Snacember 7

Snack # 7:  Movies and TV Shows

Here are my favorite movies and shows to curl up with during the holidays... whether it is the perfect thing to pop in to watch with the family while something is in the oven, or with friends to while away a weekend day....add them to your Netflix list or buy below.  I can smell the popcorn, pizza, and chinese takeout already!

With the Family:

A Christmas Story


Such a treat, and it hasn't lost a step since it came out.











Babette's Feast

Delicious.












Scrooged


 A fun take on the classic, worth it for Carol Kane alone.











Toy Story 1, 2 & 3

A great marathon, I love them all.













With Friends:

Home for the Holidays

Hilarious guilty pleasure, especially for those with difficult family dynamics.












Beautiful Girls


Sweet subtle movie that gets me where I live.












Any Classic Chevy Chase movie... 

Seems Like Old Times,














Foul Play,














Fletch,














Modern Problems


nostalgic and hilarious












With your sweetie:

The Thin Man series 

Witty and wonderful and classic.













Charade 


Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.  That is all you need to know.












Modern Family

















I love this show. Charming Suitor and I holed up with it the weekend after Thanksgiving, brilliant humor. LOVE.













With yourself:

My guilty pleasure go-tos that I don't need to share with anyone, and need no explanation:


Buffy the Vampire Slayer
















Sex and the City















Sixteen Candles















Joe vs. The Volcano
















Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

















Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 6

Snack #6:  Tradition

The season is all about tradition.  Traditional foods, traditional events, annual showings of specials and movies on television, we are surrounded by all sorts of traditions.

Which doesn't mean there isn't room for more.

I love creating new traditions with friends and family.  This will be the third consecutive year I will be celebrating Christmas day with my brother from another mother Officer K and his family.  I love that they have included me, and now Charming Suitor, in their family traditions.

It will be the fifth year my gang of pals will spend New Year's Day together, this year in town instead of the country, but still together and celebrating.

Whether it is a martini party with my girlfriends pre-holidays, latkes with the family for Hanukah, or a quiet bottle of champagne, just me and Charming Suitor, to celebrate the season, I highly recommend increasing your traditions where and when you can.

Some ideas:

Cookie swap party.  Everyone makes 2-4 dozen cookies.  Everyone leaves with 2-4 dozen cookies.  But they leave with a mixed batch, samples of everyone else's goodies, and a stack of cookie recipes to boot.  Helps everyone get through holiday buffets without having to make 8 different types of cookies.  Genius.

Book Fair.  Have everyone bring 5-10 books they enjoyed but don't want to keep, and everyone can pick up a stack of new books without hitting the library or bookstore.  Also works with CDs, board games, kitchen gadgets...

Soup party.  Everyone makes a batch of their signature soup, the host provides bread and bowls, and be sure to have lots of tubs for people to take the leftovers!  Recipes to share always appreciated at this one too....especially good for dead of winter.

Fakesgiving.  (or Fauxnakah, or Falsemas)  Essentially the traditional holiday meal, done at a very non-holiday time, and often with family who couldn't be there for the real holiday, or friends who might not have had a great time at their own celebrations.  I love these in late January thru February on a random Saturday, when everyone can gather and watch movies in sweatpants all day and eat all the best holiday foods. 

I throw it out to the class...who has some new tradition ideas to share?  Best one gets a snazzy new William Bounds peppermill with gourmet peppercorns.  Its a snack, so contest ends Dec. 7 at 11:59 pm!

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 5

Snack #5- Gifting

Gifts can break you at this time of year, even if you don't spend much on any one item.

But how to still have presents?

A white elephant party is a fun way to regift items you already have and don't use. Everyone wraps an item from their home, pulls numbers from a hat, and then chooses gifts in numerical order. Everyone can either steal a gift from someone else, or open a new one. The person who had to choose first gets to go again at the end to choose whatever gift they like from the whole game. As host, wrap a couple of extra items in case someone forgets to bring something so that everyone can still play.

For gift giving, especially if you have a lot of friends and colleagues you feel compelled to honor, make a donation to a local charity with a list of their names attached, and send everyone cards that says that this year you gave money in their honor. No one can be disappointed to know that you are helping others at this festive time. My personal recommendation is to be sure to not accidentally choose a divisive charity, so stay away from anything with religious or political overtones. I always like any organization that feeds the hungry, provides clothes or shelter to those without, honors the families of fallen police officers or firefighters, or supports children. I tend to think local instead of global on this one, something that your friends will recognize as being present in your community, like a local shelter or soup kitchen.

Cards and postage can get expensive, so go e-card this year...there are plenty of places to do it for free, and it is very eco-savvy.  If you have kids, have a card making day for the special people who should get something for the mantel...plenty of crayons and glitter will make it fun for them and much more meaningful than regular store-bought cards.

Mix CDs are easy to create with current iTunes and other software, and you can print custom labels pretty quickly.  Blank CDs a pretty inexpensive, as are simple sleeves to put them in.  Make a CD of fun tunes, label it with a clever picture or title, and give the gift of personalized music to your pals.

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 4

Snack #4:  C is for Cookie, that's good enough for meeeee........

Oh holiday cookies, I just can't quit you.

So I thought for today's snack I would share one of my favorites.

Spicy and grown-up, these are gingery molassesy goodness.

Can't take credit, these are stolen from one of my extra Moms, Carol of the fiery red hair and the even more fiery cookies.  Totally addictive.

Spicy Ginger Molasses Cookies


12 T unsalted butter
1 c dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 c molasses (robust or full flavor style)

Cream until blended.

Add:
1 T lemon zest
2 t baking soda
½ t salt
½ t ground white pepper
2 t cinnamon
1 T plus 1 t ground ginger

Blend well.

Sift 2 ¼ c flour and blend into mixture, which should make a fairly stiff dough. Roll balls of 1-2 T and roll in granulated sugar (cane sugar or raw sugar preferred for crunch).

Chill balls for 30 minutes.

Bake on parchment or silpat sheets on cookie sheets at 350 for 10-12 minutes…they will not look done, but should be slightly cracked, important to not overbake, or you will lose the wonderful chewy factor.


I love these as is, but over the years have come up with a few ways to gild the lily...

Stir in 1/4 c chopped crystallized ginger to up the ginger ante.
Frost with cream cheese, vanilla, or caramel frosting.  Sprinkle with chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.

Dip halfway or drizzle with melted dark or white chocolate.

Make sandwiches with marshmallow fluff, dulce de leche or peanut butter.

Make ice cream sandwiches with caramel, vanilla, or toffee chip ice cream.

Use as the base of individual chesecakes, by putting one cookie in the bottom of each cup in a muffin tin, and then pouring the cheesecake blend of your choice on top....I like vanilla, pumpkin, or coffee cheesecake flavors for this.

Yours in Spicy Cookie Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 3

Entertaining is difficult in economic times like these.  It isn't that we don't have the same impulse to shower friends and family with treats, and to host them at celebrations, but for most, our means are not what they might have been in years past.  And for those fortunate enough to not have financial woes, extravagant spending for the holidays seems somehow callous and inappropriate.

But how to not lose the festive spirit?

Here are some of my favorite frugal ways to celebrate the times.

Snack #3  Celebrate on a budget

For parties, go pot luck! Maybe a couple of years ago you could afford to provide food and drink for all 50 of your nearest and dearest, but that is not the current reality.  If you love to host, open your home and announce that you will provide non-alcoholic beverages, and the centerpiece of the buffet (a turkey or a ham or even hearty stew or soup).  Then ask that your guests bring whatever tipple they want to drink and a dish to share. 

You can pick a theme, everyone bring their best family recipe, or have a chili cook off or a pie contest.  Or just ask people to let you know what type of dish they are bringing so that when the third person says "brownies" you can gently suggest chips and salsa or a salad instead.

Even better, ask people to print out enough copies of the recipe for their potluck item so that everyone can take home a stack of new noshes for their files!  (this also encourages people to think about their best dishes and ups the ante a bit)

In terms of beverages, a big pot of hot apple cider, and some chilled sparkling water are good places to start.  Regular Coke, maybe splurging on the adorable small glass bottles, Tonic water and ginger ale, and lemons and limes will really be all you need. 

Having said that, one of the best investments you can make for parties is the Soda Stream carbonated beverage maker. 


The cost of mixers and pop for one party will pretty much pay for the machine, and you won't have quater-used two liter bottles going flat in your fridge, or throw away half full cans of pop.  You make the fizzy water, everyone can add the syrup of their choice.  They have tonic, regular and diet, as well as 38 other flavors.  This is a savings machine that feels like a splurge.









Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 2

Here is a quick and easy recipe for a festive holiday nibble...

Snack #2

This is an old-school recipe that stands the test of time.  A twist on the usual "cheese ball", this Stuffed Edam is a great addition to a buffet, and a perfectly portable delectable to bring to a party.  And at this time of year, everyone seems to be carrying these round red wax covered cheeses...I even spotted them at Costco last week!

STUFFED EDAM


1 large 2 lb. round Edam cheese ball (they also make a 4 lb for larger parties, just double the rest of the ingredients!)
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. mustard powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 T minced scallions
1 tbsp. cream
dusting of smoked paprika (opt.)

Slice about 1 inch off of the top of the cheese. Hollow out the Edam leaving about a ½ inch thick shell, using a spoon or melon baller, placing the cheese in your food processor. DO NOT REMOVE THE RED WAX! The wax helps hold it together, and looks pretty. Add other ingredients to the cheese, and process until smooth. Stuff back into Edam, sprinkle with smoked paprika if you like, and serve with crackers or cocktail rye bread.

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Snacember 1

Welcome to December, Chickens!  I hope you have recovered successfully from Thanksgiving excesses and are now ready for the month of festivities that will take us from now to the New Year.

Since we are all busy and frazzled being joyful at this time of year, I have decided to devote December to nibbles, bites, tricks and tips.  Small little snacks, that don't take too long to read, with excellent advice, simple to prepare recipes, and good gifties.  If you need more than a snack, be sure to check here for my mega foodie gift idea post.

I have decided to dub it Snacember.

(Which I am aware is a totally ridiculous name, but I couldn't think of a better one, so we will all have to live with it.)

Every day this month will have a small snack from me, and I hope you will schedule a couple of minutes a day for us to have a little snack break together in all our holiday madness!

Snack #1

Reuseable shopping bags, like Baggu Bags  or Envirosax for holiday gift giving!

I love these colorful nylon bags for shopping.  They come in singles, or packs of 3 or 5, fit easily in your purse or pocket, have sturdy handles that go over your shoulder, and make shopping (especially for groceries) a fashionable and comfortable experience.  The sets make for a great gift in their own right, but I think the bags are a terrific alternative for those fancy paper giftbags we all spend way too much on! 

Baggu makes bags in several sizes, and giving your holiday gifts in them will make you feel all virtuous and green and planet friendly.  The smaller size, (ideal for books or small gifts) are only $6 each at http://www.baggu.com/ and come in great colors, and are the perfect size for a quick trip to the grocery for a few little items.  The larger bags are $8, $6.50 if you buy 6 or more, and can fit a larger gift like a board game, and will replace a full size traditional paper grocery bag. 

Considering that by the time you add up the cost of a fancy gift bag, tissue paper, and ribbon you can easily spend that or more on stuff that will get thrown away, giving a gift in a bag that becomes an extra bonus present seems almost a moral imperative.  I spent my whole wrapping paper/ribbon budget this year on a rainbow of these beauties! 

Go green, (or pink or blue or purple or polkadotted) and give out your holiday goodies in a container that they will use over and over.

They also make cool sets of zippered bags to help organize your purse, for use in travel, and I love the mini one for giving gift cards!  And for the cook in your life, check out their produce bags...

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath