Sugar Cookies

These are similar to Christmas cookies that my mother used to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars, for decorating (optional)

Instructions:

1. In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined.

4. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a re-sealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).

5. Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment.

6. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed.

7. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.

8. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks.

9. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.

10. To make icing, sift 1 1/2 cups confectioners¿ sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid.

Serving: makes 32 cookies

Photo: Sugar Cookies by Simply_Happy on Flickr. Aren't this great?

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Aroma

No recipe today. I'm busy thinking about how certain smells and aromas can transport you back to a time and a place. Here's the current list that I am focusing on:

Emeraude - Grandma. Not a kitchen smell but to me it simply means my great-grandmother, Therese McGinnes Austin. To this day, when I am on a bus or walk by a woman wearing Emeraude there are times when I just want to cry.

Cinnamon - winters in upstate New York and my mother's french toast. Mom made great french toast with the big Texas toast loaf of bread, eggs, milk, vanilla and lots of cinnamon.

Nutmeg - Welsh Cookies. I'll post this recipe as we get closer to the holidays. These are cookies that Mom made every year around Christmas and to my knowledge she was the only one who made them. Many people would ask "What are they?" because they looked like little tea cakes. The cookies have dried currants and nutmeg and are placed on a griddle to cook.

Saffron - Paella. This spice is all me and my passion for Spanish cooking. Sometimes I need to remind myself not to use too much or else the food acquires a medicinal smell. A little goes a long way.

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Chinese Soup

Well, I've been sick with my first cold of the season and my mind is on soups. Last night I made Garlic Soup and it was just what El Doctor ordered! Thinking about when I've been sick, reminded me of how Mom would make soup. To me her best was pea soup and turkey rice soup using the Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.

I created this recipe out of my desire to have a soup similar to those we find in Chinese or Vietnamese restaurants: it had to have a thin consistency, be based on chicken broth, but be full of flavor and pack some heat as well. There are many variations with this base recipe: add pork or shrimp, other fresh vegetables, etc.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
4 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced thin
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 pound uncooked peeled shrimp (or frozen calamari, scallops, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Place chicken stock in large saucepan over high heat.

2. Add oil, soy sauce, green onions, ginger, mushrooms and cilantro.

3. When simmering, add water and rice.

4. When soup returns to boil, add shrimp and remove from heat.

Serving:

For a complete dinner, I serve this with potstickers that have been fried in hot five pepper oil.

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Shake and Bake - And I Helped!

I learned how to cook when I was nine years old, growing up in Upstate New York. It was 1972 and Mom had gone back to work to support herself and her two boys after the divorce.

My brother and I knew we had to pitch in and I picked up the "pink jobs" - cooking and cleaning. I wasn't raised to see it as "women's work" and I now use the same philosophy Mom did in my own home: the division of labor is based on he who does the best job or has the best skill - and don't bitch about it. That's exactly how Mom would have said it.

I remember helping Mom with some of her holiday or specialty baking starting when I was about six years old. Christmas cookies, date nut bread, lemon merengue pie. But the first dinner I cooked was Shake and Bake chicken - and I helped!

I could never thank Mom enough for what she taught me in that kitchen. It was more than just measurements, time, temperature. It was the gift of generosity and also of "making do with what we have"; the encouragement to experiment and try new things and also to rely on the old "tried and true". Sure there were some failures but Mom knew that I could get back up on my own and it was the only way I would learn.

Today, I have, as they say, "mad skills" when it comes to cooking. I have certain dishes I learned from my mother. I have certain dishes that I've discovered and have become part of my routine. And there are certain dishes I've created on my own.

Thanks Mom for the gift.

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