Time to Start Baking Christmas Cookies!
It
has been a family tradition as far back as I can remember, "Baking Day".
My Grandmother would set aside a whole day and pull out all the family
favorite Christmas Cookies and bread recipes. I was fortunate to be
able to learn first hand the loving touch my Grandmother put into Christmas
through these delicious family secret recipes.
Every Christmas, my Sister, Mother and I carry on the
family tradition by spending a day, baking. Although we have refined
the process to be much less work and more fun. New traditions include,
Bing Crosby's Christmas songs, lunch and pre-made cookie dough, that we make at
home so we're not lugging all the ingredients around. We each take a few
recipes and during the week mix up the love, and store it in ziploc bags.
That way the only task is baking and decorating. Much easier!
Do You Want to Cook Prime Rib for
Your Holiday Celebration?
Help For Selecting the Perfect Prime Rib
Color
Color of the meat is usually the best way to tell how fresh and the quality of
the meat. But don't choose your beef by color alone. Meat will be dark when it is initially cut.
After it is exposed to air, the color turns bright red due to the oxygen
exposure.
Sometimes you see dark meat in the package, that means the oxygen isn't getting
to the meat through the plastic. That is why when you purchase hamburger, the
outside appears bright red, and the inside of the meat is dark, the oxygen
hasn't reached the middle of the meat.
When you buy aged beef, it will usually not appear
bright red, and be darker in color. For freshness of your meat be sure to check the
date on the packaging.
Aging
Aging beef, means the length of time the cut is stored in a controlled
environment before packaging. The temperature, and humidity are important
factors in aging so don't try aging beef in your refrigerator at home.
When a meat is aged it allows for specific enzymes to start to break down the
connective tissues, resulting in a more tender cut of meat.
Beef can be aged up to 21 days.
Preferable aging for consumption is around 14 days. Remember you can
always ask your butcher for information.
Marbling
Fat is marbled through out beef. The marbling makes the beef taste better,
more juicy and tender. When choosing a cut, look for slight marbling for a
better flavor. No marbling, will assure a tough piece of meat. To
much marbling adds to your daily fat intake.
Holiday Prime Rib Recipe
We don't see enough of
manners now days, so I am devoting a space to basic manner and etiquette to
help improve the quality of the little darlings that we turn out into the
world everyday.
