All I want for Christmas is . . .

At Christmas time, remember, the calories don’t count!  Chocolate Yule log should be eaten in hearty slices with a side order of trifle and a bowlful of brandy-blazing Christmas pudding.  A mince pie should be considered a staple breakfast item and a napkin full of canapés and five glasses of champagne is a reasonable meal supplement during the holiday season. 

It is with great disappointment, however, that mince pies are not an American Christmas Tradition; according to TV shows and fancy food magazines, gingerbread houses are all the rage in America.  Naturally, I'm wondering who it is that has the time or skill to bake, make and decorate a gingerbread house like Martha Stewart’s?  I tried my hand at cookies the other day and failed miserably so I’ll pass on the gingerbread house but it did remind me of the infamous British TV quote: Well, goodnight, and I hope your doughnuts turn out like Fanny's.  Over here in the US, croissants turn into crescent rolls, Yule log becomes Bûche de Noël, devilled eggs seems to be having a renaissance and I’m still waiting to have my first cup of Eggnog - like in the movies!   

Thank god that alcohol is a consistent, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, Christmas day is a great excuse for drinking Champagne for breakfast.  This year we’re going one better and adding a Bloody Mary bar into the mix because nothing says, “festivities” quite like a large bottle of vodka and champagne flutes full of bubbles at 10 am.  Inevitably, when I'm completely full of food and alcohol I'll inch towards the leftover turkey and holiday ham for the traditional stuffing sandwich... and perhaps a last pick of the cheese board to round the whole day off.  

As Wizard said: I wish it could be Christmas every day.  My waistline is ever so thankful it’s not! 

(Next Friday is Christmas Day so there will be no blog but if you got to the end of this article and didn't click on 'American Christmas Tradition' in the second paragraph then think of this as my little gift from Saturday Night Live)

The Real Spirit of Christmas...

With all this talk of food I’ve failed to talk about my favourite accompaniment - alcohol!   And what is a great meal without a good drink to wash it down? Like many others, I find there’s no better way to get into the festive mood than to share a drink with family and friends; work takes second place to festive parties, everyone needs something medicinal to get through the madness and Christmas Day represents one of the best excuses to drink Champagne from the time you get out of your bed, until you retire into it again.  Alcohol is also an excellent gift so I’ve put together some intriguing ideas from the wine and spirit world.

 

First up, Piper-Heidsieck joined forces with Christian Louboutin to offer something for the fashionista in your life, the crystal, stiletto-shaped Champagne flute and accompanying special edition Champagne that is sure to bring out your inner burlesque diva for a smooth $500. 

In Paris, La Tour d’Argent opened their world-renowned wine cellar (estimated to hold more than 450,000 bottles valued at €25 million and guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by its own security team) to auction off 18,000 vintages for those with a penchant for fine wine and deep pockets.  For those on a more conservative budget, the Beaujolais Biker Brigade kicked-off the Beaujolais Nouveau season in New York and Miami.  This wine should be consumed at its peak from mid November – early Jan and should be served at a cool 55 degrees, making it ideal for Floridian festivities. 

Finally, if you’re looking for the best time to drink your favourite wine then consider purchasing this book: When Wine Tastes Best 2010: A Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers. The book pinpoints the best days and hours to drink different wines based on the Biodynamic principles of the moon and the constellations.  If you’re skeptical or simply believe that wine is good at any time (you’re not alone) then take into consideration that two of the UK’s largest supermarkets use these principles when they are showcasing their new wines. 

Alternatively, stick to the usual PJ and socks gift combo and keep all of that sweet liquor and smooth wine for yourself.  Whatever your libation and wherever you are in the world, lets raise a glass to friends and family, no matter how near or far! 

British Bounty

Last weekend we made a pit stop at The British Depot, a cavern of food, flags and souvenirs owned by Gavin From Essex and Aggie from Glasgow.  This pair are exactly as you would imagine, which is to say that Gavin seems like a wheeler-dealer who could sort you out with a great buy on bottles of Lucozade and tins of beans, and Aggie who could talk your ear off whilst smothering you in shortbread.

The British Depot’s shelves are stacked with everything from chocolate to curry sauce.  There is also a monthly delivery of crisps and if you catch it at the right time you’ll be rewarded with Bacon Frazzles, Monster Munch and McCoy’s, should you be late then you’ll have to suffer with a bag of ready salted Walkers.  For me, the real gem of the shop is the freezer full of black pudding, haggis and scotch pies as these goods are the most difficult to come by in other stores.  Prices are high but the rewards are endless and I always feel like I’ve been on a treasure hunt when I leave the store with my bag full of food and fond memories. 

Last Friday night was no different, we cleared the store out of freshly made sausage rolls, threw in a few bags of bacon Frazzles, a Wispa, bottles of Schweppes Bitter Lemon for our gin and a Chocolate Orange ("It's not Terry's, it's mine").  With this, my co-pirate and I headed over to the other coast of Florida to share our bounty [editors note: all sausage rolls were quickly put in the freezer for “special occasions” and have not been seen since…] 

The drive got me thinking about how terribly exotic the food from Britain seemed when I could no longer get my hands on it, and lets be honest, that’s probably the first and last time I’ll ever consider British food as “exotic”.  This coincides with a friend that is currently running a one-man campaign for Scottish Plain Loaf in London and another friend that was distraught at losing boxes of Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes to the African heat.  So to all of you Australian’s missing your Tim Tams and Vegemite.  Ex-pat North Americans craving Kraft mac n’ cheese and bags of Combos and Twizzlers. The Europeans who are suffering without great cheese, bread, sweets and other euro goodies and to everyone else that is after a taste of home, go forth this weekend and hunt out that little bite of familiarity!   

On that note, I’ve got a real hankering for a fish supper….

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, 26th November, is Thanksgiving in America and we currently have our hand up the turkeys bum and the stuffing baking in the oven. As some of you know, I’m going to be giving a lot of thanks for the good food, the wine, the nibbles, the cocktails and the great company!  As this will be a holiday, I will not be putting out my usual Friday article as I hope to be rubbing my belly and recovering from Thursday’s over-indulgence. 

 

I did, however, want to post a recipe so that everyone can have a little taste of Thanksgiving, which is essentially the same as Christmas dinner, i.e., a lot of turkey with all the side dishes.  Having spent a year in North Carolina I like to bring out my inner Southern Belle now and again so I'm giving you a recipe for Cornbread as it’s a classic fixin’ in the South.

This dish is simple, quick and you can add in a variety of different ingredients to give your cornbread a different taste.  Here in America they tend to serve this dish with turkey and the trimmings, ala Thanksgiving dinner but it's also great with chili and soups if you’re looking for a satisfying winter supper. 

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!

Cornbread

Ingredients

225g butter

225g plain flour, sifted

225 g medium yellow cornmeal, or polenta

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

125g caster sugar

2 large eggs

475ml milk

Directions

Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.  Grease a 23cm round or square tin with butter.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.

If you fancy adding any flavours then add them at this stage.  Great additions are cheese (sharp cheddar works well) or herbs (sage, rosemary and dill are good) or spices (such as paprika, cayenne, red chili).  For recipe inspiration and quantities see http://www.foodnetwork.com

Pour the mixture into the warm baking tin and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until risen and golden brown.  Alternatively, grease up a muffin tin and make individual cornbreads.  

The Big MAC!

Macaroni and Cheese, the real big MAC!  I’m going to lay it on the table, I’ve never been a huge fan of mac and cheese and I know that’s sacrilege if you love it.   My cousin Mori loves it and if I think about macaroni then I think about Mori but I love her and I don’t love mac.  Yes its cheese and yes its pasta and normally that would be great but I find it gets a bit dull after a while, I feel the same about risotto, it’s spoonful after spoonful of the same thing and I tire of it quickly.

Since being in America I find that my staunch views about macaroni are changing.  The shift came the other week when I was out for dinner at Mizner Park in Boca Raton (if you’ve never been to this particular part of Florida then the best way to describe it is as Disney World for grown up’s - rich, white grown up’s that valet their Bentleys and Ferrari’s on perfectly landscaped streets).  Each restaurant is dishing out their interpretation of America’s most beloved comfort dish and every celebrity chef and home cook appears to be doing the same.

The dish I had was lobster mac n’ cheese with shards of black truffle, it was sublime, it lifted the dish from comfort food to mouthfuls of indulgence.  Rich yes, but I’ve never been against richness.  Comforting yes but comforting in a cashmere and Swiss chalet sort of way.  Expensive yes but…  I have no rebuttal for that. 

Mac and cheese has been a staple of the American diet for years, according to history it was served at the White House during Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency and it has commanded attention ever since.  Kids and college students eat boxes of the stuff (Kraft sells over a million boxes of mac n’ cheese a day!) Moms serve it for supper, Southerners have it as a side dish with everything, restaurants serving only mac and cheese are popping up all over the Country and pretty much everybody other than Dr Atkins enjoys it on a regular basis. 

A poor economy works to macaroni’s advantage as comfort food is, naturally, comforting in uncertain times and the onslaught of winter helps too.  I think mac and cheese has got into my psyche, writing about it this week and seeing it on menus, TV shows and ad’s has made me long for a dish that I’ve not cared about for years.  If you’re looking for something comforting this weekend pop open a bottle of wine, cook up your favourite mac recipe and stick your feet up.  

For inspiration see: www.foodnetwork.com there are over 200 recipes and varieties! 

If you opt for a American recipe then here is a conversion chart for you as US recipes measure in cups:

1/2 CUP = ¼ pint / 5 fluid ounces / 115 ml / 60 grams

1 CUP = ½ pint / 10 fluid ounces / 285 ml  / 120 grams 

All hail the cupcake!

Ah the glorious cupcake, all soft sponge and delicious icing peeping out of a little cake holder and only a cup-of-a-cake so surely not sinful like a whole SLICE of a cake.  Ah glorious little cupcake how I love thee so.  And apparently I’m not the only one…

On a recent trip to D.C. I gazed in wonder at a queue of people snaking out of the door and down the street from Georgetown Cupcake, everyone waiting in line as if to get their hands on tickets for a major gig, not a bite or two of sponge and icing.  My weekend travels got me thinking, how crazy is this cupcake craze? 

New York City’s Magnolia Bakery gave the cupcake cult status when it was featured on Sex and the City.  The single portion size, nostalgia factor and affordability of this sweet treat have also contributed to the growth of this market that accounts for multi-millions of dollars in America.  Britain, as we know, likes their own slice of the action and the UK market grew by 13.6% in the last year, with an estimated market of £34 million that is made up of supermarket sales, couture cakes and even Greggs the bakers – Scottish high street “bakery” and peddler of the sausage roll and fudge donut combo – got in on the action!

Talking of donuts, when I last lived in the US, back in 2002-03, the delectable Krispy Kreme donut was all the rage and cupcakes were nowhere to be seen, now you can buy a KK in your local supermarket and they’re drier and not as coveted as they used to be, turns out the Krispy Kreme family grew too large and consumers lost their passion for these glazed delights.  

Commentators are divided on the cupcake boom, some believe their prestige will fade like the Krispy Kreme donut, or be overtaken by a new hit, I notice the French macaroon has been making appearances in glossy fashion mags and TV shows such as Gossip Girl, could it be next to the throne?  For the time being, bakers, marketeers and consumer spending would suggest that our appetite for cupcakes hasn’t peaked yet, and on that note, I’m off for my next sugar rush…                    

The above delights are from Cupcake Couture, drool over their site: www.cupcakecoutureusa.com 

or visit one of their locations around the USA. 

I went to a BBQ and a football game broke out!

I have come to the conclusion that one of things I love most about living in America is the emphasis on food.  I write this article in the lull between Halloween and Thanksgiving and I’ve gone from thinking about spooky cookies to juicy turkey as quick as you can say “star spangled banner”.

This is, of course, a marketing ploy constructed by corporate America to sell people things they didn't realise they needed or wanted.  Due to this, a year in the life of an American flows from one event to another; Valentine's Day, to Mardi Gras, to Paddy’s Day, to Easter… and so on and so forth.  For me, that’s an opportunity to think about the year as one party and meal after another! 

Next up is Thanksgiving, and sure it’s about the family, feeling blessed and victory over the British but it’s also about that meal, every delicious course of it and I’m already dreaming about a Southern spectacular.  This year I’ll be giving thanks to the turkey and trimmings, the cornbread, lashing of cranberry sauce and the pecan pie.  Last week, during Halloween, I was lusting after everything with a hint of spiced pumpkin about it: coffee, cream cheese, cakes and cocktails.

I feel the same way about weekend football, (of the American variety) for me those games aren’t about the prowess of the guys on the field but the food on my plate.  I long for those chicken wings doused in buffalo sauce, the side of blue cheese dip, the waffle fries, the cold beers and the cocktail specials.  In fact, falling out of a bar after 4 professional football games and 8 pints of Long Island Iced Tea is fast becoming one of my favorite ways to kick back at the weekend!

Then there is the great art of Tailgating, it’s like one huge party played out in the parking lot before the big game.  Thousands upon thousands of cars and trucks pull up, get their grills (BBQ’s) on and have a giant cook out and its as much a part of the big day as the game itself.

For the time being I’ll be looking forward to Thanksgiving followed by Christmas with a side of Hanukkah thrown in.  On New Years eve we’ll hit the reset button and start anew on another year of events and dining, and seeing as this is America, if you don't go big, you may as well go home!