Nothing Says Christmas Like….StarWars Cookies?
December 24, 2010 - Written by Deb NgSo Mr. Ng and I are browsing the cookie cutters at Williams Sonoma a couple of weeks ago, and what to my wandering eye should appear, but a box of Star Wars cookie cutters:
We have a standard set of holiday cookie cutters at home. You know, the usual Christmas trees, snowmen and bells and stuff. However, as a geek, this called to me. Plus The Boy is just winding down from a major (and I mean major) StarWars phase.
I’m not an impulsive girl and there’s no way I’d spend $20 for 4 cookie cutters, but these called for me. They even called to Mr. Ng whose wallet is sealed tighter than the Declaration of Independence. So, we left William Sonoma with a box of overpriced cookie cutters.
The Boy loved them and last Saturday we got down to business.
The cookie cutters have lots of nooks and crannies, but thankfully they have those press things on the back to make dough removal easier. However, we did find it easier to dust the cookie cutters …
Christmas Dinner With A Little Spirit
December 22, 2010 - Written by DianaHere are some recipes from Sidney Frank importing. Add some spirit to your dishes with Jagermeister, Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Blend, and Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur.
Jägermeister Roasted Turkey with Fresh Herbs
- 1 Fresh Turkey 13-15 lbs.
- 1 sweet onion peeled and cut in quarters
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk of celery chopped
- A bouquet of sage, parsley and marjoram
- Salt and pepper
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp minced lemon zest
- ¼ cup Jägermeister
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- ½ sweet onion chopped
- ¼ cup cornstarch stir in ¼ cup water
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup Jägermeister
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh sage for garnish
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the onion, carrot, celery, herbs in the turkey and season inside and outside the poultry. Truss the turkey or tie the legs with kitchen string. Place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter over the breast. In a small pan over low heat, melt the remaining butter; stir in …
Southern Apple Pecan Dressing
November 13, 2010 - Written by Diana
The time has come to start the Thanksgiving dinner recipes. Dressing or Stuffing what’s the difference. Where I came from, everything was called stuffing, here in Ohio, mostly it’s called dressing so I always thought it was a regional thing. Whatever – you can also call it stuffing if you stuff it, and dressing if you don’t. Usually I don’t stuff the turkey, I bake the stuffing (or dressing) and serve it as a side dish – because I like it that way. I love apples and pecans in my dressing (stuffing) and sometimes I throw in some raisins. Here’s a recipe developed by the Deen Brothers. Oven dried bread means cube it and toast it on low until the bread is dry enough to use for stuffing.
Southern Apple Pecan Dressing
Recipe created by Jamie and Bobby Deen on behalf of the Grain Foods Foundation
Servings – 8
PreHeat – 350°
Prep Time – 20 min
Cooking Time – 1 hr
Total Time – 1 hr 20 min
Difficulty – Easy
Ingredients
- 10 cups oven-dried white bread, torn into pieces
- 1 sleeve crackers, crumbled …
No Healthy Halloween Treats Here
October 26, 2010 - Written by Deb Ng
Ok, I’m going to come out and say it. There are plenty of people searching this blog for “healthy Halloween treats.” While this is admirable, let me just state for the record that working hard to have a healthy Halloween sort of defeats the purpose of trick or treating and Halloween parties. Seriously.
Last year my son’s second grade teacher was a health nut. For the class Halloween party she decided that kids eat unhealthy enough and that she would give them all yogurt and fruit for the Halloween party. First of all? It’s not up to my son’s teacher to determine that everything we feed our kids is unhealthy and therefore she must step in to save us all. And Second? The kids thought the party sucked. Exact words were, “yogurt? This party sucks.”
So if you’ve come here looking for healthy Halloween treats and you’re looking for something made with carrot sticks or applesauce, move along. There’s absolutely nothing to see here.
Halloween is the one day of the year we allow our children to indulge and that one day won’t kill them. As for the candy that …
Mediterranean Easter Recipes
April 3, 2010 - Written by DianaEaster is upon upon us. Since Greek Orthodox Easter falls on the same day as Western Easter, Phaidon Press the publisher of some of the best Mediterrranean cookbooks suggests that we prepare our Easter Dinner in a Meditteranean style. I’m all for that, since Roast Leg of Lamb is my favorite thing to make. I already picked up my lamb from Blues Creek Farm Meats in the North Market. I’ve never tried a Navy Bean Garnish, but it sounds intriguing. I once tried some apricots and prunes with my lamb, but that didn’t go over well and most was scraped away, mostly by the men. Beans are a manly dish, so it might have a better chance. The Easter Pie and Easter Bread both sound tempting, I may try them out also. If you try out these recipes or have tried them before let us know what you think in the comments.
Roast Leg of Spring Lamb (from From 1080 Recipes)
Pierna de Cordero Pascual Asada
1 leg of lamb, 3 ¼ -4 ½ pounds
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup lard or 3-4 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon white …
Lamb Roast with Plum Wine
April 9, 2009 - Written by DianaMy lamb roast has a secret ingredient – and none of you have it, and you can’t get it either. A few years ago my sister in law made some plum wine, but it didn’t come out great. It was too thick and very sweet and not very drinkable, but it was also very plummy. I tried it out on my lamb one year, and it turned out wonderful. I tried it again the next year and the next year. I ran out and bought some japanese plum wine one Easter when we ran out, however although it was very sweet it also very light unlike Pam’s wine. This year I managed to grab another bottle of Plum wine. Pam & Jim won’t be here, they’re taking care of some injured in-laws, and we’ll miss them this year, but they’re needed at home. Pam and Jim – we love you and hope everyone gets well soon. So my quest is to find the perfect plum wine – or if you have a suggestion for another good wine that would be perfect to pour over my lamb roast. Pam’s running out of her plum stock.
This recipe is just a …
Chocolate Covered Almonds For My Husband
February 14, 2009 - Written by DianaTomorrow, my husband will work, but I will be working in a different way. I’m going to make one of his all time favorite treats, Chocolate Covered Almonds. The recipe can be found on MarthaStewart.com and is wonderful. The nuts smell great when you toast them and it brings out the flavor more. Then a sugar coating and a chocolate coating and finally a cinnamon cocoa powder coat to top it off. The cinnamon cocoa helps to cut down on the sweetness some. It does take a while to make, so be sure to have some free time. I’ve also done this recipe with pecans instead of almonds with great results.
- 14 ounces unblanched whole almonds
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pound best-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through.Watch carefully, because it can go from nicely toasted to burned quickly. Line three …
Valentine Present For My Son’s Girlfriend
February 14, 2009 - Written by Diana
Earlier in the week I mentioned to my son that I had the ingredients for him to make chocolate roses for his girlfriend and if he wanted me to help him I would. Thursday(close to Valentines deadline time), he let me know that when he came home from the meeting, he would like help with the roses. So, I dropped my son and his friend off (after they cooked an awesome dinner while I worked) at the meeting and came home. I set out the ingredients and the equipment because I was excited to help my son do this. I’m never allowed to help and he definitely doesn’t ask to do anything in the kitchen if he doesn’t need to. When he walked in the door, I told him I was ready and started the explanation. Part way through, he took over the explanation and said -" Mom, I know how to do this, I’ve watched you do it before, I’m okay." Wow, my heart swelled up with pride. My son is 16 but until this year, when I forced him …
Valentines recipes from the Honey Board
February 13, 2009 - Written by DianaThe Valentines Board sent us some sweet honey recipes.. Wait, no that wasn’t right – the Honey Board sent us some Sweet Valentines Recipes. They’re sweet, they contain that wonderful natural honey and Valentines day is coming up quickly. I love truffles so truffle cupcakes are right up my alley, plus I think honey is one of the best natural sweeteners to use.
You can find more recipes on the honey.com website, and also they have a Honey Locator to help find local honey (Of course my favorite is Wisconsin Natural Acres).
Bittersweet Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes combine mild honey, sophisticated chocolate and yummy raspberries for a treat that can be shared with all. Bittersweet Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes - Makes 18 cupcakes – Ingredients • 8 oz. 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, divided • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup butter, softened • 3/4 cup pure honey* • 2 large eggs • 1 cup buttermilk • 1/2 pint raspberries Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. 1. Cut 2 ounces of chocolate into 18 pieces; set aside. Place 6 ounces of coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir well. Microwave 30 seconds more on high and stir until all lumps are gone. If more melting is necessary, microwave in 10 second increments and stir until all lumps are gone. Chocolate should not become too warm. 2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. 3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add honey and melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time. 4. Add half of the reserved dry ingredients to the butter mixture; mix on low until just combined. With mixer running on low, slowly add the buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients until just combined. 5. Place a Tablespoon of batter in the bottom of each paper-lined muffin tin. Add one piece of chocolate and 2 to 3 raspberries to each cup. Fill muffin tins two-thirds full with remaining batter. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove to wire rack; cool. Frost with Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting, if desired. Serving Suggestions * Any mild-flavored honey such as Clover may be used.
Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting – Makes 18 servings – Ingredients • 1/4 cup pure honey* • 8 oz. 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped • 1 cup heavy whipping cream • 2 Tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, optional Directions 1. Combine honey and chocolate in a medium bowl, set aside. In small, heavy pan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until bubbles just begin to form. Pour over honey-chocolate mixture and allow to stand for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth; cool. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours. 2. With an electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture until frosting is fluffy. Serving Suggestions *Any mild-flavored honey such as Clover may be used.
Valentines – Chocolate
February 11, 2009 - Written by DianaToday, I have chocolate – well, I have chocolate ideas to share anyway. I am a chocoholic – there isn’t a cure, I’ll just have to live with my demons. I have some last minute chocolate ordering ideas for you. If you suspect your spouse or significant other hasn’t gotten on the ball yet, send them a link to the site and maybe that will help. Or print it out and staple it to the front of the tv or pillow, that might do it too.
Chocolate.com – the be all end all of chocolate – and according to them, the world’s largest chocolate marketplace.
It features products by the country’s best artisan chocolate and candy makers – over 2,000 unique products made by over 90 carefully selected vendors. For the buyer, Chocolate.com makes shopping easy, offering a huge selection of gourmet chocolates and convections from across U.S. For the small chocolate business owner, the site provides a national presence
Some under 30.00 gift suggestions
from Chocolate.com- Valentine’s Day Chocolate Lollipops: …
- Valentine’s Day Chocolate Lollipops: …
Directions
