Spending the last night of 2009 with a fondue by Kristin, a walk around the lake and making Smores on the old campfire.
Happy 2010
Roger
ye old eggnog, by george!
.
Nothing says home for the holidays like homemade ‘egg nog’. There is something very ‘American’ about this favorite beverage. President Washington had his own recipe and — to me — it makes it all the more intriguing and special. George Washington combined rye whiskey, Jamaican rum, brandy (I use Armagnac) and sherry; however, he was vague about anything beyond the additions of milk and cream… so I had to improvise a bit.
Here is my recipe with inspiration from George!
Now, as for flavorings, I added about a teaspoon and a half of the following mixture to the egg yolks during preparation: nutmeg (4 parts), cloves (1 part), ginger (2 parts), allspice (1 part), mace ( 1 part) and cinnamon ( 1 part).
Enjoy the holidays!
Roger
the right cuisine for the right day is magic
- finding the right food for the right occasion!
My favorite memories of people, places, things and events are often the subtle accents of those occasions and the right food always made it perfect. Whether we had resources or not, like Bob Cratchit, we would make the best meal we could with what we had… and the extra effort often made the difference. The Favorite foods of people around the world continue to fascinate me and when I learned of a pie made on one of the Greek Islands, I just had to learn all about it.
The simple Honey Pie made on the Island of Siphnos is called ‘Melopita.’ It is made with the by product of making cheese … referred to as whey. The cheese Myzithra is made from sheep or goat whey and is said — and I concur — to resemble the taste of Ricotta ( one of my favorite whey cheeses). Using this humble cheese, a pie is made with sugar , eggs and honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top after the pie is baked. Traditionally, this is a dessert served during Easter, but I hear tell that you can find it almost all year round on the island now-a-days.
There are many variations of this pie. Some make it with lemon and dub it ‘Siphnopitta’ , others add a dash of brandy and some add raisins and almonds. You will find recipes that include baking powder and butter. Although I do not make it this way, I do like the recipes that use raisins soaked in brandy (like my bread pudding ). Nevertheless, regardless of the variation you choose to make, I can’t imagine making it with anything other than soft and sweet Greek Myzithra cheese.
- Pictures from the Greek Islands. Siphnos in the upper left and located on the map. Laura is swimming on the Island Of Hydra.
The basic traditional recipe from the island of Siphos has the following proportions:
___________
39 ounces of Myzithra cheese
1 cup of sugar ( they refer to a ‘glass’ of sugar which is 200ml or roughly 1 cup)
6 eggs
3/4 cup of honey
cinnamon for powdering the pie after baking
Mix and pour into a precooked pie shell
___________
Basically, they instruct you to bake the pie for roughly50 minutes at 200 Celsius (392 F.)… however, I would bake it more in steps like a cheesecake with an initial higher temperature that is significantly reduced.
Although my pie is a bit different, it doesn’t vary too much from the essentials and I will post it around Christmas time.
Make some memories with your holiday cuisine… everyone will love you for it!
Roger
PS. by the way, the wand belongs to Laura…
what’s your personality?
The BBC always has some sort of interesting test and when you are married to a mad scientist, you end up taking every sort of psychological test there is. This is the grown up version of going to the mall with your girlfriend… except she is a Psychologist.
Here is a fun test to take with those you love. Where are they high and low? Does it sound like them?
It is always interesting to have a peak into ones soul so to speak…
Roger
home on thanksgiving
It’s always fun to travel and see new places and do new things… but on the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, nothing says it better than being at home somewhere. A lot to be thankful …
My daughters will all be home this year at Christmas … doesn’t happen much, so we soak them in.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Roger