Holiday Recipes for Stress-Free, Cozy and Refreshing Cooking

Holidays are wonderful, but they can be full of stress caused by the need to be perfect and by the lack of time we have because there are so many things going on. We can enjoy the holidays more if we have some tricks up our sleeves. And that is what this column is full of — ways to create great food and enjoy everything at the same time.

Although the holidays are when cookies abound, I am not going to make a dozen different kinds of cookies. It is just not in the cards. I am happy, however, to make lots of the same kind of cookies. One big marathon cookie baking can have you fixed for the whole holiday time, regardless of which holidays you celebrate.

I also don’t want to duplicate the cookies that everyone else cooks. If we all bake chocolate chip cookies, what is the point? So I make a traditional Sicilian cookie, the Regina cookie, that has a hint of anise and is covered in sesame seeds. My mother and I made these cookies with my grandmother — I called her Nana — every year. We made enough for the three of us with 25 pounds of flour when I was about 15 years old, reduced to about 10 pounds of flour in my young married days. My grandmother was giving away fewer cookies, so we reduced the quantity that we made. Making these cookies reminds me of the time that I spent with my mother and grandmother. They are both gone now. But the ritual of it produced the cookies that I needed, gave me time with my mother and grandmother, and I have precious memories associated with the cookies and the season. That completely removes the stress and makes me want to share it with friends and family.

Another tip is to do things in bulk. I batch the drinks and serve the same drinks to each group that I entertain. Of course, I have the standard home bar to let people prepare their own favorites, but I always have something prepped for drop-ins and keep those ingredients around during the holidays. It just simplifies things to not have to keep up with everything a person might drink.

And besides cookies in abundance, which make great presents, I also intentionally make gifts to use as hostess gifts. No shopping necessary. I am ready to put these gifts in a special bag on a pack and go basis. I try to rotate the offerings so that I don’t give the same ones every year.

And when I have guests over for dinner — whether family or friends or a combination of folks — I try to make dinner delicious and simple.

Let’s make this holiday season your most relaxing and organized yet. Once you have a good plan, you can refine it each year. Tweak it as you realize that the holidays should be fun, full of family and friends and a time to withdraw from the craziness of things. It isn’t a competition to be the most anything, except maybe to have the most relaxed and the happiest holiday season each year.

Holiday Recipes for Cozy Cooking

My Nana’s Regina Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen cookies. You can pack these cookies into jars as a welcome addition to any cookie tray, without worrying that the recipients already have these cookies overrepresented. And it goes well with the easy fruit sorbet recipe.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup softened butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
Grated rind of one lemon
1 tablespoon anise oil or almond oil
½ cup milk, divided
½ pound untoasted sesame seeds

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.  Add the sugar and grated lemon rind to the dry ingredients.  Work the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or with your hands.  Add the eggs and continue working the dough until it all comes together.   

2. Add anise oil to 1/4 cup milk and stir. Add the milk mixture a little at a time and continue working.  Stop adding the milk if the dough becomes sticky.  The amount of milk you need will depend upon the weather.  Roll the dough into snakes about ¾ inch in diameter.  Cut into 2-inch long pieces.  Dip into remaining milk and then dredge in sesame seeds.

3. Press down slightly onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Cook for 12 minutes. They should be lightly colored. If they are not, cook another 5 minutes  until lightly colored.  The cookies should be very crispy, almost hard.  Remove from cookie sheet and cool thoroughly before placing in an air-tight container.

Batched Sazerac

Not only is a Sazerac a classic Louisiana cocktail, it is also one that can survive being batched. Make it with Herbsaint or absinthe, Peychaud’s bitters and either rye, cognac or bourbon.

20 ounces rye
15 drops Peychaud’s bitters
5 ounces Herbsaint or absinthe
10 teaspoons sugar
Juice of half a lemon
10 strips lemon peel

1. Add the rye (or other spirits), the Peychaud’s bitters, Herbsaint or absinthe, sugar and lemon juice to a cocktail pitcher. Stir. The drink should be reddish. If it seems too pale, add a few more drops of bitters.

2. Place the pitcher in the refrigerator. Taste a teaspoon of the drink and add more Herbsaint or sugar, to your taste. Serve with a strip of lemon peel in each glass.

3. When it comes time to serve your Sazeracs, they will be cold. If you keep the glasses in the refrigerator, you can simply pour the chilled Sazeracs into a glass and add a lemon peel strip to each glass. No need for ice unless someone asks for rocks. Serves 10 drinks.

Easy Fruit Sorbet

This recipe doesn’t contain added sugar, which is nice when sugar and spice become overwhelming during the holidays.

2 ripe bananas
2 cups frozen blueberries or strawberries
½ cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

1. Purée all of the ingredients in a food processor or a blender. Serve immediately in chilled dishes.

2. Optional: Add fresh mint leaves to enhance this or perhaps fresh basil leaves or a combination of the two. Serves 4 to 6

Butternut Squash and Tomato Bake

This dish is a great accompaniment to almost anything. Dress it up by serving it with steaks or dress it down by eating it with fried chicken. It always holds its own. Leftovers, if there are any, make a great bruschetta to nibble with a dry white wine. You can cook your own squash or use the frozen cubes that are available at the grocery. That makes it even easier and faster. This dish is perfect for those days when you do not want to eat any more party food.

¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium-sized butternut squash, baked, peeled and seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, each sliced in half
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground sumac
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh mint and more for garnish
4 to 6 ounce package of unflavored goat cheese, cut into about 20 pieces

1. Using a skillet that can go directly into the oven, heat the olive oil. When it begins to shimmer add the chopped onion. Cook for 7 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the butternut squash and stir well. Add the tomatoes, cumin, sumac and cinnamon. Cook together, stirring as needed for 5 minutes, allowing the tomatoes to release their juices. If the mixture becomes dry, add ¼ cup of water or white wine.

2. Taste and add salt and pepper to your taste. Add the parsley and stir it into the mixture. Add the mint and stir. Dot the top of the mixture with the goat cheese and place in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Add a bit more chopped fresh mint to the skillet and serve. Serves 4