Holiday Greetings from your friends at The Morning Star!
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Greetings!
So once again another month has flown by. I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a pleasant day - good company and good food. But, oh, where does the time go? It is difficult to believe that we already have our Christmas tree up and decorated. But I quite like our tree. One of our guests last year paid us the compliment of describing it as "well-curated". We have hundreds of ornaments and each one has a story behind it ... though, unless you help me decorate the tree or pack the ornaments away, I promise that I won't make you listen to each one!
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 Caramelized Grapefruit
An elegant yet easy fruit dish for holiday brunches ...
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 lg. red grapefruit, well chilled
4 seedless grapes for maraschino cherries
Preheat oven broiler. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Cut grapefruits in half crosswise. Use a grapefruit knife to section the grapefruits and remove the centers. Sprinkle brown sugar onto each grapefruit half. Place grapefruits 6" under broiler and cook for about 5 minutes or until brown sugar is melted. (Watch fruit carefully during this time.) Remove from broiler. Place in dessert bowls or on dessert plates. Place a grape or cherry in the center of each grapefruit half. Serve immediately.
Note: If you do not have a broiler, you can use a chef's torch to melt the sugar. If you do not have a chef's torch, let the sugar soak into the grapefruit for about 10 minutes before serving. The sugar will not caramelize, but the flavor will still be pleasing. |
 Indian Pudding with Variatons
Indian Pudding is a traditional New England dessert that can be traced back to the 18th century. I developed a fondness for it when I lived in the Boston area, but the dish seems relatively unknown outside of New England. The crockpot variation described below works well for holiday cooking when oven-space is at a premium.
Ingredients:
butter or vegetable shortening to grease the cooking dish
4 c. milk (soy or almond milk can be substituted for vegan)
1 c. coarse cornmeal or polenta
4 T. melted butter (coconut oil can be substituted for vegan)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
2/3 c. dried fruits (raisins, yellow raisins, cherries, cranberries)
3 large eggs (3/4 c. packed pumpkin can be substituted for vegan)
Cooking Methods:
(1) Prepare cook surface Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. and grease a 2-quart baking dish; or grease and then preheat a crockpot on high or low heat.
(2) Cook the cornmeal Bring the milk (or substitute) to a low boil then whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to low, and continue to cook, whisking frequently until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is softened (about 15 to 20 minutes).
(3) Add remaining ingredients Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Once the cornmeal mixture has thickened and the cornmeal has softened, set it aside to cool slightly and then whisk in the mixture of remaining ingredients. If you are not using eggs, you can skip the brief cooling period.
(4) Finish cooking Pour the pudding mixture into greased baking dish or crockpot. Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes or cook in the crockpot for about 2 hours on high or 4 to 5 hours on low. The finished "pudding" will be quite thick.
(5) Serve: Serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream and serve leftovers cold with ice cream, whipped cream or just milk.
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 Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber
Recommended by Robbie from Kansas, Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber is a beautifully written romantic novel about an Arab-American woman living in Los Angeles in the 1990's. Sirine, age 39, is single, lives with her uncle, and works as a chef in a Lebanese cafe. She is in no hurry to find a husband when to her surprise she falls in love with Hanif, a professor of Arab literature, and finds herself questioning herself and her beliefs. Though Crescent is a love story, in it Abu-Jaber also writes about the sadness of immigrants and the importance of keeping one's native culture alive through food and story-telling.
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As always, I thank you for reading this edition of The Morning Star Update. I hope that you have enjoyed it. For more holiday recipes and photos, please check my blog atasteofmorning.com throughout the month. Also, I'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to send book or movie suggestions, or recipes. I try to get to everything eventually! From all of us at The Morning Star, let me extend the warmest of wishes for a safe and happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Laurie Pieper
The Morning Star B&B |
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TMS Gift Certificates
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A gift certificate to The Morning Star is a wonderful present for anyone who lives in or travels to Kansas. Now through December 30, 2012, purchase a gift certificate to The Morning Star and receive an extra 10% value. (Special value gift certificates cannot be combined with discounts.)
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Confectionately Yours
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A sweet gift for your favorite cook, Confectionately Yours, is packed full of recipes for desserts that can be eaten as finger foods. Written and photographed by Laurie at The Morning Star, and printed by Art Craft Printers and Design here in Manhattan, Confectionately Yours is truly locally-made. Order copies on sale for $21.99 plus sales tax. (No tax on out-of-state orders.)
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Holiday Events
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Fridays and Saturdays through December 22nd: Horse-drawn Carriage Rides, Triange Park
December 2nd: Holiday Open House & Living Windows (Take pictures with Santa and his Flying Monkey Elves), Columbian Theater and Oz Museum, Wamego
December 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th and 16th: The Christmas Spectacular, Columbian Theater, Wamego
through December 9th: Dream a LIttle Dream of Christmas, Junction City Little Theater
December 2nd: Kansas State Choirs Holiday Extravaganza, McCain Auditorium
December 3rd: K-State Wind Ensemble and Band Concert, McCain Auditorium
December 4th: K-State Percussion Ensemble Concert, McCain Auditorium
December 5th: A Leahy Family Christmas, McCain Auditorium
December 11th: Disney's Beauty & The Beast, McCain Auditorium
December 16th: Little Apple Chorus Christmas Concert, McCain Auditorium
December 31st: 10th Annual New Year's Eve Celebration, Aggieville
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Other Dates to Remember
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December 1st: K-State Football v. Texas
December 1st: Winter Dance, Nichols Theater
December 2nd: KSU Men's Basketball v. USC Upstate
December 3rd: K-State Wind Ensemble and Band Concert, McCain Auditorium
December 4th: K-State Percussion Ensemble Concert, McCain Auditorium
December 7th - 8th: K-State Winter Commencement Ceremonies
Decmeber 9th: KSU Women's Basketball v. South Dakota
December 15th & 21st: Murder Mystery Dinner, Holiday Inn at the Campus
December 16th: KSU Women's Basketball v. UTEP
December 18th: K-State Men's Basketball v. Texas Southern
December 20th: Murder Mystery Lunch, Holiday Inn at the Campus
December 29th: KSU Men's Basketball v. UMKC
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