Taste Bytes - December 2018 | The Taste Tourist

Anticipation

It happens every year as soon as Thanksgiving is over – that sudden shift from the harvest season to the holiday season – and the countdown to Christmas is on.

December can be a busy month, a chaotic time, but it’s also one I look forward to, anticipating cherished traditions, immersing myself in holiday tunes, getting caught up in the excitement, and of course, savoring the distinctive tastes of the season.

There are the traditional tastes – the lemon bars I grew up making with my mom, the Danish pastry we devour on Christmas morning, a glass of rum-topped eggnog.

And there are the new favorites that I discovered this month, those that will become part of my repertoire, tastes to anticipate for future years. A roasted delicata squash salad, spicy sweet potato skins, chewy molasses crinkle cookies, and a melt-in-your-mouth peppermint bark cream doughnut.

Here is this month’s edition of Taste Bytes, a celebration of December’s top tastes.

Sweet Potatoes

I loaded up on sweet potatoes at the Ballard Farmers Market in November, but then never ended up using them for Thanksgiving. So, I did a little searching in early December and found two excellent new recipes to try – savory, spicy, and healthy to boot.

Sweet Potato Tostada

Each week I try to pick a recipe from one of my cooking magazines for a #magazinemonday feature. I spotted this sweet potato tostada in last month’s Food Network magazine, and it didn’t disappoint. A simple baked tortilla brushed with olive oil and cumin. A garlicky black bean base topped off with boiled sweet potatoes mixed with a chipotle pineapple sauce (so good!). A simple purple cabbage and lime slaw. A cilantro pineapple salsa. And a drizzle of Mexican-style crema. An unusual combination that absolutely works!

Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

I’ve already shared this healthy Mexican sweet potato skins recipe (from Pinch of Yum, one of my favorite blogs) with several people, and will definitely be making it again. This twice-baked sweet potato features a creamy chipotle-infused interior with black beans, roasted corn, pepperjack cheese, and cilantro. So simple and absolutely delicious!

Maple Sweet Potato Cupcake

And of course, I had to indulge a little. I love to hit up Cupcake Royale, after visiting the Ballard Farmer’s Market on Sunday mornings and this seasonal specialty, a maple sweet potato cupcake, caught my eye. I have to be honest, I wasn’t so sure about it when I first read the description – but, oh man, this was one of my favorites yet. A tender spiced sweet potato cake topped with a maple cream cheese frosting and a pomegranate caramel drizzle. Yum!

In my November edition of Taste Bytes, I shared Cupcake Royale’s seasonal line-up of cupcakes, and their December selection is equally delicious – peppermint bark, eggnog snickerdoodle, and a salted caramel that they carry year-round. Definitely worth a visit to one of their Seattle locations.

More Sweet Potato Tastes to Try…

Ginger & Molasses

Molasses Crinkles

If I had to choose one flavor combination that epitomizes the holiday season, it would be ginger and molasses, along with their frequent companions – cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. And this molasses crinkles recipe from Fine Cooking is about as good as it gets. Soft, chewy, and packed with holiday flavor!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

These bakery-style ginger molasses cookies from the Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook, a former Cookbook of the Week, are top notch as well.

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Glaze and Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone Topping

When the cold weather hits, I start craving spiced winter cakes, and I was excited to try this gingerbread with lemon glaze from The Silver Palate, the first Cookbook of the Week that I featured on this blog, and one of my mom’s favorites. The lemon glaze seeps into the rich cake, creating a moist texture full of warm spice and citrus flavors. I wanted a special topping for the cake, and this whipped vanilla mascarpone topping recipe hit it out of the park as well. A fun dessert for the holidays!

Cognac with Gingerbread Ice Cream

I first tried Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams when we visited a branch in Charleston on our Southern Bites Taste Trip, where I learned they also deliver directly to your home. This is my second year ordering December’s Splendid Holiday Collection, and it’s a tradition I look forward to continuing.

This cognac with gingerbread ice cream is part of the 2019 holiday collection (along with boozy eggnog, darkest chocolate, pumpkin 5-spice, sweet potato with torched marshmallow, and white chocolate peppermint). A warm-your-bones cognac base with dark caramel and sliced gingerbread cake pieces – love it!

Gingerbread Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Salt and Straw is another outstanding artisan ice cream company (with local roots and two new Seattle branches) that also offers home delivery. They offer unique flavors made from locally sourced ingredients, and each month they offer five new specialty flavors. Their December Holiday on Ice Cream collection is always a treat, and this year’s collection includes cinnamon coconut eggnog, apple brandy and pecan pie (amazing!), sugar plum fairy, peppermint bark cocoa, and this delicious gingerbread cookie dough ice cream.

Gingersnap Ice Cream

As much as I love ice cream just showing up on my doorstop, I’m all about supporting our local producers as well, and Sweet Lo’s Handmade Ice Cream is one of the best in town. Her gingersnap ice cream is fabulous – a base full of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, with Biscoff cookies scattered throughout. Quality to the core, and it’s no surprise her business is rapidly growing, and I look forward to sharing more about her ice cream in an upcoming post.

Molasses Ginger Caramels

Last year I discovered Jonboy Caramels at the University District Farmers Market, and I was hooked from my first bite. This local Ballard company makes some of the best caramels I’ve ever tasted – soft, creamy, buttery, and with an array of interesting flavors. Their seasonal specialty – molasses ginger caramels – are my new favorite. Head down to one of our farmers markets to get these or pick up a batch at Whole Foods. You won’t be disappointed!

More Ginger & Molasses Tastes to Try…

Arugula

Arugula may not be what first comes to mind when you think of a traditional December taste, but it’s at its best in the late fall and early winter. I grow it, almost year-round, in a container on my back patio, and with our mild fall, it’s still going strong even in mid-December. With its spicy flavor, arugula is delicious in a salad, as a topping for main dishes, or combined with walnuts to make a simple pesto.

Roasted Delicata Squash, Pomegranate, and Arugula Salad

I made this roasted delicata squash salad for Thanksgiving, and I loved it so much that I made it again last week. The combination of peppery arugula with the caramelized delicata squash (one of my new favorites!), salty feta, sweet pomegranates, tangy cranberries, and toasted pecans (good with pepitas too) is outstanding. And the maple balsamic vinaigrette brings it all together – this one goes in my keeper file!

Arugula, Dates, Blue Cheese, and Almond Salad

I’ve been immersed in making cookies – a lot of cookies – for my December Cookie Countdown, and as much as I’ve enjoyed the baking (and the sampling!), I’ve also been craving simple salads. This recipe from Jessica Seinfeld’s Can’t Cook Book , a former Cookbook of the Week, fits the bill perfectly. I always enjoy her recipes with their focus on simplicity, wholesome ingredients, and health. Can’t wait to try a similar recipe, her arugula and date salad with almonds and cheddar.

Fig-Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula

Earlier this month, I had a good bit of arugula that needed harvesting, and having already made my share of salads, was on the hunt for a new recipe to try. When I spotted this fig-prosciutto pizza with arugula recipe by Ree Drummond, I was sold. I’m a big fan of her recipes and one of my favorite cookbooks is The Pioneer Women Cooks: A Year of Holidays, another former Cookbook of the Week.

True confessions time – I’ve never made a homemade pizza before, but it was so much fun! The dough was incredibly easy to make, and I topped it off with this sweet and savory fig spread (delicious!) and fresh mozzarella.

I picked up some El Cerro serrano ham (a Spanish-cured ham that can be used in place of prosciutto) at a local market – dry, buttery, with a touch of sweet –and it just melted into the hot pizza.

The final addition of the arugula with freshly shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic glaze takes this pizza right over the top! I’m not sure why I waited so long to make my first homemade pizza, but it won’t be my last.

More Arugula Tastes to Try…

Chocolate Mint

Chocomint Blossoms

As the weather gets colder, I start to crave all things mint – chocolate mint to be precise. When my sister and I were still in school, my dad started a Christmas tradition of treating us to a father-daughter day out in downtown Seattle, which included picking out a new outfit and then indulging in a special lunch, often a cup of lobster bisque and a seafood Caesar at Chandler’s Crabhouse.

And we always started off our Seattle day with a peppermint hot chocolate at Nordstrom’s. These chocomint blossoms remind me of that same drink – a a rich dark chocolate base with a bite of cool creamy mint, putting me right back in that holiday spirit. So good!

Mint Chocolate Bars

I’ve been trying out quite a few new recipes for my December Cookie Countdown (post coming soon), and this is one of the best yet. A fudgy chocolate brownie base with a Crème de menthe buttercream layer, and a rich chocolate ganache with crushed candy canes to top it off. It’s a little bit of work and a little messy, but seriously – this mint chocolate bar recipe is worth every bit of time.This one goes in my permanent holiday repertoire!

Theo Peppermint Stick Chocolate

The holidays and chocolate just seem to go together, and Theo’s is always outstanding. Their factory tour is a highlight of any Seattle visit, and I shared a little of what makes their chocolate so special when I featured their cookbook Theo Chocolate, as a former Cookbook of the Week. This peppermint stick dark chocolate bar is wonderful, as is their entire seasonal line-up (cranberry orange is another one of my favorites). If you have a chance, pop by their Fremont factory to take a tour (including samples galore) and explore their shop.

Peppermint Bark Cream Doughnuts

General Porpoise Doughnuts has taken Seattle by storm, and it’s easy to see why. Soft, pillowy brioche doughnuts filled with peppermint bark cream – hands down one of the best bites of this season!

There are five doughnuts on the menu – three classic flavors that are always available – vanilla custard, lemon curd, and chocolate marshmallow – and two rotating seasonal flavors, as well as an impressive lineup of top quality coffee.

And if you can’t decide on one, just get two!

White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream

Peppermint ice cream has a special place in my heart. For many years, we spent each Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house, where my grandma would serve a phenomenal prime rib dinner, followed by a simple dessert – a scoop of peppermint stick ice cream served in a little white bowl. And still today, the taste of peppermint ice cream takes me right back to those days.

Jeni’s white chocolate peppermint ice cream reminds me of that treasured Christmas Eve tradition. Pink and white peppermint ice creams swirled with white chocolate freckles – hands down my new favorite seasonal ice cream!

More Chocolate Mint Tastes to Try

Advent

Growing up, I always looked forward to the day after Thanksgiving, when my mom would take out our Christmas decorations, carefully unwrapping each item, ushering in the holiday season.

One of my favorites was the Advent wreath she would place in our living room, the evergreen circle symbolizing eternity, with four purple and rose-colored candles nestled around the perimeter representing each of the four Sundays of Advent, along with their corresponding messages of hope, love, peace, and joy. In the middle was a fifth white candle, to be lit on Christmas Day – a symbol of new light and life.

Throughout the years, we had a variety of Advent calendars as well, and I loved getting up in the morning and heading straight to the calendar, peeling back the number or opening up the little door to discover the treats within – each day one step closer to December 25^th.

And speaking of anticipation…Christmas is right around the corner now, and the wait is almost over.

My wish for you is that throughout the hustle and bustle of this season, you’ve been able to enjoy this time – this Advent period – as well. And when Christmas Day finally dawns, when it’s time to light that fifth candle, may your day be filled with the blessing and promise of this special occasion – with hope, love, peace, and joy.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. -Kimberly

Upcoming Posts

I’ll see you soon with my December Cookie Countdown, a new Cookbook of the Week to kick off January, and another edition of Taste Bytes in mid-January.

December Cookie Countdown

A new cookie each day until winter break…21 new recipes for the Christmas season

Cookbook of the Week – Small Victories

An inspirational cookbook to kick off 2019… trying out raspberry buns with creme fraiche frosting, Julia’s Caesar, scallops with chile-and-parsley bread crumbs, chocolate cake, and more

Winter in Maui

Escape to Maui…sharing some hidden gems and top tastes from last year’s Christmas trip

Thanks for stopping by!