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Nov. 21st, 2015 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitThis is my non-weekend weekend, as I don't have a complete day off. I worked M-F last week, had a store meeting today (only about an hour, but I still had to get up and get dressed and go, and also speak), and I work tomorrow to help get ready for Black Friday.* I will get next Thursday, Thanksgiving, off, which is good, but I still feel a bit grumpy.
So naturally I'm spending today baking stuff to bring to work for our Black Friday potluck. I'm making a pumpkin cream cheese cake roll. Actually I'm making two, one for me to eat this week and one to bring to work, which I'll freeze now and then fill the night before. I've baked and rolled the cakes already; the first roll was not so great--I've never rolled a cake before--but the second one looks quite nice, so that's the one I'm taking to work. I had a little extra batter so I baked and sampled that, and I know the cake tastes good. I modified the spicing a little bit, using less cinnamon and more cloves, ginger, and allspice, and also threw in a little black pepper and about a teaspoon--for a doubled recipe--of cocoa powder, which accentuates the spices without making the cake taste of chocolate.
ETA: I've managed to unroll, fill, and re-roll my cake. It cracked a little, but not too badly, and hopefully I can avoid that with the other, better-rolled cake. Also, it tastes very nice indeed.
I'm also going to make an eight-strand plaited bread loaf to bring in. I made the dough yesterday and gave it an overnight rise, so I'm hoping for more flavor than last time. Anyway it should look impressive, and since it's made with olive oil it's something my one vegan co-worker can actually eat. (She tends to get a bit *sadface* when baked goods are brought in, and then flexes her principles a bit and samples them anyway, but I promised her I'd bring something vegan one of these days.)
I've scaled back my cooking plans for Thanksgiving a lot. I'm just going to braise some chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce and have that with mashed potatoes--I've just learned that mashed potatoes can be prepared in a slow cooker, so I'm going to make a *ton*, because leftover mashed potatoes are never a bad thing--and vegetables of some description. I'm feeling slightly sulky about this because I always want to do more elaborate things for the winter holidays, but then Christmas retail leaves me so tired that all I want is a day off. Maybe I'll do a bunch of fancy cooking in January and February and make my own winter holidays!
I impulse-bought two bags of fresh cranberries because they were only a buck each. They're now reposing in the freezer while I figure out what to do with them. Anybody have favorite recipes? Relishes, salads, desserts, whatever.
Anyone want to talk about their Thanksgiving or Christmas cooking/eating plans?
In things that aren't about food, I have a free movie ticket that I got when I went to see Spectre. Anybody have recs? I'm thinking about Labyrinth of Lies, but it hasn't gotten great reviews. I'd love to hear from anybody who's seen it.
I still need to watch London Spy. I'm scared that I got my hopes up too far and will be disappointed. (No spoilers, please . . . )
And I need to work on my Yuletide fic.
And now, I think it's time to go and shape the bread.
*Black Friday, for those of you outside the US, is the day after Thanksgiving; this year it's November 27. It's the official start of the Christmas retail season, the day when stores roll out their biggest deals, and the busiest shopping day of the year. Many stores open super early--not the one I work at, thank heavens--and it's almost invariably crowded and hectic. It is not fun for people who work in retail. I don't see how it's fun for customers, either, but people want bargains enough that they keep showing up for it.
So naturally I'm spending today baking stuff to bring to work for our Black Friday potluck. I'm making a pumpkin cream cheese cake roll. Actually I'm making two, one for me to eat this week and one to bring to work, which I'll freeze now and then fill the night before. I've baked and rolled the cakes already; the first roll was not so great--I've never rolled a cake before--but the second one looks quite nice, so that's the one I'm taking to work. I had a little extra batter so I baked and sampled that, and I know the cake tastes good. I modified the spicing a little bit, using less cinnamon and more cloves, ginger, and allspice, and also threw in a little black pepper and about a teaspoon--for a doubled recipe--of cocoa powder, which accentuates the spices without making the cake taste of chocolate.
ETA: I've managed to unroll, fill, and re-roll my cake. It cracked a little, but not too badly, and hopefully I can avoid that with the other, better-rolled cake. Also, it tastes very nice indeed.
I'm also going to make an eight-strand plaited bread loaf to bring in. I made the dough yesterday and gave it an overnight rise, so I'm hoping for more flavor than last time. Anyway it should look impressive, and since it's made with olive oil it's something my one vegan co-worker can actually eat. (She tends to get a bit *sadface* when baked goods are brought in, and then flexes her principles a bit and samples them anyway, but I promised her I'd bring something vegan one of these days.)
I've scaled back my cooking plans for Thanksgiving a lot. I'm just going to braise some chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce and have that with mashed potatoes--I've just learned that mashed potatoes can be prepared in a slow cooker, so I'm going to make a *ton*, because leftover mashed potatoes are never a bad thing--and vegetables of some description. I'm feeling slightly sulky about this because I always want to do more elaborate things for the winter holidays, but then Christmas retail leaves me so tired that all I want is a day off. Maybe I'll do a bunch of fancy cooking in January and February and make my own winter holidays!
I impulse-bought two bags of fresh cranberries because they were only a buck each. They're now reposing in the freezer while I figure out what to do with them. Anybody have favorite recipes? Relishes, salads, desserts, whatever.
Anyone want to talk about their Thanksgiving or Christmas cooking/eating plans?
In things that aren't about food, I have a free movie ticket that I got when I went to see Spectre. Anybody have recs? I'm thinking about Labyrinth of Lies, but it hasn't gotten great reviews. I'd love to hear from anybody who's seen it.
I still need to watch London Spy. I'm scared that I got my hopes up too far and will be disappointed. (No spoilers, please . . . )
And I need to work on my Yuletide fic.
And now, I think it's time to go and shape the bread.
*Black Friday, for those of you outside the US, is the day after Thanksgiving; this year it's November 27. It's the official start of the Christmas retail season, the day when stores roll out their biggest deals, and the busiest shopping day of the year. Many stores open super early--not the one I work at, thank heavens--and it's almost invariably crowded and hectic. It is not fun for people who work in retail. I don't see how it's fun for customers, either, but people want bargains enough that they keep showing up for it.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 08:49 pm (UTC)I'm trying to decide if I want to go for something silly/entertaining or something more serious . . .
no subject
Date: 2015-11-23 09:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 08:17 pm (UTC)I'm the Designated Vegetarian at my friend Lee's Thanksgiving blow-out, I'm making vegetarian "beef" Wellington (with Gardein beefless tips), a tarragon cashew-milk bechamel (I'm not a vegan, it just seems interesting to experiment), and cranberry-tangerine chutney. For dessert: poached pears, not sure how I'll do them but probably in ginger chai.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 08:51 pm (UTC)Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast! Your contributions sound tasty.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-22 06:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-22 08:51 am (UTC)I would love fresh cranberries. Last time I got any, we were in Canada (2004). Allegedly Coles Supermarkets have frozen cranberries for $8 per kilo ($3.64 a pound). I've yet to see them in-store, but I'll be watching for ideas.
I saw Spectre yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.