Tis the Season for Spiced pecans

This is a tradition I have inherited from my mother-in-law. Every December I find myself up to my elbows in deliciously gooey pecans. I love the sound they make when I turn them in the oven and the way they make my house smell; they are as much a part of Christmas as trimming the tree. They also make wonderful gifts and we give pounds and pounds away each year. Enjoy.


Joann's Spiced Pecans

1 lb shelled pecans
2 egg whites
2 tsp cold water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp all spice

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease cookie sheet. Beat egg whites and water in a large bowl until frothy and toss with pecans. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Stir until well-coated. Spread pecans onto cookie sheet and bake for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.

My Five Favorite Local Christmas Events

These are ranked in no particular order. All are activities that we have enjoyed over the past several years.

1. Christkindlmarkt - Bethlehem, PA

2. Kozier's Christmas Village - Bernville, PA

3. A Longwood Gardens Christmas - Kennett Square, PA

4. A Dickens of a Christmas - Manheim, PA

5. Christmas Light Show (used to be the Wanamaker's Light Show) - Philadelphia, PA

Happy holidays everyone!

Quick Thanksgiving Follow Up

I have been too busy to sit down and review our holiday meal and now it seems a distant memory. I'll so my best, however. Everything came out wonderfully except the ice cream (still tasted good, just never solidified, probably due to too many Cranberry Mistos). Jamie really had something special going on with the crunchy mashed potatoes, a new idea of his. These are for those who like a rustic mashed potato, not those super whipped, smooth concoctions. We left the skin on most of the potatoes but took long scrapping of it off several. Jamie then fried the skins and some large chunks of garlic, all of which she stirred into the potatoes. I have long loved garlic mashed potatoes but never was able to make them garlicky enough. Frying the garlic before hand left every bite of the potatoes full of flavor. I was very pleased and, as always, impressed by my husband's creativity in the kitchen.

Jamie made a turkey stock that night which he turned into a turkey and rice soup the next day. Way more satisfying, to my way of thinking, than the ubiquitous turkey sandwich. I think we created some new and worthwhile traditions this year.

Thanksgiving

So we're at my sister-in-law's house cooking away and I thought it would be fun to take a break and brag about our meal. Jamie, as always, is in charge of the turkey. This year we got an organic, free range bird from Westtown Meats on 202. He's basting it right now and it is soooo pretty. Brined since Wednesday morning in a solution flavored with orange juice, brown sugar, and onion, he massaged the bird with an herbed butter mixture which he stuffed under the skin along with orange slices and rosemary sprigs. It smells wonderful.

For appetizers, we have already consumed some rosemary spiced cashews, a chunk of raw milk manchego(from Wegmanns)with brown honey sauce on top, and three rounds of cranberry misto cosmos. All the recipes for these very yummy items came from the foodnetwork.com holiday section.

Our turkey will be accompanied by some pear and cranberry chutney (made by me - a family favorite), "not your mama's green bean casserole" (courtesy of Alton Brown, also via foodnetwork.com), artichoke and spinach stuffing, roasted tuber salad (another Jamie specialty), crunchy mashed potatoes, and homemade gravy. For desert there is a caramel apple pie, a pumpkin pie, and a apple crumble torte (also from Wegmann's). My sister-in-law is making the vanilla ice cream right now and the scent of fresh vanilla bean just penetrating over the turkey is divine. We also have mulled wine and hot cider to drink.

So I'm ready to chow down. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'll recount the highlights of this meal in my next post.