It was busy, starting with getting up early Saturday to roll out the second batch of springerle dough made Friday morning because the first batch looked a little wonky - they didn’t rise very much and they were a little over-baked. But first, I needed some coffee. As I was taking the coffee out of the cabinet, I noticed the fresh can of baking powder, unopened, that I bought because I thought that perhaps what was needed was some fresh baking powder. Crap! I had forgotten to put baking powder in the dough. So, I took the dough, broke it up and sprinkled the baking powder over it, put it in the KitchenAid with the dough hook, and kneaded it for about 5 minutes, then put it back in the refrigerator to rest while I took Mom for her foot doctor appointment. Afterward, I took her for breakfast because she hadn’t eaten. We sat at Sally’s Pancake House for a while, had crepes (hold the whipped cream) and chatted, mostly about rescuing the cookie dough. Then back to Mom’s apartment at “The Home” to make knödel for Sunday’s dinner. Mom seemed to enjoy instructing me in the fine art of bread dumplings; I had attempted them before , but they either fell apart or were little, solid cannonballs. Before I left, I filled Mom’s med case, then left to go to Binny’s in the South Loop to pick up a case of wine, then home by 1:30. Took a break to watch a little basketball with my eyes closed. Dinner was pasta carbonara, simple and quick to make, served with a very nice wine from Sardinia. After dinner, I rolled out and molded the springerle so they could dry overnight.
Sunday morning, up early to bake the springerle, fingers crossed that the dough rescue had worked and they would rise properly. I baked them on parchment and lowered the temp to 325 to lessen the browning. It all worked, they rose and were beautifully pale, although Peter pointed out that the Santa-face looked like a creepy homeless guy. Despite the criticism, we stopped by Peter’s in the afternoon to bring him (Alexis, really) some classic BIG Christmas lights and a bunch of old beer mugs. Had a glass of wine (Target Cab out of box, surprisingly not bad), then a second glass of Shiraz (better) when Em and Mike arrived. Left there and drove to where the other half live (East Lake Shore Drive) for a holiday dinner with my sibs (less one) and Mom. Watched the Bears debacle, rescued the spaetzle dough (a little warm water and beat the hell out of it) and the gravy (soy sauce and boiled the hell out of it). Traditional German fare: sauerbraten, knödel, spaetzle, red cabbage, with a lovely Reisling Kabinett, and assorted Christmas cookies for dessert. Rescued the car from the doorman, home in bed by 9:30.
At work, resting.
