December 26, 2007

George Phillies: Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day and Happy New Year.

In his brief holiday message to Americans, Libertarian Presidential hopeful George Phillies stayed away from politics and focused on the spirit of the season. «Whether we say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or simply happy holidays, the sentiment and the smile that accompanies it are the same. One wonderful thing about the holiday season is that it reminds all Americans, no matter our faith or our party, that someday we will reach that brighter future.»

Rather than giving campaign promises and political rhetoric, Dr. Phillies offered a more personal gift: Cherished family recipes for the holidays. «From my family to yours, America. I wish you the happiest of holidays and best hopes for peace, liberty and prosperity in the new year.»

Honey Cakes

1 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice (roughly the juice of three oranges)

1 pound unsalted butter

1 cup olive oil

grated rinds from (the same) three oranges

1 tsp EACH of

ground cloves

cinnamon

nutmeg

2 Tbsp baking powder

2 1/2 or so pounds cake flour

2-4 pounds honey

Finely grated walnuts or hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Dissolve the sugar in the orange juice.

Cream the butter in a LARGE blender bowl, until very fluffy (about 20

minutes). Slowly trickle in the olive oil while continuing to beat.

Then slowly add the orange juice sugar mixture.

Fold in the grated rinds and add the cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking

powder.

Fold in just enough of the cake flour that the dough barely stops

sticking to your fingers.

Roll in 3/4 inch balls. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. The cakes

need to come out fairly hard, because the next step is:

Heat the honey, about a pound at a time, gently, to bring it to a slow

boil. How much honey is needed depends on the consistency of the cakes,

but 2-4 pounds in total is typically about right. Heat the honey until

occasional trails of bubbles rise from the bottom of the pan. Caution:

even slow-boiling honey is quite hot.

The boiling honey is a bit rough on the cakes, so the cakes need to be

baked fairly hard or they crumble.

Drop the cookies into the boiling honey, bottom side up. Using two

forks, flip after about 10-20 seconds, and after a similar time remove

from the honey.

Drop the cakes into fine-grated walnuts or hazelnuts. Use a different

pair of forks to toss the cookies. (Alternative: put the cakes on a

plate, shoulder to shoulder, and sprinkle heavily with the grated nuts.)

They’re called cookies, but most likely you will want to serve them on

plates with forks.

******

Kaurabides

1 lb unsalted butter

1/2 cup XXX sugar

2 egg yolks lightly beaten

2 jiggers (about 3 oz total) brandy, ouzo, or hazelnut Kahlua (George

says:»My mother used brandy. I used Hazelnut Kahlua. You are baking

these: The alcohol will all be gone before eating.»)

1 cup fine chopped nuts. («My mother used chopped walnuts or blanched

almonds. I used finely chopped hazelnuts.»)

1 tsp baking powder

4.5 – 5 cups sifted floor.

Whole cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet.

Beat the butter until fluffy–about 15 minutes.

Add sugar slowly to beaten butter.

Add lightly beaten egg yolks, brandy ouzo or kahlua, nuts, baking powder

and flour.

Beat until homogeneous.

Drop with a spoon onto greased cookie sheet. The individual cookies

should be about the size of a thumb. The traditional shape is a

crescent. My mother preferred a diamond. Stud each cookie with a clove.

My mother proposed 15-20 minutes giving a deeply browned cookie. I stop

at around 12, giving a pale cookie.

Remove from oven. Let cool.

Makes about 7 dozen cookies.

-30-

To support the George Phillies campaign, please visit http://phillies2008.org/donation today.

Contact Information:

Carolyn Marbry, Press Director pressdirector@phillies2008.org

(510) 276-3216

George Phillies for President 2008 http://phillies2008.org