House Party

Alexandra Olympios started her first gingerbread house in sixth grade. She wanted to contribute to the holiday spirit. Now making the house is a Christmas tradition. Olympios likes to place the fanciful structure in the center of her family’s holiday table. Neighborhood kids, she says, “not only come to see the little house, but they look forward to eating the candies left from making it.”

Over at the Miramar Sheraton Hotel in Santa Monica, a culinary team has produced an elaborate gingerbread village that is on display in the lobby. Led by executive chef Michael Vlasich, the group of sous chefs, kitchen staff and a chief engineer put more than 460 hours into building the beautiful winter scene.

An electric train circles a general store, shops, a church, a bed-and-breakfast inn, Victorian homes, a school house, row houses and a red barn. In the middle is a lake with swans made of pulled sugar. Trees and bushes are fashioned of colored royal icing. Music comes from some of the houses, and a warm glow radiates from “stained-glass” windows made of pulled sugar.

More than 230 pounds of sugar went into the project along with 120 pounds of candies, pretzels and crackers used for roofs, pavement, chimneys and fences. Sous chef John Hart contributed most of the difficult pastillage (sugar paste) structures and sugar pulling. “I would work 15 hours some days and my wife wouldn’t talk to me,” he says.

The first step in building with gingerbread is developing a good dough. “We tested so many recipes,” says Vlasich. “Some rose more, some baked darker. We didn’t want one that would crack or absorb too much moisture. You shouldn’t overmix or overknead the dough. It’s best to just let it rest. Also, less rising is better, so it’s best not to use leaveners. Another important factor is having everything the same thickness.” Vlasich and his team rolled the dough to an even thickness with quarter-inch dowels placed on opposite ends of the dough, as a gauge.

A good time to view the village is this Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. when carolers will entertain and complimentary eggnog and treats will be served.

For an easy gingerbread house or gingerbread ornaments, use the dough recipe from Olympios. She suggests adding trees made of gum drops, wood stacks composed of Tootsie Rolls or fat pretzels and marshmallow snowmen.

An alternative dough and more project ideas are in “Gingerbread: Things to Make and Bake” by Teresa Layman and Barbara Morgenroth. The recipes for building the Simple Holiday Gingerbread House, and some of the designs in the book, were adapted by the Miramar Sheraton crew for their village.

SIMPLE HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD HOUSE 1 (1/2-inch-thick) plywood or foam board (about 15-inch square) Brown paper and masking tape 2 batches Icing Gingerbread Dough Red and green holiday M&M;’s Caramel Glass Windows Green food color Cinnamon red hots Miniature candy canes for fence Pastry bags and tips

Cover plywood board with brown paper and secure with masking tape. Frost board base with Icing to look like snow and set aside to dry.

Decorate individual baked Gingerbread Dough slabs before joining together: Spread Icing over 2 roof pieces and decorate with M&Ms.; Pipe Icing around window edges on back of 2 sides of house and stick on Caramel Glass Windows. Let stand until firmly glued. Outline windows and draw panes with Icing.

Outline door opening in front of house with Icing. Tint small amount Icing with green food color. Pipe wreath on door with green Icing and decorate with cinnamon red hots. Using green Icing, pipe holly leaf designs at edge of each window on sides of house.

When all decorated pieces have dried, assemble house. Pipe wide line of Icing on board corresponding to bottoms of front, side and back walls. Place front piece firmly on board (if piece isn’t stable, reinforce by placing skewers in back). Ice side edges of front piece and side walls and put together. Ice edges of back piece and attach to sides of house. Generously pipe Icing onto outer edges of base pieces for more stable house frame.

Pipe Icing around upper edges of 4 walls. Place 1 side of roof atop walls on half of house. Ice edge that will be joined to other side of roof. Place second side of roof on house, and hold firmly until Icing sets.

Using star or other pretty tips, pipe decorations on all seams and any unfinished edges of house. Place votive candle set in candle holder inside house for lighting. For fence, affix candy canes to board with more Icing. Decorate yard as desired.

Prepare two batches of this recipe for “gluing” cookie slabs and for decoration .

Icing 2 to 3 egg whites 1/6 teaspoon cream of tartar 3 cups sifted powdered sugar Paste colors

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Slowly stir in powdered sugar until blended. Beat on high speed until thick and very white. Add more egg white if necessary.

Cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap to prevent from drying out. Use small amount paste colors as needed.

Gingerbread Dough From “Gingerbread: Things to Make and Bake” 6 3/4 cups flour 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed 1 cup margarine 7 pieces Paper Patterns for House

Stir flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt in large bowl. Combine corn syrup, brown sugar and margarine in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until margarine is melted. Stir liquid into flour mixture. Mix well using hands to mix as dough becomes stiff. Chill dough until easy to handle.

Roll dough out 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick on parchment paper. Using patterns provided, cut into required shapes. (Cut out remaining dough for ornaments.) Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Check for air bubbles during baking and poke with sharp knife or wood pick. When done, slide parchment with hot cookies onto large cooling rack. Make sure all pieces lie flat.

Note: Dark corn syrup or dark brown sugar may be substituted for darker dough.

Caramel Glass Windows

Melt 1/2 cup sugar in heavy skillet until light golden. Pour onto oiled baking sheet in shape of thin, small window slabs to fit window frame on side pattern. Cool to harden.

Paper Patterns

Paper Patterns for house (7 pieces): Using plain white paper, cut 2 (6x5-inch) rectangular pieces for roofs, 2 (6x5-inch) rectangular pieces for side walls (make 2 window cut-outs on each wall), 2 (6x5-inch) pieces with gable extending 3 inches to peak for front and back walls. Cut out (3x2 1/2-inch) piece on front wall for door.

This recipe from Alexandra Olympios makes good-tasting gingerbread men.

GINGERBREAD ORNAMENTS 3/4 cup whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed 1 tablespoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2/3 cup light or dark molasses 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 to 3 teaspoons water, optional

Whip cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Combine brown sugar, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon in large bowl and mix well. Stir in molasses and whipped cream. Gradually add flour and salt, mixing well. Add water until dough holds together. Gather dough and shape into 3 flat disks. Cover each with plastic wrap and chill several hours or overnight.

On lightly floured board, roll each disk out 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Thickness should be even. Cut out dough using gingerbread cookie cutters. Or make ornament patterns and place over dough and cut out. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Chill few minutes. Bake at 300 degrees 55 to 60 minutes or until firm. Loosen with spatula and cool in pan until firm, about 5 minutes. Place on racks to cool completely.