Christmas Baking 2020

 

405.  Christmas preparations, with cookie and cinnamon roll baking always leaves our house smelling like a bakery.  These mini browned butter cookies with toffee bits were a huge hit.

Delicious almond-flavored cookies are a favorite to make every year.  The recipe is from a Family Circle magazine back in the 1980's.  

Slice-a-Fancy-Cookie is a recipe I found in my mother's recipes many years ago.

Pitzells are a yearly staple and we tried pistachio red peppercorn cookies, sliced, baked and iced with a salted icing.

Cinnamon Rolls from scratch.  Christmas morning is never the same without them.

Someone asked, "What do you do with all those cookies...and who eats them?".  I have always shared my baking every year.  I package them up into cookie trays and then give them as gifts, hostess gifts or my offering to any party.

Creating cookie trays is always a delightful task and so rewarding.

And sugar cookies with royal icing...beautiful!

Rugelach cookies is a recipe from a Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine.  It always pleases.

And Eggnog Logs are a Taste of Home Recipe.

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Feast.

Beef Wellington was on the menu with roquefort cheese, salad and julienne carrots.

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” 

― Hamilton Wright Mabie

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” 
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

“How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Thanksgiving Highlights

404. Thanksgiving will always bring warm and beautiful memories from years gone by.

Delicious food, desserts and time with those we love.

  Each year I am blessed to plan and prepare and sit down to a table surrounded with people I love.  

This year was no different.  Enjoy highlights from our families day of thanks.

"For me, every hour is grace.  And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile."

~Elie Wiesel

Polish Potato Dumplings "Kopytka"

 403.  Every autumn, when the leaves start to change and the air turns cool and everything is frosty in the morning, I start to crave dumplings.  The dumplings are ones my sweet mother would make.  They are Polish Kopytka or Potato Dumplings.  The method was a slight variation from a plain spoon dumpling but has the same fulfilling effect.

I had made a large pot of Squash soup and thought these beauties would be perfect as an accompaniment.

This was a delightful meal and so satisfying!  I lightly chopped fresh sage as a compliment and garnish.

Here is my recipe easy to save by selecting and dropping to desktop and printing as picture.

The best part of these dumplings are to heat them in a pan the next day to toast them.  They will brown on the edges and are so tasty!

"Nie istnieje droga na skróty do miejsca, do którego dojść warto."  "There are no short cuts to any place worth going."   ~  Polish Proverb

Oatmeal Muffins or Bread with Fruit

402. To have an Oatmeal Muffin Recipe that you can add any fruit to is a staple for your recipe file.  This recipe is lovely and you can edit and tweek the flavors.  

Blueberries and lemon zest were the flavoring and fruit added to this recipe.  And the texture of the muffin seems more like a loaf bread and not as dry as a muffin.  So I made both muffins and mini loaf bread.

Whole oats add texture but you may want the batter to sit for 15 minutes before pouring into your pans.

I am not a fan of cupcake paper liners with muffins so I cut small strips of parchment paper and crisscross them in the oiled cups as well as the mini loaf pan.  Once baked, removal is a snap.

I use my extra large cookie scoop to fill the oversized pans.  A muffin or loaf is spectacular with a dome when baked, hence my "overfilling" of the muffin cups and loaf pan.  And then a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar on top to create that crunchy crust.

Here is my recipe:

To save this recipe simply select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a picture.

This is a lovely recipe to use any time, breakfast, brunch or to wrap and give to a friend.

"The most important decisions you make are not the things you do,

 but the things you decide not to do."

~ Steve Jobs

Pizza with Asparagus, Pesto & Chicken

401.  An experiment with pizza toppings was in play today.  I had chicken breast, pesto, Mozzarella cheese, and asparagus.  But, I was craving pizza...so, this delicious combination was created. 

The dough was whole wheat crust layered first with pesto, next, chopped onion, Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken chopped in pieces.  Then topped with more Parmesan cheese, shredded Mozzarella cheese and finally asparagus spears cut in 4" pieces.

I baked the pizza at 425 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

Amazing flavor, texture and the chicken was a hidden surprise with each bite.

"It's a lot harder to get people to 'ooh' and 'aah' over beets or carrots than it is to get them to 'ooh' and 'aah' over asparagus.  I enjoy being able to take these humble, 'low-brow' foodstuffs up a few notches and serve them with great exuberance."

~Charlie Trotter

Vanilla Cake with Buttercream

400.  And for my next trick 🍰a soft, moist, deliciously amazing Vanilla Cake with Buttercream.  Over the years I have made many cakes, tried dozens of recipes and was never very happy with the way my vanilla cakes would turn out.  It seemed they would be too sweet, dry out too quickly, be too crumbly or just not be an A+.  In my endless search, I found this recipe.  I can not take credit but can direct you to the link.  I have to say...THIS IS a delicious vanilla cake.

I made this cake for my daughter's 22nd Birthday and it was a hit.

I baked the batter in a large sheet pan and then cut out 5 layer circles from the baked cake.  Doubling the buttercream recipe was important for the extra layers.  In the center layer, I placed boysenberry filling that I made from boysenberries picked this summer.  Then I boiled the berries in a small saucepan with 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar till berries fall apart.  Then strained them to remove the seeds and ultimately added back into the sauce a few spoonfuls of seeds but not every seed...because we like them.  Next I added a corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.  I cooled it and then placed the sauce in the center on the third layer.

The process was perfection...the cake baked so well and the buttercream was the best I have ever worked with!

I decorated the sides roughly with strokes of butter cream and then added golden flakes to one side.

What a wonderful experience and so rewarding!  Not to mention the taste...So Good!

Here is the link to the recipe for this amazing Vanilla Cake with Buttercream!  

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you're short on time and cost conscious.  You just need to cook clever and get creative!

~ Nagi of RecipeTin Eats

Double Stuffed Baked Potatoes

399. A hot baked potato filled with oozing melted butter, sour cream and melted cheddar cheese is a very welcome favorite of mine.  Although, it seems everyone should know how to make a baked potato... I wonder, how many know how to double stuff a potato?  

I know every microwave has a "potato" setting.  You place the cleaned, skin-on potato in the microwave and just push the button.  When your potato is "baked", the beep is sounded.  Only takes about 5-8 minutes, depending on the size or amount of potatoes you are cooking.  A much better alternative is to actually "BAKE" the potato, you know, like our grandmothers did, before microwaves were around.  

Scrub your potatoes and poke them with a point of a knife about 3 times around each spud.  Place them in a hot 350 degree oven and bake about 1 hour.  You will know they are soft when you squeeze them to test.

Remove the potatoes and let them sit about 10 minutes to cool.  Cut each lengthwise carefully and open them up.  This also allows them to cool quicker.  Have a bowl prepared to mix the filling.  Scrape out of the skins the soft potato into the prepared bowl.  Continue with each potato till you have only potato skins left.

Mix the cheese, butter, sour cream and seasonings into the potato filling.  Blend well but not too smooth.  Chunks of potato are fine.  By the spoonful, transfer the filling back into the skin shells mounding up the filling.  

Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or till cheese is melted on top

I like to finish off the top with a dollop of sour cream and a healthy sprinkling of fresh garden chives.  Of course you can add bacon, fried sausage bits, pepperoni, parmesan cheese...and the list trails on.  Make it to your own taste and liking.

To save this recipe simply select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a picture.

This would be a great recipe to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  And, you can use sweet potatoes or yams as well to substitute.  Enjoy this simply wonderful recipe...a great recipe to make with a kitchen helper.

"I do not believe that you have to spend a lot of money to eat well:  it is hard to beat a plain old baked potato."

~ Laurie Colwin