Snow Day

It’s deep out there. Addie, Geo, and I dug out the driveway. (I found a new use for my garden cart. I filled it with snow, then pushed it off to the side to dump it.)

This aft I watched a little football, including Brett and the Vikings creaming the Giants 44-7.

A pot of chili is simmering on the stove, and cornbread is in the oven.

The snow is still coming. Looks like lots of it will be around for a long while.

Jenn, don’t forget to pack those new red X-country skis for your next trip to VT.!

The Year of Listening

New Year’s Eve found Geo and me in Burlington for First Night 2010. What I like best about First Night (besides people coming together from near and far for one huge celebration) is being able to hear music of different genres – all at one event. We heard vocalists and instrumentalists, jazz, blue grass gospel, and even hip hop. It was nice seeing Ed and Peni at one of the venues. We briefly met up with Addie and her new friend Billy, and we dined at the Blue Cat. 2010 and my “year of listening” definitely opened on a high note.

NEW CDs

If last year was the "year of gardening" for me, this new year may be the "year of listening."

Geo bought me Paul McCartney's Good Evening New York City and Reba's Keep on Loving You.

Jenn gave me a fully loaded MP3 player, and Sean's gifts were noise canceling earphones AND the newest Decemberists CD The Hazards of Love.

Sean and Jenn introduced me to the Decemberists, and now I'm a fan. The new album is quite complex, beginning with a haunting Prelude, and actually weaves a story through the lyrics to the very last song. Click on this blog's title for a link to the official website, then on "launch audio" in the website to hear some of the music.

Here's The Finished Product

 

Here are the Eggnog Cookies! These cookies were fun to make. The dough is very light. That's why it needs to be refrigerated (try the shelf in the garage if you live in Vermont) before scooping them onto the cookie sheet. As for flavor, they taste almost like butter cookies, but with a hint of spice. The frosting is very creamy. The dash of nutmeg really makes the cookie. I'm adding this recipe to my holiday collection. These cookies will be coming with me to the cookie exchange next year. How's that for planning ahead!

Eggnog Cookies

When I lived in Wisconsin, a popular holiday drink was a "Tom and Jerry" made with a dozen eggs, separated, with the yolks whipped with 1 pound of powdered sugar, then blended with the whipped whites. That was the batter. Put a dollop of that in a mug with a shot of brandy and rum, top with boiling water and add a sprinkle of nutmeg. I haven't made that since I no longer serve anything with raw eggs, but I still love eggnog! When I discovered this recipe on the YUM blog, I decided this is a must-do for me:

Frosted Eggnog Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup SALTED butter, room temp
1/2 cup eggnog (I used reduced fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or rum)
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well with a whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg or skip this step and sprinkle on the nutmeg after you ice the cookies. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown.
Transfer to cool, flat surface immediately with spatula.
Eggnog Icing
3 C. confectioners sugar
1/4 C. softened butter or margarine
1/3 C. eggnog (use as much as you need)
In small mixer bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar and butter or margarine until well blended. Gradually beat in eggnog until icing is smooth. Makes about 1 1/2 cups. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg after icing.

Here's The Man

 

Love that smile!

Here's one more

 

Jenn, this one's for you.

My first photo blog

 

It's about time I post a few pix. This is an unedited photo taken by Jenn on Addie's birthday. Jenn used my new Panasonic Lumix.

The Cookie Exchange

Tomorrow night is the big event of the annual cookie exchange and caroling at the home of Mr. and Mrs. G. So today is baking day.

I made Frostheave Fudge (aka “Rocky Road”), Mrs. Pillsbury’s Holiday Sprinkle Sugar Cookies, Dream Bars, and Snowballs. I do think the Snowballs turned out the best. Here’s the secret recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup powdered sugar (I used ¼)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used almond)
2 ¼ cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup powdered sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with sugar and extract. Mix in flour, salt, and nuts. Roll 1 Tablespoon of dough into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. (Do not let cookies get too brown.) While cookies are still hot, roll in powdered sugar. When cookies are cool, roll them in sugar once again.

Mom used to make similar cookies – everybody’s favorite – and shaped them into crescents. She called them Pecan Dreams.

It will be fun to see and taste all the yummy cookies tomorrow night. May the tradition live on!

Geo’s Birthday

We planned a simple leisurely dinner for two at the Essex Inn. We arrived early, so we relaxed in the beautifully decorated lobby before dinner. The young man at the desk asked us if we’d be interested in tickets for the Vermont symphony – that evening! Evidently they had extras. We said, “Yes!” Our leisurely dinner became entrée only, dessert to go, and we dashed off to a Holiday Pops concert. Tickets were for Row 6. It was a surprise gift to us, and one terrific concert.

Happy Birthday, Geo!

Mt. Philo

Jenn and Sean drove up from MA for the weekend – time to meet with friends on Saturday and to see the Decemberists at the Flynn on Sunday.

After Mass at the CC on Sunday, Sean treated Jenn, Geo, Grandmother and me to a very leisurely lunch outdoors at Halverson’s. It was a relaxing afternoon before Jenn and Sean left for the concert.

It was great fun just getting together again, but for me the high point (figuratively and literally) was our Monday morning trek up Mt. Philo. Jenn and I had this event on our We-Need-To-Do-This list, and there was no time like the present. It turned out to be a spectacular day. Wilderness leader Sean and adventurous Geo decided to come along.

It’s been a long time since I’ve trekked the trails. Now this novice trailperson is ready to invest in new hiking boots.

I’m so impressed with Geo going the distance. At the top we took in the view, snapped a few pix, and feasted on grapes and freshly baked cookies.

Jenn says the big debate about hiking up a mountain is: Why do we do this? Is it the experience of the hike itself? Or is it the accomplishment of reaching the top?

I guess for me it’s the hike. I love the winding footpaths and finding my way in the midst of nature. For Geo, I think, it was reaching the top (and the comfy Adirondack chairs conveniently placed at a look-out point).

Geo promises we will do this again. Camel’s Hump, before long we’ll be on our way.

Remember, “We’ll always have Mt Philo.”

Thank you, Jenn and Sean for a super visit. Come again soon.

The Place(s) To Be

Sunday Geo, Mom and I headed up to Hardwick. We arrived in time for brunch at Claire’s. I had read about Claire’s in Eating Well magazine. Geo read glowing reviews about Claire’s in none other than the NY Times. Claire’s is a destination gourmet eatery that features local products, and it’s amazingly located on Main Street of a small rural Vermont town. Breakfast was superb!

Next we traveled to nearby Wolcott (that’s “Wool-kitt” for all us flatlanders) to High Mowing Seed Company’s late season festival, hosted by owner Tom Stearns and his staff. High Mowing grows about 800 varieties of plants and veggies to package the seeds. Being there for this event felt like a true Vermont experience. The weather was perfect – cloudy, rainy, sunny, typical. There were farm families, growers, neighbors and others who came from near and far. We toured the fields, sampled the veggies, and witnessed a demonstration of a new machine extracting seeds from melons. Sometime during the afternoon students showed up from NECI (New England Culinary Institute) to prepare dinner. They worked outside under tents. What a feast! Three kegs of Magic Hat were tapped, along with apple cider. Two young women with a banjo and a fiddle entertained. Of course, there were not enough chairs to go around, so people sat on row covers to enjoy the picnic. It was so neat to be part of this experience – this flatlander began to feel a bit like a real Vermonter. To top it off, the crew from Emeril Lagasse was on site taping for a future episode. We'll be watching for this to air.