A Charlie Brown Cookbook: Peanuts Family Cookbook

Normally around this time, I would have watched my all-time favourite holiday special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". But because Tim Cook decided only AppleTV+ subscribers deserve this present, I'm out of luck. Fortunately, I discovered a literary substitute to satisfy my fix for Charles Schultz's cry against the commercialization of Christmas. "Peanuts Family Cookbook" is similar to any other themed cookbook, with recipes that have a link, however tenuous, to a character from a popular movie, TV show, or book. While the recipes are easy to make with or without parental supervision, the real highlight of the cookbook is the artwork and the reprints of some of the old comic strips, making it fun to flip through even if you don't make anything from it. It seems only fitting that Franklin on Food celebrates this cookbook with a recipe from the character who shares a name with this blog.

Ingredients: Franklin's Frozen Fruit Crush

200 g sugar
240 mL water
13 plums, 12 halved and pitted

1. Mix the water and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool.
2. Pour the sugar mixture into a blender and add the 12 plums. Blend everything until it's smooth.
3. Empty the contents of the blender into a standard baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer for about an hour. Remove the baking dish from the freezer, uncover, and rake the mixture into flakes with a fork.
4. Cover with plastic wrap again and return the baking dish to the freezer. Repeat the raking of the mixture every thirty minutes for three hours until the mixture looks like shaved ice.
5. Scoop into glasses or bowls, garnish with slices from the remaining plum, and serve immediately.

Grey Cup Eats - Honey Dill Sauce vs. Lumberjack Sandwich

Full disclosure - I don't give a fuck about the Grey Cup. 

It's not that I don't like football or the CFL.  I remember listening to games on CFRA with my father back when I was a kid. I've been to Ottawa Rough Rider/Renegade/Redblacks games in the past and enjoyed myself at them. I appreciate the history of the Grey Cup and the skill of all its players and coaches. But Canada's version of The Big Game never resonated the same way as the American Superbowl does with me. I remember the Chicago Bears thrashing the New England Patriots in the first Superbowl I ever saw, but couldn't tell you who won the first Grey Cup game I watched or who played in it (I want to say Doug Flutie was involved). I've been to numerous Superbowl parties over the course of my life, but I've never been to or heard of anyone throwing one for the Grey Cup.  I do know that this year is a repeat of the 2019 contest, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers taking on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  The recipes below represent the best food offerings from each team's respective cities. During the game, Winnipeggers will reach for their favourite honey dill sauce when looking for something to dip finger foods in, while Hamiltonians will have the home field advantage with the hearty grilled cheese sandwiches inspired by the hometown Gorilla Cheese food truck. No matter who you're rooting for, these dishes would be a great addition to any tailgate. As for the game itself? I'll probably check the score periodically while watching other things - those shows I've been planning to binge on aren't going to watch themselves.

Ingredients: Honey dill sauce

45 g mayonnaise
20 g honey
5 g chopped fresh dill
a squeeze of lemon

1. Mix the mayonnaise and honey together until completely combined. Add dill and lemon and mix again.
• For a sweeter sauce, use less mayo and add 2.5 mL of Worcestershire sauce; for a tangier sauce, use less honey, half as much dill, and add 2.5 g of mustard powder.
2. Place the sauce in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving for best results.

If you develop a taste for honey dill sauce, you need to find a jar of Greetalia, a provincial favourite.

 

Ingredients: Gorilla Cheese lumberjack sandwich

15 g salted butter, at room temperature
7.5 g mayonnaise
3 slices bacon, cooked
2 slices white bread
2 thick slices aged cheddar
several thin slices Granny Smith apple
pure maple syrup

1. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and the mayonnaise together until it is smooth and well-blended.
2. Spread on one side of each piece of bread with the butter/mayo mixture. Place the buttered sides of the bread face down on a cutting board, and top each slice with a slice of cheddar cheese largely to almost cover the bread.
3. On one slice of bread and cheese, arrange a single layer of apple slices. Top with the bacon and drizzle everything with maple syrup.
4. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the bread slices, separately, buttered sides down. Cook until they become golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Form the bread into a sandwich, with the buttered sides facing out. Cook until golden on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Transfer the sandwich back to the cutting board, and let it stand for a minute before slicing.

Baking Snowballs

Whether you call them Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes, it's easy to see why these pastries are affectionately called snowballs. They're white, they're round, and like the frozen projectiles they resemble, they're very easy to make. As we enter the holiday season, you can be sure that a plate of these cookies will be a welcome addition to any Christmas potluck or office get-together. Just remember to follow public health guidelines to protect yourself and others.

Ingredients

560 g all-purpose flour
230 g butter
125 g chopped pecans
65 g confectioners' sugar
45 g confectioners' sugar for dusting, or as needed
(if you don't have any confectioners' sugar on hand, pulse 200 g of white sugar with 14 g cornstarch in a blender or food processor until it looks powdery)
35 g finely crushed peppermint candy canes (optional)
1.5 g teaspoon salt
5 mL vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Blend the butter with 65 g of confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about a tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let the cookies bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden. Do not allow them to get too brown - it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. 
4. While the cookies are still hot, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar. Once they have cooled, give them another roll in the sugar. For some extra Christmas cheer, add the candy cane dust to the sugar used for the final dusting.