Like Alice In Wonderland’s Un-Birthday, a Very Merry Un-Valentine’s Party can be celebrated almost any day of the year—but mid-February is certainly a popular time for the singles festivities. From our own personal experience we’ve decided that Un-Valentine’s Day works equally well on February 14th too. Note that we celebrate Un-Valentine’s Day here at the Breakup Cookbook, not Anti-Valentine’s Day. We don’t believe that love is evil, just that it can be extremely challenging sometimes.
This year we are telling Cupid to “stuff it,” by using salmon, cucumber, goat cheese and watercress for finger sandwiches, and whipping up concoctions featuring spinach, bacon and mushrooms that prove that it’s not only real men who eat quiche, but real women, too. And in a nod towards better Valentine’s Days to come, a “Rose-Colored Glasses” cocktail graces the festivities.
Stop stressing over who’s been naughty or nice and start focusing on your gift list (even if your ex was borderline at one point—that’s one less present to wrap). Just in case you still have holiday shopping to do, consider a project that is satisfyingly sweet: making your own gifts at home. (I still have a family get-together for January 2nd!)
A baking friend, Salwa, was inspired to give everyone truffles made from scratch this year. So, here’s a little more chocolate before the new year’s resolution kicks in. Her packaging is the perfect complement to these rich truffles. Check out these amazing flavors:
Ancho chile and cinnamon coated in sugar crystals
Jack Daniels coated in pecans
Cardamom and coffee coated in almonds
Peppermint coated in crushed candy cane
You can read all about her adventures in cocoa at Baked Salwa.
We’re going Dutch today but not on a date. I just saw this fun silent movie from the Netherlands on how to make Spice Cake—too bad my cooking disasters are not nearly as cute or innocent as this video. I do think this recipe qualifies as Grandma-approved.
This particular recipe comes from Bar Americain’s lovely and talented Krista Margies Kunkle, pastry chef to the stars. She describes this cake as such: “The first bite will make you exclaim, ‘Sweet Jesus!’ in a way that what’s-his-name never could.” You know it.
‘Tis the season for a girls-only get-together: no drama of who will be your plus one, no office hijinks, no dressing to impress, and no healthy food. We all love to bake but who has time or patience to crank out a variety of cookies for a magazine-worthy display tray? I’m lucky enough to know an organized lady who has kept a Holiday Cookie Exchange tradition going strong for 16 years now. (Thanks Aunt Wendy!) Every guest brings one type of treat but you all go home with a variety sweet drops, bars, and truffles—so you get to become your neighborhood’s new Sugar Mama.
You’re Invited . . . When: During the holiday season—whether you celebrate Christmukkah or Kwanzaa. Where: At the home of a hostess with the mostess. Who: The more ladies invited, the more everyone has to bake so consider a guest list of 6-12 people and be sure to get firm RSVPs. How: Ask each guest to bring one dozen wrapped for each person plus one extra dozen for nibbling. Supplement some savory snacks and drinks, music, and voila! Festive packaging also doubles as decoration.
What do you get when you combine two Welsh ladies, a giant griddle, and an holiday exchange party? Welsh cookies—our family’s traditional holiday treat. I spent a recent afternoon with my mom baking a recipe that comes from generations back as we prepped for our girls get-together. Thankfully there were no men allowed (and no fires like at the start of the Dylan Thomas’s Child’s Christmas in Whales) though bonding and baking is always good for a mother and daughter. I compare the cookies more to biscuits; sometimes they are also called Miner’s Cakes. And you don’t bake them in the oven, instead you brown them on a griddle.
Check out the slideshow to see them in process—complete with wild (non-Welsh) packaging for the party!
Sometimes the single life can get me down, but luckily, I happen to live two blocks from a gorgeous Italian. That’ll snap you out of it real quick. Rocco’s also charming and sweet AND makes a risotto that’ll knock your socks off. It didn’t take much convincing to get him to share his tricks from the Old Country, which interestingly doesn’t involve ancient Roman secrets, but instead a good old-fashioned Cuisinart. Watch the maestro at work. I was glad I did. I’d never heard food described as “beautiful” so much before, but when we sat down to eat I could understand the sentiment. It was also a great way to get me to eat my veggies (hear that, Mama Mia?). Great Italian dinner made for me by a smoking hot Italian? In Italy you might say che bella, but my country that’s known as a win-win. Thank you, Breakup Cookbook!
What to get a girl who recently had a breakup? Whether she is a heart breaker or heart-broken, give her some tools to cook up some excitement in her kitchen:
1. Remind her how hot she is with a King Arthur Flour kitchen thermometer that works for both cooking and candy.
2. Variety is the spice of life. Give her a trio of pre-packed spice blends from Savory Spice Shop to keep her busy so she can’t dwell on the past.
3. A trip to Paris will cure all lovelorn ladies . . . but more realistically something petite and French like La Creuset ramekins might help?
4. Dash, Pinch, and Smidgen. No, not Santa’s reindeer but helpful measuring spoons, perfect for Grandma’s healing recipes.
I have to confess that the idea for The Breakup Cookbook is not new – in fact, it dates back to c.1996. I’m not quite sure which is worse – the fact that it’s taken me so long to do anything about it, or that I’m still going through breakups. Either way, at the time I’d found myself on the losing end of an office romance (and by “office” I mean a Barnes & Noble); I was still living at home, though my parents were away so I was home alone with a broken heart. What was a 1996 gal to do? Not much in the way of Internet, and little to distract me other than The Price Is Right. Read more
After watching Julie and Julia this summer, I left the theater with a strong desire to cook Julia Child’s Boeuff Bourguignon. I’ve been waiting for a cold weekend to make the classic beef stew ever since. Thanks to a forecast of snow and a bed-bound friend who needed some home cooking (take it easy, Amy!) I was in luck this past weekend. Read more
Like Alice In Wonderland’s Un-Birthday, a Very Merry Un-Valentine’s Party can be celebrated almost any day of the year—but mid-February is certainly a popular time for the singles festivities. From our own personal experience we’ve decided that Un-Valentine’s Day works equally well on February 14th too. Note that we celebrate Un-Valentine’s Day here at the Breakup Cookbook, not Anti-Valentine’s Day. We don’t believe that love is evil, just that it can be extremely challenging sometimes.
‘Tis the season for a girls-only get-together: no drama of who will be your plus one, no office hijinks, no dressing to impress, and no healthy food. We all love to bake but who has time or patience to crank out a variety of cookies for a magazine-worthy display tray? I’m lucky enough to know an organized lady who has kept a Holiday Cookie Exchange tradition going strong for 16 years now. (Thanks Aunt Wendy!) Every guest brings one type of treat but you all go home with a variety sweet drops, bars, and truffles—so you get to become your neighborhood’s new Sugar Mama.
You’re Invited . . .
What do you get when you combine two Welsh ladies, a giant griddle, and an holiday exchange party? Welsh cookies—our family’s traditional holiday treat. I spent a recent afternoon with my mom baking a recipe that comes from generations back as we prepped for our girls get-together. Thankfully there were no men allowed (and no fires like at the start of the Dylan Thomas’s Child’s Christmas in Whales) though bonding and baking is always good for a mother and daughter. I compare the cookies more to biscuits; sometimes they are also called Miner’s Cakes. And you don’t bake them in the oven, instead you brown them on a griddle.
After watching Julie and Julia this summer, I left the theater with a strong desire to cook 
