Test the Recipe: Glazed Pineapple Cookies

“Test the Recipe” is a recurring column on PCFG where we test vintage (anything published before 1990) recipes and see if they stand the test of time or need updating. In this post we test the recipe as exactly as possible for the most accurate outcomes. Those recipes that need updating will be featured later in a “We Can Do It Better” post.

I knew when I started the “Test the Recipe” column that I had to do at least one cookie recipe around Christmas-time. I didn’t want to take on any family favorite Christmas cookie recipes though, mainly because I already know that they’re good. To find a new old cookie recipe I turned to a book from Erik’s mom, McCall’s Cookie Collection from 1974.

DSCF7928

There are a lot of interesting cookie recipes in here, but I wanted one that was definitely different from the cookies I knew me, Erik, and our moms would be making. I ultimately decided on this one because it was different from the usual Christmas cookies but also still had a bit of a Christmas call-back since it sounded like it could be a bit fruitcake-esque (without being a food no one wants to eat). So I set to work testing this glazed pineapple cookie recipe.

Read the rest of this entry

The Cereal Report: Holiday Sprinkles Cookie Crunch

The Cereal Report is a column in which PCFG conducts various cereal reviews, of new or limited products, as well as providing brief backgrounds on the cereal. Cereal is delicious and fairly cheap as far as meals go. Everyone should eat cereal!

The other day we took a look at Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch, a pretty awesome, worthy cereal. General Mills releases it around Christmastime each year in tandem with another festively-themed breakfast food, Holiday Sprinkles Cookie Crunch. Unlike its brethren unfortunately, this one isn’t quite as good.

103_1661

 

Read the rest of this entry

The Cereal Report: Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch

The Cereal Report is a column in which PCFG conducts various cereal reviews, of new or limited products, as well as providing brief backgrounds on the cereal. Cereal is delicious and fairly cheap as far as meals go. Everyone should eat cereal!

Obviously there’s been a stupid number of food companies taking advantage of the “limited edition” hype train the past couple of years, though I have to say that one niche was left out of the mix was Christmas editions. Especially cereals. Outside of Cap’n Crunch’s Christmas Crunch, there’s not really any Christmas-themed breakfast cereals I can think of. Lo and behold however, General Mills came to the rescue and added two special editions of two of their biggest IPs: Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cookie Crisp. This review will focus on the former, which gave us Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch.

103_1652

 

Read the rest of this entry

Christmastime Favorite: How To Make Wassail Pt. 2 – Recipe

We covered some of the history of spiced Christmas cider, known as wassail, in Part 1 of this article. Read up if you missed it, or read on for our recipe!

As some of you may know, PCFG will be providing free wassail at the Patchogue Village Wassailing Crawl this Saturday! If you live on Long Island and will be in the area, stop by and partake in some merriment as Long Island History and Pub continues a Christmas tradition that’s all but lost in the U.S. in modern times. You may learn a thing or two, and at very least it’ll help get into the Christmas spirit despite the surprisingly mild (and pleasant) season we’ve been having so far!

If you can’t make it, well there’s always the option of making it at home. Bear in mind, we will update this post at a later date with photos from the wassailing walk we’re attending on Saturday!

 

 

Read the rest of this entry

Quick Recipe: Sesame Chicken

Sesame chicken is a Chinese food restaurant staple. And even though each place usually makes it slightly differently, it’s almost always good and a safe bet to order if you’re unsure what to get. Well there’s good news! You can easily make sesame chicken yourself at home. It’s important to note though, that Chinese food restaurants’ sesame chicken usually has chicken that has been coated and fried. Ours does not. Honestly though, that kind of makes it even better since it makes it a bit lighter than the fried version. This sesame chicken is so good you’re going to want to eat it every day. You could also just make the sauce and use it on another meat like pork or on a ton of veggies (substituting vegetable broth if you want a vegetarian dish) if you wish.  This is one of our favorite quick stir-fry recipes to make for dinner.

DSCF7745 (2) Read the rest of this entry