Christmas: on the twelth night!

I am so sorry ... I forgot to post what we did on the 12th night (officially Epiphany, unless you live in the US, then the bishops have decided it isn't ...)

Anyway, here is the 12th night bread we made for this occasion and it is the BEST of the breads we've made like this:

Twelfth Night Bread: we got this recipe from Catholic Culture's website:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2-2 cups flour
2 egg yolks
unsalted butter, melted
confectioners' sugar

Filling: cinnamon sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup chopped mixed candied fruit

DIRECTIONS
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter to warm (105-115 degrees).
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, milk mixture, yeast mixture, and egg yolks in mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth - about 10 minutes.
4. Place in greased bowl, turning to coat top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double - about 1 hour.
5. Punch down dough. Roll into rectangle 12 x 14 inches.
6. Spread with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and with nuts and candied fruit.
7. Roll dough into rope about 11/2 inches across. Shape into a ring and seal ends together. Place on greased baking sheet.
8. Brush with melted butter. Cover; let rise again until almost double - about 45-60 minutes.
9. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 30-45 minutes or until done.
10. Cool on wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

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I'm thinking this would work with any kind of filling -- and we'll try it tomorrow with diced apples and raisins and a bit of spice for an "ordinary" bread ....

I always get so sad when Epiphany comes around ... more so when Baptism of the Lord occurs ... as it means we have to put away the Christmas dishes, glasses, linenes and decorations and switch to "ordinary time" ... when our lives are always so far from ordinary!

Blessings to you all ... and do try this recipe for ANY occasion ... the dough is so good!

Christmas: on the first day of Christmas ...

... my true love gave to me: a spectacular home-cooked meal that he then cleaned up! I love being married to a man who not only cooks amazingly, but is also home for two weeks at Christmas and we REALLY get into the partying of the season ...

We started Christmas with heading to Midnight Mass last night -- Lego Maniac served and the rest of us behaved so well and had such a wonderful time listening (and joining in) to the Christmas Carols before Mass. What a wonderful way to kick off the season ... even if it was a bit late before everyone settled down (BamBam wanted to open ALL presents when we got home and when we reminded him that Father had said to go to bed first, he declared "I'm going to sleep for 1 minute!" He did sleep till 7:15 a.m., thank goodness.)

Gift opening included:A "fur" collared sweater and matching hat for String Bean

One of those mind-numbing Lego sets for Lego Maniac (1034 pieces which are almost completely made into a Star Wars Republic Attack Ship).

and a full pirate costume for our own little Jeff Gordon!

Breakfast was a glorious Stollen and homemade hot chocolate with homemade mint marshmallows (recipes below).A fantastic start to the Christmas Season was had by all ... even though we sure do miss seeing family today, we're thrilled to have a relaxing day of lego-building, knitting, potholder making, and carpet hockey-playing and then a sumptious feast of filet mignon, Smithfield ham, shrimp, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, hot vegetables, skillet cornbread and salad for a late-lunch/early-dinner Christmas feast!

Recipes:

STOLLEN (http://www.kingarthur.com/) -- make sure you start the night before as stollen's high sugar content, we find you'll make a better loaf by beginning with an overnight sponge. This bubbly mixture of yeast, flour and water is a good base upon which the sugar, milk, and butter-rich stollen can successfully grow.

Sponge:

• 1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temp
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup candied fruit
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted for 15-20 minutes in a 350 oven (just till brown and starting to smell almondy)

Sponge: Combine the flour, water and yeast in a large mixing bowl, stirring till smooth. Let the mixture rest overnight at room temperature.

Dough: Add the flour, butter, egg, milk, sugar, salt, yeast, almond extract, and vanilla to the sponge. Stir to combine, then knead thoroughly, using your hands, an electric mixer, a food processor or a bread machine, till the dough is very smooth and supple. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl (or leave it in the bread machine), cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It probably won't double in bulk, but will become puffy.

While the dough is rising, stir together the candied fruit, raisins, flour and almonds. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly greased work surface. Knead the fruit into the dough till it's well-distributed; a good way to do this is to pat or roll the dough into a rough 12 x 15-inch rectangle, press the fruit and nuts evenly over its surface, then roll it up like a jelly roll, starting with a long edge. Divide the roll into two pieces, shape each piece into a rough 9-inch log, cover the logs, and let them rest for 10 minutes.Pat each log into a 10 x 8-inch oval. The fruit may try to "fall out" of the dough; that's OK, just stick it back in.

Fold each oval lengthwise, bringing one side over the other but leaving a 1-inch gap, as if you were making a Parker House roll (in other words, fold the dough not quite in half). Press the edge of the top half to seal it to the bottom half, tent the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 2 hours, or until it's noticeably puffy.Bake the stollen in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes if it appears to be browning too quickly. The finished loaves should be golden brown, and their internal temperature should register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the stollen from the oven, and rub cold butter on them to cover.Transfer the buttered stollen to a rack to cool completely. When the stollen are cool, dust them heavily with confectioners' sugar. Yield: Two stollen, about 14 servings each

Marshmallows (http://www.marthastewart.com/)

2 envelopes (each 1 scant tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure mint extract or vanilla extract
vegetable-oil cooking spray
red or green food coloring
1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 cup cornstarch combined and used as described below

Directions:
Coat a 13x9 glass dish with cooking spray; then coat with equal parts powdered sugar and cornstarch; set aside. Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle with gelatin; let mixture soften, about 5 minutes. Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover; bring to a boil. Remove lid; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes. With mixer on low speed, whisk gelatin mixture, and slowly pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl (to avoid splattering). Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is thick, white, and has almost tripled in volume, about 12 minutes. Add extract, and beat 30 seconds to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; smooth with an offset spatula. Drop a few drops of red or green food coloring and swirl into marshmallows. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Dust top of marshmallows with equal parts powdered sugar/cornstarch; cut into squares with rotary pizza cutter. Put in gallon ziploc bag or plastic covered container and shake sugar/cornstarch until all sides coated. Store in airtight container for up to one week.

ETA: Homemade Hot Cocoa -- you really need to have the homemade to mix with the mint marshmallows as the pre-packaged cocoa is so darn sweet! This is the recipe Mom made for us for YEARS and it's still as good today ... it's from the Betty Crocker cookbook:

• 2 tbls sugar
• 4 tbls cocoa
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup strong coffee (I added this to the original)
• 5 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I added this to the original)

Mix sugar, cocoa, water and coffee in medium pot and heat over low heat for about 20 minutes (stirring periodically). Add milk and stir till hot -- about 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are melted and combined into cocoa. Serve hot, poured in a coffee mug over a marshmallow. YUM!

We hope that one and all have as wonderful a first day of Christmas as we had! Blessings and prayers go out to you all!

Advent: It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

We love Advent around here ... but we love the Christmas season even more. And our home is beginning to look and feel and smell like Christmas!

Especially during these last days of Advent, we remember the 4 p's: penance, prayer, partying and preparation.

• Penance to atone for our sins that created a world where God had to send his Only Son to save us. We were able to have our adopted chaplain hear our confessions on Wednesday ... always a great thing!
• Prayer for an increase in faith, hope and love during the coming year.
• Partying for the saints whose feast days fall within Advent -- Our Lady of Guadalupe and others -- who help us see the great goodness that exists in our fallen world
• Preparation for the great feasting during the Christmas season -- which for Catholics lasts from Christmas Eve till the Baptism of Jesus (this year, January 11th). Some Catholics even go till the old end of Christmas with February 2nd, the Presentation of Our Lord or "Candlemas" as it used to be called.

And preparation is one of our favorite parts of Advent. When I start doing the Christmas treat making -- especially when I haul out the big roasting pan for my special caramel popcorn -- the kids KNOW Christmas is close.

In this age of everyone working and no one having time for the home arts, a bag of homemade goodies is very appreciated. We love to do this for our friends and family. So, last week we put the baking into high gear so we'd have goodie bags to give on the last day of dh's school before break. We made:

Port Cake (which we made on Stir-up Monday)

Candy-Cane Crisps and Caramel Popcorn

M&M Pretzel Wreaths

English Toffee

Nanna's Swedish Nuts (Kotch's specialty)

Sweet'n'Spicy Nuts (with the "kick" coming from the cayenne pepper!)

Rocky Road Candy

and Spice Gumdrop Cookies

We makes tons of all of these things ... not just for snitching by the kiddoes and dh ... but also so we can give lots of variety to one and all.

On the 17th we also started to celebrate the O Antiphons using our "house" we made last year; Kotch has been cantoring the appropriate antiphon each night (with the rest of us singing the refrain, not even half so well as Kotch does the antiphon!). Thank God for Kotch's singing talents!

On the 4th Sunday of Advent we bring out the Christmas Tree (which we usually buy the first Sunday of Advent but leave outside in water till the 4th Sunday). We bring it in and set it up ... but don't decorate until Christmas Eve. We put out the Nativity set and begin to get out the blankets, kitchen linens and Christmas dishes reserved for this time of year. We start shifting from our Advent music to Christmas music playing in the background. In short, it begins to look alot like Christmas around here.

I probably won't post again till after Christmas ... but I want to wish one and all of you a very joyous, faith-filled Christmas. We'll be attending Midnight Mass this year (Lego Maniac wants to serve this one and we used to always go to Midnight Mass when I was little so ... we're all going!) and I will pray for each one of you and your intentions during that holiest of nights!

Advent: started on the Christmas baking ...

... and crafting a bit too!

Today, in our house anyway, was "Stir Up Monday" (primarily because we always seem to miss Stir Up Sunday!) We usually begin the Christmas treat-making the first week of Advent as some of our goodies need a few weeks to steep. On Stir-Up Monday, I have everyone who is home, stir the batter as the tradition states.

Today, we made Port Cake ... an amazing recipe from a friend in Australia that has prunes, currants, raisins, walnuts (and of course) Port. This cake is so deliciously moist and good after it sits for a few weeks (with additional Port poured over the top every few days). The recipe I used is below -- and it made 4 small loaves (roughly 5 x 3) and 1 larger loaf (roughly 4 x 8) and took 2-1/2 hours to cook:

PORT CAKE

(Original Source: recipe from Better Homes and Gardens 2002 but I’ve edited the recipe for my tastes (the original called for chocolate, but that was gilding the lily if you ask me!)

Ingredients
· 3 cups currants
· 3 cups raisins
· 3 cups pitted prunes
· 1 cup Port
· 1 cup butter, softened
· 1 tbsp vanilla extract
· 1 cup dark brown sugar
· 4 eggs
· Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
· 1/3 cup molasses
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 tsp baking powder
· 1 tbsp allspice
· 1 tbsp nutmeg
· 1 tbsp cinnamon
· 1 tbsp cloves
· 2 cups walnut halves
· Extra 1/2 cup port, for pouring over cake

This cake is chock-full of sweet, plump dried fruit that's been soaked in port, and it only improves with age. Make this cake on Stir-Up Monday (first Monday of Advent) each year so that it has time to develop its wonderful full flavor. Pour a little port over the cake every few days to give it extra depth and to help it stay moist. It will keep well in a container in a cool dry place or for longer storage, cover the cake well in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.

NOTE: Yes, the tablespoon measurements given for the spices are correct. Extra spices give a wonderful flavor to the cake.

Here's how
· Put currants and raisins in a large bowl. Cut up prunes with scissors and add to bowl. Add Port and mix well. Leave to stand for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.
· Preheat oven to 325F. Spray the pans (I used 4 small loaf and 1 larger loaf pan) with cooking spray.
· Cream softened butter. Add vanilla and beat for a minute longer. Add brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
· Add the creamed mixture to the fruit. Add the orange rind, juice and molasses and stir to combine. Sift the flours and spices and add the sifted dry ingredients and walnuts to the mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t overstir as you’ll get a very dry cake.
· Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared pans. Tap pan gently on the table to settle the mixture. Smooth the surface of the cake mixture with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Remove cake from oven to cooling rack; pour extra Port over the tops of each loaf and cover with a towel until the next morning. When the cakes are completely cool, cover with foil, plastic wrap or a plastic lid and store in a cool, dry spot.

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In addition to kicking off the baking ... we also started our crafting. BamBam and Kotch started making the felt-foam soldiers that BamBam has decided will go on everyone's packages.

Jesse Tree tonight now has two ornaments on it ... the beeswax candle is burning WAY too fast on the Advent Wreath and we are still waiting for delivery of our advent calendar. Other than that ... we're having a wonderful start to our Advent (after all, we made it to daily Mass this morning -- so what else do we need?)

BTW, normally I would have also made traditional fruitcake (either dark or light) tonight, but there is no candied fruit to be found in Northern Virginia! Isn't that odd? Nada ... zilch ... none! And I really like my fruitcake, too. I guess I'll just have to satisfy myself with the rather dense, Port-soaked Port Cake and forget the rather dense, Bourbon-soaked fruit cake!