Cookie Quest - Icelandic Sykar Kaka

We didn't eat too many cookies on our honeymoon - I was too obsessed with the chocolate covered licorice to eat much of anything else. And, to be completely honest, most of the cookies we saw in bakeries and stores didn't seem to be particularly Icelandic. There were a lot of standard American type cookies, like chocolate chip and sugar cookies, which is fine but not necessarily what I want to eat if my goal is to try new things. We did stop at a bakery in the Westmann Islands and Matt had a chocolate chip cookie that was very good. I had an almond and chocolate pastry that was also delicious and, according to the girl behind the counter, very traditionally Icelandic. Which is all to say that we didn't encounter these cookies while we were in Iceland.

Lots of Little Sugar Cakes!

Cookie Quest - Moravian Ginger Cookies

When I was a kid, we used to go on school trips to Old Salem in modern day Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Old Salem is a living historic village that replicates the Moravian settlement of the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. My main memories of going to Old Salem are watching the Old Salem kids play with an inflated pig intestine as a ball and eating Moravian ginger cookies. Clearly those memories are not equal. The Moravians figured out how to make these delicious, super-thin, crispy, spicy ginger cookies that are crisper with more of a bite than your typical gingersnap. And they're so good! But I could never figure out how they got them so thin and so perfectly round. I suppose the real answer is 'robots' but that's not the Old Salem answer. Those old-timey ladies must know something I don't.

Old Salem, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Bridal Shower Bites - Aunt Carol's Panakakua

Mom and Dad were up to visit recently - we had a lot of fun going to see the Boston Commonwealth Shakespeare Company perform Two Gentlemen of Verona in the Boston Commons! I was eager to invite them over for brunch, partly to show off all our new china and partly to make this for them: Aunt Carol's Panakakua (Finnish Pancake).

Bridal Shower Bites - the Aunts' Watermelon Salsa

Aunt Linda and Aunt Chris both sent me this recipe, so I figured it had to be good! I've been wanting to make it, but had to wait until it's watermelon season. And lo! Tis now upon us! Hurrah!

Yum! I used to not like watermelon, which now I don't understand.

London Calling

Matt and I recently returned from a lovely week and a half across the pond. He received a grant to do research in the British National Archives and British Library (both in London) for his dissertation work, which was why we were there. I tagged along for the tourist-ing opportunity! We were tied to London because of the research, except for the the day trip we took to Bath to give Matt a break from the archives (and because John Jay went there). And we had a great trip, both research-wise and tourist-wise! And not bad culinarily, either. Since we were not really on vacation, we tried to keep our food costs down, but we did splurge occasionally on some delicious delicacies that I have to share!

This is at Logan Airport in Boston - who knew Big Ben was in Boston this whole time???

Bridal Shower Bites - Mom's English Muffin Loaf

I called my mom as soon as I got the Bridal Shower invitation - apparently she knew all about it but didn't want to spill the beans. Anyway, the first thing she said was, "I have no idea what recipe to send you. You already have all of my recipes!" And I do. Mom made a cookbook for me as a college graduation present that has all of the recipes I loved from growing up, and she keeps sending me new ones that she's tried or thinks look interesting. I send her recipes, too, so we have a pretty fluid recipe sharing system already set up. Which means that it was hard for either one of us to think of a recipe that she has that I don't, and she didn't want to send just any recipe without trying it out first. I told her she didn't have to send any, since she's already given me so many, but Mom likes to play by the rules.  So she went on a mission!

Is it a muffin, or is it bread??

Cookie Quest - the search for the best Chocolate Chip Cookie

Growing up, my mom and I always used the same chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook she received when she got married. I made them so often I think I've memorized the recipe. For a while, our cookies came out the same, then mine started to get flatter and flatter while hers stayed rounded. And for a while, the flatness was good - they were neither too flat nor too thin - but then they started getting too thin. I did a little bit of research into why that happens and came up with a few solutions: my butter was too soft, I beat the butter for too long, or I didn't add enough flour, or some combination of those three explanations. I tried experimenting with the recipe to fix what I was doing wrong, but to mostly no avail. Adding extra flour made the cookies thicker, but they were less chewy that way, and I like them chewy. Using cooler butter didn't seem to make much of a difference, although refrigerating the dough before baking helped a bit. And beating the butter less seemed hard to do, since I generally don't beat it for as long as the recipe says anyway.

The factory that makes this chocolate is about 15 minutes from our house. We went on a tour!

Bridal Shower Bites - Aunt Josette's Leib Kuchen

 I have been wanting to make these cookies since Aunt Josette sent the recipe for the shower, mainly because of the note she wrote on the recipe: "Grandpa Kessler loved these cookies!" One of (the many) great things about Aunt Josette is that she and Uncle George are a part of both sides of the family. As kids, that meant that we got to see them at family reunions on both sides, which then meant that we saw them probably more often than any other family members. Which was awesome. They bridged the gap for us between the Kesslers and the Mootses, which led to little insights like the one on the recipe. Grandpa Kessler loved these cookies.

I trust Grandpa's cookie recommendations

Bridal Shower Bites - Meaghan McCallin's Hot & Smoky Baked Beans

We had an impromptu cookout last weekend for Memorial Day before we headed over to Fenway Park to watch some good ol' American baseball (the Phillies were in town.  Our resident Philly Phanatic got tickets for both games.). While brainstorming about what sides we could make for the cookout, we hit upon Meaghan's baked beans recipe. Part of me feels like a traitor making non-Boston baked beans in Boston, and the other part of me figures that the rules are probably a little different in Cambridge. Anyway you make them, baked beans seem like a pretty quintessential cookout side dish, so I figured we could give them a go.

What's better at a cookout than baked beans?

Bridal Shower Bites - Aunt Joyce's Ginger Ale

And we're back to our regularly scheduled programming after last week's foray into Icelandic cuisine!

Aunt Joyce's famous homemade ginger ale!

Honeymooning

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who came to our wedding! We had such a great day, mainly because all of you were there (besides the getting married part, which was also pretty awesome). Anyway, as you know, Matt and I just got back from our honeymoon - a week in Iceland - so I thought I'd take a break from the bridal shower recipes to fill you in a little on Iceland and some of the food we had over there (the good, the weird, the tasty).

Mr. and Mrs. Williamson in Iceland

Bridal Shower Bites - Aunt Kitty's Chicken Pie

Happy Sunday!

Things have been a little bit crazy here in the Boston/Cambridge area this week, but are thankfully starting to get back to normal. I wanted to make Aunt Josette's cookies during my unexpected day-off-work / governor-mandated-lockdown, but didn't have all of the ingredients (and couldn't go get them, either.  That's what a lockdown will do). I ended up making a banana bread instead with an old banana that I found in the freezer. I should have spent the time writing this post, though, since we actually made this recipe a few days ago, but I spent more time than I should have just watching the news (again, that's what a lockdown will do to you).

Bridal Shower Bites - The Radel's Veggie Chili

And we're back with the another Bridal Shower Bites! This time, we're trying out one of the recipes from Aunt Carol and Reen: a veggie chili recipe passed along from Mark, Jr. I was originally worried that since spring's a-coming, it would be a little too warm for a chili recipe, but luckily Boston has refused to follow Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring and we're still having cool enough weather to try a new chili recipe. Phew!

And we are enjoying them!

Bridal Shower Bites - Aunt Linda's Granola

So it's been a while...
 I was so touched when I received this: