Wine Notes
Robusto Sangiovese for the cold
Wine drinkers have probably enjoyed the Sangiovese grape without even knowing it. Indigenous to Tuscany, the Sangiovese grape is one of the great wine grapes of Italy and the basis of some of Italy’s most well-known wines. Read more about Sangiovese and expert recommendations in the current issue.
 

  
Restaurant Spotlight
Enchantment at a country inn
The Tewksbury Inn is a taste of the modern in a little old town. Although the inn’s ambience is of an earlier day, the food is not. Chef Chris Quintile’s menu offers many tempting options executed quite nicely in a kitchen that has high culinary standards and a modern sensibility for international flavors.

Cooking Lesson
Gingerbread “yule” love
In Medieval times, gingerbread was considered to be magical. The belief was rooted in gingerbread’s shelf life, which was far longer than most other baked goods, and so, in those days, such an anomaly could only be considered mystical. Here is a recipe for everyone’s favorite Christmas cookie:
 

Gingerbread Men

INGREDIENTS
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup shortening
11/2 cups molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
11/2 tsp. ground allspice
11/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves (optional)
Decorator’s Frosting (recipe follows)

PROCEDURE
1 Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water in a large bowl.
2 Mix flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, allspice, cinnamon and cloves (if using). Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3 Add flour mix to the sugar and shortening mix.
4 Heat oven to 350 degrees.
5 Lightly grease cookie sheet; set aside until ready to use.
6 Roll out one-fourth of dough at a time 1/4-inch thick on floured surface. Cut with floured gingerbread figure cookie cutter.
7 Place gingerbread men about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center.
8 Remove from cookie sheet immediately. Cool completely on wire rack.
9 Prepare Decorator’s Frosting.
10 Decorate cookies. Let frosting set for at least 10 minutes before storing.
Yield: About 21/2 dozen 5-inch cookies or about 5 dozen 21/2-inch cookies.
Note: This dough can be made, tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.

Decorator’s Frosting

INGREDIENTS
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 to 5 tsp. water
Food coloring

Procedure
1 Mix confectioner’s sugar and enough water to make a frosting that is soft but thick enough to hold its shape.
2 Add a few drops of food coloring to create desired hue.
3 Spread frosting on cookies or spoon it into a decorating bag or a small plastic bag. If using a plastic bag, push frosting into a lower corner, twist bag top, then snip off the lower corner. Pipe frosting along outlines of cookie.
Yield: about 1 cup of frosting.

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