn't Aunt Louise be there? She is one of your wife's closest relatives!" Lowering his head and looking at me over the top of his glasses Duff then said, "But she doesn't drive".

 

Aunt Louise was an exceptional cook. In this picture, we're making sauce, or "gravy", at my apartment.  

Louise always bought the freshest, highest quality ingredients to make her "recipes". Everything was made from scratch, including the pasta dough. Making the dough was a daylong project.  Louise would take handfuls of flour and make a flour mound with a well in the middle. One by one, she would drop a large egg yolk into the well, gradually incorporating the flour with the eggs, using her hands. By the time the last egg was added, the flour would be mixed with the dough --  and the entire kitchen would be covered in a light dusting of flour. 

 

Aunt Louise never wrote any of her recipes down. Years ago I found a cookbook, written by Sophia Loren, that is full of recipes that remind me of Aunt Louise's cooking.  Italian cooking is regional. Sophia grew up in the same part of Italy, in Pozzuoli, a small city outside of Naples. In her cookbook, Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories cookbook, Sophia writes:

"Learn the rules of the kitchen well by doing. For the true cook is born when, having assimilated the rules, he or she begins to improvise, to move among the ingredients with a sense of freedom and imagination. Don't be a slave to recipes, to weights and measures, but let your convictions, and above all, love, guide you. In other words, you must be convinced that cooking is an act of love, a gift, a way of sharing with others the little secrets - piccoli segreti - that are simmering on the burners."

Although Sophia may have hired a talented ghost writer to write these words, I recognize the sentiment -- cooking as an act of love and a gift --  it's something that was shared by my Aunt Louise and all the other wonderful cooks I've known throughout the years.

Here's Sofia's recipe for pasta dough:

Fresh Pasta Dough

4 Cups all purpose flour

6 large egg yolks

salt

Note: Use flour milled with hard wheat. Pasta made from other types of wheat becomes mushy and limp when cooked and sometimes cooks unevenly.

1. Make a mound of flour on a work surface. Make a well in the center and drop egg yolks in, one at a time, gradually incorporating the flour. Add a pinch of salt. By the time the final egg has been added, all or almost all the flour should have been incorporated.
2. Flour your hands and knead the dough until a smooth solid, uniform mass is formed. Maintain a steady rythym and be patient; the process may take 15 to 20 minutes depending on the pressure you exert and other conditions, including weather. If the dough seems too moist, add a bit of flour. Or, if it is too dry, add a tablespoon of water.
3. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. Place the dough on a floured table and knead it again for a few minutes. Divide the dough into two pieces and, using your hands, stretch it a bit. You can then use a rolling pin to roll it out to the appropriate thickness for the type of pasta you will be making. Or you can use a pasta machine, preferably a manual one.
4. If you are using a pasta machine, pass the dough through the widest setting 10 or 12 times. Then, beginning again with the widest, continue to pass the dough through, narrowing the setting each time. Finally, cut the pasta into the desired shape on the machine or by hand.

Storing your noodles

To roll out her “noodles”, Aunt Louise had a cast iron pasta maker that screwed onto the side of her kitchen table like a carpenter's vise.  Once she rolled out her noodles to the desired thickness, she would gently place them in Filene's dress boxes lined with waxed paper. The dress boxes were kept in the refrigerator. Whenever she came to visit us, Aunt Louise always walked in the door with Filene's boxes full of pasta. and her delicious cookies. If she arrived without any noodles, or for an extended visit, her cast iron pasta maker would be crooked under her arm like a favorite handbag.

Baked Lasagna

Here's Aunt Louise's baked lasagna recipe. It's very rich. The tomato sauce or “gravy” as Louise always called it, is a Ragu alla Napoletana.

This recipe is very heavy...literally. You’ll need a pretty big lasagna pan. When my sister Mary got married, Aunt Louise gave her an industrial lasagna pan that was so big it didn't fit in Mary's oven. 

In front of the cooktop in my mother's kitchen with Aunt Louise and my sister Mary

 Here's Mimi's recipe for sauce:

Tomato Meat Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (or more!)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• handful of fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 pound of beef and pork (which may be substituted with 1 pound of Italian chicken sausages)
• 1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes (I like to use Muir Glen fire roasted)
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 cup good red wine
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of sugar (to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp chopped basil
• 1 bay leaf

Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add meat, garlic, onion, parsley, and brown slowly. Stir to prevent burning. Remove garlic when brown. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, add tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper and sugar, and simmer for 1 hour. Add basil and cook a few minutes longer. If sauce becomes too thick while simmering add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.

If the thought of making lasagna is too overwhelming (yes), or just too rich (yes, but I don't care), as an alternative you could make Sophia Loren's Baked Pasta with your Tomato Meat Sauce.

Wellesley Coffee Cake

Here’s a recipe for Wellesley Coffee Cake from Mary Bevilacqua. This coffee cake is delicious. After you bake it, let it cool and, if you plan to give it away, wrap it in plastic wrap and cover it with aluminum foil.

Mary started the Wellesley Cookie Exchange 30 years ago, inviting friends and neighbors to her house in December to celebrate the holidays and trade cookies and baked goods. I've included a link to an article that appeared in Yankee magazine a few years back that describes the Cookie Exchange and includes a few recipes. There's one for a Pistachio Cranberry Ice Box Cookie that I'd like to try.

Icebox cookie dough is made ahead of time and frozen or refrigerated until it's time to make the cookies. Ice box cookies are perfect for me since making the dough is enough of a baking enterprise for one day.

There's a site called WiseGEEK which has some interesting cookie information, including substitutions to make cookies "healthier".

 

What's for dinner?

In this photo, Mimi and I are relaxing and reading newspapers -- an obsessive family pastime. I know it’s after dinner because I am wearing my pajamas. We are waiting for my dad to come home from work....or maybe not. My dad may have taken this picture.

Relaxing with the newspapers after dinner

When we were very small, my mother would prepare an early meal for my sister, my brother and me. After dinner, we’d take our baths and get ready for bed. When my dad came home, we’d spend a little time with him before being tucked in…usually by 7:00 p.m. My parents would then have a quiet dinner together. My mother continued this tradition as long as she could get away with it.

With three children, my mother had very little time for cooking. She planned her meals ahead of time, choosing ingredients that were in season and reasonably priced.  Her meals were easy to prepare, tasty, and always made the kitchen smell wonderful. If she was running late (something that happened often), Mimi was not adverse to putting an onion in the oven so that it the house would at least smell like something good was cooking in the oven. 

 

One of Mimi's "old favorite" chicken recipes still appears on the Campbells Kitchen website. It's now called Campbells Tasty 2-StepChicken. It's a great standby recipe when you are in a rush to get dinner on the table. The sauce is very creamy. You can add white wine or milk to the soup.

Here's a chicken recipe that was in the Seattle Times that I'd like to try. This Spiced Chicken recipe is from a book called “Gourmet Today”.

 

 

 

Turkey tetrazzini and fruitcake

Although I was originally going to write about turkey leftovers, instead of posting a recipe for turkey tetrazzini, I'm writing about fruitcake.

Here's a wonderful recipe from my friend Lisa Dobbs. This is her mother's recipe, which she believes is from the makers of None Such mincemeat. Ideally it's best to make fruitcakes several weeks before you plan to serve them or give them away as gifts.

Mom's Fruitcake

• 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 2/3 cups (28 oz.) jar mince meat
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups (1 lb) jar mixed, candied fruit
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 

1. Butter a spring form or 9" tube pan.
2. Sift flour and soda.
3. Combine eggs, mincemeat and condensed milk, fruit and nuts.
4. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into pan.
5. Bake in 350 oven (or slower) for 2 hours or until center springs back when touched and top in golden. Cool. Turn out.
6. To keep: wrap in cheesecloth soaked with run, then wrap in aluminum foil, then store in a plastic bag. Keep in fridge.

Instead of making a full size fruitcake, you can make mini fruitcakes in little loaf time tins (approx 6" x 3"). Wrap them up and give them to your fruitcake and rum loving friends. 

Each Christmas Mimi baked 12 mini fruit cakes, wrapping each one in aluminum foil and tying ribbons around each little cake. She also baked 1 pound fruitcakes in loaf pans for the neighbors next door, as well as a 2 pound fruitcake to mail to my Aunt Wyn in Chicago. She might have made one for the "family" too (aka Mimi, the biggest fruitcake lover of all).

A recipe for Light Old Fashioned Fruitcake from Mimi's cookbook.

The Trappist Monks make a beautiful 2-pound Assumption Abbey Trappist 2# Rum Fruitcake. Not too long ago, I ordered fruitcakes from the Trappists and had them shipped to Mimi and a few friends for Christmas. Mimi called to thank me when her fruitcakes arrived, saying it was going to take her a while to eat all of them. By mistake, the monks had shipped her the entire order.