Happy New Year

Well, winter has finally come.  On average, Ohio experiences "winter" from December to March. This is not bad, mind you, but you grow a little too comfortable during the other months.  I am convinced this is how the rumor of the Harsh Ohio Winter began.  As you know Wisconsin can experience snow from October to May. You expect it to be cold, you are tough.  Ohio has an extremely long Fall season.  It doesn't snow until December, and the lake wont freeze until the middle of January.  People here get a little too comfortable for their own good, and then complain and complain for the next three months until it is over.  This is a picture of the windshield of my car. Brrrrrr!

Oxtail Soup

Oxtail soup is made with beef tails. The use of the word "ox" in this context is a legacy of nomenclature; no specialized stock of beef animals are used. Different versions of oxtail soup exist.  One of the defining characteristics of oxtail soup is that it contains a large mass of solid ingredients, rather than ingredients that have been diced or shredded.  Chunks of oxtail, potato, carrots, cabbage, tomato, and mushrooms are mixed in water, and salted to taste. The mixture should be heated at a slow boil, to allow time for the ingredients to release their flavors. In particular, the tomatoes and potatoes should largely disintegrate into the water, giving the broth a reddish-orange coloration and thickening it. As to be expected, oils from the oxtail lend most of the flavor.

Eggnog

Food Network Eggnog Recipe

Good Haul

Got a number of great things for Christmas this year; Iphone 4s, Badger slippers, Polar fleece, shirts, 4 big chunks of meat, and assorted cheese. GO WISCONSIN.

Bacon Yule

Eggplant stuffed with goat cheese and bacon, bacon wrapped cocktail wienies, BBQ bacon hamburger beans, bacon risoto, and a DELIGHTFUL ranch sauce made with bacon fat mayonnaise.

Cornish Hen

Grass fed, organic Cornish hen with wild rice, crimini mushrooms, and sweet potato.

Swedish Meatballs

I made Swedish meatballs with mushrooms and served it on spätzle with sauteed cabbage. I also tried a product called "German Potato Salad" in a can... it was vinegar and potatoes. Should have made it myself. Without bacon, eggs, and green onions, how can you call it "salad"?

Kosher Fudge

1 C. milk chocolate chips
2 C. semi sweet chips (1 regular size bag)
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Melt everything together very slowly in a sauce pan over the stove.  One it comes to a boil, turn it off and spread into a prepared pan. Freeze for 20 minutes to help it cool off.  This fudge is soft enough to cut with cookie cutters, and firm enough to pick up once it sits at room temperature for 2 hours and develops a crust.

I searched the internet to see if there was such thing as kosher marshmallows. The responses varied greatly. So, I found a fudge recipe that doesn't use marshmallow fluff.  Just 3 ingredients, no butter, no fluff, no sugar, just chocolate, milk, and love. And its kosher~

Cake Pops

Oreo Cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix
Muffin liners
1 package mini Oreos
8 oz cream cheese room temperature
1/2 Stick butter, room temperature
3-4 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Bake cupcakes according to package directions.  Reserve 30 mini Oreos for decoration, and then chop up remaining in food processor. After making frosting, add chopped Oreos to the mixture, and blend by hand. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcake. Top with mini Oreo.

Christmas Cookies

Just finished making this year's cookie selection.  We are having peppermint kiss cookies, peppermint twist cookies, sugar cookies, shortbread, gingerbread, and yogurt pretzels. Mom gets linzer cookies, but nobody else does.  I just have to make the peanut brittle and I think it's a wrap.  Everyone will get a slice of fudge too. It contains pecans.

Broccoli Beer Cheddar Soup

1 pack Bear Creek cheddar soup (dehydrated soup mix)
1 bottle beer, 4 C. water (mix to correct volume listed on package)
1 head broccoli (add as much as you like)
Bread Bowls

Bring water and beer to a boil, add soup mix, stir until thick. Add broccoli and simmer until they are soft.

Caturday

Found this little guy in 'Lost and Found' this weekend. He was re-claimed within 2 days.

Sugar Cookies

This is the best dough. It is no-fail, and I use it every year.

2 1/2 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks/185g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (250g) sugar
Food coloring gel (optional)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Over a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and a few drops of food coloring gel and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixture occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, stopping the mixer once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls, Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 2 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/16 to 1/4 inch (4.5 to 6mm).

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dip cookie cutters into flour just before using and cut out shapes. Place on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out additional cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm 20 to 30 minutes.  Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.

Peppermint Kiss Cookies

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES	1 stick butter	1 C. sugar
1 egg	1 1/2 tsp. vanilla	2 C. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda	1/4 tsp. salt	2 Tbs. milk
red and green sugar crystals

Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies. Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. If you use your #100 cookie portioner, this will yield about 4 dozen cookies.

Mandarin Oranges

Heinens is selling fresh mandarin oranges this week. They are so fantastic.

Leftover Ham

Thank goodness this was the last of our holiday ham. It was served with cauliflower and cheese sauce, leftover black bean smash, and leftover salsa. We did a fantastic job eating all our leftovers this week.

Chicken Tacos

Chicken tacos, with two types of salsa, guacamole, saffron rice, and poblano pepper with black beans.

Door Swag

We got a lovely 4 ft Frasier Fir today. We needed to remove the bottom branches so it would fit in the tree holder. I used the discarded bows to make two door swags. Overlap several pine bows so they meet in the center. Use a zip tie to gather them together. Place a bow over the zip tie. Use a second tie to create a loop to hang your work of art.

Holiday Favorites

My two favorite holiday activities with Pusheen the Cat.

Golden Beets

Butternut squash filled ravioli with diced tomatoes on top served with roasted golden beets. To roast beets, peel them like a potato, then cut into 1 inch cubes. Place cubes in a pan lined with tinfoil, spray with cooking oil, then season. Bake 400* /Broil *500 for 20-25 minutes until tender.

Ginger dressing

1 small onion, 2 Tb ketchup, 1 tsp mirin, 1 Tbs veg oil (recipe called for peanut oil along with a ton of other stuff I didn't have), 2 Tb. fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp. soy sauce

Puree in mini food processor until it resembles dressing.

Nougat

Cranberry Pistachio Nougat Recipe

1 1/3 C. sugar
1/2 C. honey
1 egg white and just a pinch of kosher salt
1 C. roasted salted pistachios
3/4 C. craisins or cherries

In 2qt. saucepan boil sugar, honey and 2 Tb. water until it reaches 252*. (3 minutes)
In blender (fitted with whisk), beat egg white until it forms soft peaks. Gradually add hot syrup, and whip (at speed 7) until volume triples. (10 minutes).  It gets whiter and fluffier as it whips. Use a spatula to add nuts and fruit.  spread into 8x8 pan sprayed with nonstick spray and parchment paper.  Let set. (Takes about 2 hours). Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Premium

Bought the really really good stuff for Christmas!

Hooty

I went Christmas shopping for the children today. I bought this microwavable owl for the baby. If she doesn't like it, I call "dibs". It smells so good!

Wash Cloth /Pot Holder

Cotton. Versatile. All the cool kids are asking for some this year.

Star Washcloth

Follow this link for the pattern.

Thanksgiving Wontons

3/4 C. lemon juice	1 C. craisins
1 1/2 C. leftover turkey	1 C. prepared stuffing	4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. gravy	1 pkg wonton wrappers	3 C. canola oil for frying
2 Tb. minced onion	1 Tb. lime juice	1 tsp. minced jalapenos
1 tsp. minced garlic	1 tsp. water	salt to taste

Pour the lemon juice over the dried cranberries in a bowl; set aside. Mix the turkey, stuffing, cream cheese, and turkey gravy in a separate bowl until thoroughly combined. Place a wonton wrapper on a work surface; spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Moisten two opposite edges of the wrapper with a finger dipped in water, fold the wrapper in half the long way, and press the edges together with a fork. Sprinkle the wrapper with salt. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Heat the canola oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat; pan-fry the filled wontons in batches until crisp and golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain the fried wontons on paper towels; allow to cool for about 5 minutes to set the filling. Drain the lemon juice from the dried cranberries. Place cranberries into a food processor; pulse several times until the cranberries are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the onion, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and water. Serve with the hot fried wontons.

Turkey

This year we are preparing our turkey with a brine, because all the cool kids are talking about it. Alton Brown made his turkey look the best, so we are going with his recipe. Click for recipe.

Brine	Aromatics
1 cup kosher salt	1 red apple, sliced
1/2 cup light brown sugar	1/2 onion, sliced
1 gallon vegetable stock	1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon black peppercorns	1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries	4 sprigs rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger	6 leaves sage
1 gallon heavily iced water	Canola oil

Thanksgiving Shrub

I got this delightful combination at the grocery store. It is Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme; all herbs used for poultry. Did I mention how good it smells?!

Sushi Sunday

Spicy crab roll, crab and cream cheese green onion, and avocado asparagus served with shrimp tempura (previously frozen). Yes, I made the sushi all by myself. I'm getting rather good at it.

Seared Tuna

1 package (previously frozen) tuna filets (2 piece)
2 Tb. prepared dijon mustard
2 Tb. honey
2 Tb red vinegar
1 Tb. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 Tb. olive oil

Prepare marinade in square flat ziplock container. Coat fish, snap on lid, refrigerate for 1 hour.  In your heavy skillet, heat 1 Tb. olive oil over medium high heat.  Sear steaks for 3 minutes per side. Use a timer.  Fish will be slightly pink in center when cooked.  I served mine on sushi rice with black sesame seeds, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes.

Winter Hat

Congratulations to Mimi, on completing her first knit item! This lovely hat is part of a winter set. Will it be done in time for the Holidays? What are you planing this year?

Happy Halloween

I know it's a bit late, but the hurricane just ruined everybody's plans. I did dress up at work this year. I wore my dragon horns! *cheep thrills*

Tiramisu Chocolate Cake

Cake	Frosting	Garnish
2 C. cake flour	1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided	Chocolate bar for shaving
3/4 cup cocoa	1 Tbs. instant espresso powder
1.5 tsp. baking soda	1/3 cup white chocolate, grated	Raspberries - small container
3/4 tsp. salt	1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature	2 8-ounce containers chilled mascarpone cheese
2 cups golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. buttermilk

4 tsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water



Frosting:
Bring 1 cup cream to boil in small saucepan. Slowly pour cream over espresso, whisking until espresso is dissolved. Add grated white chocolate and stir until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours. Can be made one day ahead; cover and keep chilled. Add mascarpone to chilled mixture; Using electric mixer; beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).
Full Recipe

Baaackpaaaack

I still have to sew a face on it, but this is a sheep back pack.  It is roughly big enough to hold a large bag of mms.
Look here for best instructions on creating loop stitches. Click here for Ravelry pattern

Ravioli

1 bag frozen ravioli
1 real tomato, diced
1 small can crushed tomatoes
1 small can artichokes
1 scoop assorted olives ,sliced.
.
Cook ravioli.  Saute artichokes, tomato, and olives in olive oil over medium heat.  Add crushed tomatoes and heat until barely warm.  Ready in 10 minutes. And fresh herbs are always good on top

Dinosaur Hat

Stegosaurus

Snowflake Hat

I came up with this pattern all by myself! I figured out stitches per inch, crafted a pattern, devised a clever decrease for the top that held the snowflake design and everything!! D, loves it. He said it is "very warm".

Cactus

Raspberry Sherbet

1 pound (454 grams) fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 cups (480 ml) whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries (that have been thawed) in your food processor or blender, along with the sugar, milk, and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Strain the mixture to remove the raspberry seeds by pouring through a fine meshed strainer placed over a large bowl.

Transfer the mixture to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer the raspberry sherbet to a chilled container and place in the freezer for a few hours or until it reaches the desired consistency. If the sherbet becomes too hard, place in the refrigerator until softened before serving.

Makes about 4 cups (960 ml).

Recipe