Cookies from generations past, rustic dinner to clean out the fridge

Earlier this year, I made a batch of my Aunt Da's tea cakes. Aunt Da was one of Nanny's much-older sisters (Nanny was a surprise baby by 16 years or something), and I always remember that she made tea cakes, stored them in a metallic purple (or was it blue? silver?) aluminum tin and they always seemed to be in stock. I took some liberties in my reimagination of them: I added Irish Breakfast tea to literalize the Tea Cake moniker; used whole wheat pastry and cake flours rather than all-purpose; and subbed marzipan for the vanilla. They're wonderful!

I haven't made them since then but this week received from my mom some of Nanny's old cookie cutters. I think Aunt Da used them too. It seemed fitting to christen them in my kitchen by making some tea cakes, so this afternoon while Jack was a birthday party, Oliver and I did just that. The reindeer, gingerman and woman, and card suits are my beloved new additions from Nanny's kitchen. You know, it was a real bummer not to address a Christmas card to her this year. I can't bear to erase her name from my card list. Boo!

Tom and I appear to have inhaled vast quantities of sleep dust because we are already in bed and have wanted to be for hours. HOURS! However, before we donned jammies, I made a clean-out-the-fridge-and-pantry meal and really was quite pleased. I roasted some cubed rutabagas and chopped carrots; caramelized an onion and a leek with some garlic, a daub of mustard and a splash of white wine; threw it all together with some tomatoes and white beans; broiled some multi-grain bread with shaved Gruyère on top; fried some bacon; and basically put it all together as prettily as possible. Very satisfying!

Bread clouds

AKA, gougères, these delicacies are one of my favorite treats. A choux dough (butter, water, flour, and eggs; often used in profiteroles, eclairs and other pastries) is mixed with, in this case, Gruyère and asiago cheeses, thyme and a pinch each of kosher salt and cayenne. You spoon the dough into a pastry bag and pipe small mounds onto parchment-lined sheets. Bake for 20 in a hot oven and voila. Another fabulous aspect of gougères is that they freeze beautifully- always a blessing! This recipe is posted under Em-i-lis Recipes -> Breads. Simple and marvelous. Don't be shy with the salt and cayenne.

Delicious casserole dinner

I swear I never thought I would write that. The word "casserole" often makes me cringe, as do "all-you-can-eat buffet," "salve," and "melt" as that one pertains to food. Oh, and "human" when pronounced "you-man." Brr, I just don't like them; they make me shiver with some sort of generalized yuk. As it happens, I'm getting over "casserole," probably because I've made or eaten several quite good ones in the past year. Tonight's dinner was no exception. In fact, I really liked it a lot and will share the recipe with you! I had two medium heads of orange cauliflower from the farmers market, some homemade ricotta, Gruyère, and pancetta that I wanted to use so started musing on an easy dish in which I could combine them all. Aaah, casserole. I blanched the cauliflower in simmering salt water, sauteed some shallots/garlic/pancetta in a bit of butter with sage and sliced apple, soaked some old baguette in milk, tossed all that together with some ricotta and grated Gruyère, and then topped it with butter/sage/nutmeg toasted breadcrumbs. Bake. Serve. Scene. Here, a before and after.