Christmas Highlights 2021

423.  Pray your Christmas was filled with joy, family, delicious treats and love surrounding you.

Here are a few highlights from our Christmas Season.

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.  To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

~Calvin Coolidge

Christmas Baking 2021

422.  Each year, in December, I plan and prepare and bake cookies.  It is a family tradition.  Not only do we enjoy the cookies but I gift them to family, friends and co-workers.Often the recipes are old favorites but I like to try new recipes each year.

This year Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies, Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies, Fruit Nut Bread Cups, Mushroom Cookies (find recipe here Mushroom Cookies) made with almond flour and almond extract.

Orange Cranberry Drop Cookies

Peppermint Thin Mint, Peanut Butter Blossoms,

and, so much more.  Final count was 18 varieties.

"Baking cookies is comforting, and cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food.  They are very bite-sized and personal."

~Sandra Lee

Tomato Bruschetta

421.  Tomato Bruschetta is a lovely appetizer, a first course, tapas, or light meal.  It is also complimentary to any Italian meal and is so satisfying.  From the crunch of the toasted bread, cool tomatoes, fresh basil, hints of garlic and pulled together with olive oil.  Each bite is a delight.

Bruschetta is delicious!  Simple, satisfying and each bite is like the first bite!

"I'm into very colorful food.  Obviously lost of flavor, but I think we eat with our eyes first, so it has to look great.  The presentation has to be great."

~ Giada De Laurentiis

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

420.  So let's talk about biscuits; hot, flakey, buttery.  But, add cheese and garlic and you have elevated them to a brand new flavor profile.  If you have a favorite recipe, simply add a cup of shredded cheddar and garlic salt.  Or you may add chives, parsley, Parmesan Cheese, Old Bay Seasoning, or any dried spice you desire.  A simple cheese biscuit is perfectly paired with a hot bowl of soup.

Here is my recipe:

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits are similar and there are so many knock-off recipes.  But making your own biscuits is so very simple and you know what the ingredients are.  And that makes them even better.

Enjoy!

"Baking is Life.  So when you describe what you're making, you must describe life.  Do you see?  It's not just recipes."

~ J Colgan

Summer Salad Bowls

419.  When it is hot outside and you have worked a long day, the last thing I am looking for is a heavy carbohydrate meal with red meat.  The thought of a cool, crisp salad with yummy toppings fills me up and satisfies my hunger.

I am enjoying the packaged salad mixes that you can find in stores.  They range from iceberg lettuce for a Caesar salad to a ZaTara salad mix from Trader Joes.  I elevate the salad and make it into a meal by adding proteins, vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits and cheeses.

In this salad pictured, I broiled a breast of chicken that I butterflied and seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt.  While that was roasting I lined up my bowls, emptied a bag of Sweet Kale salad mix with cabbage. I added sliced cucumbers, red cabbage shredded, spring onions, and Monterey Jack shredded cheese.  In a separate bowl I steamed a cup of green beans, drained them and added olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  I sprinkled salt and ground black pepper over the salad then drizzled it with olive oil.

Once my chicken was roasted, I sliced it and laid it across the top onto the cheese so it would melt.  The finishing touch was to add a scoop of the cool seasoned green beans and empty the packets that accompany the salad.  This particular salad comes with a poppy seed dressing, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.  Perfection!  So cool, crisp, warm chicken and melty cheese with the sweet and savory toppings.

This second Salad Bowl takes on a Southwest flavor.    I started with a piece of fresh salmon, sprinkling it with salt, ground pepper, garlic salt and olive oil.  Broiling salmon is tricky because you can over do the fish easily.  So, I place the pan in a cold oven and turn it on to bake at 400 degrees to be able to monitor the process closer.  The bottom skin will crisp up nicely.

I line up my bowls and add the Southwest salad mix into each bowl, spinach, spring green onions sliced and chopped cilantro. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar Cheese over the salad, salt, ground pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

 I make a batch of guacamole or purchased guacamole and several jalapeños sliced with seeds and all.  On this particular salad I had found broccoli bites in the freezer section so I popped those in the oven with the salmon.  

Once the salmon is to your liking, remove from the oven, gently remove the skin from the bottom of the fish and place hot onto the cheese.  Place a dollop of guacamole to one side and a dollop of Daisy Sour Cream to the other side.  Toss on the jalapeños hot broccoli bites and the crispy fish skin to the side.  Finally, drizzle the packet of Southwest salad dressing over the fish and onto the salad.  You do not need to mix the salad.  The individual portion will be mixed as you eat.

Now it is your turn.  What combinations will you create?  You could create an Asian salad with dumplings or a Steak Salad with fries.  Use your imagination and see what works.  It's a challenge but so enjoyable.

"Too many simple green salads suffer from a lack of imagination."

~ James Beard

"Many people eat salad dutifully because they feel it is good for them, but more enlightened types eat it happily because it is good!"

~Laurie Colwin

Tortellini Pasta Salad

 

418.  For a light refreshing evening meal simply make a pasta salad which incorporates veggies, pasta and light vinaigrette dressing.  But to elevate the salad, why not use tortellini instead?  Why do we only eat pasta salad when we are going to a picnic?  

I coated and baked chicken thighs to accompany the pasta salad.  While the chicken baked, I worked on my salad.  Of course making homemade tortellini would be the ultimate!  But I used the fresh pasta in the refrigerated section of Trader Joes.  It was a three-cheese filling and the regular sized tortellini.  I then chopped white onion, red radishes julienned, yellow bell pepper, cherry tomatoes halved, fresh green peas (also from Trader Joes), celery and celery tops chopped, fresh parsley and basil.  Seasoned with salt and pepper and a bit of garlic salt.  

I do not like to add radishes if my salad will be resting in the refrigerator.  They have a tendency to bleed onto the pasta.  Once my tortellini was perfectly boiled, I rinsed it in cold running water.  Placed it in the bowl with my chopped items then add olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Stir around till everything is evenly distributed and coated with the dressing.  If you think the salad will need more oil or vinegar, simply drizzle over, stir and taste for seasoning.  

What a simple and lovely pairing this meal proved to be.  And so refreshing on a hot summer day.

Trust me, tortellini is a great substitute in pasta salad.  And the filling could be any flavor you choose.  You only need to edit what you would mix with the pasta.  Now wouldn't pesto be a great addition?...hmmmm.

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta."

~Frederico Fellini

Apricot Bars by Grammy Fitzgerald

417.  It was 1980, my college roommate had long beautiful hair and wore hand knit woolen sweaters.  We munched on homemade granola and other fine treats smuggled into our room made expertly by maternal family members.  One of those treats will forever be a delightful memory and truly a gift during those long, hungry stretches of time between breaks and money in the mail.

In my memory lingers the taste of "Grammy Fitzgerald's Apricot Bars"!  Perfection of sweetness, crunchiness, tartness, and dessert satisfaction, they were.  We would cut each into tiny pieces and portion out a small bite daily savoring every bite.  When the tin would grow lighter, it was washed and set aside to send back home for the next batch of delights.  And, I was so grateful to my roommate for sharing her trove.  It helped bring delight to those college famine days. 

It is hard to recollect my thinking for having the presence of mind to ask Grammy Fitzgerald for the recipe.  One of my hobbies over the years has been to collect recipes and recipe books.  I'm pleased to say after sending Grammy a note, she mailed the recipe to me in her own handwriting.  What a treasure!

This recipe was on my dessert menu for Easter and is a recipe to categorize under "Special".

This dessert brought many compliments.  

Here are a few pictures of my process.

"Did I offer peace today?  Did I bring a smile to someone's face?  Did I say words of healing?  Did I let go of my anger and resentment?  Did I forgive?  Did I love?  These are the real questions.  I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come."

~ Henri Nouwen

Pork Loin Roast

416.  Our Easter Dinner was delightful with memorable flavors and feels.  I decided to roast a top loin of pork for our 8 guests.  

Pork is always a challenge when you use the top loin portion due to the small amount of marbled fat.  But, my process did produce a beautifully flavorful result.

The herbs I chose were Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (sounds like a song;-) with 8 garlic cloves.

The butcher butterflied the piece for me and did a perfect job.

I chopped the herbs together and set them aside in a bowl.  Next I rubbed Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

into the meat and then the finely chopped garlic followed by the 2 /3rds of the herbs, salt and pepper.

Then rolling up and tying the roast, sprinkling the rest of the chopped herbs.   I cut it in half to fit into my roasting pan coated with oil.

I roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes then turned down the heat to 325 degrees till the meat registered 140 degrees, approximately an hour.

Once roasted, I saved the pan drippings and made a brown gravy with Kitchen Bouquet and cornstarch mixed with water.  The meat was a bit tough but the gravy added moisture to each bite.  

Notes to self would be to:  Pound meat with a tenderizer before adding flavorings.  This would help with the tenderness once roasted. And, to remove the covering from the roasting pan so the meat would brown or not cover at all.  

We all enjoyed ourselves and the meal was delicious

Simply put, it was a masterpiece!

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

~Michelangelo