And The Stockings Were Hung
Of course you know we are getting into that zany season of crass materialism. Bah, Humbug. I like it. It proves a chance to play detective and find that item or three that speaks to you about another person.
Sure, it’s easy when you are presented a list of allowable options and told “Oh, anything from this list will be a lovely surprise.” Pffft! Wanna really surprise that person? Get something not on the list. Surprise! I didn’t listen to you. That part might not be news, the the gift will be.
I have some highly preferred baking items on my Shopify page here.
My fondness for all things Peanuts has already been documented. So, it is simply to show you that it is the size of the spirit, not the size of the tree which makes Christmas so special.
Every cook needs an apron. And a whisk. And an ornament commemorating just such things. Well, here it is and it’s about as cute as it can be. How do we know it’s cute? Well, in the infamous words of the infamous clown’s answer about the smallest horse in the world, “Just look at it!”
Innovation is an amazing thing. Long ago, pasta was made, and by made I mean cut, by a device called a guittara which resembles a small harpsichord. The cook would place the rolled out sheet of pasta, rolled out by hand with a rolling pin, and use that pin to push the pasta through rows of wires, cutting the pasta. Also available were rolling pins with grooves cut out so the pasta was cut as wide as the grooves. Craftsmanship was paramount for uniformity. Then one day, Poof!, a pasta machine, which rolled the dough increasingly thinner and a different cutter which cut the preferred noodle shape. Tada, innovation. I have one of those fancy new-fangled machines. I’ve used a guittara only once. I used my, and still do use, my pasta machine at work and home.
In memory of all that pasta has given us, ravioli, lasagne, capelli d’angelo, and more, here is today’s ornament.
Ah, butter. Julia Child, no stranger to butter, once said that “with enough butter, anything is good.” Amen. I make the most of my butter in baking with puff pastry or pie dough and in cooking with risotto or finishing a steak. Butter is where it’s at, man.
Peanuts: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Sally, Linus, Pigpen, Schroeder, The Little Red Headed Girl, and Snoopy and Woodstock. Of course you know them. We all do. From the holiday specials to the comic strip and books and Christmas ornaments. Today’s ornament is a reminder for me of my dad and his great love of all things Peanuts.
Angels. Why wouldn’t anyone want more angels? We’ve got some which have made it some many years and I look forward each year to hanging them. We have some tin doggies and they are cute. The craftsmanship is very nice. So, today, I offer angels.
For the cook in you or in your life, I have a page of items that are great gift ideas and they work. I know they do cause I use them.