Happy New Year!! We
Bengalis always drool over delectable sweets exclusively made with
Nalen gur or Khejur gur (Date palm jaggery) in winter months, be it
Rashogolla(Cottage cheese dumpling), Sandesh(Cottage cheese fudge), Pithe(Crepe and Dumpling), Payesh(Rice Pudding) even Ice cream these days. Sweet shops in every corner of the city in my hometown serve scrumptious Bengali sweets with Nalengur without which winter is just incomplete.
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Tart is a fantastic dessert for winter holiday. This is one of the easiest crowd pleasing holiday recipe. It has light golden crust and low fat cream cheese and sour cream filling that I serve any time of the year but for Christmas holiday I swirl with cranberry sauce.
My holiday spirit is still flowing and I have few more recipes to share. Sangria, an alcoholic fruit punch of Spanish origin typically consists of red wine, chopped fruits, soda water, fruit juice and sometimes different spirits. I didn't develop a taste for red wine though so I use white zinfandel instead. Adding seasonal fruits such as pomegranate and cranberry make this drink very festive since this is Christmas holiday.
Christmas is almost here and it is one of the biggest festivals we celebrate with family and friends that brings joy and great cheer. It's a season of Santa Claus to deliver toys to kids too. My little one is in Santa's nice list as usual and eagerly waiting to receive her favorite toys from her wish list. The countdown begins. Soon Santa will come down the chimney and I will leave out a special treat to welcome him this time.
My Christmas bake off starts just before winter holiday break and fruit
cake is one of my favorite bakes of the season. I bake Rum Soaked Fruit Cake every
year for Christmas as well as non alcoholic version fruit
cake with fresh orange juice that can be enjoyed all year round. It's a
much easier and quicker recipe than traditional fruit cake that needs
soaking dry fruits in alcohol for several weeks or months. It's a
last minute recipe for Christmas get together to please dear ones.
"Gingerbread house" is a fun holiday project with kids. I really want to make it from scratch but there are some days I just need for myself. Sometimes it becomes too stressful during Christmas. So I use graham cracker instead of buying the premade kit for "Gingerbread House."
It feels Christmas in our house after we put Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving weekend. Our favorite radio station plays Christmas songs all day long where ever we go. It's time to get ready for holiday shopping, packing as well as cooking and baking.
