Socially Distant Cuisine

 We have been watching a lot of cooking shows here in the Distance, and my now-professional opinion is that Jacques Pepin remains a true treasure.  His most recent work, Cooking at Home,  is super cozy and accessible, even more so than when he was in the studio.  Vanilla pudding for the soul, we say! Before you read further, go take five minutes and watch Jacques prepare Chicken with Yams .  That is what we made tonight, with a few small tweaks. Boneless/skinless thighs instead of bone-in; I tossed in some light herbs/spices to the onions before deglazing:  1 tsp of chopped fresh thyme (1/2 tsp if dry)  A small shake of nutmeg  A small shake of dry mustard (a dab of Dijon would also work); Deglazed with chicken broth instead of white wine (about 1 cup altogether); and At the end, I removed the chicken and veggie chunks and thickened the juice into a sauce: Mixed some juice into 2 tsp cornstarch and then put it back in the pan Added a dash of acid to cut through the rich chicken flavor

This time of year is all about reconnecting with food memories.  Today, we are baking sugar cookies! This recipe is from a magazine called Christmas Cookies 1992 , and was faxed to me by my dad on November 29, 2004.  I recall making them in my first apartment after college, and many, many times since.  The sugar cookies of my childhood. If we were home this year, we would bake cookies with my niece and nephew.  Instead, we are decorating via videocall this afternoon to carry on the sweet memory.  The dough is currently chilling in the fridge, and I think we'll just about make it in time! Sugar Cookie Cutouts From Christmas Cookies 1992, weights added by me. 1/3 cup     (76 g)        butter or margarine 1/3 cup     (64 g)        vegetable shortening 2 cups       (250 g)      all-purpose flour 3/4 cup     (150 g)      granulated sugar 1                                   egg 1 Tbsp       (12 g)        milk 1 tsp          (5 g)          baking powder 1 tsp          (4 g