A Thanksgiving Appetizer Surprise....MrMartha's Cheese Turkeys!

MrMartha was trying to come up with a fantastic and unexpected little appetizer tidbit to take along to a Thanksgiving gathering. Being that MrMartha was not cooking and serving the full dinner, it seemed appropriate to lavish a little attention on the process, and come up with something fun. In 60s cocktail speak, what would be called a "clever hors' d oeuvre" -- which one would nibble with a "smart cocktail".

These little gems have a very retro feel to them....in one sense they seem to have stepped out of Better Homes and Gardens circa 1967, but at the same time, they are guaranteed to be unexpected and totally charming.

The recipe is simple and tasty, the wafers can be baked more simply as rounds -- but forming the little turkeys, and seeing the looks on peoples faces as they examine them, is more than worth the little bit of extra work in preparation.

Read more for the recipe, and to see just how simple the process really is.

Cheese Wafer Turkeys

3/4 cup Butter
1-2 cups Grated Cheese (see note)
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Dry Mustard (prepared dijon or brown mustard can be substituted)
1 tsp Salt
Dashes of Tabasco or Hot Sauce

Note about Cheese. Traditionally these are made with sharp cheddar cheese, you can get a different result by using a swiss or a pepper cheese, or Parmesan always works too.
Grate the cheese a couple hours ahead, spread on a sheet and leave to air dry for a few hours.
Use the lesser cheese amount for a firmer "shortbread" cracker.
Use more cheese to get a softer texture.

In a food processor, place the flour and half the cheese, process in small short bursts, until cheese is very finely chopped. Add the rest of the cheese and continue to process until incorporated. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the butter, and process till well combined.

For Wafers, form into logs with half dollar width, wrap in waxed paper and chill or freeze-- until slicing before baking.

For Turkeys, place dough into cookie press with "camel" disc, and make 2 dozen camel forms. Switch to "wreath" disc, and press out a dozen wreath forms. CAREFULLY lift up one half of each wreath form, and place against camel to form tail feathers.

Sprinkle before baking with grated Parmesan Cheese, Kosher Salt, cracked pepper, finely crushed parsley, or herbs. Use just one, or a combination.

Bake on a very VERY lightly greased baking sheet at 375 degrees, until lightly browned -- may be baked longer, until darker brown and crispy, if that is what you prefer.

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Adventures in Homemade Pectin

Contrary to popular conception (which MrMartha most heartily encourages), not everything MrMartha does is a raving success (at least not the first time).

An example of MrMartha
"learning by doing" -- and not quite succeeding the first time around --happened with a certain, now infamous, chocolate mousse filled cake.
The fact that one cannot rush the final assembly process resulted in near disaster.
The importance of inter-step refrigeration was learned as MrMartha watched the whole cake structure slide into a precarious angle -- While being transported by car.
Quick action involving a fast food chopstick from the glovebox saved it. Luckily, it still tasted wonderful, even if it will be forever known by the guests attending that dinner party as The Leaning Tower of Cake.

Please pardon MrMartha, as he has digressed off topic.

The most recent learning experiment has been with homemade pectin.
MrMartha loves to preserve, and there is just nothing like homemade jam from perfect fruit....so why wouldn't it be even better (and less expensive) with homemade pectin? A noble thought AND a quest.

MrMartha has only one word for you. Unpredictability.

The pectin extraction process is both easy and somewhat miraculous, with a tiny bit of high school chemistry thrown in. Unlike packaged commercial pectin, however, you cant be quite sure how it will behave, and how your recipe will work. The main thing seems to come down to how long to boil in order for it to jell, but not to turn into something in between a rubber ball, and the worlds firmest aspic.

Read More for some details of MrMartha's exciting adventures with pectin, and you too may want to learn the delights of this archaic but fascinating process.


The extraction process is very simple:

Cut up your desired quantity of unripe green apples,
Place in a large kettle with just enough water to barely cover.

Cook slowly for several hours, till the mixture disintegrates into a watery applesauce mess, with skins and seeds floating in it. MrMartha has been cooking the mixture for about 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally but regularly, with good result.

Strain the resulting mass into cloth lined colander set over a clean bucket or tub.
Add a bit of lemon juice to keep from darkening.
Let the pulp drain overnight, but do not squeeze or press on the solids.

Check the pectin for jell by putting a Tablespoon full of the liquid into a cup of rubbing alcohol.
The resulting mixture should mound up and stay on the end of a fork when pulled up out of the alcohol. Discard your test sample.

If it seems too loose, boil it down by 20% or so, to reduce volume.

Place the pectin into clean jars or freezer containers and refrigerate or freeze till needed.


More information about the science, and additional detailed instructions can be found at these two great links:
Organic Gardening, homemade pectin article

Wildflowers & Weeds, homemade pectin article

MrMartha's follow up post, which will be published soon, will cover how the homemade pectin behaves -- and what MrMartha is discovering are the keys to its successful use. Check back if you want to learn more....plan to go pick some green apples next spring, and try it yourself!

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MrMartha's AWESOME Raspberry Thumbprint Butter Cookies

This is one of MrMartha's most popular holiday cookies....friends wait all year to savor these incredible morsels. The dough recipe is only 4 ingredients, and while they take a little time to shape and finish, they are well worth the effort.

The keys to success:
** USE ONLY real butter -- these cookies are so simple, that using good real butter is critical to making the best cookie.
** Use strained or seedless raspberry jam -- you don't want a bunch of seeds ruining the look of the finished cookie.
** If the first batch of cookies seems to spread too much during baking, pop the cookies into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes, on their baking sheets, before they go into the oven -- and lower your oven temperature 25 degrees.
** The recipe doubles easily (or even triples if you have a heavy duty mixer with large bowl) -- so make lots!
** MrMartha likes these to have a strong almond flavor, so usually doubles the almond extract amount of the original recipe.

Read More for the easy Recipe, additional photos, and detailed preparation and baking directions.

RECIPE:

2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Almond Extract (or more to taste)
2 Cups All Purpose Flour

Raspberry Jam for filling, and melted White Chocolate or simple glaze for topping.

Cream together Sugar and Butter with the Almond Extract, at medium speed, till light and fluffy - a couple of minutes.
Stir in flour with mixer on low speed, until well combined, with uniform texture -- do not overmix.

To prepare in advance for baking later:
On a waxed paper lined baking sheet, pat the dough out until it is uniform thickness of approximately 3/4".
Use a bench scraper, spatula edge, or knife to score the dough into 3/4" squares, so that you end up with uniform cubes of dough.
Place the whole sheet into the freezer until solidly frozen. Transfer the dough cubes to ziplock bags, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To complete the cookies:
Thaw the frozen dough until it softens and is pliable.
Take each cube of dough and roll between palms into a ball shape.
Arrange the balls on an ungreased baking sheet with approx 2" spacing between the balls of dough.
Use your thumb, index finger, or some sort of blunt, round end tool, to make an indentation in the top of each cookie.

Place approx 1/2 cup of Raspberry jam into a small ziplock bag, and seal. Cut a small corner off the bag, and squeeze a small dollop of jam into the imprint of each cookie. It doesn't take much -- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per cookie. If you have any concerns about how much jam to use, bake a couple of test cookies with varied amounts of jam.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies should barely color with just a tinge of golden tone, they should not have much color, and they should not be overbaked.

Allow to cool slightly on the sheet, and then transfer to waxed paper or wire racks to cool.

Melt 1/2 bag of white chocolate chips, slowly (30 second increments in the microwave), stirring between each heating until just smooth. Place the melted chocolate in another ziplock bag, cut off a tiny corner, and add a squiggle of the white chocolate to the top of each cookie.
If you prefer, a simple powdered sugar glaze can be drizzled on instead.

Store the cookies in airtight containers, stacked in single layers with waxed paper in between each layer. These will keep perfectly and taste just baked for about 10 days. They are certainly still good after a couple weeks...if there are any left!!

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Conception Classique de Mode de la Semaine

MrMartha offers up some vintage fashion confections with a double shot of pink today.

The mid fifites were really the apex of giant ballgowns, and these two sumptuous designs certainly illustrate that particular point in all of its voluminous lushness.

The strapless gown with the twisted bodice detailing is reminiscent of many gowns worn in sophisticated 50's comedies, but something about it just screams "There's No Business Like Show Business" and the image of Ethel Merman shoehorned into it.

The gown with the off the shoulder ruched detailing is strongly reminiscent of something Audrey Hepburn could have worn in "Roman Holiday" and every inch the princess she would have been!



Viewed together the designs have stepped right out of another Audrey Hepburn movie, "Funny Face" -- and the fabulous Think Pink montage which ends with models in giant pink ballgowns twirling around amid confetti to song lyrics:
"Go out dancing, but just remember one thing....
you can get a little wink
if you got a little pink
In your swing....."

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Baking Incredible Holiday Cookies... without losing your mind....Just Dough It

Is it the same for you every holiday season....you wish you had baked some awesome cookies, but you just didn't get around to it?
How nice it would be to take a lovely tray of indulgent delights into the office, or effortlessly produce a plate of flawless little confections when a friend stops for a cup of coffee. (or a demitasse of espresso as the case may be.)

Are you that person who never quite gets around to that concentrated flurry of baking....despite all your good intentions?
Well, Are You?

It's ok, MrMartha understands, and would like to provide some simple tips....so you CAN be that other person -- who does bake!

MrMartha has a rather checkered, if proud, history of baking nearly 1000 cookies each holiday season...and not just any cookies mind you, but artful little tidbits -- that always inspire a careful once over with the eyes, before being popped into the mouth. MrMartha doesn't expect you to bake 1000 cookies....well not this year anyway....

But truth be told, it will be very simple for you to have 4 or 5 varieties of very nice cookies on hand through the holiday season, and they ship beautifully --MrMartha packs and ships plates of cookies perfectly all over the country, and the recipients are just thrilled. Plus, it's always so nice to give or share something that we have put ourselves into.


THE OVERALL PLAN:
MrMartha will be posting favorite cookie dough recipes a couple times a week through the holidays.

Take one or two nights a week, and give yourself a half hour after dinner to put together a batch or two of dough, portion it, and then get it into the freezer.

Pick a Saturday or Sunday a week or two before Christmas, or take one of those vacation days you still need to use, invite a friend over to assist, and bake all of your premade doughs production line style. Separation between the dough prep and the baking makes the whole process so SO much simpler and easier....and is certainly time saving as well as sanity saving.

TO DO IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS:
Get your basic supplies on hand....
Grocery stores will be having pre thanksgiving sales on most baking staples, so make sure you have at least 10 lbs of Flour and Sugar, Several pounds of butter (MrMartha does prefer to bake with real butter...not just for flavor, but for texture -- but you can always use have butter and half good margarine or high quality shortening.)
Get some good Vanilla, and make sure Baking Powder and Soda, are in stock.
Watch for Chocolate (white and semisweet) Chips, and nuts on sale, and stock up when you see excellent prices. Its best not to skimp on the chocolate, but any of the good national brands work fine.
You may also want to have some Almond Extract, Raspberry Jam, Cocoa Power.

KEEP CHECKING BACK.....MrMartha will walk you through this and you will astound yourself!

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