‘Tis the season of food. 

Leading up to holiday parties and special celebrations, we tend to talk a lot about recipes and special meals that remind us either of home or family traditions. I’ve written about food a lot, especially during my career as food editor for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. 

Food writers and chefs often get comments and questions about recipes, ingredients and techniques, especially around the holidays. My most memorable call was from a home cook who had taken a pumpkin pie out of the freezer, planning to use it for the holiday. The problem was she already had taken a single slice out of the pie before popping it into the freezer and wanted to know how she could replace the slice. Whoops.

I think It’s safe to say most of us had a least one recipe or dish flop in our lives. I was reminded of food Q&A at a recent holiday lunch when someone asked one of the chefs at our table about maintaining color in cooked green beans. The veggies often turn grayish instead of a bright green. One trick is to add a pinch (not a teaspoon or tablespoon) to the boiling water, then stop cooking after a few minutes, said the chef. Transfer the green beans to an ice water bath, then sauté or heat. The baking soda turns the water slightly alkaline, preserving chlorophyll, the compound in vegetables responsible for their bright color. Some cooks prefer salt to baking soda, he said. Salt will raise the boiling water’s boiling point.

Like any craft, cooking has its little tricks. 

Bill Brady, executive chef/owner of Brady’s in Leominster said he gets “how- to” food questions all the time. Leading up to Thanksgiving, his restaurant sells turkey kits and Brady includes his cell number, in addition to cooking instructions. “If there’s a question, the cook knows who to call,” he said.

The chef offered these quick cooking tips:  If cooked squash (butternut, etc.) is watery, add instant mashed potato flakes to thicken, or if a gravy is lumpy transfer to a blender and mix, then strain well. 

Brady acknowledged that he has had worst-ever kitchen debacles during his career as a chef, but laughed and said, “I’m not going to tell you what they are. It happens to the best of us.” Even the most experienced chefs can do something a bit wrong, he said.

Brady and family host a “fun” Christmas Eve open house and on Christmas he takes the day off from cooking. “We have so much food the night before that on Christmas a meal might be lobster rolls and french fries,” said Brady. 

Candace Murphy of Worcester, Area General Manager, Sodexo Corporate Services, recalled an incident early in her career as chef at a Cape Cod restaurant. “The dining room was completely booked and the last thing I needed to finish was the strawberry filling for the crepe dessert,” said Murphy. “There was a container on the station that I mistook for sugar. It was salt. Finished it quickly and didn’t taste it … big mistake. Service is underway, first dessert ticket comes and it’s the crepes. Server comes back and says customer said something is off. Tasted it and realized I mistook salt for sugar! Fortunately, it was a friend and family customers. So, all good there. Being a new restaurant, we were pinching pennies and I ended up using the salty strawberry mixture at the bar in a cocktail.” 

Cookies are ultimate Christmas treats. A noted cookbook author says, “The world loves cookies and anyone can bake them. Almost nobody can eat just one.” She said a common question about cookies is why they sometimes turn into a big blob while they’re baking. She said cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn’t enough flour to hold the melted fat, the cookies will overspread. Be sure to spoon and level flour in a recipe. A greased pan also can cause cookies to overspread, resulting in hard, thin cookies and shapeless blobs. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper instead of using grease. Chilling cookie dough also helps to prevent spreading. If possible chill the cookie dough overnight. The colder the dough, the less the cookies will overspread into puddles. Take the time to read recipes thoroughly to familiarize yourself with ingredients, timing, techniques, etc. that you will need, she said.

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Kevin Layton, Department Head of Culinary Arts at Worcester Technical High School, reminds home cooks to prioritize safety in the kitchen. He said kitchen safety is super important and instructs freshman students at the school about safety before they enter the shop area. “I always tell them what I’ve done incorrectly that I hope they learn from,” said Layton.

Layton once worked in a bakery where he would put in long shifts, especially between Veterans’ Day and Christmas Eve. One week, he had already put in close to 80 hours leading up to Christmas and just completed his last task of making chocolate cream pie filling, he said. Not wanting to waste any time getting out of work and heading home for the holiday, Layton said he decided to carry six of the containers. “Not being able to see where I was going did not concern me as I traveled this route many times,” he said. “I knew the obstacles. However, the floor was being washed and I was being careful.

“What I didn’t know was that the person washing the floor, decided to wash the wooden ramp leading into the walk-in,” said Layton, who put his foot on the ramp and fell backwards with containers of pie filling going up in the air and landing him on his back. 

Layton said he didn’t remember yelling, but everyone came running out to the walk-in area. “Everyone helped clean up the mess and myself,” he said. “I called it a day after that.” 

The point of his story, he said, is always be able to see where you are going and do not carry too many items because it may cause more work for you in the long run.

Share the spirit of the season with these cookies and candy.

COCOA MERINGUE KISSES

½ cup sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

3 large egg whites

⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Note: If you want crisp cookies, serve these on the same day they’re made. They will soften over time even when stored in an airtight container.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two heavy large baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Sift ¼ cup sugar, cocoa and salt into small bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl until soft peaks begin to form. Add remaining ¼ cup sugar, ½ tablespoon at a time and beat until medium peaks form. Add cocoa mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until meringue is stiff and glossy. Drop meringue onto prepared baking sheets by rounded teaspoonfuls, spacing 1-inch apart. For chewy soft cookies, bake meringues 25 minutes. For drier, crisper cookies bake meringues 40 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets. Sift powdered sugar over cookies. Makes about 40.

Gluten-free Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chunk Cookies are courtesy of the Food Network Test Kitchens.

GLUTEN-FREE PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

1 cup chunky peanut butter

⅔ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

⅓ cup packed light brown sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and egg. Fold in the chocolate. Put some granulated sugar in a small bowl. Scoop tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough, roll them into balls and roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Evenly space them on the prepared baking sheets. Press each ball down with a fork to flatten it out and make an indentation. Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Makes 2 dozen cookies. Note: These gluten-free, dairy-free cookies are easy to make. There is no flour or butter, so expect the peanut butter flavor to be intense. Cookies can be made without the chocolate.

Chef Leslie Lofgren of Worcester shares her recipe for White Chocolate Bark with Dried Cherries and Pistachios. Lofgren makes candy under the business name of Delilah Handmade Chocolates.

WHITE CHOCOLATE BARK WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND PISTACHIOS

22 ounces white chocolate, see note

1½ cups roasted pistachios

1½ cups dried cherries

Note: Lofgren uses a good quality white chocolate, such as Callebaut or Valrhona for the recipe.

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Take 1 cup of the pistachios and 1 cup of cherries, toss together and set aside. Toss remaining ½ cup of pistachios and cherries, set aside. Fill bottom of double boiler with about 2 inches of water on low heat. Add 16 ounces of chocolate to the top pan and melt until smooth. Do not let the chocolate get over 115 degrees. Remove pan from double boiler and add the 6 ounces of remaining white chocolate, stir in and set aside. Using a candy thermometer, check temperature often and stir occasionally until the temperature drops to 88 degrees. Add the 2 cups of pistachios and cherries, pour onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle remaining cherries and pistachios across the top. Refrigerate until hard; best if left about 12 hours. Break into pieces. Makes a great holiday gift.

Holiday Sugar Cookies can be decorated with a basic frosting and sprinkles.  

HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

3½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 

⅔ cup sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt. In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, corn syrup and vanilla and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture, one-third at a time, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Shape the dough into two flat disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or until it is firm enough to roll out. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut two pieces of waxed paper the size of your rolling service. Unwrap each dough disk and roll it out between the papers until it is ¼-inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer them to a cookie sheet with a spatula, leaving about 1-inch between them. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies. 

For something a little different, try Carrot Cookies with Orange Butter Frosting. The recipe, courtesy of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, “Everyday Cooking,” is one of many easy tried and true recipes in the book. 

CARROT COOKIES WITH ORANGE BUTTER FROSTING

Cookies:

½ cup shortening 

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup cooked and mashed carrots

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup shredded coconut

Frosting:

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 tablespoon orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

For cookies: Into a medium bowl, put the shortening, butter, sugar and eggs and mix thoroughly. Add the carrots and stir to blend. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix. Add the coconut and stir. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no imprint remains when touched lightly. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Cool completely before frosting. 

For frosting: In a medium bowl and with an electric beater, beat all the ingredients together until smooth. If needed, add a few drops of water to thin the frosting enough for spreading. Makes 5 dozen cookies. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies is a recipe from chef Candace Murphy.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar, see note

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups dried tart cherries (6 ounces)

1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Position oven racks in bottom third and top third of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. 

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Blend first four ingredients in food processor 30 seconds. Add eggs; process to blend. Add next four ingredients. Using on/off turns, process until oats are coarsely chopped and mixture is blended. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in cherries and chocolate chips. 

Spoon batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2-inches apart (cookies will spread). Bake until tops of cookies are golden brown, rotating baking sheets after 7 minutes, about 14 minutes total. Transfer cookies to rack; let cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Makes 48 cookies.