A Christmas Tradition

That’s my brother, sister, and me (the one in the red jacket). It seems like all the snow storms back then were at least 6 to 12 inches deep. One of those snowfalls exceeded all the others and started a holiday tradition my family holds near and dear to our hearts.

That year a blizzard was raging on Christmas Eve day so it was certain to be a white Christmas. Just when my mother began to prepare dinner the electricity failed and the entire neighborhood went black. Our family had a gas stove so  dinner was still expertly prepared. My parents lit the table and house with candles—a tradition began.

Now, every Christmas Eve we all cook together—that same meal—and it’s enjoyed by candlelight! It’s lovely and fun and cherished.

We’ve added to it over the years. When we were high school we started to attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve with our friends. We’d get home around 1 o’clock Christmas morning and one year convinced my parents we should exchange presents since, after all, it was Christmas Day! Afterwards we feasted on leftovers from the night’s dinner and fell into bed in the wee hours happy, well fed, and ready to start again the next day.

So, what’s the dinner we look forward to each year? It’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian American tradition where no meat is consumed on Christmas Eve. It starts with a wonderful pasta dish with anchovies. (Don’t wrinkle your nose! It’s fabuloso!) And, then four different kinds of fish and side dishes ensue. We never actually achieve SEVEN fishes although some years we’ve tried. For dessert—cannoli, sfogliatelli, cookies, fruits and nuts.

Finally, there’s a lot of groaning (ate too much) and whining by the little kids (can’t wait to open presents) while we clear the table. Then we gather and exchange presents—wrapping paper flies, many oohs & aahs, and smiles all around the Christmas tree. It’s a beautiful thing.

My gift to you this year is the pasta recipe—Vermicelli Aglio e Olio. It’s not my recipe or my family’s recipe. It’s one of the universally known dishes I’m sure thousands of families and restaurants prepare every day. It’s very easy and your kitchen smells like heaven when you’re making it! Enjoy!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, happy, healthy holiday season!

Vermicelli Aglio e Olio

A few turns of good olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 can of flat anchovies, undrained
1 small bottle of capers, drained and rinsed
1 pound vermicelli or thin linguine

Pour the olive oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Add the sliced garlic and fry until it is light brown. You need to watch the garlic so it doesn’t get too brown—it will keep cooking after you take it off the burner.

Meanwhile, open the anchovies. Take the skillet off the burner and add the anchovies. With a heavy flat fork mash the anchovies until they become a paste (yes, right there in the frying pan). Mix in thoroughly with the oil. Add the capers. Set the pan aside.

Boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve 2 or 3 cups of the pasta water when you drain the vermicelli.

Pour the vermicelli in the serving dish. Add about 3/4 of a cup of the pasta liquid to the skillet with the garlic anchovy mixture. Mix it all up and pour it on top of the vermicelli. Mix and add more water if needed.

We usually serve the remaining pasta water on the table with the vermicelli in case anyone wants to add it to their dish.

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Rosemary Lime Cookies

My sister is responsible for the Christmas cookies. She usually bakes Chocolate Chip, Biscotti, Russian Tea Cakes (her specialty) and maybe some kind of surprise cookie. They’re all traditionally made—with flour, eggs, and butter. *sigh*

I have only so much willpower folks. I need Christmas Cookies! That means I’ll be baking cookies, too—gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free Christmas Cookies.

Here’s the plan—Rosemary Lime Cookies, Cherry Nut Biscotti, and Dutch Cocoa Cookies. OK, so the Rosemary Lime Cookies are done (and really good!). The biscotti have been baked once but the recipe needs a little tweaking even though my taste tester hubby loved ‘em as is. (I’m going to try to get to those today.) And, the Dutch Cocoa Cookies are pretty easy so they’ll be next. If I can fit anymore in I’ll let you know.

I have this image of my family sitting in the kitchen with milk or hot cocoa munching a few cookies and musing over all the holiday things we didn’t seem to get done. Maybe the tree won’t get put up and decorated or the presents won’t be wrapped. (That’s right! You heard it—I don’t have my tree up yet! Oy!) But, I guarantee we’ll have cookies!!

On to the Rosemary Lime Cookies. Isn’t rosemary one of the best scents on earth? (I need to make a list of the 10 Best Kitchen Smells.) I have a little rosemary plant in my kitchen and it’s so aromatic. If you sniff gently I’m sure you can smell it.

The rosemary and lime in this cookie are wonderful together. Lime takes center stage and rosemary is just a subtle accent. And, they’re festive, too, don’t you think?

Rosemary Lime Cookies

For the cookies…

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour

1 1/2 cups GF flour mix*

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Earth Balance, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lime zest

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lime juice

For the glaze…

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

Sprinkles or decorative sugar, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the flours and salt together in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the softened Earth Balance and sugar on medium speed for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the lime zest, crushed rosemary, lime juice and vanilla—beat another minute or so until everything is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture a little at a time. Mix until just combined.

Pull the dough together with clean, dry hands and split into two round sections. Wrap in waxed or parchment paper and place in the refrigerator until firm (about a half hour).

Roll out one chilled section of dough between two layers of parchment. It should be a little thicker than 1/8 inch. Cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter and place them about an inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press the scraps together and return to the fridge. Follow the same procedure with the other section of dough. Pull the scraps together into a ball, roll out and cut out more cookies.

Bake the cookies, two sheets at a time, for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Swap the position of the cookie sheets about halfway through the baking time. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Lime Glaze

Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and lime juice together until it’s smooth and there are no lumps. Spoon it into a pastry bag (I use a plastic zipper bag with the tip of one of the bottom corners snipped) and pipe onto the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with decorating sugar, jimmies, or nonpareils, if desired.

Once the icing has hardened you can place them in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days. These freeze well if you want to make them in advance.

*Note: I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour.

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