🎄Comfort and Joy 🎄
—From our kitchens to yours. Holidays are filled with traditions, specifically when it comes to family recipes. In this post, we’re getting the season rolling by sharing some of our favorite holiday fare, loaded with all of the ingredients for clinking glasses and tasty treats. Ladies & Gentleman, stock the bar and pre-heat your ovens.
Coquito De Puerto Rico—Abuelita Blanca’s recipe.
No surprise this is from Ili and Isabela’s kitchen, 3rd and 4th generation Coquito makers. “This classic holiday drink is a tropical take on the English EggNog. Sweet, creamy and thoroughly coconuty, our family recipe calls for the milder, citrus based Licor 43, favored in Spain. But as any true Puerto Rican will tell you, feel free to kick it up a notch with a splash of aged Caribbean rum.” 😉
Ingredients: 1 can Coconut Milk, 1 can Coconut Cream, 1 can Condensed Milk, 1 can Evaporated Milk, 1 cup Licor 43 (or Rum!), 6 Pasteurized Egg Yolks, Anise, Vanilla, and Cinnamon to taste. Mix thoroughly by hand. Whip egg yolks and fold in. Keep refrigerated. Shake well before serving. Garnish with a dusting of ground cinnamon and a few whole-star anise. Serve lightly chilled or at room temp. —Salud!
Aunt Bert’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
From Amy’s kitchen, this Bavarian recipe was passed from generations of struedelers and coffeecakers. “This perfectly crumbly bundt of perfection is a very good incentive to make your way to the kitchen on a chilly holiday morning. My mother, (Aunt Bert) kept her bundt pan busy, each Christmas, baking up to 30 cakes for friends and family.”
Ingredients: 1 cup butter, 2 eggs beaten, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup sour cream, 2 cups flour sifted, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Beat well. Add sifted flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well. Topping: 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan well and place 1/2 the batter in pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the topping, pour remaining batter and put the rest of the topping on top. Bake for an hour at °350 —Brew the French Roast. ☕️
Gravlax with Mustard Sauce – Swedish Christmas Dish.
This Nordic specialty from Luly’s kitchen, is inspired by her Swedish family and has become an integral part of Christmas Eve. 🇸🇪 Easy to prepare, and perfectly cured, this culinary superstar makes for a very chic holiday brunch.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup coarse salt, 1 tablespoon whole white peppercorns, crushed, 2 one-pound center-cut salmon fillets, skin on, 1 bunch fresh dill.
Directions: Combine the sugar, salt, and peppercorns in a small bowl. Set aside. Place the salmon fillets on a parchment-lined work surface, and remove any remaining bones. Cover the flesh side of each with the spice mixture, gently rubbing it onto the flesh. Spread the dill on top of the spices. Place one fillet on top of the other, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped fillets in a glass or enamel pan. Place a heavy object, such as a canned good, in a smaller pan, and place on top of the fish. Transfer both pans to the refrigerator, and chill for 12 hours. Remove the fish from the pan; pour off the liquid that has accumulated in the pan and discard. Turn the fish over, and place the weighted pan back on top of the fish. Continue to refrigerate for 3 more days, turning the fish over every 12 hours. —After 3 days, remove and discard the plastic wrap. Scrape the dill and spices from the surface of both fillets. To serve, slice each fillet on the diagonal, as thinly as possible. Wrap the remaining gravlax in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve on bread topped with Mustard Sauce.
Mustard Sauce: 2 tbs yellow mustard, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbs sugar, 1½ tbs vinegar, pinch salt & white pepper, 1 cup canola oil, ¼ cup chopped dill. Combine the mustards, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process to combine, then add the oil drop by drop until the mixture is thick. Add dill to finished sauce. Lovely with a crisp champagne. —Skål.
Mulled Wine “aka Glühwein“
Ili and Luly first experienced this concoction at the Christmas markets in Germany during their college travels. They found that it really did work and warmed them up! In Luly’s words—“A holiday MUST and the ideal beverage to keep us warm during our outdoor gatherings this season.” ✨
Ingredients: 1 large orange, 2 cardamom pods, 6 whole clove, 6 allspice berries, 6 whole black peppercorns, 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, plus 4 for garnish (optional), 1 bottle (3 cups) fruity red wine, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brandy
Directions: Slice the orange, into ¼” rounds. With the flat side of a knife, press firmly on the cardamom pods to bruise them. In a large pot (not aluminum), combine orange slices, cardamom, cloves, allspice, peppercorns, anise, cinnamon, wine, sugar, and brandy. Let it sit for 4 hours and then cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes.- Reduce heat to low; simmer until flavors have melded, about 30 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve; garnish with orange, a cinnamon stick and anise star, if desired. Serve immediately—Bring. It. On.
Toast. With the most.
Simple pleasures from Kirstin’s kitchen. “This is my favorite appetizer to bring to a holiday party. Simple and DELICIOUS. The “cooking” is mostly assembly, and the kids can help. It’s just a baguette, pesto (store-bought for me 😉) fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto. Assemble, pop them in the oven long enough for the cheese to get melty and the prosciutto to get a little crispy, and devour.” —Divine 🥰
This season, we hope that you enjoy all of your culinary traditions along with a few new ones. Oh what fun it is to splurge— now more than ever, let’s treat ourselves to a couple of extra helpings of comfort and joy! Bon Appétit!
Thanks to Pinterest and Creative market for the inspiration images.
