A Very Grinchy Christmas

I never thought I'd admit this on a public forum but you'd figure it out from the rest of this post anyway. So here goes. I watch Glee. Not only that but I like it. Anyone who knows me in real life would have to wonder why a show like that would appeal to me. Except for the always wonderful snarkiness of Sue there's nothing about the show that has any bearing on my real life. In fact, I typically hate musicals with the exception of Rocky Horror Picture Show and that's likely due solely to the pleasure of seeing Tim Curry in fishnets. You can't get more unrealistic than having characters burst into song in the middle of a crowded street with no reaction from passersby or, even worse, the crowd joining in some perfectly choreographed dance routine they couldn't possibly have put together in the ten seconds since they met. And don't even get me started on popular music. I usually can't stand to listen to the radio because most of the songs that become hits irritate the heck out of me. The lyrics are simplistic and meaningless and the songs uninspired. Yet somehow Glee makes those songs work. Dare I say they even make them entertaining? Glee manages to take everything I hate and turns it into an unmissable show I eagerly tune in to every week.

Last week's Christmas episode was no exception with a selection of Christmas pop songs I'd ordinarily skip past on the radio including the creepy "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which seemed to me like a prelude to a rape charge the first time I heard it. But it was almost sweet and not at all pervy when performed on the show. Their take on How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Sue as the Grinch was alone worth the price of admission, but what really stuck out to me was a little speech Will Schuester gave to the kids. Straight out of a melodramatic Lifetime special but it perfectly summed up how I've been feeling lately about the holidays:

"The first Christmas you remember having is the greatest day of your life. Your family’s all together, there are loads of presents, cookies. The magic is alive and well. But before you know it, you grow up. Work and school and girlfriends take over and Christmas becomes more of an obligation, a reminder of what’s lost instead of what’s possible. And all of the trees and the presents and even the mistletoe can’t change that. And then when you get to my age… you’re so desperate to get that magic back, you’d do anything to be able to feel how you did that first Christmas."

I've been struggling with feeling all of the obligations and stress of Christmas without any of the magic. It's the one time of year I most want to reject the trappings of adulthood and have no responsibilities other than to eat, drink, and be merry. That is, of course, impossible because unless I plan a menu, go grocery shopping, and take the time to cook something, making sure to clean up and do the dishes after, there will be nothing to eat or drink.


This year I'm trying to scale things way back in an effort to ease the stress. I've got the tree up but that's about it. I'm opting to not put up my miniature British-themed tree. Instead I plonked a bauble-covered tree-shaped tower in its usual place to bring a little festive cheer to our bedroom. I'm not even bothering to unpack half of the Santas and Christmasy knick-knacks since every available surface in our house is already covered with stuff. I stuck a wreath on the front door and that's the extent of my outside decorating. I'm not sending Christmas cards this year because I lost my address book a month ago and it still hasn't miraculously turned up. I'm feeling better about the looming holiday because of those cut backs but don't think my apparent sang-froid indicates that I'm living in a stress free zone. I still feel incredibly guilty about skimping on the usual traditions this year but I think it's the only way I can cope and enjoy the holiday. Hopefully my friends and family will understand.

That said, I'm not a total Grinch. I've still got my radio tuned to the 24/7 Christmas song station and feel ridiculously cheery when I drive past people's Christmas light displays or visit the holiday section in a store. Never fear; there's hope for me and the holidays yet!

Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

See those glorious specks in the browned butter frosting? Perfection!

At the end of my whirlwind trip to London last year I found myself with a few hours to kill in Heathrow Airport. You know how they tell you to get there hours before your flight is scheduled to leave? Yeah, that's good advice if the wait in the security line is longer than five minutes or there's a problem with your ticket. Otherwise you'll be sitting there becoming increasingly hungry and might find yourself tempted by the overpriced food vendors. After I polished off a bacon, tomato, cheese, and ketchup baguette I was still ready for more. Must have been emotional stress eating at the thought of leaving my beloved London. Although it seems silly to visit an American chain while overseas, I gravitated toward the Starbucks kiosk in search of a festive holiday drink to end my dream vacation. I try to avoid desserts from chain stores that don't specialize in baked goods but while I was scrutinizing the menu for differences between the US version and the UK branch, a certain item caught my eye in the bakery case: a Christmas pudding cupcake.


Frankly, it didn't look that impressive and the photo I snapped of it is even more underwhelming but I found myself unable to resist anything with the word "cupcake" in the name. I was intrigued by what their version of Christmas pudding in cupcake form might taste like. Turns out the answer to that was simple and easy to sum up: delicious. I wish I had clearer memories of the flavors involved but I remember that the cake contained just the right amount of raisins to be reminiscent of Christmas pudding without being overly dense. The frosting was of the kind I would happily eat with a spoon straight out of the bowl, delicately flavored and paired nicely with the cake. Aside from confusion over the name I think it's something that would sell nicely here in the US.

I promised myself I'd try to recreate it in my own kitchen once I got home but somehow that plan fell by the wayside as I plunged into the holiday season. So here I am a year later unable to recollect the delicious details. After my suggestion to take a trip to England purely for the purpose of taste testing another was ruthlessly shot down by my husband, I decided to come up with my own interpretation of a Christmas pudding cupcake that may or may not resemble Starbucks' version. No matter as these are delicious concoctions in their own right.

Surprisingly, no one else out there on the internet seems to have tried this concept so I had to start completely from scratch. Of course, to add to my problem there just have to be hundreds of widely varying Christmas pudding recipes out there. I should also say that the one time I had Christmas pudding it wasn't my favorite, so I wasn't eager to completely copy the stuff. Just capture the essence in a more cake-like form. From my research, I came away with the thought that the defining characteristics are dried fruit in the form of raisins, cranberries, dates, etc. and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Booze is a popular addition but since I don't own any of the traditional ones like rum or brandy I left that aspect out. I think it would be a welcome change to my recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself. I started with a sticky date cupcake recipe from the indispensable 125 Best Cupcake Recipes and went crazy from there. I substituted raisins and dried cranberries for some of the dates, decreased the overall amount of fruit, threw in some mixed citrus peel, and added the necessary spices to give it that holiday flair. The cake's a little denser than I envisioned so perhaps next time I'll try it with a more traditional vanilla cake recipe as my starter, but the denseness does work with the spices and fruit to emulate a good old fashioned fruitcake. There's just the right amount of fruit in each cupcake and the unexpected citrus burst from the mixed peel is the kicker.

And browned butter frosting? Why did no one ever extol the virtues of browned butter to me before? Damn, is this stuff good. Very, very sweet, but a perfect match for the spiced cake. Quite a winning combo to get me into the holiday spirit!

Christmas Pudding Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/8 cup mixed peel, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 muffin wells with paper liners.
2) In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine raisins, cranberries, dates, and water. Cook until fruit is soft and water is absorbed. Stir in mixed peel. Set aside and cool.
3) In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.
4) In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together granulated and brown sugars and butter until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, beating until combined. Add milk and fruit mixture, beating until smooth.
5) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Browned Butter Frosting
Recipe adapted from The Sister's Cafe

1/3 cup unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2+ Tb heavy cream

1) Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just starts to turn golden (4 to 6 minutes). Butter will get foamy and bubble and you will see black flecks start to form toward the end. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
2) Beat butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until combined. Add vanilla and gradually add cream until frosting reaches the desired consistency. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

These are especially delicious served warm, so feel free to pop them in the microwave.

A Photo A Day [Days 103-105]

A photo of a photo of London. I knew none of my own pictures would turn out this good so I bought a few professionally-done ones as keepsakes.

Day 103

Who knew cranberries looked like this on the inside?

Day 104

Closeup of one of our animatronic figures' hair. Turned out pretty funky straight out of the camera.

Day 105

Theme: up close

A Photo A Day [Days 101 & 102]

Day 101

This is Punky, my first born. I found a poem online that perfectly captures her:

"My Cat is the cat of all cats
For she is like a beautiful Painting
She sleeps and awakes in the early morning
To demand her requests for the day.
My Cat is the cat of all cats
She is royal and dignified.
Poets and Writers have long been inspired
She is admired by all who encounter her
My Cat is the cat of all cats
And shall remain so, until the end of her nine lives."
-Kim Day

Day 102

Thawing out cranberries for a pie I plan to make in honor of National Pastry Day. Sure, it'll be a bit late since that's today but it's a great excuse to bake something unhealthy. I'm being patriotic or something. While some of these cranberries have seen better days at $0.25 per bag I'm not about to complain about a few shriveled berries.

This week's theme: up close

Stocking Stuffer Idea

Photo from Sew Woodsy

It kills me that most of the projects I've been working on for Christmas can't be shared here until after the holidays because I don't want to spoil anyone's surprise. I don't know which of my friends might be reading my blog so I don't want to risk anyone getting a sneak peek at a present until the big day. I'll keep this post sufficiently vague and free of pictures from my actual project.

This is a bargain project with cute, customizable results. One of my favorite bloggers, Sew Woodsy, first made some skeleton magnets for Halloween that caught my eye. I added it to my to-do list and then, of course, promptly forgot about it. The concept is so simple and the supplies are cheap. Hit your local dollar store and buy a bag of round glass stones, the type used to anchor and decorate floral arrangements. You'll need a little Mod Podge and some hot glue plus a package of round magnets, easily found at a craft store. Either cut some pictures out from a magazine or catalog, print photos of your favorite celebrity crushes, or get creative and use wrapping paper or scrapbook paper to make fun magnets like these:

Photo from Sew Woodsy. No, I'm not trying to imply that Santa is her celebrity crush but you never know!

Follow Sew Woodsy's simple instructions to Mod Podge the paper to the back of your glass stone, trim, glue down the edges, and hot glue a magnet to the back of each. I've made two sets so far and plan to package them in decorated Altoid tins as stocking stuffers for friends. One set was made completely from pictures cut out of a clothing catalog, mostly closeups of their pretty floral fabrics. Another simple, satisfying project that can be done in a hurry, perfect for this time of year when we've all got a lot on our plates.

Huge Giveaway at Bella Before and After

If you're not already following Bella Before and After you really should. She's got tons of enthusiasm, great ideas on her blog, fun link parties, and is one of the sweetest bloggers I've ever come across. Can you believe she takes the time to check out and comment on all of the links in the parties she hosts? We're talking thoughtful, meaningful comments that show she actually read the post. In honor of reaching 100 followers she's got a big ol' giveaway going on her blog through Friday. I lost count of how many prizes there were around number five so we're not talking about just one or two dinky prizes. These are lovely, handmade gifts that you'd probably want to buy for yourself if you're not the lucky winner. So please go check her out, become a follower, and enter to win the fabulous prizes for yourself.

A Photo A Day [Day 100]

Accidental self portrait. Glad it's small and blurry enough that you can't see the mess behind me.


Theme: up close.