Merry Christmas from Under the High Chair

Dear Readers,

Merry Christmas one and all from us here at Under the High Chair in snowy Montreal! May your holidays be filled with love, laughter, hope, and of course, plenty of great food.
We feel very blessed this holidays season and are thankful for so many things, snow included!

Best wishes to all of you and your loved ones.

Love,
Aimee

More Cookies: Espresso Biscotti & Cranberry Shortbread

We haven’t had enough of cookies around here; we’re still rolling, slicing and pressing them out by the dozens. Nearly all the goods from the cookie swap are gone and we found it necessary to replenish the stores. By we, I mean Noah and I, as he has been my sous chef for all of this. His little red apron is caked with flour, his hair has dried bits of dough in it, and goodness knows how much dough he has consumed, but by golly, this two-year-old knows the difference between whole cloves and whole allspice, can count out ten eggs lickety split, and sift flour with a flick of his wrist. What a pro! He can say ‘ginger’ and ‘bread’ and ‘men’ all on their own but when challenged to say ‘gingerbread men’ all together, he adds about four extra syllables and it comes out a bit garbled.


Two recipes that we love are cranberry shortbread and espresso biscotti. Both are variations on classic cookies and wonderful in their own way: one very delicate, perfect with a cup of tea, and the other much more sturdy and needing of a steaming latte for dunking.
On another note, Under the High Chair is the proud recipient of an award! The enthusiastic and talented David, over at Book the Cook in the UK has awarded my Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding with Rummy Raisins a “Cerys the Well Done Angel Award”, as it more than met with the approval of his adorable daughter, Cery. Thank you, David and Cery!
Also, speaking of awards, congratulations to all the winners of the 2007 Food Blog Awards!

Cranberry Shortbread

1/4 Cup Corn Starch
1/4 Cup Confectionery Sugar
1 Cup Unbleached, All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 Tablespoons Sanding Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Sift flour, corn starch and confectionery sugar into a large bowl.
Measure and chop the cranberries with one tablespoon of the sanding sugar. (This helps keep them from sticking to everything and to candy them while they bake.)
Add the butter and cranberries.
Stir the mixture, using a wooden spoon, just until everything begins to come together in a soft dough.
Roll the dough with your hands into small balls.
Flatten the cookies with your palm or the bottom of a lightly flour-dusted glass.
Top with a sprinkling of the remaining sanding sugar.
Bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes, watching carefully towards the end. The cookies should be removed just as the edges begin to turn a light golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.



Espresso Biscotti

3 tablespoons coffee beans
2 tablespoons strong coffee
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F. Grind coffee beans finely.
Place in a small bowl and mix with coffee. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs and coffee mixture. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips if desired.
Pat dough into two equal logs on a floured baking sheet.
Should be about 14 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly brown.
Transfer from sheet to rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
Cut diagonally at a 45 degree angle into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place slices upright on sheet and return to oven for 10 minutes longer or until the desired crispness is reached. Let cool on baking rack and store in airtight container.

For variations substitute toasted almonds for chocolate chips or dip in chocolate.

Weathering Out a Storm with Peanut Butter Fudge

A major storm blew in our way yesterday: a foot of snowfall combined with high winds made for a twenty-four hour blizzard. Our concert was postponed, people holed up in their houses, our evening guests canceled, and the city basically hunkered down to weather it out.

A few hours before the snow was about to fly, I went out to buy staples. The grocery store parking lot was packed bumper to bumper as folks hastened to stock up on staples before they got snowed in. While most people were doubling up on milk, diapers, bread and maybe wine to last them through the storm, not I. I bought a jar of marshmallow fluff and a jar of smooth Skippy peanut butter.

I had seen this recipe for Killer Crack Peanut Butter Fudge on the ever inspiring blog Cookie Baker Lynn and knew this is what I would be needing to make it through the storm. Lynn calls her fudge the crack cocaine of the candy world, so addictive you can not have just one piece, and warns that after consuming the whole pan (naturally the only choice here) you may find yourself huddled under the table, holding your sore tummy and whimpering for more.

This sounded like my kind of fun and even before I had finished reading Lynn's post (aptly named Warning: Hazardous Material) I was reading for a pen to make a shopping list. No, you're right, I don't keep marshmallow fluff on hand.

This fudge turned out to be every bit as good (or 'bad', depending on your view of drugs) as Lynn had threatened. The texture alone is so amazing, you never want to be without a piece melting on your tongue. If you are a peanut butter fanatic, you'll want to print up this recipe and invest in some marshmallow fluff shares.

This morning the sun shone brightly, glistening off the three foot drifts of snow. Luckily, Noah and I were able to dig out his sled from where it was nearly buried and go for a brisk walk.
Hey, I have to work off that fudge somehow!!

Killer Crack Peanut Butter Fudge (from Lynn)

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup peanut butter
1- 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, stirring until melted.. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; beat until well blended.

Spread in a buttered 9 x 13 x 2 - inch pan. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate. Cut into squares when firm.

Winter Salad of Russet Apple, Pomegranate and Pecans

After all these sweets my teeth are starting to ache a little. Snow is piled up two feet deep over the garden and I am starting to crave something fresh. A deep rummage in my fridge unveils the ingredients for this ideal winter salad. Bright and pretty, crunchy and juicy, it satisfies that need for something healthy and light amidst all the rich holiday goodies. As a nice bonus, the colors are rather festive too!
(An alternate name could be 'Play-Date Salad' as it is a perfect salad to whip up for those Mama's looking for a light lunch. We sure enjoyed ours.)

Things have been busy here at Under the High Chair:
Extensive baking is still underway, with pretty packages of it being shipped to loved ones in New Mexico and British Columbia. A bake sale fund raiser I organized raised over $500 that will be turned into food baskets for needy family in the neighborhood. After three months of practice, our Christmas cantata gives two performances this weekend and we are looking forward to having that over and done with! (I am trying to remind myself why on earth I agreed to do a solo...) Gifts are slowly being made or purchased and wrapped up prettily. Grocery lists are getting longer and longer as menus are being formed and reworked.
I am thrilled that we have mounds of fluffy white snow and that I can organize a tobogganing party, just like my family hosted every year when I was growing up. Those are some Christmas memories worth repeating. Chili and Cornbread, anyone?

Here's wishing you all an enjoyable and relaxed week-end leading into the last few days before Christmas!

Winter Salad of Russet Apple, Pomegranate, and Pecans

1 russet apple, julienne
1 pomegranate, seeds removed
1 stalk firm celery, julienne
¼ cup pecans, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
1 shallot, julienne
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
Salt and pepper

In a very small saucepan, bring apple cider vinegar to a boil. Pour over julienne shallots and allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in grape seed oil and set aside.

Reserve about ¼ cup of the pomegranate seeds and crush the rest to extract the juice. Pour off the juice into a wide, shallow bowl and place in microwave. Microwave on high for three minutes, then scrape down sides with a spatula a stir slightly. Juice will be reducing and thickening. Microwave, one minute at a time, checking consistency between each minute until juice is consistency of maple syrup. Cool.

In a bowl, toss together the apple, reserved pomegranate seeds, celery, and shallots and some of the apple cider marinade. Season with salt and pepper and add more vinaigrette if needed. Add pecans, toss and mound onto a plate. Drizzle with pomegranate reduction and serve.

Foodie Facebook: Amanda

This edition of Foodie Facebook is with the delightful Amanda of Little Foodies. If you haven't checked out her cheery, young-at-heart food blog, get cracking!

Thank you, Amanda. I'm with you on drinking more water. Why is it so hard?!

Name: Amanda
Place: South East, England
Occupation: Brain!

1. What is your earliest childhood food memory?
   Mushrooms in gravy from the Chinese Take Away; it seemed very exotic then. Chips in proper newspaper (no thoughts to hygiene in those days) from the fish and chip shop with scratchings as a treat. Scratchings were the small bits of batter that had fallen off the fish into the fryer.

2. What did you eat today?
   No breakfast. I don't like eating so early (please don't tell my children, I want them to grow up loving breakfast). Brunch is a much more civil time to eat.
   Lunch: a soft tortilla wrap with hummus, grated carrot and spinach.
   Dinner: Homemade chicken curry, using leftover chicken from Sunday.

3. What will your kids never be allowed to eat?
   Tricky one. I don't think I'd stop them from trying much. Only because I think you can make some foods more appealing if you say they're not allowed to eat it. I don't want them eating overly processed food and I'm quite pleased that both of them would choose a restaurant over Macdonald's. If you'd asked me a few years ago I'd have reeled off a list.

4. What do you always have on hand in your fridge?
   In no particular order: Cheddar Cheese, Parmesan, Milk, Unsalted Butter, Salted Butter, Organic Eggs, Wine, Cucumbers, Carrots and various Condiments.

5. What is your beverage of choice?
   Oloroso Sherry, or a cold glass of Cava, or a really good cup of coffee with hot milk. Which reminds me, I must start drinking more water!

6. If you could have dinner with anyone in the history of man, who would it be?
   My Nana, with my husband and children who she never got to meet. If she had got to meet them then, Roald Dahl? or Stephen Fry? or maybe some Royalty, but only after they'd had a few to loosen up a bit.

7. OK, it's your last meal ever, what do you have?
   So difficult, if I really could have anything, then I'd like lots of little dishes from around the world, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Indian, British. I'd like there to be some dim sum and definitely some trifle, but it would have to taste just like the ones served every New Years Day while I was growing up. I can never recreate that same taste. There was obviously some secret ingredient.

Cookies and Company

If your December "To Do" list is anything like mine, you’ll find yourself scratching your head and wondering how you can possibly get everything done in the allotted time. Everywhere you look there is a countdown to Christmas, taunting you and reminding you that you are going to have to exercise some super powers to wrap up your list.

However, readers of Under the High Chair may remember last year’s cookie swap, which presented my sweet-toothed friends a fun, practical, and time-saving way to shorten their long list of baking and freezing by coming together to exchange baked goods. Just prepare one kind of cookie in massive quantities, bring them to the swap, and leave with an beautiful assortment of holiday baking worthy of your finest tea tray, like this GQ gingerbread man.

Last year's exchange was such a hit, we knew we had to do it again; this year the bar was set even higher...

Hardly anyone declined the invitation and on a chilly Sunday afternoon, cars lined the snowbanks along our quiet street and ten girls (not to mention a journalist and photographer from Montreal's major English newspaper, but we'll get to that) swarmed my kitchen, burdening my kitchen table with armloads of cookies. We did a rough estimate and figured we probably had about 1200 cookies and squares: enough to make the pulse quicken of any foodie or sweet-lover.

The menu was indeed impressive:

Grandma Fisher's Sandwich Cookies
Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Cookies
Marshmallow Squares
Brownies
Mayan Chocolate Sparklers
Raspberry Swirls
Butter Pecan Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Aimee's Spice Snaps
Noir Bars
Double Chocolate Cookies
Gingerbread Men

While we valiantly did our best to sample all the cookies brought (only a few were successful), the charming Susan Schwartz from the Montreal Gazette quizzed us on the recipe to a winning cookie swap, and a bona fide photographer (not a wannabe like me) documented the event and the pretty cookies.

You can read her kind and enjoyable article here and file away the 6 or 7 cookie recipes included on the same page for your future use. They are all tried and true and worthy of your holiday baking repertoire.

Little Noah's picture made it into the newspaper, and he looks quite adorable, if a little sleepy, as he had just woken up from his afternoon nap.
If only we could all wake up more often to a warm home brimming with fresh, homemade cookies, what a happier place the world would be!

Pecan Butter Cookies
Makes about 50 cookies

This recipe comes from my friend Liz Leon, a Montreal pastry chef and super mom of twin toddlers.

1 cup (250 mL) pecans
1/2 pound (225 g) butter, softened
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar
1 teaspoon (5mL) vanilla
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

Toast pecans carefully in a non-stick frying pan, tossing constantly so they don’t burn. Cool completely, then finely chop.
Beat together butter, salt, icing sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the pecans gradually. Then sift the flour over the mixture and stir to blend well together. Roll into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and place them on a cookie sheet about an inch (2.5 cm) apart. Press a half a pecan into the center a bit with thumb to flatten a bit.
Bake at 350F (180 C) for 12 to 15 minutes.
Once cookies are out of the oven, let them stand until they become slightly firm. Then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Coat with icing sugar.

"Who Stole My Stollen?"

Say the word "Christmas" and the word "tradition" is usually not far behind, especially where food is concerned. Around the holiday season, families tend to lean heavily on customs passed down from generation to generation and you will find most are reluctant to change. My mother-in-law has made blueberry pancakes on Christmas morning for the last 22 years and when the 25th rolls around in just a few weeks, she'll be serving them to her grandson for the first time. (Thank goodness Noah adores pancakes!)

Without even noticing, over the last six years that I have been married, I have slipped into a pattern of holiday baking. While some may label these food habits as my own traditions beginning to emerge for my sweet little family, I see them more as a rut I have fallen into.

There is usually a traditional English trifle, dozens of dark chocolate truffles, Russian Tea Cakes and Gingerbread men for nibbling, shortbread in abundance, and plenty of mincemeat tarts. There is nothing wrong with any of those, but here I am almost 30, asking myself:

"Why am I only making fruitcake now? Why have I never baked a traditional German Stollen or an Italian Panettone? How come I've never attempted a steamed Christmas pudding?"

Heck, I haven't even perfected a Buche de Noel. Shame on me.
Why? Because I'm too busy making my standard fare every holiday season to experiment with something new.

Now, this is quite the 'Ah ha!' moment for me, because every other month of the year I am all about trying new things, so what's been happening around the 25th of December?

I am not big on traditions and never have been. I like surprises, spontaneity and change. Most people can't get over the fact that we don't have a Christmas tree (GASP!!), but that is just one of the Christmas traditions my hubby and I balk at. (OK, it mostly stems from my tree-hugging/save-the-planet upbringing, but don't get me started going down that road...and Santa Claus? Pul-leeze. )

I realize I am on thin ice here so I will lighten up and tell you where I am going with all of this! Starting with my first attempt at Tourtiere last December, and continuing with fruitcake this year, I am starting to branch out with my Christmas cooking and baking and avoid the tendency to always make the same things. It's just something I have to do. I am not belittling your traditions, your family recipes or your blueberry pancakes; I deeply respect all of those dear-to-your-heart patterns, but in my kitchen I have to mix things up a little!

And so I present my Christmas Stollen! Now I have never even eaten Stollen, not to mention made it, but it sounded to good not to try, and so we welcomed a little bit of Germany came into our home as a result. Stollen is a yeast-based fruitcake, full of fruit and nuts, flavored with spices and rum like a classic fruitcake, but more like a challah or a brioche in texture. I didn't know where to start looking for a recipe, (no German relations here, unfortunately) so I used my trusty Joy of Cooking. I always find bread baking deeply satisfying and this stollen did not disappoint. It was SO good, we couldn't stop eating it.

Although I had enjoyed the better part of a loaf with my afternoon tea, when I toasted up a slab for my husband in the evening, I couldn't resist nabbing some off his plate when he wasn't looking. That prompted the "Hey, who stole my stollen?" quote from above, a line Danny was quite tickled with and giggled over for the rest of the night.

So does this mean Christmas Around the World for Under the High Chair? I don't know yet, we'll have to wait and see. It would make me proud if my kids grew up not expecting a certain line-up of dishes around the holidays, but rather were open to other cultural favorites like Paella, Cougnou, Nougat glacé, or Tamales.

If you're in the mood to try something new, this stollen is a great place to start. Just don't turn your back on it--it may disappear!

Christmas Stollen

(Adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

6-8 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon yeast
1 ½ cups milk, scalded and cooled to 110F
¼ cup dried cherries
¾ cup golden raisins
¾ cup currants
1 ½ cup almonds, chopped
½ cup chopped candied citrus peel
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups butter, plus extra for brushing loaves
3 eggs
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons rum

In a large bowl, combine warm milk and yeast. Allow to sit 10 minutes until yeast is dissolved. Add 1 cup of the sifted flour and mix to form a sponge. Let sit in a warm place until doubled.

Meanwhile, combine cherries, raisins, almonds and citrus peel. Sprinkle a little of the sifted flour over and combine. Set aside.

When sponge has sufficiently rested, place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well. Beat in sugar and blend until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the salt, lemon rind and rum. Mix well.
Mix in the fruit and nuts. Add all the sponge and the remaining flour. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if too sticky.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

To shape dough, toss it onto a floured board and divide in two. Pat dough into a rough oval and fold over one third of the dough lengthwise onto the other two thirds. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on baking sheet -one loaf per sheet- and brush with butter. Allow to rise again until almost doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake loaves for about 40 minutes until they are a dark golden brown.

Fruitcake: Part II

Wednesday is Fruitcake Day here at Under the High Chair since it is the day I set aside time to lovingly tend to my fruitcakes. I carefully unwrap my Figgy Christmas Fruit Rolls from their parchment paper swaddling and brush them with brandy; the smell of dark chocolate, figs and spices almost as intoxicating as the fumes from the brandy. I haven't had alcohol for about six month's now, thanks to a dear baby on the way, and I am feeling lightheaded just getting a whiff of the stuff!

After the rolls are taken care of, I crack open a bottle of rum and unwrap my other, more traditional, fruitcake from it's cheesecloth. It has gotten all soft and moist in the last three weeks and I am salivating in anticipation of how good it will be by Christmas.

Then I remember, I haven't given out the recipe for this fruitcake yet! Oops.

Here is a photo of the cake just out of the oven - a baby, if you will. It had yet to mature into an adult.

I love what goes into this fruitcake. Not the usual load of maraschino cherries (which I loathe) and candied fruit mix, but a decadent concoction of whole Brazil nuts, dried cherries, and apricots. Lightly flavored with vanilla and rum, this cake perfumes your whole house during it's rather long baking period. Like most traditional fruitcakes, it is then brushed with rum, wrapped up in muslin or cheesecloth and hidden away for a month, only coming out once in a while to be doused with rum again. Let me tell you, it is very hard to resist sneaking a little taste during those weekly rituals.

I am sure it's going to be fantastic and it's not too late if you still want to have a fruitcake ready for the holidays. This cake takes about a month of aging, so get started on it today!

Traditional Fruitcake
(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Backhouse Family Fruitcake)
Makes 1 eight-inch cake

1 ½ sticks (1 cup plus 2T) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried pineapple, chopped into ½ inch pieces
½ cup apricots, chopped
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
½ cup dried cherries
¾ cup whole blanched almonds
1 ½ cups whole Brazil nuts
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum, plus more for dousing

Heat oven to 300F. Brush an eight-inch spring-form pan with butter. Line bottom and sides with parchment; brush parchment with butter.

Combine fruits and nuts in a bowl and set aside. Sift the flours, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed; add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add vanilla and rum.


In two additions, add dry ingredients to butter. Scrape down sides of bowl between additions. Fold in fruit and nuts. Pour batter into pan. Bake until golden and set, about 2 1/2 hours. Cover with foil if it colours too much.

Cool on wire rack. Remove from pan; discard parchment. Wrap in cheesecloth or muslin. Brush all over with ¼ cup rum. Store in a cool, dry place; douse with ¼ cup rum weekly for at least 1 month before serving.

Warm Gingerbread with Cortland Applesauce and Cream

The annoying thing about living in a post-renovated home is that you can never find anything. It's not like after a move where you know you'll eventually unpack a box and find what it is you are looking for; it is much more uncertain than that. In the pre-renovation haste, I was just stashing stuff anywhere and everywhere and now I am suffering the consequences.
Please, if anyone finds my Diana Krall Christmas CD, hand it over. I'd like to be listening to it since we seem to be hurling toward Christmas at a breakneck pace.

I always associate this gingerbread recipe with Christmas, although I am not sure why. I can't for the life of me remember any particular incident that would connect the two together, yet, when I dusted off my Kitchen Aid and started mixing, I said to myself "I guess I'm starting my holiday baking".

I hope I am not the only person who starts baking a good month early. I tell myself that with a enthusiastic toddler to keep my busy and a baby on the way, I have to be organized and I am--in the kitchen anyway. As for the rest of the house? Forget it!
Where IS that dang CD?


Merci to my MIL for this recipe. I believe she got it from her mother and although we know it is called 'Prize Gingerbread', we have no insight into just what kind of prize this cake earned...
I think as far as gingerbread goes, this one is about as good as they get. Moist, flavorful, fragrant, and a lovely dark color from a whole cup of molasses.
Cortland apples are hard to pass up in the market these days, with their blushing bride coloring and sweet fragrance. They make the most delicate-of-pink applesauce that is a must with this gingerbread; however, if you don't have any apples, a drizzle of lemon icing would be delightful too, and whipped cream is essential.
There you have it! Your dessert for the week.

Prize Gingerbread

2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, well beaten

Preheat oven to 325F

Butter a 9x13 cake pan or two loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment.

Combine flour, baking powder, and ginger together and set aside.

Cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy, then add molasses, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add baking soda to boiling water and mix into molasses mixture. Fold in reserved flour mixture and combine. Add beaten eggs and mix well.

Pour into pan(s) and bake about 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm.

Russet Apple and Gouda Grilled Cheese

Dust lies on my Kitchen Aid as thick as a dredging of flour. It may look like finely ground buckwheat, but it's actually micro sawdust from the home renovations we are undertaking this month. It's during grueling, exhausting, yet rewarding times like these when you simply don't attempt to cook. When the living room furniture is piled up in your kitchen, making it impossible to move, you just have to give up, drop into an over sized armchair, prop your feet up on the oven door and think about what to defrost for dinner.

Fortunately, I have a plethora of meals too choose from as I usually prepare extra when I am cooking a freezer friendly meal and stash it away for such times as these. Chicken curry, cabbage rolls, lasagna--we haven't been going hungry, despite the barricade in front of the fridge door.


Lunch is another story. Again, a girl's gotta eat and there's no time or space for fuss, so I've been working my way through a loaf of miche blanche, a huge wedge of Gouda, and a pile of Russets, my favorite munching apple. These ingredients come together to make a very satisfying sandwich-Noah even agrees.
Hmm, then again, anything with apple seems to agree with him, especially if it's just that: an apple, clutched tightly in his little hand, as he wanders around from room to room, wondering when his house will be back to normal!


This sandwich is yet another stopover along the comfort food journey that I am taking this fall.
With a dab of old style apple mustard, it's impossible to resist, and who would want to? With a combination like this still warm in my belly,and my fingers still slightly greasy, the dust doesn't look so bad.
And that says a lot.