Although late, this month’s edition is very timely. What month, other than December, are we baking as many cookies? And, with so many cookie exchanges underway, I thought it only appropriate that The Virtual Supper Club become The Virtual Cookie Exchange Club.
I went to the annual Cookie Soiree last week – our regular Poker Night turned into a festive evening of food, spirits, games and, of course, cookies. No ordinary cookie exchange, mind you, the Cookie Soiree is meant to be a Holiday party. Guests and spouses, the Poker Girls and other friends, the evening is just plain simple fun.
My girlfriend hosts the event each year, and we oblige her with light fare, salads and side dishes to complement her main course. The cookies that everyone brings (and its only a dozen or two) are spread out in the dining room where you can’t help but wander into to enjoy the sweet, fresh smells of just baked brown sugar, chocolate, nuts, orange and vanilla.
This year, I was asked to put together a cheese plate and bring the Citrus Spiced Olives (see the November Edition for the recipe and ideas how to construct a cheese plate). I prepared the Citrus Spiced Olive in advance so they could marinate while I was traveling the week before the exchange. For the cheese plate, I relied on my friends at DiBruno Brothers, in Philadelphia’s Italian Market, to import some of the season’s best.
The cheese was plate simple, starting with the semi-hard Spanish Manchego Curado. The skin of the slightly sharp "curado" (aged about 1 year) is often rubbed with oil to add flavor and varies in color from beige to grayish-black, with an unmistakable "herringbone" pattern around the rind. The younger Manchego has a rich, full and mellow flavor. It often ends up being one of the favorites on the plate.
To that, I added a Montgomery Cheddar and the English Colston Basset Stilton. The Montgomery Cheddar, a hard farmhouse cheese is imported from Neal's Yard Dairy in London from the famous Montgomery farm in Somerset, England cheddar. Typically a one year aged product, the range of flavors incorporate almost the entire spectrum of English flavors: lemon, apple, walnuts, grass, toffee, hay, boiled-eggs, heavy cream, butterscotch, tobacco, oak, and leather. Undeniably complex, but easy to eat, this cheese is also superb for any melting application where intense sharpness is not desired. Traditionally, it is melted over apple pie in England; it is also superb when paired with fruit tarts and cobblers. I can only imagine what it would do for macaroni and cheese, or a burger!
The Colston Basset Stilton was included at the request of one of the Poker Girls. She asked me if I could bring some back from my trip to London (but much easier to have my cheesemonger import it for me!). Arguably the finest Stilton available in the world, the Colston Bassett Stilton is from the dairy of the same name in Nottinghamshire, England. Colston Bassett is a richer and creamier Stilton product, which was traditionally one of the only raw-milk Stiltons available. Colston Bassett is easily recognizable by the fewer amount of blue veins when compared to a larger production Stilton, which provides a richer, more cheddary Stilton product that is full-flavored, with a leathery tobacco aftertaste. Any blue cheese fan will adore this, and any one who hates blue, may begin to change their mind.
I rounded out the cheese plate with some ripe Bing Cherries I found at the local market, and colorful Sekel Pears. A vase of evergreens and some silk, glittered holiday stems and the plate was inviting and festive.
But I digress...
Once the food was laid out, drinks poured and the Gingerbread House Decorating Contest complete, we turned to the cookies. And so, won’t your join me in participating in this months celebration of cookies and cookie exchanges. To start, one simple recipe that I made for the Cookie Soiree. Try it; and post your own favorite cookie recipe. Add comments to those you try and suggestions for changes that you have made. After all, cookies are usually easy to make… the only problem is, they never last very long!
The Virtual Supper Club – Cookie Exchange progressive Menu:
Cookie Recipe #1
Chocolate-Dipped Almond-Pistachio Macaroons
Makes about 50
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 cups whole almonds
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted pistachio nuts*, finely chopped
¾ cup egg whites (about 6 large)
¼ teaspoon salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Blend sugar and almonds in food processor until nuts are ground to powder, scraping down sides of bowl often, about 4 minutes. Add flour; blend 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in pistachios.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and ¼ teaspoon salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold nut mixture into whites in 4 additions (batter will be thick).
Spoon batter by generous tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 1 ½ inches apart. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time until the cookie is dry and cracked on top, about 10 minutes. Slide parchment paper with cookies onto work surface; cool cookies. Repeat with remaining batter, cooling sheets and lining with clean parchment for each batch.
Line 3 baking sheets with foil. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring until melted. Remove from over water. Dip cookies halfway into chocolate, shaking off excess. Place on foil-lined sheets. Chill 30 minutes. Can be made 3 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container and refrigerate). Serve at room temperature.
*When ordering pistachios from a nut vendor, specify that you want "raw" unsalted, unshelled pistachios.
Chef’s Note
: If you want less of a chocolate flavor, spoon the melted chocolate into a small pastry cone made out parchment paper. Snip the very end of the pastry cone off, and drizzle the chocolate over each cookie in a decorative pattern. 
