Can you believe it? Christmas is three weeks away; the economy is in a recession; the weather's awfully cold and dreary. But you know what? The kitchen is warm, and we have all sorts of ways as cooks of creating our own warmth and cheer. You don't need to spend any money or go outside into the cold weather this weekend; you can be nourished and refreshed in your own kitchen.
Here are a few recipes, ideas, and good discussion points to send you on your way this weekend.
Good food and drink for the weekend
• How to throw a dinner party for eight on a budget of $100. We also have good tips for setting a pretty table.
• Great gifts: crafted wooden spoons, cute chocolate mice, homemade granola, and snowflake marshmallows.
• Have you ever made pet treats at home? Here are lots of good recipes and tips.
• What are your favorite December recipes?
• An inspiring, vibrant, warm-you-up kitchen spotlight from San Francisco.
• Eat a bowl of soup this weekend! We've got tomato cashew soup, a healthy bowl of kale and apple, cream of celery with bacon, and a clean-out-your-fridge version of lentil soup.
• Watching Top Chef? Here's our recap of this week's episode.
• Drinking: good value wines from the south of France and a return to a once-banned liquor, in honor of Repeal Day.
• Look! A two-pound wheel of Brie for $12.99.
• Sixty-seven years of classic cookies.
Come back tomorrow; we'll have a recipe for that dazzlingly bright orange tart above. Have a wonderful, warm, and nourishing weekend.
(Image: Faith Durand)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
i've had soup all week - anthony bourdain's mushroom soup, pho, my mama's DELICIOUS cosido. I'm keeping with the theme with cream of celery for tomorrow and maybe some brussel sprouts. A baking frenzy starts today: Sarah Kate's mailing toffee, the pefect chocolate chip cookie recipe, gingerbread from LA Times and the best oatmeal cranberry cookies I have ever eaten ever.
view chusmabilly's profile
I baked a loaf of quinoa sourdough bread last night. Although only 1/3 of the flour was quinoa flour and the rest -- white bread flour, the taste is (pleasantly) strong. Quinoa has not gluten, so the crumb is small, but still light and springy. It's an interesting bread to add to one's repertoire. I'll be trying some Italian breads from Dan Leader's Local Breads this weekend.
view bubble's profile
A big batch of lasagna with tomato sauce from the freezer, the quince liqueur that Faith posted earlier, and white chocolate peppermint bark for gifts.
Thanks for a great week in the kitchn! Beautiful, inspiring posts.
view sjbreeze's profile
Last night it was your wonderful cream of celery soup, tonight it's green chili stew and later I am going to make those bourbon balls for a party next week, then I want to try the matzo crack only with TJ's corn tortilla flat breads as the base (the sesame ones). I have no idea what will be cooking tomorrow night maybe the pumpkin tian?
view acushla's profile
today i made a pot of chicken stock which i'll be freezing tomorrow. we get our final csa bin tomorrow, so i'll be figuring out the best way to use those lovely veggies. i've still got a bunch of beets from last week's bin that i'm going to roast and then toss with a vinaigrette. oh, and tomorrow morning i'll be making buttermilk pancakes with my new North Pole Breakfast Pancake Molds from williams-sonoma. they were a gift from an aunt last weekend. this is my first holiday-themed bakeware. should be funny!
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view cassiopia's profile
First timer with the Big Pancake recipe - can't wait! I'm also going to candy some citrus peels and do a big blowout Sunday feast with baked ziti and possibly some pan-fried fish.
What a relief (after bipolar market swings and record unemployment and layoffs and mumbai and oh everything) to have some time in a quiet kitchen.
view berkeleydaisy's profile
brunch for ten (!) friends on sunday: going to try to attempt to make grits in the slow cooker. anyone done it? Amounts of water in various recipes differ widely, so I'm a little nervous. Also making eggs of some sort (perhaps scrambled is easiest for such a large grou) and a giant dish of baked french toast (a cafe au lait version from an old gourmet magazine.) Should be lovely.
view mgood's profile
Italian Wedding Soup during the week, with a nice hunk of Parmesan in it, as well as a cranberry coffee cake that uses the last of my Thanksgiving leftovers (whole cranberry sauce).
view jgphotomom's profile
Last night I made same the black beans and rice dish I've been making for ages - but for some odd reason it tasted better than usual last night. Maybe it's partly psychological, since I'm pretty happy not to be spending much money on food this weekend. ;-) The leftovers I'm eating right now are just as tasty! And it seems to go pretty well with the $6.99 bottle of Carmenere I bought on the way home on Friday.
view notharctus's profile
Look for great holiday ideas on http://ingredientsinc.wordpress.com by National Recipe Developer and Food Professional
view alison Lewis's profile
orange cranberry wheat germ muffins (morning) and baked penne with homemade sauce, artichoke hearts, pesto chicken sausage and grated pecorino romano (night/dinner) to keep the oven on, and the house warm, all day.
Bubble - quinoa sourdough sounds awesome!! what recipe do you use for the sourdough?
view Rachelino's profile
Faith??? Are you there???
... we want the orange tart recipe.
please?
view burrda2000's profile
Rachelino, I used an amalgam of recipes from Daniel Leader and Peter Reinhart. The proportions were: 150 g quinoa flour, 350 g white bread flour, 180 g sourdough starter (refreshed about 12 hours beforehand), 340 g water, and 13 g salt.
view bubble's profile
So sorry burrda! The wedding cakes hijacked my weekend; any plans of posting turned out to be much too optimistic! It's up now...
view faith's profile