Baking with Myrna Loy and William Powell

Christmas Eve is tomorrow!  Today’s the day that I stay home, get caught up on wrapping gifts, and bake, bake, bake.

I have a small TV in the kitchen, and it is almost always tuned to Turner Classic Movies (first choice) or the TV Food Network (distant second).  Movie classics I first saw with my Dad 30+ years ago (when they were already old!) keep me company while I turn out the family classic recipes.

I’m in luck today because Myrna Loy is the Star of the Month and the lineup presents her in back-to-back features with William Powell, all day long.  Woohoo!  (It’s the little things.)  Did you know that these two stars made 14 movies together?  I have always been a fan of the Thin Man series but didn’t realize how many other times they were paired up, mostly for comedies, but with a few dramas in the mix.  They’ve started already this morning with a crime drama, Manhattan Melodrama, which also stars Clark Gable.  Heaven.

I’m all giddy because my mother-in-law is hosting the annual Christmas Eve appetizers and stocking fest and I’m only responsible for desserts, a great balance since the Christmas Day shindig and feast is here is Glover Gardens.  My Friday kitchen lineup is below.

Raspberry-Nut Christmas Bars, which are my mother-in-law’s favorite, a really nice combination of salty and sweet.

I like to serve these Raspberry-Nut bars at holiday parties with decadent partners, like drams of Chambord (raspberry liqueur).

Cranberry-Walnut Chocolate-Covered Cookie Mountains, luscious chocolate-chip cookies made decadent by dipping them in chocolate post-baking, a close second in my mother-in-law’s estimation.  (Recipe not published yet, but maybe after today’s batch.)

The dressing.  Even though we aren’t having turkey this Christmas, the dressing is a MUST.  It could be a meal in itself.  I’m going to try to finalize the recipe and publish it.  Family recipes that are made with muscle memory because you’ve done it dozens of times are the hardest to document, don’t you think?  Like trying to tell someone how to tie a shoe without demonstrating it.

If I have time, these truffles from The Irreverent Kitchen blog.  Don’t they look good?  Alicia, who publishes the blog, says they are really easy.  And it looks like fun.  I think I might be able to wangle a little help with them from the millennials who have decamped at Glover Gardens for the duration of the Christmas holiday.  (We are filled with joy to have a full house this year.)

What are you doing today?

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