Beatles Redux by the Smithereens

Just checked out the Smithereens official website and found out they released a Beatles tribute album "Meet The Beatles" doing every song in order. What, you say, why that's unheard of, blasphemy! Well, check it out for yourself. They have captured the spirit and energy of the first Beatles album released in the USA, and it is brilliant! It may be the best tribute album ever. Although I love Frank Sinatra, his vocals on Beatles songs were corny and cringe-worthy. The same for all the other artists, and they only seemed to get cheesier. The one exception was Dionne Farris' "Blackbird" on her "Wild Seed Wild Flower" album. But now this new Smithereens take on a classic album of mostly forgotten tunes, (except for "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand") is astonishingly fresh and vibrant. Too bad for me, missed them last week in Hollywood, and the concert was only $20 bucks! Darn it, I'll be sure to catch them next time around. Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with cuisine or pastry, but anything about the Beatles is so much a part of the person I am, the news of this new album had to be announced here. Funny, there was a metal button in my jewelry box that said "Viva Los Beatles" --- wish I knew where it went.

Harvest King Foccacia

Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of my culinary heroes. Not only is she the author of "The Bread Bible" and "The Cake Bible" but she is also a wonderful teacher. Her PBS show "Baking Magic" is one of the best for learning baking techniques. The blog site "Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum" is one of the best. Lots of recipes, photos, product info. Check out her archive posts. If you have a question that has not been previously addressed, write to her. She actually will respond to your baking questions. I especially like that she gives the measurements of her recipes in volume and weights, in both ounces and grams.

This weekend we are baking her "Harvest King Foccacia" using the new flour from Gold Medal, and adding in a bit of sun-dried tomato from Trader Joe's, chopped pepperoncini from Costco, and a sprinkling of Bel Gioso grated parmesan from Ralphs to finish after it is done (we don't like that burnt cheese taste you sometimes get from topping the parmesan at the beginning of baking). A glass of wine, a big salad, and that makes a meal. Tutti mangia!

HARVEST KING FOCCACIA –
adapted from "Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum"
(Also makes great pizza!)
Yield:
Almost 2 pounds/876 grams of dough

Ingredients:
3 cups/1 pound/454 grams Harvest King flour
1/4 cup/1.25 ounces/35 grams whole wheat flour
1-1/4 teaspoons rapid rise, bread machine or other instant yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1-1/2 cups/12.5 ounces/354 grams room temperature water
1 teaspoon mild honey, such as clover
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil plus 4 teaspoons for oiling the pan and top of bread
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary needles
fleur de sel or kosher salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
4 oz. sun-dried tomatoes rehydrated in olive oil
2 oz. chopped pepperoncini
4 oz. grated parmesan
Equipment:
A baking sheet or half size sheet pan

Procedure:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour and yeast. Then whisk in the salt. Stir in the water, honey, and oil. Using a mixer with a dough hook or by hand with a wooden spoon, knead (if by hand stir vigorously) for about 3 minutes or until the dough begins to come away form the sides of the bowl. It will not come away completely and should be very sticky to the touch.
Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and lightly spray or oil the top of the dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. After the first 30 minutes, scrape the dough onto an oiled counter and with oiled hands stretch it and give it a business letter fold. Repeat this a second time. The dough will no longer stick to your fingers.
Set the dough back in the bowl and let it finish rising. (Stick a finger into the center of the dough and if it keeps the indentation it’s ready.) If baking it the following day, press down the dough and set it in a large oiled zipper type storage bag, leaving a tiny bit unzipped for the forming gas to escape, and refrigerate it. Remove it to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.
When ready to shape the dough, spread 2 teaspoons of oil onto the baking sheet and set the dough on top. Flatten the dough gently with your fingertips to about 12 inches by 5 inches and 1/2 inch high. Try to keep as much air in the dough as possible. Oil the top of the dough with 2 teaspoons of oil. Cover with a large container or oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise until doubled to 1 inch high--about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, set the oven rack toward the bottom and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it. Set a cast iron skillet or heavy baking pan on the floor of the oven or on the lowest shelf.
Preheat the oven to 475F. for 45 minutes or longer.
With your finger tips, deeply dimple the dough all over. Sprinkle with the rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, salt, and pepper. Quickly but gently set the baking sheet on the hot stone or hot baking sheet, and toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath. Immediately shut the door and bake 5 minutes. Turn the sheet half way around and continue baking 10 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. (An instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 210°F.).
Remove the bread to a wire rack and immediately sprinkle on grated parmesan. Allow to cool completely or until just warm.

All Da Kine

The daughter and her husband have been visiting with us. It happens to be right in the middle of changes in schedules, work on the house, birfcakes, and a whole assortment of family adventures. We have spent some relaxing time together, enjoyed some delicious meals, and visited local museum exhibits. But no matter how long the trip it is never enough time, because it went by so quickly, and now they have to return to their island paradise home. Take me along with you! Next time for sure. Thanks guys, and a special thank you for my Lewis Black autographed poster and for all da kine.

"Chef, where do they keep the elbow grease?"

New kitchen, new surroundings, new faces. Lo siento mucho, I have been so blog-deficient lately. Even missed the "Poulet Surprise" deadline on Peanut Butter Etouffee, darn it. However, time spent sleeping over-rules the time for blogging. Yes, 4:00 a.m. comes around real quick, no more Conan O'Brien, no more David Letterman for me. The reality is that while most of you are fast asleep in a warm bed, and maybe lucky enough to share it with a warm someone, I am already at work, firing up the ovens, unlocking the walk-ins, starting up that first pot of coffee, proofing the doughs. And I love every moment of it!

As soon as I get into a groove, and things settle down a bit, I will be able to devote proper time to be posting on a regular basis. For now, please keep those good thoughts coming, I need all I can get! Muchas gracias a todos.

Overheard once in the zen kitchen:
"Chef, how long do I cook it?" the student asks.
"Till it's done!" replies the chef.

Groundhog's Day Culinary Style

Comedy Central is running this movie all day today. It had me thinking about what day would I choose to live over and over again, like the Bill Murray character. Of course, my choices were related to a favorite meal, restaurant experiences, or the days spent in culinary school. It was hard to narrow it down, there are so many.

That one experience would have to be the day I spent making fresh pasta with my kids. Fetuccine was everywhere, all over the house! We opened all the cupboard doors and hung the freshly made noodles over the top. Flour all over our faces and the pasta bubbling, ready to eat in just moments. I made a meat sauce and we ate all of it, all that pasta, no leftovers. Probably one of the best days of my life.

So, I ask you, what culinary moment in your life would you like to re-live, and do it over and over again? Maybe you have a few, that's fine. Let me know, and if your Groundhog's Day moment includes a recipe, so please post that as well.

They will all be out here next week, so look for our pasta post coming up soon!
"You're the best!"

Tokyo Lobby & A Very Merry Un-Birfcake!

As schedules would have it, we decided to forego our usual January family Birfcake celebrations and chose instead to enjoy an evening out on the town. This was truly going to be a very merry Un-Birfcake! We didn't need the freeway, not even the major streets. I guided our driver, one of the celebrants, through my neighborhood short cuts. Of course he complained about having to drive like an old geezer. "Which way? Left or right?" "Follow the curve." "What!?" That had us laughing for the rest of the trip. I try to keep away from the Saturday night traffic with the fender-benders, the looky-looz, and the careless drivers who are always preoccupied and distracted. Driving in and around my 'hood is dangerous, especially at night. However, since finding my way through these side streets, it is a safer and more enjoyable ride. Our driver did eventually agree, it was safer.

I hadn't been to Tokyo Lobby in years. Not exactly the hippest or fanciest Japanese restaurant. The plate presentations are nothing spectacular. But the place is always packed, with lots of families and groups out to have fun. It has an atmosphere that is friendly and although it presently has a "B" rating, that did nothing to stop the crowds from lining up at the hostess station. Neither did the cold weather, and since we had to wait to be seated, that front door kept opening and closing, letting the brisk air to keep our minds off the wait. All around us were smiling people, knowing that soon they'd be served food like on the platters and boats and bridges that passed by. I actually observed a group conversation stop mid-sentence to watch a server with a boat. Yes, boats and bridges filled with tempura, ribs, steak, chops, fish and sushi!

As soon as we were seated our server presented us with a huge menu offering countless combinations, boats and bridges. Pages and pages of sushi. Nearly everything is pictured, so if you are uncertain, just point at the picture! The "hi sign" is to close the menu book, then your server quickly appears to take your order. Being a small group, we declined to order a boat or bridge, but watching them pass by tempted us to re-think our order. We are served the usual tea, tsukemono and soup. Then the first platter of shared sushi is served. Dragon roll, tempura roll and salmon skin roll.

The salmon skin roll was our least favorite, as if it was thrown together, messy and not neatly wrapped, the small salmon pieces falling out. It was hard to decide about which of the others we liked better, the dragon or the tempura, since both were delicious. Next came our individual orders.

These were served promptly and we were surprised to find that they actually looked better than the photos in the menu.Even I cannot eat that much food! Good thing we shared, that sushi combination was delicious, except for the boring California roll. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked, although overly sauced. The tempura was crispy, my favorite piece was the sweet potato. Or was it the shrimp? And since we each ordered combination plates, we were rewarded with a generous scoop of green tea ice cream. It was more food coloring than green tea, but I managed to eat it anyway! Real green tea has an unusual color when mixed into ice cream, a dusty grayish green, not exactly visually appealing. I would have preferred ginger ice cream, but that was not an option here. We sang happy birfcake right along with the large group seated across from us. They served one of those famous Chinese strawberry whipped cream sheet cakes.

It was really more like taking home groceries than a "doggie bag" from Tokyo Lobby. We were shocked to have so much left over and wasted none of it. It may not the hippest, but it sure was lots of fun to celebrate a very merry Un-Birfcake at Tokyo Lobby.

TOKYO LOBBY
927-K East Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-287-9972
Located in the Albertson Center

Remembering the Cup Noodle Inventor

Look into the cupboard of any American office breakroom, college dorm, or kitchen and you might find one or two styrofoam containers of Cup Noodle. Go open your own cupboard and check. See, I told you so! For many years now these little instant ramen soups have been a staple for college students, soccer moms, busy workers, anyone in a hurry for a quick meal or snack. Even during our current "winter weather" way down into the low 20s and 30s, (yes, laugh at us wimpy Southern Californians, but last week it was over 85 degrees F!) a warm container of Cup Noodle can take the chill off a cold evening.

We noticed the marketing strategy, aimed at the growing numbers of Latino foods purchasers. That shrimp picante flavor is an example. Earlier this month the inventor of the Cup Noodle passed away, Mr. Ando. With respect and admiration for bringing the simple instant ramen soup into the homes of so many around the world, all of us here at La Vida Dulce offer our thanks and appreciation for years of providing a quick lunch, a late night snack, or an after-school treat. Vaya con Dios!

A Snack Fit For The King, Uh Huh!

Elvis Presley was taken from this world way too soon. Tacky impersonators in bad makeup and polyester suits, slimy lounge singers and many drunken karaoke nights have done nothing to stop our love of the King of Rock and Roll. Somewhere in my cousin's house is her black velvet painting. Elvis is still the King.

In honor of his birthday this month, we would like to present our version of a dulce snack that Elvis might have enjoyed. Sweet enough but not too icky sweet, with some added healthy ingredients, this little treat is yummy with a glass of milk or cup of hot cocoa. That's how I'd like to remember him, up late at night in the kitchen with a couple of these little snacks and maybe hot cup of tea.

This is yet another version of the famous Eagle Brand Magic Cookie bar. Filled with stuff that make it crunchy, sticky, gooey and sweet. Kinda stuck on you!

THE ELVIS MAGIC BAR
makes about 3 dozen bars
1 1/2 cups galletas Marias cookie crumbs
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups Nestle milk chocolate & peanut butter chips
1 cup dried banana chips
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press firmly into bottom of 9x13 baking pan. Pour entire can of Eagle Brand onto crumb mixture. Top with remaining ingredients, then press down firmly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till marshmallows are browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Back To School Winter 2007 & Updates

Ay, que la fregada! (Translation: "What a bother!" It's a colloquial term used in the USA, meaning "a bothersome chore," like doing dishes by hand.)
No posts for a while, too much homework and studying!
Coming up soon right here at La Vida Dulce:
A dessert salute to Elvis in honor of his birthday this month
A tribute to the inventor of a culinary and cultural phenomenon
A search for a perfect hunk of pork in time for Chinese New Year
A happy birfcake celebration
A big Aloha
Don't touch that dial!

Tamale Time 2006 Edicion Numero Cuatro - Ya Basta!

Well, theFrog just called and her care package of tamales just arrived. 4 days too late. Oh well, we tried. The TPO was saddened by having to throw it out in the trash, such a waste. Good thing it was sealed, so as not to stink up everything. I hope they never opened the box.

So, as we finish up our story, here are the other photos. One with the newly folded tamales placed into the big foil roasting pan, ready to get steamed. The next shows them in the pot, with the steam rising up. Ooh, they're almost ready! The last photo is Cousin Johnny holding an empty plate. Lucky guy, he got to eat the first one.

No matter, 1 dozen or 12 dozen, they take about an hour to steam. Save your money, don't pay for a large steamer. I inverted an old Marie Callender's pie tin at the bottom of a stock pot. Then made a large base of scrunched foil and placed that on top the pie tin. You don't want your tamal to bathe in the water, just take a sauna! I made sure there was enough water at the bottom, about a quart at least till it touches the foil. Then we placed the tamales, folded side down, in a circular manner inside the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the flame to a very low simmer and cover tightly. Check to make sure there is enough water at the bottom, but try to keep the lid on it, or you'll lose the steam. You will know it needs water, because it will start to burn the pot, that smell is nasty and it gets onto the tamales. Yucko! The tamal is ready when it separates from the hoja. Tah-dah!

In all we had about 9-10 dozen to split between us. Not bad, because the cost of our little Tamale Time was less than what we would have paid for only two dozen tamales at the tienda. The left over masa was used for some roasted green pasilla pepper and red bell pepper tamales with two cheeses. These were small but very flavorful, from roasting the peppers.

It is sad that theFrog couldn't taste this batch, but when Michael goes for a visit soon, he promised to bring some along. Store bought? Maybe, we shall see. Adios!

Tamale Time 2006 Edicion Numero Tres

I had hoped to have good news by the time we finished our Tamale Time stories. Unfortunately, the package that was shipped to Monica never arrived. Somewhere between California and Hawaii, there's a soggy box of defrosted tamales, probably stinking to high heaven. Now I have to deal with the carrier. I hope to remain a lady at all times when I talk to these philistines tomorrow. Sorry, baby girl!

The small photo above is the old pyrex bowl filled with the prepped meat combination of pork butt and chuck roast, just taken out of the frige. Next to it is the chile colorado, both a jar of canned and a container of the fresh sauce from my Monterey Park connection. We were hard at work by this time, whipping up the masa, nearly killing the motor of my KitchenAid mixer, testing "will it float?" and checking the seasoning. We finally determined that since it had a good flavor, and our little test tamal separated just fine from the hoja, the masa was ready. We all looked at each other after tasting that little tamal---these are gonna be good!

The hojas (dried corn husks) were soaked in the sink with warm water. I was amazed how clean and sturdy they were. Nana Della always said that if the Christmas hojas were good, it was going to be a good year. Works for me, I love superstitions and old wives tales. Tamale Time 2006 was full on!

Cousin Nicky mixed the meat and chile sauce. I spread the masa, choosing only the best hojas. They were large enough, so you didn't have to piece any together. That comes later, when you start to run out. I spread out the masa only about half way up the hoja, right to the top edge, not too thick and not too thin. Hand off the hoja to my cousin. Then Nicky filled the tamal with the meat mixture, making these tamales more meat than masa. The meat goes in the center, fold over the sides, then turn up the "tail" and you're tamal is done. There's a great instruction sheet on Rick Bayless' Frontera grill site. Now at this point some gente like to tie the tamal. For my family, it just gets in the way of good eatin', having to untie a tamal. Soon the foil roasting pan was filling up with these gorgeous tamales, all ready to be steamed. PS---muchas gracias to theFrog for the camera!
(To be continued...)

Happy Birfcake from La Vida Dulce!

Feliz ano nuevo and happy new year to all! This is the one year anniversary of my blog. Thanks to all who visit and leave comments. Best of everything to you for this new year. Tequila shot in hand, everyone salud!

Larry

There are a few people we meet along the way who are unique. As Granny used to say "they threw away the mold" and it was true about Larry. There were no strangers in this world, only friends he hadn't yet made. You had a problem, Larry would listen. Your secrets were safe with him. Got car trouble, if he couldn't fix it, he knew someone who could. On moving day, Larry was there with his truck to help you out. If you enjoyed yourself at his house parties a little too much, Larry took the keys and made sure you slept over. If you needed it, he was there with a cold one. He could tell just by looking at you if there was something going on. Always laughing, brewsky in hand, watching the game, sitting at the round table. Talk about living a sweet life. A very dear friend to all who knew him, more like a brother to most of us, Larry passed away recently. Anyeurism, gone in his sleep. He had just moved out of state and was looking forward to his new home. Knowing Larry, he was probably getting ready to start remodeling, landscaping the yard, knocking out walls, putting in a spa, he could do all those things and more. But above all, Larry was my friend at a time when I desperately needed one. He helped me through a disastrous event in my life, so horrific and so terrifying. Larry did what he could to help ease the pain and tried to make it all go away. For that he will always have a special place in my heart. My prayers go out to his family in the hope that they will be comforted knowing how much he was loved by so many of us. Tonight, as I ring in the New Year, I will fondly remember all the New Year's Eve parties and celebrations we all shared.
Here's one for you, Larry. Salud!
Vaya con Dios, amigo.

Tamale Time 2006 Edicion Numero Dos

Thank goodness for good butchers. They are the people behind the counter or the case at the market where you buy fresh meat, poultry and fish. Get to know these people. Ask questions. If you don't see what you want, ask them to order it for you. You are more likely to find a helpful butcher at one of the smaller market chains, like Stater Bros. (God, please send a Staters to me!) There is no excuse why the supermarket butcher cannot be helpful and accommodating. But more often than not, there's nobody around to help. "Everyone is on break." I have a major "beef" with the lack of service at a local unnamed major supermarket. I only shop there for the items SuperA doesn't have room to stock.

So it was no surprise that in addition to the great price on masa, SuperA also had the big ass pork butt on sale. Nothing in the case---Dios mio! No problema, their butchers are always helpful. In no time at all the butcher had a huge pork butt ready for me, cut into three pieces and beautifully trimmed with just enough fat. I also bought a large piece of beef chuck roast, for "mas sabor", like our Nana Della and Tata did when they made tamales. In all it was about 15 pounds of meat.

The meat was prepped the day before our tamale time, drying the beef and pork pieces with paper towels and then salting all surfaces. After searing the meat in olive oil, I added smushed garlic cloves, a couple of whole peeled brown onions, then enough water to cover. Brought to a boil, it was seasoned with salt & pepper, then simmered until the beef was tender and fell apart. That was how my grandmother did it, how she knew the when meat was ready. Nothing worse than biting into a tamale made with tough stringy meat.

The meat was placed in a large bowl, the broth was strained, then poured it into another pot to be used later. Then I had to work quickly. Cleaning and shredding the meat is actually better to do while it is still hot. The pieces of fat, connective tissue and the nasty gristly parts come apart easier. I was amazed at how delicious that meat tasted. The combination of the beef and pork had such a great flavor. I couldn't help myself, so I made a burrito with a hunk of the meat and a splosh of that chile colorado. Man, that's some good eating, besides it's the chef's advantage! The meat was ready, very lean, not much waste. I gotta thank my butcher again.
(To be continued...)

Tamale Time 2006 Edicion Numero Uno

What is Christmas without tamales? NADA! We can deck the halls all over the place. We can come a wasailing and bring a figgy pudding. But it wouldn't be Christmas without serving tamales at the table. After many hours of field research and compiling information for a fiscal study, we determined it was not in our best interest to invest in store-bought tamales this year. $15 bucks a dozen is a lot of dinero for keeping our tradition of enjoying a simple tamal during the holidays. I was very disappointed with the filling of thin shreds of meat and mushy gristly fat in the store-bought tamales I tasted recently. The masa was heavy, and it felt like a brick. Try getting up off the sofa after eating one of those tamales. And the lighter version of a "veggie" tamal was nothing to get excited enough to fork over that kind of money. One place actually used canned school cafeteria "Veg-All" in their cheese tamal. Que barbaridad! "It's $15 a dozen for all the tamales, cheese or meat." What?!

Time was running out, so I quickly made an executive decision to skip the tiendas, panaderias and tortillerias. I called my cousin Nicky to make a deal: come over and help make tamales and we'll split them up between us. It was an offer she couldn't refuse. Her favorite tamale place had also raised their prices. And her husband's primary tamale maker was too ill this year. Tamale making requires tremendous physical strength. Seriously. So Tamale Time 2006 was on!

Like with any good food, the key to making a good tamal is using quality ingredients. And with the holidays, it is hardly the time to skimp, but we had a goal of keeping our food cost low. Should we use a packaged sack of dry masa harina from off the supermarket shelf? Maybe another time, but not for Christmas. I opted for the fresh masa from SuperA market, and at only 89 cents a pound, it fit our budget. Regardless of what type used, a good masa requires beating, broth, and some additional fat. Some cooks use shortening (YUCK!) and others use a ton of lard (DOUBLE YUCK!) but for 15 pounds of masa, I only used one pound of lard. The additional broth is for flavor. The traditional test of masa readiness is to drop a teaspoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, the masa is ready. David Letterman should try that one on a "Will It Float?" segment! While mixing the masa, we discovered that it didn't have to be heavily laden with fat to be tasty. As long as it came together and didn't cling to the hoja, it would work. The result was a masa closer to a lighter firm polenta. Not that heavy brick. Who knew?

Canned red chile sauce? No, I have a trusted connection in Monterey Park that makes their chile colorado sauce from scratch. I could make it myself, but we were under the gun. That extra three to four hours to make homemade chile colorado sauce would have put me well into the wee small hours, staying up long after Conan and Carson Daly.

With the masa ready and the chile colorado well-chilled it was time to cook the meat for the tamale filling.
(To be continued...)

La Vida Dulce Holiday Movie Guide 2006

FELIZ NAVIDAD! We love watching these movies over and over again during the holiday season. No disrespect to "It's A Wonderful Life" and its place in movie history, but it has gone into the vault for safekeeping. Of course it would not be the holidays without the modern classic "A Christmas Story" with Ralphie and his BB gun. Several movie versions of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" are out there, my two favorites are with George C. Scott and Reginald Owen as Scrooge.

But we have a whole other slew of Christmas flavored movies that convey the feeling of the season. La Vida Dulce believes that these offbeat, often irreverent movies deserve a special place in moviedom's holiday classics. Our list is filled with stories of merry gentlemen and lovely ladies in various states of dismay, folks who may have taken a wrong turn and are somehow brought back from the brink. Some have only strayed off the path. Some are downright evil and nasty. But the meaning of the holiday season is about hope, comfort and joy. The promise of Christmas is that we all are worthy of love and respect, no matter how or when we have gone astray. These films convey the message of good tidings in their own special way. So heat up a cup of cocoa with or without spirited embellishment, grab yourself a plate of cookies before Santa gets his mitts on them, relax and watch these films with us. Peace on earth, goodwill to all men and women.

LA VIDA DULCE HOLIDAY MOVIE GUIDE 2006
(in no particular order of preference)

THREE GODFATHERS - Cowboy outlaws and a baby

BETTER OFF DEAD - Do they have Christmas in France?

THE REF - Denis Leary wearing a St. Lucia wreath. Enough said.

BAD SANTA - He's so bad he's good!

O'HENRY'S FULL HOUSE - John Steinbeck is the host

PENNY SERENADE - This one makes me cry like a baby

RADIO DAYS - Yeah, it's not about Christmas, but it's about families

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER - And this one makes cry like an idiot

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER - Bette Davis is great in this one

GREMLINS - Don't let them get wet!

TRADING PLACES - Is that Bo Diddley behind the pawn shop counter?

SOMEONE LIKE YOU - Hugh Jackman all dressed up for the holidays

Don't Kiss Santa

When Monica was a very young girl she got together with her cousin Gabrielle and the two of them tried to remember the words to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" but instead they came up with their own version:

Don't kiss Santa, Santa, Santa
Don't kiss Santa
You will get his germs
If you kiss him, kiss him, kiss him
If you kiss him
You'll get sick and die

Little girls are not always too excited to have their picture taken with a fat old stranger, and to some it becomes a traumatic experience. Dirty gloves, scraggly beard, smelly red suit, noisy crowds of people, not exactly a Norman Rockwell or Kodak moment with two little girls crying and the baby making a fuss. Broken candy canes and See's candy lollypops stuck to clothing and full of lint didn't help. Looking back on that day, I can laugh now, but at the time, it was a total mess!

That little song of theirs, probably a reaction to that horrible day at the mall, became the anthem for our family at the holiday season. And it still cracks me up to this day, some 25+ years later. Merry Christmas and remember, don't kiss Santa!

Holiday Baking 2006

We will be baking all this week. Revisting a few old favorites, and testing out some new additions, La Vida Dulce is up to her sobacos (armpits!) with flour-sugar-butter-eggs-chocolate, all the things that make this life so sweet. Last year we used the red Hefty "plates are lids, lids are plates" large platters and they suited us nicely as baked goodie gift trays. Wrapped up in pretty snowflake cellophane and shiny ribbons and bows, they are so very Festivus for the rest of us.

For starters, family favorites like the little Christmas Wreath donut cookies we made last year are sure to be chomped up quickly. Monica's Mexican Wedding Balls will be on the platters along with our English Toffee Cookies. Biscotti flavor for this year will be chocolate almond, made even richer with the new Nestle Chocolatier products.

This season I discovered some really interesting new goodies to try out and possibly add to our gift trays. No Chocolate Bark this year, opting instead for a White Chocolate Cranberry & Pumpkin Seed Fudge, adapted from those nice folks at Kraft. A new sublimely decadent Chocolatier recipe from Nestle is called the "Rated R" brownie. We shall see if it lives up to its naughty but nice name. Since I am the only one who enjoys drinking a good nog, I'm baking Egg Nog Coffee Cake, instead of the traditional L.A. City School Coffee Cake. Can't let a good nog go to waist!

Another new treat is my take on mini fruitcakes, which earned a plateful of homegrown tomatoes from my neighbors. They are my best customers! Not your standard doorstop fruitcakes, these are filled with diced fresh fruits and tasty dried fruits, none of that nasty candied stuff. Ugh! Instead we use fresh gala apples, mangoes, Fuyu persimmons, bananas, and a variety of dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, pineapple and coconut. And toasted pecans. Definitely not your granny's fruitcakes.

If I am so inclined and not too worn out, I may even add a crusty holey loaf, the world famous New York Times No Knead Bread to my 2006 gift platter. This is the bread we had to try out a few times to get it just right. It needed another pinch or so of salt. Bittman had to write a second column and made some adjustments to the original formula. My baking buddy George divided the dough into smaller loaves, and that may be the answer for gift giving. He also used sourdough starter in a test batch with excellent results. Think I'll stick to the revision Bittman wrote. Although time consuming, it is worth all the effort to enjoy a slice of this bread. The aroma in the house while it bakes, the crumb, the flavor, and the crust are all so intoxicating, it's like a controlled substance. What would be its street value? Laws governing proper fermentation and rise would be enacted, you'd read about pudgy politicians taking bribes of warm loaves and butter, and bakers in possession of banettons for this bread would have to be licensed.
Yes, it is that good. Happy Baking!

Hanging Up Another Stocking!

We have a new baby in the family! Her name is Sophia. Weight 8 lbs. 15 oz. and her mom and dad are doing just fine. Yay!

Cookbook Gifts For The Holidays

My family knows me well. They have generously given me many cookbooks as presents. I love it! Last year Monica gave me a copy of the beautiful fundraiser cookbook that she complied and edited. She knows how much hard work goes into putting one of these together. She saw me do the very same thing with our church cookbook when she was a very young girl. (And when I was domestic!) But she has done a much better job and used a publishing house with hers.

Michael Ruhlman, author of "Charcuterie" (now in its 5th printing!) has made his suggestions for holiday cookbook gifts on his blog: http://ruhlman.typepad.com/

(I am sadly blogger challenged but if you can Google, you will find his wonderfully written food blog.)

I'd like to share a list of my own cookbook gift suggestions:
There's a brand new edition of Joy of Cooking. If yours looks like mine, the spine is bent and the pages are stained.
Anything by Julia Child. My favorite is Baking With Julia, with some excellent recipes for croissants and brioche.
Anything by Lidia Bastianich. That woman is the sweetest and friendliest chef I have ever met.
I missed Ina Garten when she was out here in Southern California recently, but any of her cookbooks would do nicely. They are beautifully photographed, the food looks spectacular.
King Arthur Flour has a new whole grain baking book.
"Baking from My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan is another new book on my list. She is one of my favorite writers, author of the Pierre Herme pastry books.
The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Beard on Bread, The Bread Bible, The Italian Baker, are perfect for your serious bread baking friends.
Diana Kennedy has written some of the best cookbooks on Mexican food and its history.
And I will add a shameless promotion here with a personal recommendation for any of Chef Robert Wemischner's books, you can find them on Amazon.
I could go on forever, but you get the idea. Have fun shopping for the foodies in your life!