12 Days of Local Christmas

Please sing along, everyone, as we unveil our 12 days of local Christmas.


12 Deviled Eggs: Buy local eggs, and dress them up with cured salmon, curry powder, smoked trout or local bacon for your holiday bash!

11 Piped Cheese Straws: Feature local cheeses in these savory Southern treats (see “Zesty Cheese Straws” recipe below).

10 Bottles of Eggnog: Add brandy or spiced rum to Trader’s Point Creamery’s oh soooooo yummy eggnog for a festive holiday cocktail!

9 Dozen Cookies: Revive the cookie exchange! Use local ingredients like persimmons to keep the flavors close to home (see “Persimmon Cookies” recipe below).

8 Friends a Cooking: Try recipes from Chef Thom’s new cookbook featuring local foods

7 Smells a Swirling: Take a sprig of rosemary and remove ¾ of the leaves from the stem. Then, cube meat or vegetables and thread them on the skewer. Bake, and notice the delicious smell wafting through your home as you open the oven door.

6 Gifts of Bacon: Nothing says I love you like Goose the Market’s Indiana Bacon of the Month club

5 New Restaurants: Celebrate the holidays at restaurants featuring local food! Check out www.indyethnicfoods.com, Goose the Market, R Bistro, Pizzology, City Café and more!

4 Meat Markets: Buy your special cuts this year from Indiana butchers with Indiana raised products….Kinkaid’s, Joe’s Butcher Shop, Moody Meats & Klaus’.

3 Stocking Stuffers: Source these from Taste of Indiana, DeBrand’s Fine Chocolates or Indiana Wineries.

2 Farmers’ Markets: Traders Point Creamery and the Indy Winter Farmers’ Market are still open for business!

1 Christmas Tree: The Boy Scouts are selling Christmas trees in Zionsville (just East of downtown on 334) that were grown near Lafayette, IN. Live local! They will even pick up the tree at your house after the holidays and recycle it!

For more Indiana Local gift ideas go to Going Local


Zesty Cheese Straws

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a food processor, add the butter, cheese, flour, salt and cayenne and process until a smooth dough is formed. Scoop it into a cookie press, fitted with a flat ridged tip. Pipe the dough in 2-inch strips onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. (Alternatively, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes and roll on a lightly floured surface into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut into smaller rectangles, about 2 by 3-inches, with a pizza wheel or sharp knife.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to racks to cool.



Persimmon Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup very ripe Indiana persimmon puree
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts
Glaze:

1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp persimmon puree
1 tsp grated orange peel


Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add persimmon puree, stirring until blended. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to persimmon mixture a third at a time, stirring just until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts.



Lay out plastic wrap on a large smooth surface. Place the cookie dough on the plastic wrap and form into a long cylindrical log, wrapping the dough completely with the plastic wrap. Place in freezer. Chill at least a couple of hours, until frozen or almost frozen. Preheat oven to 375°F. When dough is fairly solid, unwrap from plastic wrap and slice with a sharp knife, 1/4" thick rounds. Lay out cookie dough rounds on stick-free cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between the cookies.



Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies spring back when lightly touched in center. Let cool on baking racks before frosting. When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift confectioner's sugar and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Add 1 Tbsp of persimmon puree and 1 tsp of grated orange peel and mix until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze mixture and dribble over cookies. Let harden and serve.



Makes about 2 dozen cookies.