I made Ina Garten’s coconut macaroons as part of my Christmas baking, and like many of the people who commented on Food Network’s recipe, I had the same problem of the macaroons running all over the place once in the oven. The first batch came out as flat as pancakes, though the second batch was a little better…I think it’s because I put the remaining batter in the fridge while waiting for the first batch to bake. I whipped the eggs right, and folded them in right, so I think the things I would do differently next time would be to add at least another cup, if not two, of coconut and refrigerate the batter before baking.

Besides for the appearance, these were okay. Soft, sticky, sweet – everything a macaroon should be! I dipped the bottom of each macaroon in a chocolate glaze, as I think chocolate really goes well with the coconut.

Chocolate-Bottom Coconut Macaroons
adapted from Food Network (Ina Garten)
Printable Recipe

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (I would suggest using a lot more coconut)
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

(3. My suggestion is to refrigerate the mixture at this point for at least half an hour)

4. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool.

5. Dip bottoms of each cookie in a chocolate glaze (I used about one cup of dark chocolate, melted with a few tablespoons of heavy cream. Let glaze cool om cookie. Serve.

Christmas Eve dinner is kind of a big deal at my parents’ house. This is not a dinner of turkey, stuffing and potatoes (which we usually get on Christmas Day) – it’s a dinner of all the things we love. The dinner has no star player, nor does it have cohesion; it’s a mishmash of all the loved foods we rarely eat during the year. It’s a serious meal of indulgence, and probably the thing I look forward to the most on Christmas.

We all contribute some dishes to the meal, as well as desserts. I will slowly get around the writing about the dishes and desserts I made, with recipes and more detail, but for now, a taste of all the delicious, carb-heavy, cheese-laden things we devoured over the course of one short evening.

Baked Artichoke Dip

Made by my sister – this stuff is a meal on its own! When she offered me a spoonful while she was doling it out into the baking dish, I thought I was getting deviled egg filling…the garlicky, cheesy, tangy dip was quite the (pleasant) surprise. This stuff always, always gets quickly devoured when served as an appetizer at parties.

Jalapeno Pie and Pork Buns

I made the jalapeno pie and will do a post about it in the coming days. Cilantro, roasted jalapenos and cheese – how can you go wrong. My mom makes the pork buns, a Christmas staple. I’m not quite sure what goes into the mixture except for ground pork and chicken gumbo…I do know that I love these things.

Pastrami Rolls

These are probably my favourite Christmas Eve dinner addition, and I can’t even say why. Pillsbury crescent rolls wrapped around pastrami, mustard and cream cheese. Simple, and completely addictive. I can’t stop eating them – fresh out of the oven, nuked in the microwave, or straight from the fridge.

Baked Beans

My mom makes these. I have no idea what’s in them or how she does it. I know my sister loves them, and I know they are a fun addition to the meal. I like to scoop some of them up with my beloved pastrami rolls.

Turkey Salad with Grapes

My mom makes this as well. I haven’t had a better chicken or turkey salad ever. I think it’s the grapes that do it – the juicy sweet crunch does me in every time. The dill is also one of my favourite parts…also, I believe she only used the white meat, and when it comes to a chicken salad, dark meat is not something I want.

Scalloped Tomatoes

I made these, and will be doing a separate post about them. This was not my first time making them, and I love them. They were a good addition to a very carb-heavy meal!

I made some desserts, and again, I’ll write about them soon. Here’s some of the desserts my sister and mother made…cherry chews from my sis and toffee chocolate bars and Greek Christmas cookies from my mom:

I think our Christmas dinner is pretty unique – what does everyone else need to have on Christmas?

And – happy holidays to everyone!

So here’s the weird thing: I have a cookbook that has a recipe for Cracked Chocolate Cookies and for Chocolate Crackle Cookies. They are almost identical in appearance…they are those holiday cookies that you roll in icing sugar, and come out, baked, all cracked and covered in icing sugar. One appears on page 58, the other on page 66. One recipe is super amazing, one is not amazing at all.

Guess what happened?

Yeah. I knew what cookbook my cookie was in, so when I opened to the page titled Cracked Chocolate Cookies, I assumed it was the cookie recipe I knew and loved. I made them, and did not love them. I checked my montcarte post, realized the ingredients were verrrrrry different, and found the right recipe less than 10 pages away.

I guess there’s a fair amount of people who prefer one recipe to the other…why else would a cookbook include such similar cookies? The irritating part is that I MUCH preferred the chocolate crackle cookies, and thought I was making those, when in reality, I was making the other ones. And I can’t even blame this on too-much-wine-while-baking syndrome; I was completely sober.

Anyway. The Cracked Chocolate Cookies were okay. They were thinner and fudgier. The icing sugar dissolved more (I did use butter instead of shortening, which does include water, but I left out the called-for water to compensate), so I was left for a crunchier shell surrounding a dense centre. The cookie I was trying to make has less crunch, and light, fluffy centre (which I assume is due to folding egg whites in).

I prefer the ones I intended to make, but I assume a lot of people like these ones too. Here’s the recipe….but for me, the perfect cracked chocolate cookie is the Chocolate Crackles, found here.

But really, why would a cookbook have such similar cookie recipes???

Cracked Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Debbie Mum’s Old-Fashioned Cookies

1 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 Crisco stick or 2/3 cup Crisco all-purpose shortening (used equal amount of butter)
1 tablespoon water (I left this out because I used butter, not shortening)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (left this out)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degree. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.

2. Place brown sugar, shortening, water, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda. Add to shortening mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll in confectioners’ sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake on baking sheet at a time at 375 F for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.

We don’t often post restaurant reviews here, but we certainly do go out. This past week, we tried La Maison VIP in Chinatown for the first time, and were very happy that we did!

This was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Usually when we are heading out to a restaurant, we scour the internet for reviews and compile lists of all the must-have dishes. We didn’t this time, but I think we still fared okay. The menu is enormous – dauntingly so – so after a few bewildering moments, we gave up and instead asked our server for recommendations. We’re more of the daring type, so when he offered up chow mein, we decided to go with the few specials listed on the wall instead.

We were initially going to go with the salt and pepper pork cutlets, but when we saw the restaurant had salt and pepper soft shell crab, we told our waiter we would go with that, and would skip the pork (and much salt and pepper can two people eat?)…imagine the surprise when a platter of pork and a platter of soft shell crab reached our table. We decided we’d keep it, as both looked great. We also ordered the VIP sizzling platter, which included beef, chicken, shrimp and one lonely hunk of lobster meat, with some carrots and broccoli, covered in a bean sauce. A last-minute addition (this was before we knew we’d be getting both the pork and the crab) was the BBQ duck. So. Much. Food.

The star of the meal was the soft shell crab. Perfectly fried, crunchy and flavourful, we kept popping it in our mouths. It sat atop a bed of sauteed lettuce.

My second favourite was definitely the BBQ duck, with its crispy skin and fatty, juicy meat.

The battered pork was good for a few bites, but as it sat out, it got heavier and tasted greasy.

The sizzling platter was a little dull, though we did enjoy the sauce. Of course, we took half the meal home with us.

We ended the meal with orange segments and some buttery-tasting fortune cookies.

This wasn’t high-end dining. This was a meal for two ravenous people who like things flavourful and greasy, so it did its job perfectly. VIP is open until 4:00am, so I imagine that’s just the crowd they’re trying to draw in. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to go back, but I certainly wouldn’t say no.

La Maison VIP
1077 Clark
Montreal, QC

We enjoy drinking absinthe. I appreciate its taste, and even more than that, I appreciate its strange (if not often-exaggerated) effects. It has a certain tingle that other alcohols just can’t produce.

However, we’re not often pleased with the selection available. We once found a great bottle, but for the past few years, its only been the swill that is Hill’s that’s been offered at the SAQ, and that really doesn’t have any of the warmth or tingle…it just gets you really drunk really fast. We recently read about a small influx of new absinthes that have reaches Quebec, these ones from Switzerland, the birthplace of the magical drink. This week, we picked up a pricey bottle of Clandestine absinthe to enjoy over the holidays.

We’ve sampled it, and it’s nice stuff. It’s got the tingle, it’s got the heat, it makes your cheeks flush and your toes vibrate. I think we made the perfect choice, though it’s hard to say after just a few sips. We’ll keep everyone updated once we get more…involved…

We also enjoyed a pretty beautiful walk through the snow to get it. Montreal’s gorgeous during the holidays:

It seems that people are divided when it comes to the best chocolate chip cookie recipe – some claim the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie (which has been my go-to cookie recipe and a popular one on this site, coming in 10th place in last year’s tally of Montcarte’s most popular recipes) and it seems the other side is all for Jacques Torres’ chocolate chip cookie. Looks like the battle is on!

The differences in the two recipes are quite apparent. Jacques Torres’ cookies use much more granulated sugar and contain no vanilla or instant espresso powder. They also ask for two different types of flour, pastry and bread. So. What’s the verdict?

To be honest, I haven’t had a Neiman Marcus cookie since the summer, and these are still fresh on my tastebuds. I find the Jacques Torres’ cookies to be softer and have a more buttery taste, all very good qualities. However, my vote goes to the Neiman Marcus cookie, as I love the touch of vanilla in them, as well as that espresso powder. It just makes things more interesting.

However, the Jaqcues Torres chocolate chip cookie is amazing, and I know that lots and lots of people insist it’s the best recipe out there, so I do enourage you attempt the cookie battle yourself!

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Jacques Torres (listed on Martha Stewart)
Printable Recipe

(I halved this recipe, turned out perfectly)

1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

3. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

As promised, a seasonally-appropriate dish! When I saw the recipe for a vegetable cobbler on Ezra Pound Cake’s site, I knew I had to make it. I loved its simplicity, as well as the great amount of vegetables in it. What a great vegetarian dish; it’s certainly hearty, and packed with flavour. It’s especially wonderful because you can add pretty much any vegetable you have sitting in your fridge, as well as any spice you tend to like. Versatile, healthy, cheap and comforting – does food get much better than this?

I really loved this. My biscuits were a bit tough, but once they soak up all that vegetable gravy, they were perfect. I liked the tang of the yogurt in them, and the fresh thyme over the top added a lot. This also makes a lot of food, and served us well for at least two lunches each and one dinner. It’s the ideal winter comfort food and makes for a filling main course or a good choice for a side dish.

Hearty Vegetable Cobbler
adapted from Ezra Pound Cake (original from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)
Printable Recipe

Feel free to substitute the vegetables in the recipe for your favorites – the recipe below lists the veggies I used, but really, any veggie you can chop up can easily find its place in this dish. sliced celery, cut-up asparagus spears, diced red bell pepper, diced butternut squash, cut-up green beans, etc.

VEGETABLE FILLING
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or butter)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons dried savory (or thyme)
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (I like my stuff with a bit of heat!)
4 to 5 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots (or parsnips)
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (the original also includes 1 cup of frozen peas, but I hate those things)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of hot sauce (optional, but I added it)

BISCUIT TOPPING
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or any herb you have on hand)

VEGETABLE FILLING
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 X 13-inch baking dish.

2. Warm the oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onions and garlic, cover, and cook on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the salt, savory, crushed red pepper flakes, mushrooms and mustard. Cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the squash, white potato, carrot, celery, black pepper and stock, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender.

5. Stir the dissolved cornstarch mixture into the simmering vegetables, stirring constantly. When the liquid starts to thicken, mix in the corn, soy sauce and salt. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed (I had to add more salt and pepper then called for). Add dash of hot sauce.

6. Pour the vegetables into the prepared baking dish, and set aside.

BISCUIT TOPPING

1. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and buttermilk or yogurt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with as few strokes as possible to make a soft dough (I think I overstirred, or didn’t have quite enough liquid…my biscuits were a little tough)

2. Drop the biscuit batter over the vegetables in the dish in six equal mounds. Sprinkle the thyme over the dough.

9. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of a biscuit comes out clean. Serve immediately.