This month flew past. I had a really bad case of writers block or was it just not wanting to write in general? Either way there hasn't been a post since Thanksgiving...oops. A lot has happened. Arielle has forgotten her job documenting her various food adventures. There was definitely a batch of blueberry muffins with lemon icing, but she said the texture was all wrong and she didn't take pictures or have a recipe for me. She also said they tasted fine and the icing was "on the spot" but I guess we have to wait for a recipe! <Sad Face> I attempted a new thing with kale. It was almost successful, but missed and was merely ok. I sauteed some kale down with horseradish and some salt with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It was ok. Nothing to write home about.
It smelled and looked more enticing than it actually tasted. The flavor fell flat...anyone have any suggestions?
That same night I put grapes with some of our home made Italian sausage. It was interesting; the sweet with the salty was surprisingly pleasant on the palate if I do say so myself. Just take your favorite Italian sausage out the casing and fry it up in a oven safe pan. Throw in the grapes and heat in the oven till the grapes start to get tender.
As you may remember from a post a while back about gluten free artichoke things I made, I cook for my celiac Aunt and cousin. For Thanksgiving I made them a loaf of gluten free challah bread because they were going to see their Jewish Grandmother and were attempting to be polite by bringing their own bread. Well they told me I did a good job. I was quite impressed with my mad cooking skills that I could make bread, gluten free mind you, and make it taste like the real thing. Was patting my own back for days. I don't know what I did with the recipe though. I'll have to find it. I think it's in the abyss, aka my vehicle. It's my adapted version of the Gluten Free Gourmet bakes bread recipe though. So if you have her book there you go. Next post should have the recipe. If not, please yell at me for it! 
I also started making the family "secret recipe" fig cookies. No really, I can't share it with you, but Arielle and I can sell you some cookies if you like. There are a million different recipes for this cookie. Each nuanced to a specific area or family. Mine is different than any I've seen in one way or another, and our dough is getting better and better every year. Many Italian fig cookies I find in the store or bakery have too much dough that is hard and flavorless. How do these people profit off these tasteless dry cookies!? It baffles me...anyway, I started the fig filling at the end of October and let it marinate till 2 weeks ago in a bottle of brandy. It was the first time I made the filling and I am proud to say, the family approves. Yes, these overly critical, food snob people I came from actually liked my fig cakes. This must be my month for cooking. I swear. The other cookies on the plate are cardamom crescents. If you touch these cookies their beautiful powdered sugar outside melts ways or latches on to your fingers and the cookies never really look as pretty as they did when you first applied the sugar. But THEY TASTED AMAZING! All my dad could gripe about was how dry they were, but they are supposed to be dry. They are tea cakes, basically!
The cardamom crescents:
2 cups flour
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup chopped almonds or pecans
1 cup butter
1 tbsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour, spices, nuts, and salt together in a large bowl. Cream butter and vanilla and blend in sugar. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Form crescents with hands and bake till golden ~15minutes.
Today I made chocolate chip cookies to send to my brother in Okinawa. Hopefully they make it to him in a month. We're going to vacuum pack them in hopes that they will stay fresh. We just sent him a pack of my dad's home made beef jerky and there may have even been some venison jerky in the mix. If we're lucky, I'll be able to share that recipe too. If not, you can order some when you order your fig cakes. ;). For the cookies my mom and I have been using a friend's recipe for years. Tristin Wellmeyer's dad, Danny, made the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I swear these things were the size of my head when I was a kid and they tasted amazing. We really have made them almost every year (except a few years after Katrina) and every one loves them. Move over best chocolate chip cookies according to the New York times, Danny's cookies are so good! See our facebook page for pics!
Stay tuned...Arielle is hopefully making pralines sometime in the near future...Happy Christmas!
