Mom's secret for just-right pralines: double-check for soft-ball stage, using both a candy thermometer and the cold-water test. Read thermoter while candy boils, but remove pan from heat for water test so you won't cook the candy too
long. (This would cause it to be too dry). Because cooking conditions can vary so much, you'll need both to assure good results every time you make pralines.
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 cup chopped green onion
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 (15-ounce) cans of Cannellini (white) beans, undrained
1. Heat oil.
2. Add carrot and saute about 5 minutes.
3. Add onion and garlic. Saute until tender (about 2 more minutes).
4. Add beans (undrained).
5. Add cumin.
6. Cook until the bean liquid has evaporated and the beans reach a nice "refried" consistency. About 20 minutes. Stir frequently and mash down the beans.
Top with cilantro and cheese. Serve as a side dish or as a burrito filling.
In Robert Bresson's 1951 classic, "Diary of a Country Priest" (Journal d'un cure de campagne) the title character, who is dying of stomach cancer, is reduced to a diet of bread dipped in red wine.
This happens to be one of my favorite meals when AJM is not home to share dinner with me (okay, cook dinner for me). In fact, this has been one of my favorite home alone in front of the TV meals since the 1980s. On the nights JQS was with his dad, I never bothered to cook. In those days, I used to spread my bread with brie or camembert. Sigh. No more.
Our favorite French bread these days comes from Schlotzsky's Bread Alone. Sure, they ship their bread in from LA now and have doubled the price, but the real trouble is that half the time they're sold out. My old favorites from Texas French Bread, Whole Foods, and even Central Market just taste dry and flavorless.
On the up side, I've just discovered wine in box at Central Market. These modern "casks" hold three liters of wine (4 bottles) and are about $20.00. What a bargain. The cask valve doesn't let air in and so the wine keeps quite conveniently on the shelf awaiting a passing glass. If only we had known about box wine for our Grand Canyon trip.
One of my earliest memories of Christmas is my grandmother's kitchen filled with the smell of orange bowknots. I made them one year when AJM's mom was visiting us for Christmas, and she tells me that they are what she associates with Christmas at our house.
BASE
3 8-oz packages of Philadelphia cream cheese
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup crushed baby zwieback toast or amaretti cookies
1. Let the cream cheese come to room temperature, then beat until creamy.
2. Whip egg whites until stiff.
3. Blend egg whites, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
4. Pour into 9" spring form pan.
5. Crush zwieback toast into crumbs and dust the top of the cheesecake. (Yes, the top. AJM kept thinking it should be the bottom crust but there isn't one.)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
TOPPING
1 pint sour cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
shaved, toasted almonds
7. Mix sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together.
8. When the base is cooked remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 415 degrees.
9. Spread topping over the base. Sprinkle with almonds.
10. Bake at 415 degrees for 5 minutes.
11. Turn off oven and open the oven door but let the cake cool gradually inside the oven for a few minutes so it doesn't collapse. Take cake out of oven and let it cool to room temperature and then chill for at least two hours before serving.
Note: Neither CM or WFM carry zwieback crackers. I did find them in the baby department at HEB on Oltorf. So the day of the garden party, I substituted almond cookies (amaretti). CM carries amaretti in bags which are much cheaper than the individually wrapped ones in tins. I might try some lemon cookies next time.