Christmas Leftovers

Before I get a rash of panicked e-mails, pointing out to me that Christmas was, in fact, four months ago, and that I may be endangering my household by feeding them whatever it is I've found at the back of my fridge, don't worry. It's not turkey or stuffing or evil stuffing made inside turkey that is sure to kill you because is harbours salmonella or E. coli or something else.

And it's not fruitcake.  With God as my witness, it's not fruitcake.

It's glace cherries. I firmly believe that glace cherries are half the reason that fruitcake lasts as long as it does. These things never go bad. They may not be good, but they never go bad.

And right now, they are using up space in my second fridge.  So they need to go.

When my mother and I used to go to market, there was always a bakery inside that sold some of the most amazing cookies.  The 'fruit cookies' were one of my two favourites and I would always beg my mother to buy them.  Turns out they were an ice box cookie.

This is the recipe.  Ice box cookies harken back to the days of drop in company.  The block of ice that kept the new fangled refrigerator cold would keep these cookies in a semi-prepared state and enable the hostess to prepare them with only a few moments notice.  No bagged cookies here, folks.

Sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla into the bowl.  Please note, egg and vanilla were absent for this class photo.

Beat them all together until the mixture turns light yellow and everything is well incorporated.

Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and give them a gentle wisk.  Back in the day of housedresses and heels, you would have probably used a sifter for this purpose.

With the mixer running, gently and gradually add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Now, for the cherries.  Depending on what type you've purchase and have hanging around, you may or may not need to chop them up.  I usually take the middle of the road approach and buy the mixed, whole and broken, cherries.  If you have broken or chopped cherries, you are already ahead of the game.

Since my goal here was to use up the cherries on hand, I probably used more cherries than the recipe technically called for.

Everybody, in the pool!

Avoid the serious temptation to just eat the entire bowl right now.

For once, a well floured surface is not a requirement.  Looks like I have one anyways.

Take the dough and divide it onto three pieces of wax paper or parchment or plastic wrap, like so.  Form it into an approximately 8" long log.  If you wanted a bigger diameter cookie, make a shorter log.

Wrap the paper or plastic tightly around the log, kind of like rolling sushi.  I've never actually rolled sushi, but I've seen it done on TV.

Twist the ends up like a giant Tootsie roll and you're pretty much set for now.

Put them all in a resealable bag.  I keep mine in the freezer.  The recipe says these will last in the fridge for 3 days or 3 weeks in the freezer.  I'd bet that, well packaged, they'd last longer in the freezer.

When you bring a log out of the freezer, let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes or so to thaw a little and make unwrapping and slicing easier.  Slice them about 1/4" thick and lay them out on parchment or a greased cookie sheet.  They won't spread or rise, so they can sit a little closer together than a regular drop cookie.

These bake up really fast - about 10 minutes in a 375 F oven.  You'll know they are done when they no longer look wet and the edges are slightly brown.

Let them cool entirely before placing them in an airtight container.  Theoretically, they will last five days like that.  You can also freeze them at this point.  Because they are so thin, make sure they are tightly packed in a sturdy container so they don't break.

I have also seen chopped nuts added to these.  Adjust the amount of cherries/nuts to total no more than one cup. 

This recipe makes a whomp load of cookies. One log yielded 30 cookies.  Definitely a recipe to keep on hand for unexpected guests, trips down memory lane, or to clean up the Christmas leftovers. 1. 2.

Christmas Leftovers

3.

NoodleHead

Many a night, Goose and I need to eat something after the wee ones are in bed.  Popcorn gets old and isn't actually filling in the long run.  Chips and dip will fill you both up and out.  Nachos and homemade salsa are fantastic, but after a while I fear I may begin looking like a nacho.  One day, after just such a dilemma, again, I stumbled upon a few recipes for Asian Sesame Peanut Noodles, or some variant thereof, and created this little number.

You will need a few simple pantry ingredients.  Before starting the sauce, get a big ol' pot of water boiling.  But don't watch the pot, it will never boil that way.  Make the sauce instead.

Break out your favourite sunflower bowl and plop in some crunchy peanut butter.  How much you add is dependent upon how much you like peanut butter, whether or not the full moon is in its third house, and whether or not you need to use up that particular jar.

Throw in a few other tasty ingredients:  rice wine vinegar, low sodium soy sauce, and sesame oil.

Give it a good wisk about.  You can also cheat a little and add an Asian Sesame salad dressing to the mix.  At this point, it may be a little thick.  This mixture is.  Add a splash of water and stir thoroughly.  You want it runny enough to coat the noodles easily.  This is more of a spread on your morning toast consistency and won't do at all.

Now, for these little gems.  Whole water chestnuts.  Often sold in the Asian foods aisle.  Drain them off.

Divide them into the serving bowls like so.  They will warm up enough once the hot noodles are tossed on top.

Now, young samurai, for the noodles.  For years, I passed these little babies by while cruising through the grocery store.  Well, no more!  Each package of 3 minute chow mein noodles contains about 8 of these little sheafs.  Or at least, that's what I call them.  They remind me of hay sheafs.  You know the plate-like sections of hay that are packed together and tied into a bale?  No?  Are my roots showing again?  Sheesh

Anyways, 4 of these sections make a full meal for Goose and I.  That's two full meals per 99 cent package.  Not bad at all.

Boil them as per the package directions.  Mine all say 3 minutes.  No more, no less.  Not following directions would generally mean the noodle Nazis come for you.  And no one wants that, now do they?

On a semi-serious note, it is important to cook these long enough, but not too long.  Leave the crunch to the nuts and the water chestnuts.

Add them to the bowls and give them a good toss.  This will evenly coat them with the delicious sesame, peanuty sauce.

I like sesame seeds added on top.

Goose prefers a little heat, usually in the form of hot chili flakes.

If you'd like to up the protein quotient, feel free to toss into some shrimp.  I add mine into the boiling noodle water for the last 30 seconds or so, just long enough to heat them through.  If you want to get all fancy pants and use raw shrimp, I'd suggest boil them in the water after you remove the noodles, to ensure they are properly cooked and the noodles don't get overdone.

And there, voila!  A tasty, healthy supper in 15 minutes or less.  Now excuse me, I think I hear Ms. Ray calling...

1. 2.

NoodleHead

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