DOZENS DAY

TODAY’S RECIPE

GETTINGREADY

Today is 12/12/12 and a finetime to salute the dozens withsome trivia. Here goes:

! A dozen is 12 of something,unless it’s a baker’s dozen andthen it is 13.

! Things that come in dozens:eggs, roses, hours on a clock,months in the year, signs of theZodiac, days of Christmas,drummers drumming, disciplesof Christ, tribes of Israel.

! “A Baker’s Dozen” is the ti-tle of a Christmas story about abaker who learned about stingi-ness from an old woman/witch.It’s also a game of solitaire inwhich the 52 cards are laid downin 13 piles of four cards each. It’sa group of professional andhome bakers founded by cook-book author Marian Cunning-ham. And it’s the nameof a Modesto, Calif.,winery.

! “The Dirty Doz-en” is a 1967 WorldWar II drama starringLee Marvin, ErnestBorgnine and CharlesBronson.

! Dozens is a Denver restau-rant that serves great break-fasts and lunches.

! Here are 12 of our favoriteChristmas cookies: gingersnaps,snickerdoodles, spritz, pizzelles,biscochitos, almond crescents,iced sugar, shortbread, choco-late chip, peanut butter,oatmeal-cranberry, date-nutchews. There undoubtedly are agross — a dozen dozen — holi-day cookie varieties, but why beexcessive?

Shamrock Brewing Co., 108 W.Third St., will host an Apoca-lypse party from 9 p.m. to mid-night Dec. 21, with a nod to theend of the Mayan calendar.Change Agents will provide themusic and drink specials will beoffered. Call 542-9974 for moreinfo.

REVERSE CHOCOLATE-CHIPCOOKIES1 cup butter, softened3⁄4 cup white sugar3⁄4 cup brown sugar2 eggs, beaten1 teaspoon vanilla2 to 21⁄4 cups all-purpose flour1⁄2 cup cocoa1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda1⁄4 teaspoon salt1⁄2 (12 ounce) package Nestlewhite morsels3⁄4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Cream butter, add sugars andmix well, add beaten eggs andvanilla and mix till well com-bined.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking pow-der, baking soda and salt. Stir in-to butter mixture, about 1⁄2 cup ata time. Stir in white chips andpecans.

Chill dough for at least anhour, or until it’s easy to handle.Drop by scant tablespoonfulsonto ungreased or parchmentpaper-lined cookie sheets. Bakefor 9-11 minutes or till desireddegree of doneness.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.Note: This is the Nestle Toll

House Cookie recipe, with a fewchanges.

The high-altitude (5,200 feet)adjustment on the package callsfor increasing the flour to 21⁄2cups, adding 2 teaspoons of wa-ter with the flour, and reducingthe white sugar and the brownsugar to 2⁄3 cup each. Bake cook-ies for 8 to 10 minutes. — Compiled by Mary Jean Porter

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012

C

Food and dining

www.chieftain.com

CRANBERRYHEAVEN

Thomas bakers have foundanother way to tempt bread lov-ers: Thomas’ Cranberry Bagels(260 calories each) and Thomas’Cranberry English Muffins (150calories). The new products willbe in stores through Jan. 5. Aserving suggestion: Toast one ofthe bagels and place three slices(4 ounces) of turkey on the bot-tom half. Top with 1⁄4 cup of stuff-ing and 1 tablespoon of gravy.Add arugula or lettuce leavesand the bagel top (now 510 calo-ries for the bagel-plus).

POTLUCK

TRADITIONAL TREAT

‘The fabric of Pueblo’Potica a local delicacy — especially during the holidaysBy AMY MATTHEWTHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN___________________________________________________

f it’s Christmastime, it’s pot-ica time in the Steel City.

Locals know it. Thou-sands love it. The Slovenian

treat — known in some areas aspovitica, kolachi or nutbread —is found on holiday tablesthroughout the city.

Puebloans are spoiled in thebest way. Local bakeries such asMauro Farms, Zoelsmann’s andBanquet Schusters are overflow-ing with their own potica everyChristmas season.

Travel outside Pueblo, howev-er, and the appreciation of potica(pronounced po-TEET-sah) be-gins to dwindle. Just ask JanessaJantz, who grew up in Fowlerand now has her own full-timepotica business here.

“I actually never heard aboutpotica until we moved back in2000,” she said during an inter-view in her fragrant commercialkitchen on Santa Fe Avenue.

When Jantz started promotingher one-woman company, Janes-sa’s Gourmet Potica, at farmersmarkets over the summer, she

ended up providing “a lot of edu-cation” to those who were unfa-miliar with the bread.

“I’d hear a lot of ‘Pottikuh?What’s that?’ ” she said, mispro-nouncing the name as many nov-ices do. “At the market in Den-ver, I could tell when peoplewere from Pueblo because they’dsee the sign and say, ‘Potica!’ It’sa Pueblo thing.”

Lots of people have family rec-ipes that they use for their potica.Jantz developed her own andstarted baking it for clients whenshe worked as a real estate agent.

PICKING YOUR POTICAThink potica is a one-

flavor-fits-all food? Look closer.Walnut is the tradi-

tional filling — and, ac-cording to local poticamaker Janessa Jantz, itremains the most popu-lar. Honey, butter,cream, orange or lemonzest and eggs typicallyare other components.(This isn’t an inexpen-sive project in terms ofmoney or time.)

However, variationsabound. Some make pot-ica with pecans or al-monds instead of wal-nuts. Raisins are apopular addition. MauroFarms, which has beenproducing potica forabout half a century, has

a poppy seed version.Jantz said she’s had

requests for a cottagecheese and pineapplecombination. Apple isanother frequent ingre-dient.

While the traditionaltastes hold firm, Jantz isone who’s trying tobroaden the potica fla-vor horizon. She makesa chocolate almond ver-sion and one of herthree standard offeringsis maple pecan. If thatone sounds rich enoughto put your arteries in ahard freeze, considerwhat she doesn’t add toit.

“I used to put baconin it,” she said. “But itgot too expensive.” — Amy Matthew

CHIEFTAIN PHOTOS/MIKE SWEENEY

Janessa Jantz rolls a loaf of potica in her shop. The thin dough and sweet, nutty filling are baked into one of Pueblo’s favorite holiday treats.

Fresh loaves are ready to be devoured.

Jantz rolls out dough for her potica. One batch yields up to 12 loaves.

Just out of the oven, potica loaves get a brushing of melted butter.Janessa Jantz

I’d hear a lot of ‘Pottikuh?What’s that?’ At the market inDenver, I could tell when peoplewere from Pueblo becausethey’d see the sign and say,‘Potica!’ It’s a Pueblo thing.

I

___________________________________________________

SEE POTICA, 2C