We were honored when Chef Marianne Sundquist chose our table linens for her seasonal starlight field & vine dinner series at In Fine Spirits this summer. The moment we laid eyes on her gorgeous food creations atop our Porter stripes, we knew that she was the one to food style our holiday shoot.
Once we secured our location at Studio 24, we met Marianne at our office. She had great ideas right off the bat. What foods would perfectly represent Christmas and Hanukkah? How simple! Sugar Cookies and Potato Latkes!
We dressed up our Stitch Mistletoe Holiday Euro Runner with Marianne’s Holiday Sugar Cookies:
Julia powdered the cookies in our Stitch Mistletoe Apron:
HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES
(yield: 20 cookies)
1 3/4 c. (230 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 c. (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 t. pure vanilla extract
Royal icing:
1 large egg white
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. (165 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1.) in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt & baking powder.
2.) in another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3.) add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture.
4.) add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
5.) separate the dough into two pieces and wrap each in plastic wrap.
6.) refrigerate for one hour.
7.) preheat oven to 350 degrees (f.)
8.) line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
9.) on a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to ¼” thickness.
10.) keep turning the dough, adding flour as needed to make sure the dough doesn’t stick.
11.) cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
12.) repeat with the other piece of dough.
13.) place baking sheets in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to chill the cutout dough.
14.) bake for about ten minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn a golden brown.
15.) remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
cool completely before frosting.
16.) for the royal icing: beat the egg whites with lemon juice. add the sifted powdered sugar until smooth.
keep the icing in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out when not in use.
17.) brush on the royal icing and sprinkle with your favorite holiday sprinkles and sugars!
Our new Stitch Electric Blue Euro Runners looked stunning with Marianne’s Potato Latkes and four flutes of champagne.
Brian did a great job shredding the potatoes in our Stitch Electric Blue Apron:
POTATO LATKES
4 large russet potatoes
1 yellow onion
1 egg
2 T. salt
2 T. a.p. flour
freshly ground black pepper to taste
vegetable oil
1.) grate potatoes & onions into a large bowl. drain off excess liquid.
2.) stir in egg, flour, salt and pepper.
3.) lightly coat a heavy bottomed skillet with oil over medium high heat.
4.) drop ¼ c. mounds into the skillet, lightly pressing down with the back of a spoon to form the pancake.
cook until golden brown before flipping to brown the other side.
5.) remove from pan and hold in a warm oven while finishing the rest of the batter.
6.) serve with sour cream, chives and apple sauce on the side. enjoy!
Thanks Marianne! We can’t wait to work with you again!
Check out Marianne’s new line of preserves, Mess Hall & Co, recently launched at the December Dose Market here in Chicago.