Category Archives: Luscious holiday

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Sweetheart Jam Cookies

14 Friday Feb 2014

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heart cookies

Luscious knows you want to tell your Valentine that they’re the hot fudge on your Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait, the triple axle in your ice skating routine, and the mosh pit of your thrash metal show. Say it with homemade cookies. These pretty treats are an easy Valentine’s gift for your sweetheart,  and so delicious, of course. The cream cheese makes a flavorful, manageable dough that you can roll and cut at lightening speed. You’ll need a pair of heart-shaped cookie cutters (two sizes) to make a traditional valentine’s cookie. If you are not traditional, then user any shape cookie cutter you like– star, bunny, Slayer logo — whatever you think says Be My Valentine.

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla or orange extract
2 1/2 cups flour

Orange or raspberry liquer
clear sugar sprinkles
raspberry jam

Beat together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in orange zest, egg, baking powder, salt, and extract until well mixed. Stir in flour.

Divide dough into 2 or 3 large balls, flatten each into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Breaking the dough into sections makes the size more manageable for rolling, and also you can keep dough sections cool in the fridge while you work with one section at a time. Place dough disks in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the dough is firm enough to cut. You can refrigerate the dough for up to a week, just place on the counter for a few minutes before rolling so that it’s pliable (but still cool and firm).

SONY DSCPreheat oven to 350º and grease cookie sheets. Roll out dough on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3/8″.  Cut with the larger heart cutter, re-roll scraps and continue cutting. Then use the smaller cutter to cut windows in the center of half of your hearts. Place all hearts, large and small on the cookie sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 9-10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool. Brush the window-cut large hearts and half of the small hearts lightly with liqueur, and sprinkle with white sparkling sugar. Go with black sparkling sugar if making Slayer cookies.

raspberry jamSpread about a tsp of raspberry jam on the unsprinkled cookies. Place a sprinkled cookie on top, sprinkles up, to make a pretty sandwich cookie. Repeat with the small hearts. Use any flavor jam or preserves you prefer, but we’d suggest red plum for the Slayer version because it looks EXACTLY like freshly congealed blood. Don’t ask how we know that.

 

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Potato Pancakes with Fresh Beets and Curried Sour Cream

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in entrees, Luscious holiday

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Here’s an easy and lovely way to enjoy latkes, even if you’re not a Hanukah celebrant (they make for satisfying winter fare.) We’re know that using frozen potatoes is not Jewish-grandmother approved, but hey, you’re busy!  Look, it’s not the equivalent of, say buying that ready-made cookie dough with embedded candy sprinkles and then taking them to a bake sales and trying to pass them off as your own. (And hey, if you’ve done that, it’s okay—even Luscious sometimes wakes up with hangover on bake sale day.) It’s just…grated potatoes, exactly what you’ll have if you spend an hour grating them yourself.

beetsBeets are the co-star here. This humble root vegetable is so trendy right now it’s almost irritating.  Carrots are very miffed. Luscious understands how you feel, carrots, but we have to admit that we love the festive deep red color of the beets, and the earthy-sweet flavor balances beautifully with the crispy-salty potato pancakes and the sour cream.  Our favorite way to serve beets, and for that matter you could even say this BEETS other latke recipes. In fact, and we hate to keeping beeting this drum, but there aren’t a latke of better ways to enjoy beets. Just a little root vegetable humor there…

Potato Pancakes with Fresh Beets and Curried Sour Cream

For the pancakes:
30 oz frozen hash browns, thawed
1/3 cup olive oil for frying
1 med onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup plain yogurt
½ tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 TBS flour

For on top of the pancakes:
8 oz sour cream
curry powder 2 tsp
sea salt sprinkle
three well scrubbed beets,  peeled and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or chives

Thaw the potatoes by leaving them out on the counter for a couple of hours, or place in a glass bowl and thaw gently in the microwave by heating them in 3 minutes increments on medium power.  Go easy, you’re just thawing them at this point, not cooking them, so it’s okay if they’re still cold. Pour the thawed potatoes out onto a dishcloth, wrap the dishcloth around them and squeeze to remove moisture.

SONY DSCHeat the 3-4 tablespoons of the oil in a cast iron or other large, heavy skillet. Mixed together grated potatoes, chopped onion, eggs, and yogurt. Stir garlic powder, salt, and pepper; and lastly sprinkle flour evenly over potato mixture and stir in evenly.

Now you’re ready to fry!

Have a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and a warm oven ready so you can work in batches. Scoop up about ¼ cup of the potato mixture and place gently in the oil, flattening into a thick pancake.  Repeat with more spoonfuls of mixture, but don’t crowd the pan. Flip the pancakes when the underside is golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Cook on the second side for a couple more minutes, then transfer to the paper-towel lined cookie sheet, and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with another batch of potato mixture, adding a bit more oil and adjusting heat as needed.

Mix the sour cream with the curry powder and salt.  Voila, curried sour cream, sounds exotic!  When ready to serve, place 3 or 4 latkes on a plate, top with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle generously with the chopped beets. Garnish with parsley and eat. Happy Hanukah!

potato panckes

Sorry about this one, Jesus.

04 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in Luscious desserts, Luscious holiday

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Holiday survival elixir

Luscious struggles painfully with Christmas, and not just because Anne-Charlotte embarrasses Jennifer by turning around every time somebody says “Ho! Ho!”   Don’t try to start an argument with Luscious about this being “the most wondeful time of the year.” We will win, here’s why:
– Black Friday fistfights make the Baby Jesus cry.
– 3 out of 5 children are annually traumatized by witnessing their parents argue over how to put the lights on what becomes referred to as “the goddamned tree.”
– Every woman over the age of 26 is expected to dash around like Martha Stewart on diet pills creating a holiday wonderland at home, the office, and school until she’s ready to throw a Christmas elf down a staircase.
– You might to get spend 3 straight days with your crazy family at a time of year you’re likely to get snowed in. See who survives. Alternatively, you can call your mom and say you’re not coming to visit, for a crushing dose of holiday guilt.

In the midst of this hell, we are often at this time of year admonished not to “overindulge.”  Um, okay… if this means we’re not supposed to anxiously medicate ourselves with fudge and spiked eggnog, well, then just give Luscious a second to  put down our cocktail and grab our bible. Checking… no, nowhere in here does it specifically say that Jesus doesn’t want us celebrating his birthday with thumbprint cookies and Jack Daniels.

In fact, sometimes, when we we drink a lot Jesus talks to us, and says “go get out the butter.”   And we do. Order your holiday boxes now:

Carmelitas and Peppermint Brownies

Gift box: 4 big bars or 8 petite bars in a cutie be-ribboned gift box- $10. 
Party box: 1 dozen big bars or 24 petite bars boxed and ready for your holiday party, $24

choose from….

Chocolate Peppermint brownies
The perfect holiday treat– decadent, mint-infused  melty fudge brownies.

Buttered Oat Carmelitas
Our incredible homemade caramel make these a perpetual favorite with Luscious customers. Buttery rich caramel, chocolate, pecans, oat streusel.

Plus… Luscious Chai gift tins and jars!

Limited quantites! To order, contact us by email yummy@lusciouspastry.com 

Luscious gets lucky.

29 Tuesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Luscious holiday

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As a tiny child, Anne-Charlotte was taught that the eating of  black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is imperative for good luck. Forgo the BEPs, and you better set your expectations for a spectacularly crummy year. This may sound like a silly Southern superstition, but consider the evidence. Late last December, Anne-Charlotte went to New Zealand and FORGOT that can of black eyed peas she meant to pack for New Year’s Day, and look what happened this year: the whole economy went completely to hell and Farrah Fawcett died. (Anne-Charlotte would like to apologize to everyone, especially Ryan O’Neal.)

So this year, to try to set things straight, Anne-Charlotte told Jennifer about her, um, idea that they should cook up a giant pot of excellent black-eyed peas, and Luscious Pastry could offer them for New Year’s Day, and it would be really funny in a politcally incorrect sort of way if they called them Anne-Charlotte’s The South Shall Rise Again Black-Eyed Peas. Oh dear. Jennifer gently explained that this was a very bad idea because A: that is a terrible name, what the hell are you thinking? B: black-eyed peas are, while tasty, not dessert, not Pastry, and not particularly Luscious; and  C: you can’t bring Farrah back.

 So in the end, Anne-Charlotte apologized for including a vaguely  offensive phrase on the blog that, rather than being funny, will in fact cause the Luscious site to get search engine hits from every lunatic skinhead in Alabama (although we expect a Bama-wide surge in political progressiveness and baking as a result), and suggested that Luscious just bake some scones. Now that sounds lucky. This weekend, you can usher in 2010 with a favorite from 2009: Luscious Cinnamon-Eggnog Scones. The eggnog season is almost over friends, and that means this is your last chance for these divine scones until next winter.  Mmmm, what a luscious beginning for a new year!
Half-dozen fresh-baked Cinnamon Eggnog Scones:  $9. Throw in a jar of Luscious Chai for just $9 also. Order at yummy@luscious.com.

And, here’s a little something for good luck…

That’s “Luscious” not “Lushes”

17 Tuesday Nov 2009

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Luscious wants you to learn from our mistakes, hence this advice: do not try to purchase your Halloween costume at Target on October 30th. Unless, that is, you enjoy listening to “White Christmas” on a 90 degree day while sadly digging through a forlorn pile of Halloween gear that’s been dumped in the corner to make room for… Christmas decorations?  Pardon our dismay, dear Target, Walmart, and Lowes, but could you let us get one toe out the door to trick-or-treat before beating us over the heads with flocked artificial trees? Did you forget that we’ve actually got another holiday first? Remember Thanksgiving??

Luscious, naturally, has not forgotten Thanksgiving, and not just because we love pie. The Luscious Pastry gals have taken stock of some of the things for which they give mucho thanks. Of course they’re thankful for all the regular stuff like their families and friends and oxygen, but here’s the interesting bits:

Jennifer is thankful for:
– Surviving junior high school
– Living in the ATX, yo!
– A smokin’ pair of green bandana wedge sandals recently purchased for $7 -SCORE! 
– Anne-Charlotte, even though she’s both a redneck AND and an uptight yuppie

Anne-Charlotte is thankful for:
– Jennifer, even though she’s both a Californian AND a yankee
– Bourbon
– the fact don’t that her parents don’t read this blog
– Tammy Wynette and George Jones, in that order 

Actually, bourbon almost didn’t make the list, because last Saturday night, one of our Luscious heroines was reminded that the amber libation can be both a friend and an enemy. But the following Sunday morning’s activity provided her with these two revelations:

1. If you are to awaken with the sensation that a railroad spike is being driven through your temples, and your husband for some reason suddenly decides, for the first time in 6 months, that the whole family needs to get up and go to church RIGHT NOW, well, you should just get out of that bed, put on some lip gloss, get over there and shake hands with all the elderly churchgoers, and sit quietly in the pew concentrating on the parts of your body that don’t hurt, like your toes and elbows. Because then you’ve won the unspoken argument about whether or not you should get to go out with the girls, and you have also proven what a badass you are.

2. Bourbon can’t hurt you if it’s baked into a pie. 

It’s a fact that pecans have a special affinity for the flavor of fine bourbon, and the whiskey provides a subtle counterpoint to the brown sugar that forms the base of pecan pie filling. Add a little chocolate, and that’s one Luscious pie. Consequently, we’re offering the following for Thanksgiving:
– Chocolate-Infused Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie  ($21)
– Gingered Pumpkin Tart, a sumptuous version of the classic ($21)
– Bacon Cheddar Muffins, so good they’ll make your turkey weep with jealousy. ($12 for a big batch)

If you’d like to grace your Thanksgiving table with one or more of these fine items, place your order at yummy@lusciouspastry.com. We’ll be taking orders right up until late evening on Monday, Nov 23rd. Pick up will be Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 25, or we can arrange delivery for a teensy charge.

Are you a tart? Take this quiz to find out.

02 Wednesday Sep 2009

Posted by in Luscious desserts, Luscious holiday

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Those Luscious girls never argue with each other. For one thing, they get along really well, and for another, they’re  usually already worn out from arguing with their children and husbands. But the other day, they actually disagreed about what could be called a tart. Jennifer said that, technically speaking, tarts have a pastry crust, and Anne-Charlotte said she knew quite a few back in high school, including pretty much the whole drill team. Jennifer has to put up with a lot.

sweet juicy plums, waiting become a Luscious dessert

sweet juicy plums, soon to be dessert

Tart talk at LPWH (Luscious Pastry World Headquarters) can only mean that a flurry of Lusciousness is on the horizon. Luscious will be back at  Violet Crown Supper Club this Thursday September 3rd, showcasing Indian Summer Plum Tarts (the pastry kind) with Mascarpone Cream, yeah baby. Plus some special brownies. No, no, no- not THAT kind of special brownies, Luscious doesn’t want to give customers an excuse to lay around on the living room floor listening to Dark Side of the Moon. These brownies are special as in they’re NOT those dry, crumbly kind of lame-ass brownies that are always letting people down. Jennifer’s whipping up some incredibly rich, moist, chocolately brownies, which are are the opposite of lame-ass, therefore let’s call them Jennifer’s Bad-ass Toffee’d Brownies. VCSC is expecting a crowd this week, so don’t be shy about asking us to set some tarts or brownies aside for you, we love pre-orders.

 

It seems like that would be enough for one week, but sometimes Luscious just can’t stop. Just around the corner we have the Labor Day weekend, during which hard work is celebrated by not doing any. Get in the spirit by lazing around in your pajamas all morning, and eating brunch treats somebody else cooked. Luscious is offering the following for Labor Day weekend:
– Baked Blueberry French Toast, $11 for an nice-sized pan
– Cherry Pecan and Chocolate Cherry Scones, $9 for a dozen petite scones
– Upside-Down Ham and Swiss Breakfast Tart, $12. Yes, this is the one that caused all the controversy and catty drill team comments. So maybe it’s really a casserole.  The class of ’89 drill team, on the other hand…

Place your Labor Day brunch order by Friday morning at apatterson@southerncombustion.com. Or do you need a Luscious dessert for a Labor Day get together? Just let us know, operators are standing by.