A confession: I do not enjoy shopping during the holidays. Don’t get me wrong. I love to shop at other times of the year, but there’s just something about the holiday shopping frenzy that makes everything feel like … merchandise. Strangely, shopping during this hectic time of year just sucks the air out of the experience for me.
I know there are many who find great joy in visiting their favorite shops and buying books and candy, sweaters and electronics for their family and friends.
Do I sound Grinch-like? (Or, shhh, do you agree?) Whether you enjoy visiting malls and shops crowded with people buying … buying … buying or not, I have another idea. Stay home. Do some simple cooking, get creative with wrapping up your creations and give the loving gift of homemade food and treats.
None of these three recipes are difficult or take much time. Take my chai recipe: You simply crush spices like cardamom and peppercorns and ginger (the scent alone will put you in the holiday spirit) and mix them with good black tea. For the chocolate mendiants, you melt chocolate and place it into rounds on a cookie sheet and decorate with dried fruit, nuts, and spices. And for the challah, you put together an egg-enriched yeasty round of dough, let it rise for a few hours, and then braid the dough into three gorgeous loaves of bread. I promise you that baking this bread is hugely therapeutic. Kneading, punching and rolling dough can lead one to think, if only for a second, what world problem? Alongside each recipe are some suggestions for ways to present your food gift.
More recipes for gift-giving from the kitchen:
Saurabh’s chai with a twist
Chai is the Hindi word for tea. It is one of the most soothing, comforting hot drinks imaginable. Throughout India you’ll find dozens of variations of chai, almost always using spices, hot milk, and water. In this version, green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, saffron, peppercorns, and ginger, are lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle and then mixed with good (preferably Indian Assam) black tea. Saffron, which is optional, is an expensive spice. But a little pinch goes a long way in adding a smoky, earthy, floral flavor to this tea mixture. The idea for the recipe comes from my son-in-law, Saurabh Bajaj.
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
Makes about ⅓ cup chai. The chai mixture will keep for several months.
Saurabh’s chai with a twist. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)
Ingredients
15 whole green cardamom pods, or 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom powder 10 black whole peppercorns 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons dried ginger 1 large or 2 small cinnamon sticks, cut into small pieces or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of saffron, optional ¼ cup black tea, preferably Indian Assam black tea To serve: Whole milk, to taste Sugar, honey, or jaggery* to taste
*Jaggery is an unrefined sugar product made from sugar cane or date palm and is primarily produced in Asia and Africa. It is frequently used in chai and has a high molasses content giving it a rich flavor. It is considered more nutritious than regular white sugar.
Instructions
Place the cardamom pods, peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon stick pieces, and saffron, if using, into a mortar. Using the pestle lightly crush the spices until they have released a fabulous fragrance and are in small bits. Stir in the black tea leaves, distributing the spices. Wrap the chai mixture in small clear bags and decorate with raffia, ribbons, or a twist tie. To make chai: bring 1 cup water to a rolling boil. Stir 1 tablespoon of the chai mixture to the boiling water, reduce to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. If the heat is too high, it will reduce the flavor of the saffron. The longer you let the chai sit the stronger it will be. To serve: Add warm milk to taste (about 1 cup) and warm through. Add sugar or honey or jaggery to taste to sweeten; let the mixture get hot. Remove from the heat and place in a tea strainer. Serve hot.
Gift in a clear bag wrapped with ribbons with a tea strainer, a new mug or two, and a tin of high-quality Indian Assam black tea. Print out the recipe and directions for making the chai and attach to the tea.
Chocolate mendiants
I know, the idea of making chocolates during the holidays may seem nuts. I don’t have time, you’re thinking. But, trust me, you do. These traditional Christmas French chocolate treats are small rounds of melted bittersweet chocolate studded with various toppings like nuts, dried fruit, seeds, candied ginger, and more. Because there are essentially just a few ingredients you want to use the best quality you can find. A good bittersweet chocolate is essential. As for the toppings, look for fresh dried fruit (look for the date on the package as some of the fruit they sell in grocery stores are over a year old), nuts, spices etc. You can use any topping you like. I chose slivers of candied ginger, thin slices of dried apricot, pumpkin seeds, sea salt, chopped pistachios or almonds or any other nut. You could also consider dried coconut flakes, dried cranberries or currants, dried edible flower petals, chia seeds, and more.
It helps to have a candy thermometer when melting/tempering the chocolate.
Chocolate mendiants. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)
Makes about 12 mendiants.
Ingredients
The chocolate:
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate wafers, dark melting wafers, or chocolate bar (like Guittard or Ghirardelli), chopped *
Topping ideas:
Slivered almonds, or chopped pistachios, cashews, or walnuts, or whole pine nuts Crystalized ginger, cut into thin slivers Sun-dried cranberries Currants or raisins Coarse sea salt
*Avoid chocolate chips that contain stabilizers
Instructions
Line a baking or cookie sheet with parchment paper and set near the stove. Prepare and arrange all your toppings (thin slices of dried fruit, chopped nuts, etc.) next to the stove. You’ll want to add the toppings before your chocolate sets so they stick to the chocolate while it dries. And if you have a candy thermometer, keep it ready by the stove. Place a small pot of simmering water over medium-low heat (the water should not be boiling, but a gentle simmer). Place a bowl on top of the simmering water that doesn’t touch the water but rests on the rim of the pot. Add ¾ of the chocolate, stirring frequently, until it reaches around 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove the bowl with the chocolate from the heat and cool the chocolate to 95 to 100 degrees. Add the remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. This heating/cooling process is a simplified version of tempering chocolate that will produce mendiants that are smooth and shiny. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, bring the water to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat and add ¾ of the chocolate to the bowl, stirring. Once it begins to melt, stir until smooth. Remove the chocolate bowl from the heat and let cool for a few minutes, then stir in the remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. The chocolate is now ready. Use a tablespoon and drop rounds of chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet. If you want to get a little fancy and have more “perfect” rounds, you can place the melted chocolate into a pastry bag (or a plastic bag with a tiny bit cut off the corner) and pipe the chocolate onto the cookie sheet. Decorate before the chocolate sets, arranging various fruit and nuts pieces alternating colors and textures. Sprinkle on a bit of coarse sea salt. Experiment. Have fun. Let the mediants set in a cool, dry spot out of direct sunlight, about 30 minutes. Once set carefully remove the mendiants with a spatula and place on a cooling rack. It may take up to an hour to completely set.
Gift on a beautiful plate or in a tin filled with dried fruit, crystallized ginger, and spices.
Challah
The recipe for this egg-enriched braided bread comes from Rage Baking, from cookbook author and leading authority on Russian cooking, Dara Goldstein. The recipe makes three gorgeous loaves of bread, ideal for gift-giving and still managing to keep a loaf for yourself. The bread freezes well, and leftover challah makes great French toast. There are endless flavor variations for challah: top with sesame or poppy seeds, coarse sea salt, Za’tar and other spices, or add chocolate chips to the dough.
Makes 3 loaves.
Ingredients
3 large eggs 2 packages rapid-rise yeast (1/2 ounce total or 4 1/2 teaspoons) 2 cups warm water 4 teaspoons fine salt 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil, plus for the pans 7 cups (840 grams) all-purpose flour, plus for kneading Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse sea salt, black sea salt, spices or any combination (optional)
Instructions
Beat the eggs in a small bowl with a fork then set aside 2 tablespoons for an egg wash. In a large bowl whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water, set aside until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining water, salt, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and 3 cups of the flour with a wooden spoon to make a wet dough. Beat in the remaining flour to make a shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour dusted work surface and knead by hand until pliable and shiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Form into a ball. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook to combine the dough, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Then knead the dough, about 5 minutes.) Brush a large bowl with a little vegetable oil and place the dough in it, turning once to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Depending on how warm the room is, this will take 45 to 90 minutes. (A great tip: use a marker to draw a circle on the plastic that is the size of the dough and mark down the time. That way it’s easier to judge if it’s actually doubled and how long it’s been proofing.) Punch the dough down and turn out onto a clean work surface and divide into 3 equal pieces (about 560 grams each). Divide each piece into thirds to make 9 pieces (about 190 grams each). With your hands, roll and stretch each piece into a strand about 12-inches long. Braid each set of 3 strands into a loaf, pinching the edges together at top and bottom and turning them under to seal. Brush 2 baking sheets lightly with oil and carefully transfer the loaves to the prepared pans. Cover with clean towels and leave to rise once more, until puffy, 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Gently brush the loaves with the reserved egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack.
Gift by placing the loaf of bread on a new wooden cutting board and add a pound of really good cultured butter