You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Another fabulous recipe from The Joy of Cooking. This is my kitchen bible.

Gingerbread Men

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend until creamy:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white or brown sugar

Beat in:
1/2 cup dark molasses

Sift:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Resift with:
1tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in about three parts, alternately with:

1/4 cup water if you roll the dough, or 1/3 cup if you model it. Decorate with candies, raisins, etc.

Place on a greased pan. Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes or longer, according to their thickness. Test for doneness by pressing the dough with your finger. If it springs back after pressing, they are ready to be cooled on a rack.

The Joy of Cooking suggests a frosting/paste:

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
A few drops of water

You may add: A drop or two of vegetable coloring.

Apply the icing with a wooden pick or a small knife for addition garnishes.

If you don't want to make Gingerbread Men, check out these finds from 1000Markets:

Baked Potato Latkes

I just tried this recipe tonight and let me say....yum!! This is from Faye Levy's 1000 Jewish Recipes. Makes 4-6 servings.

2 TBS, plus 3/4 tsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
.75 tsp dried thyme
1.25 tsp paprika, plus more for sprinkling
1.75 lbs baking potatoes
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp freshly ground pepper
1.5 cups of applesauce (optional), for serving or try low fat sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 TBS plus .75 tsp in a heavy nonstick skillet. Add onions and saute over medium-low heat until, softened, about 10 minutes; if pan becomes dry during sauteing, add .5 TBS water. Add thyme and 1.25 tsp paprika and saute 30 seconds, stirring. Let cool.

2. Peel and coarsely grate potatoes on the large holes of a grater or use a food processor fitted with a coarse grating disk (I chose this option). Transfer grated potatoes to a colander and squeeze out excess liquid. Put potatoes in a bowl. Add sauteed onions, eggs, salt, and pepper.

3. Grease a 12- cup nonstick muffin pan, making sure to grease bases well, especially at the point where the base meets the sides. Add scant 1/3 cup potato mixture to each muffin tin. Smooth tops lightly. Spoon .25 tsp oil over each (I skipped this part), then shake a little paprika on top. Bake about 45 minutes or until brown at edges and firm.

4. Remove from oven and run a small sturdy rubber spatula around edges of latkes to release them. You can then leave them in pan 15 to 30 minutes to keep hot. Serve latkes hot, accompanied by applesauce if using.

Our Traditional Meal on Christmas Eve

My husband and I lived in Europe for several years before moving back to the States. One of my favorite treats in Switzerland was Fondue. So I started a new tradition, where on Christmas Eve, we have Fondue made from scratch. The Joy of Cooking is my bible in the kitchen, so I found the recipe there and enjoy the process every year. In addition, its fast and a fairly easy clean up.

FONDUE
Shred: 1 lb. Emmenthaler or .5 lb Emmenthaler and . 5lb Gruyere cheese
Rub a heavy saucepan with: A clove of garlic
Put into the pan: 2 cups of dry white wine
When this is heating uncovered, over moderately high heat, pour into a cup: 3 TBSP kirsch
Stir into the kirsch until well dissolved: 1 tsp cornstarch

By this time the wine will begine to show small foamy bubbles over its surface. When it is almost covered with theis fine foam, bu is not yet boiling, add the coarsley shredded cheese gradually stirring constantly. Keep the heat high, but do not let the fondue boil. Continue to add the cheese until you can feel a very slight resistance to the spoon as you stir. Then still stirring vigorously, add the kirsch and cornstarch mixture. Continue to cook until the fondue begins to thicken.

Add to taste: Nutmeg, white pepper, or paprika.

Quickly transfer it to a heatproof heavy pan and place the container over an alcohol lamp or in a fondue pot or a chafing dish. Or use an electric skillet adjusted to low heat. After this transferral the cooking continues on low heat and the guests take over.

In our house, one of the guests is in charge of ripping up the bread into bite size pieces and placing it in a beautiful handmade ceramic bread basket we bought on our honeymoon in Crete. Another guest cuts up strawberries and pears. The five year old is not allowed near the fondue forks.