CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Since the weather was pretty bad the last couple of weeks and there is really not much to do, but go shopping or hang around the house, I decided to do something unusual for me and try my lost skill in cookie baking.  While Donna went Christmas shopping, I produced over 700 Christmas Cookies this past weekend, six complete different flavors.  This sounds like a lot of work, but it is actually more fun than work.  It is a bit challenging in a little housewife kitchen with only 2 little sheet pans, but I managed.
Here we go, starting with the most traditional Christmas cookie:

MAILANDERLI

            18 oz      Butter                                          whip soft in large bowl

            16 oz      Sugar

            1 pinch   Salt                                             add     

            6 each    Eggs                                            add one at the time, whip until fluffy
            2 each    grated lemon rind          
            36 oz     Flour                                            add and mix with spatula to a dough
                                                                              cover and  let cool for 2 hours

         Divide dough in to smaller portions and roll out with little flour until about 1/4 inch thick.
         Use assorted cookie cutters and place cookies on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
         Egg wash and bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

____________________________________________

                                                   

 GELEE RINGLI

             18 oz        Butter                                        Whip soft in large bowl
               9 oz        Powder sugar
               4 tbs       Vanilla sugar
               1 pinch   Salt                                            add all and whip fluffy
               2 each    Egg whites                                 add
             25 oz        Flour                                         add and form dough, cover and let
                                                                               cool for 2 hours.

          Roll out in small portions until about 3/16 inch thick .  Use 2 inch round cookie cutter
           and place  cookies on sheet pan with parchment paper.  Cut out the middle of half the
           cookies with 3/4 inch cutter.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes.

             12 oz   seedless raspberry jam                   heath and fill bottoms with small amount 
              small amount  Powder sugar                     Sprinkle tops and press onto bottoms.
                

_______________________________________________________

CHOCOLATE CHRABELI

            14 oz      Butter
            11 oz      Dark couverture (Chocolate)
            6   tbs     Water                                           melt in double boiler and let cool
            ___
            18 oz       Flour
              6 oz       Powder sugar
              8 oz       Fine grated Hazelnuts
              1 pinch  Salt                                              mix all ingreedients in bowl, add the
                                                                               chocolate mix and form a dough with a spatula.
                                                                               (do not knead )

           Form  dough in to 1 inch rolls, cut rolls in to 1/4 inch slices, form slices in to small rolls
           and insert 3 cuts with paring knife, place on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
           Bake in 400 degree oven for 8 minutes.
            
           2 oz        Powder sugar
           1 tbs       Chocolate powder                          mix and sprinkle cookies when still hot

 _________________________________________________________

VANILLA HORNCHEN

            18 oz          Flour
              1 pinch     Salt
            14 oz          Butter                                    mix soft (not liquid) butter,salt and flour throughly     
              6 oz          Powder sugar
              4 tbs         Vanilla sugar
              8 oz          fine grated Almonds
               2 each     Egg white                             add all ingredients, form dough and let cool 30 min.

                Form dough in to 1/2 inch rolls, cut in to 3/4 inch pieces and roll them into small horns
                place on sheet pans lined with parchment paper.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 12 minute.

              12 tbs         Powder sugar
                4 tbs         vanilla sugar                     mix and roll cookies when still hot.

  ___________________________________________________________

 

BRUNSLI

              11 oz           Sugar
                 1 pinch     Salt    
              18 oz           fine grated Almonds
                1 ts            cinnemon
                1 each       Orange rind
                6 tbs          Flour
               11 oz          grated White Chocolate                            Mix all ingredients in bowl
                  ________________
                 4 each      Egg whites
                 4 tbs         Grand Marnier                                     add and knead to a dough

                Roll out dough with sugar until 3/8 inch thick, cut with 2 inch cookie dough cutter,
                place on parchment paper  and let dry for 6 hour in room temperature.
                Bake in 450 degree oven for 4 minutes, let cool.                                    
             
                  8 oz White Chocolate                          temper chocolate and decorate cookies with
                                                                              piping bag.

  _____________________________________________________________

MAKARONCHEN

               6  each          Egg whites (about 7 oz)
               1 pinch          Salt
               4 oz               Sugar                               Whip egg whites, salt and 1oz sugar to stiff
                                                                             meringues adding rest of sugar gradually
                _________________  
               4 oz               Sugar
             22 oz               fine grated Hazelnuts         mix and fold in to meringues.

                    Use pastry bag with star tip to pipe cookies on sheet pan lined whit parchment paper.
                    Decorate each with whole hazelnut, and let dry for 6 hours or over night.
                    Bake in 325 degree oven for 10 minute.

____________________________________________________

WOW!!

It looks like I still got it.  They taste fantastic.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

PANAMA CITY BEACH

It is exactly 2 years  since Donna and I could go on a trip together, because Alee was to old and incapacitated to leave her with a dog sitter.
Now, with only Teddy left and Brian, Windy,
Gina and Daniel not minding to take care of his                              
needs, we were really looking forward with
joy to this journey. Having a brand new ride
helped enhance our excitement.





We decided to visit our friends Tony and Amy in Panama City Beach, Florida for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Panama city beach is located on the gulf of Mexico with sky blue water and  very fine white sand beaches, 830 miles from our home in St. Louis or 13 hours with a Volvo S80.

We left home at 4:30 am for our non stop drive, we only stopped for gas, restrooms, snacks
and  a 15 minute picnic we brought with us.  5:30 pm we arrived at the Lucero`s home.  It is of course hard to describe the joyful encounter with Tony and Amy after we have not seen them for a very
long time.

As soon I entered the house I was greeted with a triple Bacardi and coke (a splash) and right then
I knew I arrived at the right destination, especially after we snacked from a gourmet buffet, containing smoked white fish , prosciutto, sugar cured ham, met wurst, specialty pickles, freshly baked bread and much more.  It was delicious, also a promising sign what was to come the next four days, emphasizing on food and beverage.

That night, exhausted and a little bit tipsy, we slept like angels.

We got up the next morning around 7:30 am.  It was Thanksgiving, a holiday you only celebrate in
America.  It has something to do with the pilgrims saying thanks once a year for all the food they had
grown, hunted and shared with the native Indians, all the while taking their land from them.  Or something like that.

Anyway, that morning Tony and I took the dogs out to the park for a run.  Donna stayed in the
back yard reading and having 4 to 5 fresh brewed coffees.   When we got back we had a delicious breakfast with a abundance of fresh fruit, home made jams, croissants, french bread, etc.
After that we all went to the fishing pier, a brand new structure, replacing the one destroyed by hurricane Katherine.

 Getting back home,Tony started working on a semi traditional Thanksgiving feast.  It was more gourmet than traditional, like he prepared 2 different stuffings, the jam casserole was a soufflé with pecans and he let Amy do the green bean casserole.

Before we could indulge this fantastic meal we had to have lunch, of course, with imported cheese,

salad, fresh bread and wine.  Did I mention, that day we started early with Cocktails, and also demonstrated our skills on the Wii?

 

 Happy Thanksgiving.----- This feast was wonderful. ------ Thank you Tony and Amy.

Friday morning Amy had to go to work. So after breakfast Tony and I took out the scooters and cruised up and down the beach and we also visited Amy at work.  I had the greatest time and I felt like the king of the road.  To bad we had to cut the cruising a little to early, because 72 degree was just a touch to cold for Tony to be on a scooter.

 

 Amy came home before noon and we all headed off to a weathered beach restaurant called "Shuck-em".  Between Donna, Amy, Tony and myself we sucked down 7 dozen Oysters.  It was fabulous!!

After lunch we had a relaxing afternoon with cocktails and Tony spending time again in the kitchen  preparing white fish mousse, fresh spinach Parmesan dip, etc, etc, for a cocktail party for our friends in Florida.

 

Everybody arrived between 6:30 and 7:00 pm.  They're all dear friends and great people.  In my view,
this was a unforgettable night and it seemed we all had a fantastic time as the pictures will reveal and everybody stayed to after midnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, big breakfast again with some delicious chicken sausages, ham, eggs, potatoes and always
side dishes like  homemade blueberry jam and toast from bread Tony baked.   Delicious.  We had lots of fresh coffee this morning from Tony and Amy`s super Solis coffee machine.  Relaxing all morning  we got ready for........ quess what?  Lunch!!  Beside all the good meats, salad, pickles, cheese, met wurst, we had this super great tasting German pretzel breads, I wish I could find them here in St Louis.

After lunch we headed out to "Gulf World".  A great place to spend your afternoon.  My favorite was the Dolphin show.  I hate that my picture did not turn out.

 

 

               
Needless to say, we had a outstanding dinner that evening.  "New York Steak"   It was so good I think that is why Tony saved this for last !!

We spend the evening playing Wii and watching Movies.

Sunday,  Tony had to go to a meeting in the morning, but he was back by 11 am.  After lunch
we went walking in the sand on the beach, collecting some shells, taking pictures and enjoying the
scenery of the golf of Mexico. 

 

 

Here it started to sink in  that the Lucero visit is coming to an end.
But wait a minute, we still had some time.  We went to this Italian restaurant "Carabas" for dinner and we encountered Andy and Pattie on the bar, instantly we had another party going.  Food and service was superior to outstanding.  The mussels with that presoaked Bread from Tony where delicious, not to mention the drinks. After that we went  home with a couple pizzas.

It just so happened it was Tony and Amy`s 13th Anniversary, and Donna and I had to help them drink there fabulous anniversary wine. Yes, it came to an end now.

 

 

 

We left there house at 4:30 am.  I gained easily another 5-8 pounds on this trip, but I enjoyed every minute of it !!

AT THE ZOO WITH LUKE

The St Louis Zoo is one of the best  Zoos in the United States.  One thing for sure, this Zoo is huge. It is impossible to see everything in one day.  So, every time we visit, we face the same challenge with deciding which exhibits to explore that day.  It is not too bad, because admission is free, so is parking if you arrive before 9 AM.

But this warm sunny Sunday we took Luke to the Zoo for his birthday and we let him make all the decisions.  After all, he knows the place very well, because we took him an his last two birthdays too.
He loves to go there.

The Zoo offers lots of attraction for children, like a miniature train circling the whole Zoo with 4 railroad stations, a Carousel, a petting Zoo, animal shows and of course several gift shops. There are restaurants, a lakeside cafe, ice cream shops, refreshment stands, snack machines and even a pizza place.  Needless to say, Luke was a happy kid and it shows.

Zoo plan

 

 the carousel

 

he made quick friends on the carousel

he was very excited before entering the Zoo

he would be happy spending all day brushing the goats

 

he did not feel very secure

 

we had to be the first people on the train

 

they were packed on departure 

 

he had lots of questions

 

observing the big cats

 

always sleeping

 

here comes the elephant to see Luke

 

 rhino

 

bush dog

 

big iguana

 

1 of 9 elephants

 

Sliding trough the Mountain

 

Penguin habitat

 

Snack break

After visiting the gift shop for 1 hour and 20 minutes !

 

 Exhausted but Happy