New Year's Eve

Wishing you a very happy New Year's Eve—have a great night.

(photo via pinterest)

Weekend

Happy holiday weekend! And a busy weekend for many of us, with Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all happening close together this year. May it be a happy one for you, filled with friends, family, good food and good cheer.

(photo: house doctor)

Good Cheer: Thank You

My grateful thanks to Eleni of My Paradissi, Emma of The Marion House Book, Anne of The City Sage and Roséline of This is Glamorous for their generous contributions to this year's Good Cheer series — I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. Thank you so much again, ladies.

(photo by susanne schanz of la petite cuisine)

Good Cheer: This is Glamorous

Roséline of the utterly lovely This is Glamorous shares her delectable recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Pavlova with Marinated Raspberries — perfect for a romantic New Year's Eve dinner for two.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pavlova with Marinated Raspberries

Serves: 8 // Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus cooling time // Cooking Time: 30 minutes

4 egg whites

280g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

1 tbsp cornflour, sifted

100g ground hazelnuts

2 tbsp cocoa, sifted

875ml single cream

200g dark chocolate, chopped

500g mascarpone

For the marinated raspberries:

250g raspberries

1 tbsp icing sugar

2 tbsp white rum

1 To marinate the raspberries, place them in a bowl with the icing sugar and rum, and mix gently. Set aside.

2 Preheat the oven to 120°C/gas mark ½‎. Place the egg whites in an electric mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.  Gradually add 240g of the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking for 30 seconds between spoonfuls. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk for further five to seven minutes, or until thick and glossy. Add the cornflour, hazelnuts and cocoa, and whisk until well combined.

3 Cover two baking trays with baking paper and draw two 18cm circles on each one. Divide the mixture between them, using a palette knife. Bake for 30 minutes, or until just crisp. Turn the oven off and allow to cool inside for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.

4 Place 375ml of cream in a pan over high heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool completely, then place the mixture in a bowl with the mascarpone and whisk until stiff peaks form. Place the remaining cream and icing sugar in a separate bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

5 Top one pavlova round with a third of the chocolate cream and a third of the plain cream, and repeat with the remaining pavlova rounds and creams. Top with the marinated raspberries and dust with icing sugar to serve.

— Roséline of This is Glamorous

(photo via red christmas 2013 food and entertaining: 103 festive recipes and decorating ideas)

Good Cheer: The City Sage

For this week's Good Cheer post, Anne of the beautiful blog The City Sage shares her delectable variation on the classic gingerbread man — this one will definitely become your new holiday favourite.

When Lori asked me to contribute a holiday favorite to her 'Good Cheer' series, I didn't have to think twice about what I wanted to share! These chocolate gingerbread men and I go way back. I first discovered the recipe in high school and it became my standby teacher gift. Present the history department with a tray of these fellows and boom, a guaranteed an A+ on the winter exam. 

Okay, maybe these treats are more likely to guarantee good graces than good grades. In any case, the learning curve on this recipe is a cinch. It yields cookies that are moist and chewy with just the right balance of warm cocoa, zesty spice, and rich molasses. The dough holds its shape well if you're inclined to cut out shapes as I've done, or if you really want a strong hit of chocolate you can stir in a full bag of semisweet chips and make drop cookies.

Finally, I recommend making a double batch and freezing the extra dough. You may not have any exams in your near future, but you can never be too prepared for a baking emergency!

Chocolate Gingerbread Men

(adapted from The All-American Cookie Book)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp each ground ginger and ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp each ground cloves and salt

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup each white and brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest

semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugars in a smaller bowl, then add molasses, egg, and orange zest and blend thoroughly. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture until fully incorporated. Let dough sit for at least ten minutes to firm up. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness on parchment paper and cut shapes, decorating with chocolate chips as desired. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes, or until edges are just barely brown.

— Anne of The City Sage

Good Cheer: The Marion House Book

For this week's Good Cheer guest post, Emma of the beautiful and inspiring The Marion House Book shares a pretty gift wrapping idea and warm thoughts about the spirit of the holiday season.

My favourite holiday tradition is finally getting to slow down and touch base with family and friends again. I love all the festive, high-spirited get together’s before Christmas and savour even more the languorous, stress-free dinners that follow after the big day has come. I tend to favour simple brown packages tied with twine and adorned with fresh cedar or a sprig of winter berries. It doesn’t really matter so much what is inside as long as it shows thought and care. The best present is time spent sharing a meal or sitting in front of a fire with a good group of friends and family and remembering the year that has passed. Happy Holidays to each of you!

— Emma of The Marion House Book

(photo by sian richards)

Good Cheer: My Paradissi

For the first Good Cheer guest post, Eleni of the gorgeous blog My Paradissi shares a delicious traditional Greek holiday recipe that's sure to become a favourite. Enjoy.

Hello automatism readers! This is Eleni from My Paradissi and I'm honored to be invited by Lori to participate in her 'Good Cheer' series. I'd like to share with you one of the most famous Christmas cookie recipes we have in Greece. It's called Melomakarona and actually means Honey Dipped Cookies. I can't begin to tell you how good they are but I can still give you the recipe my mum follows all these years and makes our holidays a tad more sweeter. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS 

3 cups olive oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup cognac or brandy

1 cup finely crushed toasted almonds

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 kg all purpose flour, or as needed

For topping:

1 1/2 cup finely crushed walnuts

1/2 cup finely crushed toasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the syrup:

1 cup honey

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

STEPS

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Dissolve the baking soda in the orange juice.
3. Combine the oil, sugar, cognac, orange juice in a bowl and beat until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Combine the flour, crushed almonds and baking powder in another bowl.
5. Slowly bring the flour mix into the liquids and mix until a very soft oily dough forms.
6. Take small pieces of the dough (approx. the size of a small egg) and form them into small oval shaped cookies. Place them on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart. 
7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until they just start to get a brown color.
8. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.
9. In the meantime, prepare the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Stir the mix until the sugar is dissolved and then add the honey. Reduce the heat to low just to keep the syrup warm.
10. Dip the cooled cookies inside the warm syrup and let them stay for approx. 1 minute. Once soaked place them on a rack to drip off the excess syrup and sprinkle with the topping mixture.
11. Enjoy in dozens (kidding =)

Good Cheer

I'm very excited to bring you the second annual Good Cheer, a special guest blogger series running throughout the month of December. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for great posts by lovely fellow bloggers, sharing their favourite things to make and do while entertaining over the holidays. And to get you in a festive mood — Cranberry Torte from Lottie and Doof. Perfect with coffee or tea when company drops by, or to bring to a holiday pot luck.

(via tastespotting)

Good Cheer

A huge thank you to the lovely guest bloggers on the Good Cheer holiday posts — Victoria of sfgirlbybay and her family's Christmas crackers tradition, Yael and her delicious Root Vegetable and Zucchini Latkes, Bradford (aka Uncle Beefy) of The Bedlam of Beefy and his delectable Uncle Beefy's Sherry Cake (with Browned Butter Buttercream) and Lisa Congdon's gorgeously illustrated recipe for Hot Mulled Cider. May their inspired and wonderful holiday traditions bring a little warmth and good cheer to your own December festivities!

(photo by michael graydon)

Good Cheer: Lisa Congdon

Today's Good Cheer guest post is hosted by the brilliant artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon, who shares her favourite (and delicious!) holiday tradition with a gorgeous illustrated recipe — click on the image to view full size. Cheers!

— illustration by Lisa Congdon

Good Cheer: Uncle Beefy

For today's Good Cheer post, the utterly charming Bradford Crowder (aka Uncle Beefy) of The Bedlam of Beefy blog shares a delectable and versatile holiday cake recipe — enjoy!

Hi all! I'm thrilled to be here on automatism thanks to Lori's generous invitation to be a part of her "Good Cheer" series! Anyone who knows me wouldn't be at all surprised when I exclaim that nothing says 'cheer' like holiday baking! (Okay, full disclosure, baking would come second to champagne in the 'cheer' department but I don't make my own bubbles so there you go.)

I know I'm not the only one who gets their bake on during the holiday season. My mixer is in a constant state of operation and I could probably just leave the oven on and turn the heat off altogether. There's a proliferation of cakes and cookies and, while the inevitable waistline expansion can prove mildly regrettable, the perpetual smell of sugar and spice makes it worthwhile in the moment.

One of the things that I always bake during the holiday season is my mom's Sherry Cake. I grew up with this cake being a staple for all moments and people deemed special. While her version was a bit easier (substitute sherry for the water on a box of yellow cake mix and add 1.5 teaspoons of nutmeg), I created my own from-scratch recipe that tastes just as good if I do say so myself. This recipe can be made as a layer cake, cupcakes, or the family-favorite bundt. However you make it, I hope it brings you a little slice of the same holiday joy that it brings me.



Uncle Beefy's Sherry Cake (with Browned Butter Buttercream)

The frosting is pretty tasty, no doubt, but this is a cake that rests just fine on its own laurels.

2 cups sugar
4 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup half & half
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg


Browned Butter Buttercream

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 sticks unsalted butter
3 teaspoons vanilla (or the scrapings of 1 or 2 vanilla beans would be even better)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Beat the sugar and eggs together until fluffy and a pale yellow color (3 to 5 minutes). Add the wet ingredients (oil, melted butter, sherry, half & half, vanilla) and mix until incorporated. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. (Don't overmix!)

For cupcakes: Using a standard size, spring-action ice cream scoop, place the batter into a regular-size muffin tin lined with cupcake papers. Bake for 17 to 18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For a bundt cake: Thoroughly grease and flour a bundt pan; bake about 45 to 55 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

For the frosting: In a saucepan, over medium-high heat, melt one stick of unsalted butter and cook until a deep golden brown. (Careful not to burn.) Set aside to cool completely. In a medium-size bowl, sift together sugar and flour. Add the whole milk and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking often, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Place mixture in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, so that the plastic wrap is completely touching the mixture (to prevent it from forming a skin); allow to cool. When mixture has cooled transfer to a mixer fitted with a whisk (or paddle) attachment and beat on a medium-high setting. Add browned butter in small spoonfuls. Add nutmeg. Cut remaining 3 sticks of butter into small pats and slowly add to the frosting. Whip until light and fluffy.

Garnish cupcakes with additional nutmeg, if desired.

— Uncle Beefy

(photography by bradford crowder)

Good Cheer: Hanukkah With Yael

For today's Good Cheer post, Yael Berger shares her recipe for delicious root vegetable and zucchini latkes. Happy Hanukkah!

Nothing says Hanukkah like a batch of fresh, warm, crispy potato latkes and for years this delectable dish has been my go-to when hosting a holiday party or bringing a potluck dish to a friend’s house.

But as with many holiday recipes, potato latkes can be a bit heavy and lacking in the nutrition department. So in the spirit of handmade holiday ideas and sharing a new twist on a holiday tradition, here is my favourite latke recipe adapted to include a variety of nutrient rich vegetables.


Root Vegetable and Zucchini Latkes

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 1/2 hours

Yields 5 dozen small latkes


Ingredients

3 large potatoes
1 large sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1 large onion
1 white turnip
1 rutabaga
6 eggs
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste


1.     Wash and peel all your vegetables and cut into large pieces to fit into your food processor. You can leave them whole if you choose to grate your vegetables by hand on a box grater.

2.     Grate all your vegetables.

3.     Put grated vegetables into a colander to drain the extra water. Let them sit for 15 minutes or so and mix them every few minutes until you don’t see any liquid left in your vegetable mix.

4.     Start heating your oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat (or two pans to speed up the cooking time).

5.     Transfer vegetable mix to a bowl. Add eggs, vegetable oil, whole wheat flour and seasoning to the bowl. Mix well.

6.     If at this point you notice your mixture is still too wet, you can add another tbsp of flour.

7.     Using a large tablespoon, spoon the mix into the frying pan. For crispy latkes that cook quickly, keep them small, about 3 inches across.

8.     Once the edges look browned, use a spatula to flip them over, about 4 minutes. Let cook on the other side another 3 minutes.

9.     Serve immediately with sour cream, apple sauce or another other creative topping you can think of.

10.  Enjoy!

— Yael Berger

Good Cheer: sfgirlbybay

Lovely Victoria of sfgirlbybay shares her family's delightful British tradition in today's Good Cheer post — enjoy.

My mum is from British ancestry, so she always makes a big dinner including traditional Christmas Crackers - they're set at the table with all her fine china and we all hold hands like a chain and pull each other's open. They're filled with mystery gifts and they pop open with riddles, small toys and ridiculous paper crowns that she forces us all to wear. And then we read aloud our riddles. That's Christmas for me.

— victoria of sfgirlbybay

Good Cheer

I'm very excited to introduce you to Good Cheer, a special guest blogger series running throughout the month of December. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for some lovely special guests who'll be sharing their favourite things to make and do while entertaining over the holidays. And to get you in a festive mood — Cider Rum Punch from the gorgeous verses from my kitchen blog. Enjoy!

(photo by michael of verses from my kitchen)