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A Sweet Tradition of Cookies
It started three Christmases ago when my dear friend and colleague (Taming the Flame, Girls at the Grill) Elizabeth Karmel decided to share her then 3 year old nephew August with me. So she bought him “Rose’s Christmas Cookies” and invited me up to her sister Mary Pat’s apartment in the high 90’s—4 1/2 miles from where I live--which felt like a state away (little did I know just how far I was going to have to travel in the future) and I gave August a cookie lesson. I was hooked and so was he. August introduced me to his favorite bear and invited me to sleep over. I was sad to have to decline. He dictated a thank you note to me which I treasure. And the following year, when his parents Mary Pat and Karl moved upstate to Katonah, I was invited back.
LET THE FUN BEGIN!
THE BOY'S FAVORITE PART
AUGUST SPORTING A CHARLIE CHAPLIN CHOCOLATE MOUSTACHE WITH ALEXANDER LOOKING ON
AUGUST PIPING THE BATTER
ME AND THE FUTURE COOKIE BAKER MAX
MARY PAT'S BEETS AND SWEETS READY TO BAKE
That year, his younger brother Alexander, 2 years old, announced at the end of the day that he wanted to “have a conversation with Rose too.”
This year, baby brother Maximilian Bennett chose to be born at Christmas time so we rescheduled for Valentine’s month—August’s birthday. He was so disappointed we had to miss Christmas I promised that this time I would sleep over. I also decided that the boys should choose the cookie they wanted to bake. Interestingly, after going through the book they both chose the “Biarritz) one of the most elegant and difficult cookies in the book—in fact the only one people ever reported having difficulty preparing. (Thank goodness they didn’t choose the Nôtre Dame cookie cathedral!)
It turned out to be a great lesson in grating nuts in a food processor, beating egg whites to stiff peaks, piping batter from a bag, and their favorite part—drizzling chocolate glaze in a Jackson Pollock-type free-form design over the baked cookies.
I did loose their attention several times during the long process but in the end the cookies came out just great and they loved them. Next year I’ll choose something a little more manageable!
After the boys ate dinner and went to bed, Mary Pat made the most amazingly good dinner. Elizabeth grilled the rib steaks despite the 8 degree weather—doing her famous grill dance to keep warm. And Karl opened a very special cabernet. Mary Pat made a side dish I promptly named “Beets and Sweets” (recipe follows). The little cubes of beets glistened like jewels and the sweet potatoes were crisp on the outside, with a meltingly tender interior and lovely sweet flavor. She also roasted some cipollini onions along with the beets that gave them a delectable caramelized flavor. I got to hold baby Max.
And for dessert we had the grown up version of the Biarritz cookies—spread with a solid layer of the chocolate glaze and decorated by zigzagging the tines of a fork through them when almost set. It was all so very delicious I can hardly wait til next year!
Beets and Sweets
Remove the peel from the beets and the sweet potatoes or yams and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. Keeping them separate to prevent the beets from coloring the potatoes, sprinkle with fine sea salt and a little extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat evenly.
Spread them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. for about 50 minutes, turning them occasionally so that they cook evenly. Use a wire cake tester or tooth pick to test for tenderness.
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Comments
It's wonderful that the kids are being taught in traditional ways about cooking! And - thanks a lot for sharing your stories with us! :)
Reply to this Posted by: Cooking Gal | April 13, 2007 6:42 PM #
thank you monica. those are among my top favorite cookies.it's hard to believe just how good they are!
i grew up with twin cousins 3 months older than i which seemed significant when we were little girls. when they were 3 they used to stop policemen and sing "you used to be a beautiful baby," while i stood by crying. that's proof there's safety in number even when it comes to stomping on baked goods!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 6, 2007 8:05 PM #
Hi Rose,
Just wanted to let you know that I love your Christmas Cookies book! Everyone adores the Ginger Pennies -- even my picky little twin cousins. They're not shy in letting you know what they like and don't like. They gobbled up the Ginger Pennies and unfortunately decided to step on the baked goods they didn't like!
Reply to this Posted by: Monica | March 6, 2007 5:53 PM #
it took me a good 10 seconds to figure out who the master was! i guess we just don't look at ourselves that way. thanks you for holding up the mirror.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 2, 2007 5:32 PM #
Wow! We should all be so lucky as to get personal baking classes from a master at such a young age.
Reply to this Posted by: lee | March 2, 2007 10:04 AM #
This is such a great blog-stream. We had a great time and the steaks were worth dancing for! In fact, truth be told, I crave grilled meats way more in the freezing weather than the summertime! The cookie tradition has been almost as much fun for me, my sister, MP and brother-in-law, Karl, as it has been for the boys. Not only do I have the three best (and brightest and sweetest and handsome, etc) nephews in the world but I get to share them with one of my best and oldest friends, Rose!
We love you Rose! Thanks for being a part of our family traditions!
Reply to this Posted by: Elizabeth a.k.a. EAK | February 27, 2007 12:48 PM #
hi kirsten! yes--traditions can be precious and a year between them makes it all the more dramatic.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 26, 2007 2:01 PM #
Rose,
EAK told me about this blog over the weekend! It looks like you had a blast. What a great tradition - I look forward to seeing pics next year as the boys grow.
Kirsten
Reply to this Posted by: Kirsten AKA Cookie | February 26, 2007 1:01 PM #
What a great experience for the children! Mimi has started a similar tradition with our two grandchildren in south Georgia. They bake gingerbread men and decorate them at Christmastime.
They even have their own decorated aprons for the special occasion. I'm sure the children will long remember these precious moments in their lives.
Reply to this Posted by: Michael Harris | February 16, 2007 3:03 PM #
Dear Rose, How delightful the cooking with August, Alexander and Max is. That was a special treat to see the pictures and read MP's recipe. I am elated with Elizabeth's recipe and TAMINGF THE FLAME. You must have had lots of fun and it looks as if you are
having a great adventure. Helen
Reply to this Posted by: Helen Shrode | February 16, 2007 8:47 AM #
Hello again:
I hope you don't throw out your back, again, Rose, with all the email you must be pressed for replies.
Now, a funny thought-- that your note from Marion Becker is about my age! That makes me even more grateful for books in themselves. My mother's copy of Joy of Cooking is the first cookbook I read from cover to cover. Long live cookbook writers who give away their precious notes.
Corinna
Reply to this Posted by: Corinna | February 16, 2007 1:42 AM #
corinna, this is one of the nicest notes ever received by me and i was so busy forwarding it to friends i forgot to respond to YOU!
it is especially gratifying because i'm now working until the wee hours of the morning on my upcoming book and there are so many new and exciting discoveries so it's wonderful to know that there is such an appreciative audience for them.
years ago, when i wrote about the joy of cooking for a term paper, a friend who new the author suggested that i send her a copy of what i wrote. i wouldn't have thought she'd have been interested but i received a letter which is pasted into the book thanking me and saying: "...of course a great morale booster as we are working on revision--a long, long---and excrutiantingly frustrating process! but with appreciation like yours it makes our efforts seem more than worthwhile. with thanks and best regards, marion rombauer becker nov 10th 1972"wow! i never dreamed that 34 years later i'd be in a similar postition!!!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 15, 2007 2:12 PM #
Hello Rose:
I'm so star-struck, writing to a star in my baking firmament!! pardon the gushing, but it really is a wonderful thing to be able to instantaneously post something to you.
I've been baking since I was a child, but I didn't go to school to learn more about it until after I'd spent hours in home kitchens with relatives and family trying to learn the ins and outs of things. Your books helped me while I was in school, and made up for many gaps in the learning.
It is a great pleasure to find your website online, a resource for someone overseas. I have what I call my three bibles, books of yours on cake, pastry and bread and I treasure all of them so much, especially the tables on converting household measures to weights. I've memorized your tables and have had to make adjustments for differences in ingredients and chemistry here in humid Manila.
I've been inspired by your methodical approach and generous notes to keep more notes of my own, so that I can better understand the effects of different mixing and prep methods on the final result.
You are such a heroine to me that I have nagged several people to get your books instead of having to quote you when people ask me baking questions. :)
My own sister actually ran away with my extra copies of your books--they're that valuable here. ;)
Reply to this Posted by: Corinna | February 14, 2007 9:20 PM #
Thank you for your response Rose. It is great to hear part of your creative process--I would have never guessed about the three different colors of ink--that is a neat technique. I'm glad that you're willing to sacrifice and burn the midnight oil as your work is valuable to so many of us!
Reply to this Posted by: Matthew | February 13, 2007 10:15 AM #
laurel--agreed--it is the warmest way to relate to kids.
matthew--in a way i'm organized and disciplined but you should see our apt.--pans, papers, all manner of equipment and ingredients all over the place. i can NEVER keep up. i would describe myself more as focused.everything can be falling apart around me and all i see is the recipe i'm working on. last night the equipment chapter writing about pans til 3 am. i keep saying this has to change. and it never does. then i get great notes from my two recipe testers and have to integrate them while it's still fresh in our minds. it's a real juggling act.
as for recording results--i try to to write up the recipe first, and make changes the same day as testing or details slip away. but if i get really carried away i have test 1 to 3 and more on the same page with different color pens for each. sometimes it's hard to stop when on a roll of discovery.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 13, 2007 9:33 AM #
Dear Rose,
I can't wait to buy your new book! Just thinking about all of the exciting new recipes and lovely pictures makes me salivate. You strike me as a very disciplined and organized person. Do you have a daily/weekly writing schedule, or is your working style less regimented? How do you divide your time between hands-on testing and recording your results?
Reply to this Posted by: Matthew | February 13, 2007 6:25 AM #
Adults teaching kids to bake and cook just warms my heart. My 5 grandsons 26 thru 8 are all great bakers and cooks. These skills will last a lifetime and provide precious memories. So turn off the computer, video games, everyone to the kitchen!
Reply to this Posted by: Laurel | February 12, 2007 10:11 PM #
thank you--yours is the first comment! don't you also just love his expression--sort of like "uh oh--am i going to get it for doing this?!"
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 12, 2007 9:03 PM #
Such a nice posting. Love little August's moustache.
Reply to this Posted by: Melinda Pickworth | February 12, 2007 8:55 PM #