I used to think that too many lights would make them the focus of the tree, not the ornaments. The Christmas Tree of my youth was decorated with the traditional glass balls and bells, garland, and had, at most, 200 multi-colored flashing lights. For me the lights were the best part of the tree, the ornaments and garland being mostly fillers. Then I met my wife.

The first time we went shopping for a Christmas tree, we knew it would be artificial but still needed to decide on whether or not it would be pre-lit or not, and what color the lights would be. We ended up selecting an unlit tree and purchasing about 1000 white lights. I thought this would be plenty, but not for what my wife had in mind.

As I started to string the lights on out tree for the first time, I went about it as I always had at my parent’s house. First I assembled the tree, then began to string the lights around the outside, working from the top down. About an hour later I called my wife so we could start decorating, but was informed that there weren’t nearly enough lights as she had hoped. She wanted to have lights on all of the branch tips, from the ‘trunk’ out to the edges. Being newlyweds, I didn’t put up much of a fuss, and removed all the lights to start again, this time with a much clearer picture of what she wanted.

I never knew that there were so many of the smaller branches and tips on each section of an artificial tree. I very rapidly used the 1000 lights we had. Unfortunately it was too late to continue that night, so in the morning I purchased another 750 (15 strings of 50 ea) to finish. By lunchtime two things were obvious, I wasn’t going to finish and I was also going to need more lights. This time I sent my wife out to get more strands. Two trips later, she’d cleaned out the store of white lights, and another day ended with the tree still not fully lit. On day #3, we both went out to get what we hoped would be the last 500 lights. Just after lunch, the tree was fully lit, with about 3000 lights.

It’s always sad when you take the ornaments and lights off and box everything up again, and I needed a 70 qt plastic bin to hold all of the tree lights. Knowing that it took 3 days to string up all the lights I needed to figure out a faster way to do it the following year. 10 months later I had the answer.

Although it still took me 2 days to put all the lights on the tree, it would never take me that long again because I pre-strung every branch. Since the lights were in strings of 50 and 100, I used the 100’s to pre-wrap the larger lower branches, and the 50’s on the middle and top branches.  Since each branch had its own string of lights, once unplugged it could be removed from the tree without being tangled with any of the other branches (in a few of the smallest upper branches I did end up using 1 set of lights for 2 branches). I also took the opportunity to find out exactly how many lights were on the tree by counting the number and length of each strand I put on. Grand total: 2,850 lights!

Another problem I had to contend with was how to plug of the lights in. Most important here is to have not only extension cords be also a power strip with a fuse (I actually need 2). To minimize the tangle of cords and plugs, I used electrical tape to secure all of the extra wire to the base of the branch close to where it connects to the center pole. To get every strand of lights plugged in, I found it’s best to keep the cord on one of lights longer so it can be snaked down the center of the tree to the power strip. All of the other lights on that row of branches are plugged into each other, minimizing the number of plugs that need to be hidden at the base of the tree.

Even with the branches pre-strung, it is essential to first check to make sure that all lights on every branch are working. A few years ago, one of the branches started flickering which led to an entire section of the tree going dark. It is much easier to find and replace burned out bulbs when it is undecorated and not yet wired into the rest of the trees lights.

The past few years it has taken me about 3 hrs to test all the lights and have the tree fully assembled, ready to decorate. Also, since the lights are white, they provide a background illumination that enhances the decorations and makes the tree glow, especially at night. Now when I walk through stores selling pre-lit trees with anywhere from 650 to 1800 lights, I wonder how many other couples think that ‘these trees need more lights - we might as well just string our own’. But first ask yourself, how much is enough? For us 2,850 was just right.

First, I have to carry all the boxes down from the attic and once again figure out where everything is. Even though all the boxes started out labeled with their contents, my wife’s desire to ‘just put everything away’ in mid January means the ornaments and decorations usually land in the first available empty box. So just getting things organized to the point where we can start decorating is a task in itself.

As much as I love my children (7 yr old twins right now), if I hear another ‘can we start decorating now’ or ‘when are you going to put up the lights outside?’, I think my head will explode. So the first order of business is to get their tree set up so they can start decorating with their favorite sports and Disney ornaments. This also allows me the time to assemble our larger ‘family’ tree (yes it’s artificial), checking to make sure all of the almost 3000 lights are working (and yes that’s ~3000 lights on a 7′ tree - it glows!). So while the kids are merrily trimming their tree, my wife and I go about sorting through the rest of the decorations, finding old favorites, and those more recently purchased. While the inside decorations are easy to set up, there are a lot of them, and then there’s the Village.

Our Christmas Village has evolved from being strictly the New England village series, to New England with a North Pole building (or two) to now being almost exclusively the North Pole series (all from Department 56). This transformation was the result of our children’s love of the various Holiday specials (Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, etc) which makes it easier for them to associate with a Gum Drop Factory, than a Village Hall. Also, once they realize that the Buffalo snow you’re using for the Village can double as a beard, you might as well just stop trying to decorate and enjoy the absurdity of it.

Once the inside of the house is completed, or almost, decorating the outside of the house still remains, but this requires the cooperation of the weather. As much as I enjoy Christmas, I don’t really look forward to climbing a 25ft extension ladder (sometimes in a rather chilly wind) to hand icicle lights on our house. But once completed, the lights on the house and bushes, the mini xmas trees, Candy Canes, and the large wreath hung over our front door always brings a smile to my face.

Now that all the decorations are up and the boxes are empty, it’s time to bring them back into the attic until it’s time to take it all down again. It’s a lot of work, packed into only a few days, that gets to be enjoyed for basically the month of December, and maybe a week or two in January.

So this year, to take some of the stress out of decorating, an dmake the Season a little longer, my wife asked me to start bringing down some of the Christmas items while I was in the attic putting away the Halloween decorations.

This naturally got me to thinking - is it ever too early to start putting up the Christmas decorations?

 Or, are you an ‘extremist’ who simply leaves their house decorated all year long? and if you do WHY?

* Bookmark on Delicious * *

Cougar Gold Cheese

Christmas is one of those Holidays when you get to eat certain things that you wouldn’t normally prepare (or buy). I find this to be especially true when it comes to appetizers. Christmas is also one of the few days (aside from possibly Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday) that you can simply snack for hours. One of our favorite appetizers requires nothing more than a can opener. No it’s not Spam, it’s Cougar Gold Cheese.

I don’t remember exactly which show I was watching when I first heard about this award winning cheese, but I’m glad I did. Cougar Gold, although called a white cheddar, has a milder, nutty taste more like Gouda, that sharpens and intensifies as it ages. But why the can?

The origns of Cougar Gold, named after the school mascot and N.S. Golding (one of the researchers who developed the recipe) date back to the 1930’s when the US Government wanted to devise a method for storing cheese in a can, so it could be shipped fresh around the world to its Armed Forces. The problem with storing cheddar cheese in a can is that as it ages, it releases carbon diozide, which causes the can to swell. The problem was solved by the addition of a lactobacillus culture, which greatly reduced the amount of carbon dioxide generated.

When you open your first can of Cougar Gold, you may notice two things (depending upon how long you let the cheese age): water, and/or a white coating. When cheddars age, through a process called synerisis, they emit whey and a liquid butterfat. This causes the cheddar to become drier and more crumbly (it doesn’t slice very well). The ‘water’ can simply be poured off. The white coating is calcium lactate, which is typically found on aged cheddars. There is no need to scrape it off (except for cosmetics) as it is harmless and tasteless.

We usually cut out ~1/3 of the full tin (we try to save some for New Year’s but it doesn’t always work), stick a cheese knife in it, surround it with crackers, then watch it disappear (we don’t really just watch, my wife & I eat our fair share of it also). In addition to the basic Cougar Gold, we also love the Crimson Fire - the milder lo fat Viking Cheese spiked with Jalapeno and Cayenne Pepper- YUM!

So unless you’re fortunate enough to live near Washington State University, you must order online at the University’s Creamery website. Order early to avoid delivery delays. Try some this year - you can send me a Thank You post later.

* Bookmark on Delicious * *

Haunted M&M House

It’s only Columbus Day weekend, and already one of the department stores in a nearby mall, has opened their Christmas Store. Maybe I’m getting older , but it seems as though it opens earlier and earlier every year (although my wife insists that it opens on the same weekend every year). As we walked around the displays of decorated trees, ornaments and Christmas Villages, tucked in the far corner was a display of Halloween decorations. Every year since I’ve known my wife, we’ve set up a village scene under or near our tree. Our village is a combination of the New England and North Pole series of houses. Over the past few years, Department 56 has also been producing a Halloween series of houses, figures and accessories, which started me thinking (and that’s usually a dangerous thing) does anyone set up an elaborate Halloween Village?

In order to keep up the Halloween atmosphere, what started as a few spooky faces taped onto the doors, has evolved into light up pumpkins, black wire trees, window decals and whatever my wife saw last year that we need to add to this year’s decorations. The one thing that doesn’t change is the fact that we need to have centerpiece for the table (the pizza or Chinese food just wouldn’t taste the same without it). Ours, as you can see below, is fairly simple.

* Bookmark on Delicious * *

In the short time we’d been together, we talked about everything, and since at the time we were both living in our own apartments, we both cooked. I always loved to cook, bought cookbbooks, and read cooking magazines, to find new and different recipes to try. So when Christmas rolled around, Cathy already knew that I was pretty competent in the kitchen, so she asked if I would make a dessert (I’d already heard about the dozens of cookies she would be baking with her mom). Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to impress her, and her family, I agreed. I also immediatley knew what I would make, a Buche de Noel (Yule Log).

Now I’ll be the first to admit that baking is not my forte. But, when you’re in love, you want to do something special and out of the ordinary, and this was it. I found the recipe in a recent magazine, read it through a few times, prepared my shopping list and there was no turning back. The 2 days it took to complete were both stressful and fun. Stressful everytime something was mixing or cooking or setting, hoping I’d not forgotten to add anything (I tend to be a little obsessive when I cook). But then fun, once the ‘log’ was completed and the final decorating/presentation began. Mostly there was relief when it was all finished and I realized that it looked almost just like the picture. The only thing I didn’t know was how it tasted, but that would have to wait until Christmas.

Finally, we arrived at Cathy’s sister’s house. I had not taken more than two steps in when I heard “that looks fantastc!”. Everyone was followed me into the kitchen to see what I’d brought, and when Cathy informed them that I had made it - they were all very impressed. I have never posed for so many pictures with a dessert before (or after). Not only did it look good, but it tasted great.

Now that Cathy and I are married and have kids, everyone comes to our house for Christmas, so I no longer have two days to devote to a dessert. But they still ask “what no Yule Log this year?”. Now that the twins are 7 and able to help in the kitchen, who knows, maybe this year.

If you”re interested in preparing a classic Christmas dessert, want to impress someone, or just like tasty desserts, this ones for you…

Chocolate-Orange Buche de Noel

For filling
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For ganache
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Powdered sugar
10 to 12 purchased chocolate truffles

Bake until cake springs back when pressed in center, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool completely. Sift remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa powder over cake. Line baking sheet with foil. Invert cake onto sheet. Peel off paper.

Prepare filling:
Place 2 tablespoons boiling water in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let soften 10 minutes. Heat 1/4 cup cream in small saucepan over medium-low heat just until warm. Add to gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin dissolves. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups chilled cream, powdered sugar, orange peel and vanilla in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add gelatin mixture. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread filling over cake, leaving 1-inch border on sides. Using foil as aid and starting at 1 long side of cake, gently roll up cake, enclosing filling. Arrange roll, seam side down, on platter. Cover tightly and refrigerate until filling is set, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Next Day:

Unwrap roll and with a serrated knife cut ~2inches off one end, at a 45 degree angle. Place the angle side of the cut piece against the side of the log. Once coated, this will give the appearance of a branch protruding from the side of the log.

Make ganache:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, corn syrup and liqueur. Stir until mixture is smooth. Let ganache stand until cool and thick.

Whisk ganache just until soft peaks form (do not overmix). Spread ganache over roll. Using tines of fork, draw lines through ganache to represent tree bark. (Roll can be made 1 day ahead. Tent with foil and refrigerate.)

Sift powdered sugar over roll.

If desired, decorate with white truffles lightly dusted with cocoa (to simulate mushrooms).

* Bookmark on Delicious * *

Ingredients:

1 cup(s) (2 sticks) butter (no substitutions), softened
1/2 cup(s) sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract
3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
Assorted colored granulated sugars for decorating
Ornamental Frosting, optional (see below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high, beat until light and creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour and baking powder just until blended.
2. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
3. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick. With floured 2- to 3-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible, wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on large ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle cookies with colored sugar now if you like, or frost with Ornamental Frosting after baking.
4. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. If you like, brush colored sugar remaining on cookie sheets onto piece of waxed paper to use again. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
5. When cookies are cool, decorate as desired. If frosting, you can also sprinkle colored sugars as desired on frosting before it dries. Allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. Store cookies in tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.

Makes ~96 cookies

* Bookmark on Delicious * *

My mother, being Italian, always cooked (and in this case baked) to serve a crowd, usually a very hungry crowd. So it was not uncommon for her to increase the size of the recipe by 8X, yes that’s right 8X. If the recipe produced 2dozen cookies, we made 16 dozen. Add to that the fact that sehe usually baked 4 or 5 different types of cookies, and you’d think we were starting our own business. Even though we had the family over for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (nothing was better than Mom’s Lasagna), we were still left with enough cookies to enjoy well into March.

Every cookie was made as perfectly as possible, from the shape of the Almond Crescents to the branches on the Butter Cookie Christmas Trees. Once baked and cooled, all the cookies were stored in round, aluminum foil lined, tins and stacked in the den. We worked and worked while the much loved Christmas specials played in the background. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work over several evenings, and Mom wasn’t always in the best of moods, but it was something to look forward to.

So every year, when those chilly New York December days rolled around again, my mother would buy pounds and pounds of butter, then break out the hand-cranked cookie cutter and we’d get start rolling, shaping, and decorating our way into another Christmas season. And now, since my own children are old enough to start helping, I get to do it all over - with them!

* Bookmark on Delicious * *