1. Page 6 Friday, December 19, 2014 The Pelham Weekly
Recipe Exchange Continued from Page 5
1/2 t. vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate,
coarsely chopped
1 c. chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c. dried cherries or raisins
1) Heat oven to 350º F. Grease 2
cookie sheets. Stir together the flour,
cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a me-
dium bowl. Beat the butter in a large
mixing bowl at medium speed until
smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until
light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and va-
nilla until blended. Beat in flour mix-
ture at low speed just until combined.
Stir in the white chocolate, pecans, and
cherries.
2) Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2
inches apart onto prepared cookie
sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until
tops are just firm. Transfer the cookies
to wire racks to cool completely. Makes
5 dozen.
Classic Sugar Cookies
Cut-out cookies in festive shapes are
the iconic holiday treat. If you make
these ahead of time, freeze the plain
cookies, then frost when you plan to
serve or give them.
Prep Time: 1 hour plus chilling
Bake Time: 8 to 9 minutes per batch
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 t. grated fresh lemon peel
1/2 t. vanilla extract
For Confectioners’ Icing
2 c. confectioners’ sugar
5 to 7 t. milk
Assorted colored sugars
1) Combine the flour and salt in a
medium bowl. Beat the butter and sug-
ar in a large mixing bowl at medium
speed until light and fluffy. Add the
egg, lemon peel, and vanilla and beat
until blended. Beat in flour mixture at
low speed just until combined. Divide
dough into quarters. Wrap each piece
and refrigerate overnight.
2) Heat oven to 350º F. Grease 4
cookie sheets. Between 2 sheets of
lightly floured waxed paper, roll one
dough quarter to 1/8-inch thickness
(keep remaining dough refrigerated).
Remove top piece of waxed paper and
cut dough with floured 2- or 3-inch
cookie cutter into desired shapes.
3) Transfer cut-outs to prepared
cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 9 minutes, or
until edges are golden. Transfer the
cookies to wire racks to cool complete-
ly. Repeat rolling and cutting remain-
ing dough, rerolling scraps.
4) To make Confectioners’ Icing, stir
together confectioners’ sugar and milk
in a medium bowl to a spreading con-
sistency. Decorate cookies with icing
and colored sugar as desired. Makes
about 7 dozen.
By Allee Manning
Droves of local residents poured into
The Picture House on Dec. 3 for an ad-
vance showing of “Wild” and a Q&A
with Cheryl Strayed, who wrote the
bestselling memoir on which the film
was based.
The highly anticipated drama di-
rected by Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas
Buyers Club”) stars co-producer Reese
Witherspoon, who Ms. Strayed first
approached to adapt her novel before
it was released in 2012. At least half of
the cathartic story takes place through
interspersed flashbacks, chronicling
Strayed’s descent into reckless and
self-destructive behavior following her
mother’s death and preceding her di-
vorce. Ms. Witherspoon’s unflinching
performance as Ms. Strayed on her
1,100 mile solo hike across the Pacific
Crest Trail is already receiving buzz
about a potential Academy Award
nomination.
“I knew it would be a great role for
an actress in a world where there are
hardly any great roles for actresses,”
Ms. Strayed said. “I got a film agent…
(who said) ‘The word on the street is
that Reese Witherspoon is really inter-
ested in roles that feature strong wom-
en.’ And I always thought Reese was
great, I always admired her acting. I
never saw her as this cute blonde, I al-
ways found her roles to be very diverse
and complex and I just sensed such an
authenticity.”
Picture House Critic-in-Residence
Marshall Fine led the half-hour discus-
sion with Ms. Strayed, whose wit and
candor very much matched Ms. With-
erspoon’s portrayal.
“So, who here hasn’t read the book?”
she jokingly asked the audience soon
after appearing onstage.
Many of the questions posed by Mr.
Fine and audience members focused on
the process of writing. Despite waiting
over 10 years between finishing her
hike and combining her journals and
memories to write “Wild: From Lost to
Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” with
only one novel in between, Ms. Strayed
said she had always known that she
wanted to be a writer.
“I didn’t grow up in a cultural orbit
where I was surrounded by people who
read or wrote books, so I didn’t realize
a person like me could become a writ-
er until I was much older,” she said.
“(But) I knew that I somehow wanted
to be a person who made beauty in the
world through words. It seemed like a
beautiful kind of power to make people
feel the way words make me feel. It’s
the thread of my life that has never
been interrupted.”
Ms. Strayed also spoke of the movie
adaptation process with high regard,
adding that she was on the film set
much of the time.
“I was very much part of the cre-
ative team. As a writer I’d heard so
many horror stories about Hollywood,
but I had no negative experiences at
all. The cast, the crew, the director,
and I were all very involved with each
other. There was such a sense of mis-
sion with the film. They really wanted
to honor the book and tell a real com-
plex human story.”
In addition to her creative input,
Ms. Strayed revealed that she also has
a cameo role in the beginning of the
film wherein she drops off the charac-
ter based on her at the point where she
starts her journey.
“One of the most important lines in
the movie and the book was when my
(terminally ill) mother…wept with me
and said, ‘I’ve never been in the driver’s
seat of my own life; I’ve always been
someone’s daughter or wife or mother.’
And then there I am in the movie in
the driver’s seat…in the movie of my
own life.”
Marshall Fine and Cheryl Strayed. Photo by Allee Manning
“Wild” Author Draws Crowd for
Advance Screening at Picture House
You are Welcome to Join Us
for the Christmas Season
The Community Church of the Pelhams
A God is Still Speaking United Church of Christ
“No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here.”
Progressive, inclusive, joyful.
Sun., Dec. 21 – 10:00 am. Child-friendly service of Music, with a
special children’s story by Pastor Noel.
Wed., Dec. 24 – 5:00 pm. Candlelight Christmas Eve service.
The “ABC’s of Christmas.” Carols led by our Praise Band, and a
simple telling of the Christmas story with a part for kids.
Sun., Dec. 28 – 10:00 am. Help us “put Christmas away” for another
year, as we hear about Simeon’s meeting with the Christ Child.
Do you know this part of the Christmas story?
Sun., Jan. 4 – 10:00 am. We close the Christmas season by celebrating
the arrival of the Wise Men, and have an “Epiphany Party” after
worship.
Located at the corner of Highbrook and Washington Avenues.
738-1513
www.communitychurchofpelham.org
Find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Community-Church-of-the-Pelhams-UCC
INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Over 100 hot meals and cold salads
available every day. Large selection of soups,
sandwiches, wraps, calzones,
pizzas, smoothies, juice bar, wheat grass,
frozen yogurt, sushi, grilled fish
and desserts.
Extensive Catering Menu
for any size event
924 West Street
Pelham Manor
738-6569 or 738-6156
Fax: 738-0151Fax: 738-6800