My Husband, the Butcher

Our family hosts Christmas dinner, which is traditionally a roast beef.  I can still remember how the kitchen used to smell in my grandparent's house, with a roast beef in the oven!  Mmmmmmm....

This year, Brian thought about what we wanted to do, roast-wise.  (this really is more his area of expertise.)  He decided that we should buy a really big roast, figure out how many people we were having and then cut it up into the Christmas roast and some steaks.  Ten NY strip steaks later, we had our Christmas Roast!  And it is a beautiful sight:

We had some of the steak for dinner tonight and it was out-of-this-world!  Can't wait for Saturday!

A Tradition is Made

 Over a year ago, while perusing Alton Brown's book "I'm Just Here for the Food," Brian discovered a curious recipe.  It's a little thing called "Chip Chop" and as soon as he saw the recipe, he thought that it would be a fun thing to try.

Calories aren't listed in AB's books, and AB Himself often states "I said it was delicious,  I didn't say it was good for you."  So, in this house, "Chip Chop" is now an annual tradition. 

This thing is awesome!  Essentially it's just a pork chop, dredged in crushed salt and vinegar potato chips.  Flavor-wise, it's SO. MUCH. MORE.  It's crunchy, junky and perfect.

In the book, AB suggests side dishes such as fried green tomatoes or macaroni and cheese. We had none of these things in the house, and frankly, those things paired with Chip Chop make me want to check to see if our health insurance covers bypass surgery.  :)  So we paired it with a green salad with light honey mustard dressing and it was good!

p.s.  Will did not partake of the Chip Chop.  Rather, he settled on a leftover burger, green beans and applesauce.  First time in a few weeks he didn't have the same dinner that we did.  Progress is being made in that direction as well!

Christmas Eats

Christmas is a magical time.....and that's true for food too.  :)

Christmas Eve was a little low key, with a simple pasta supper.  But we had our tradtional late Christmas Breakfast...a dutch baby!  A dutch baby is essentially an oven pancake, topped with jam, powdered sugar, maply syrup or whatever you like.  I had received a gift of different butters from a friend of mine, so we went with Peach Butter.  Delicious.  :)

Then there were appetizers.....spicy shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers.  Always good choices. 

Then dinner....oh dinner.  I didn't do too much of the dinner prep this year, Brian really outshone himself in the kitchen!  I prepared the buttered stuffed apples, and he did the rest.  Oh.....and our company helped too.....my cousin and my dad peeled potatoes, my mom put stuff together and so did my aunt.  My mom made a homemade vegetable soup as a starter.  I really like starting Christmas dinner with soup, it just makes it that much more special.  The roast beef came out perfect, with a slightly pink center.  All of the sides were fantastic.  And they all cleaned up after dinner so Preggo Ginny didn't have to do anything except continue to sip her coffee and chat with Auntie Kim!

Then there were lots of unwrapping gifts, followed by dessert.  Chocolate was the main theme, with Kim's brownies and homemade chocolate truffles, my aunt's trifle and a white chocolate and cranberry cheesecake that Mom brought.  By the end of the night if you were hungry it was your own fault.

I'm happy to say that I survived Christmas with gestational diabetes.  I did not feel at all deprived of treats, and my blood sugar numbers, though slightly high, weren't bad at all.  However, now my day of debauchery is over and it's time to start behaving again. 

Now for food-themed Christmas gifts:  I got a new 11 inch frying pan to replace the one that's losing it's nonstick coating.  Brian received Alton Brown's "Good Eats:  Reminiscing the First Six Seasons" book.  It turns out that the jacket cover opens up to a huge movie poster of Alton.....and he wants to frame it and hang it in our kitchen!  We shall see.....Brian also surprised me with a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook called "9x13: The Pan that Can!"  Every single recipe in the book is made in a 9x13 pan, from breakfast to roasts to casseroles and cakes.  That's a pretty neat concept.  I've always liked casseroles but don't have a lot of recipes for them.  So I know what we'll be putting on the menu over the next couple of weeks.  Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have some casseroles for when the baby arrives!

It was a very Merry Christmas in our house, not to mention delicious.  Hope yours was Merry and Delicious, too!

Eggnog Cookies

I'm headed to a Cookie Swap tomorrow night, and I've baked Eggnog Cookies.  I LOVE cookie swaps....maybe next year I'll host one.

I had an Ornament Swap party at my house last week for my knitting group.   Everyone brought either a dessert or an appetizer to share, and one lady brought these delectable Eggnog Cookies.  They were so good, and I thought that they were something different instead of the usual stuff you see at a Cookie Swap.  I baked them last night, and I just ran out of steam before I could frost them.  So tonight it's frosting, and then I'll drizzle them with a little melted chocolate.  I'm craving them already!!

Cookie Time is Here Again!!!

It's that time again.......Christmas Cookies!  I came home from work on Friday and thought it would be a fun activity for Will and I to make some cookies together.  I'll be the first to say that this wasn't one of my "better" ideas!

Let's start with the traditional Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies!  Why those first?  Because the dough has to chill out in the fridge for a while and you can make something else while that occurs.  Though just reading that last sentence, I have to laugh.  Making more cookies while the dough is chilling.....HA HA HA HA HA!!!  What a chore when a toddler is helping!  Will added extra salt, and poured an entire cup of flour onto the kitchen floor.  Luckily, I was able to remove most of the additional salt with the help of a spoon.   By the time we mixed up the dough in the Kitchenaid and put it in the fridge, two hours of chilling put it way past bedtime.  I made the executive decision  to let the dough chill overnight and I would bake the cookies on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning....no go.  Instead, I had a hair appointment and knocked out most of the rest of my Christmas shopping.  (Made record time in Target with getting ALL my gifts and getting checked out in less than an hour, thankyouverymuch!)  I finally got around to cutting out the cookies and baking them Saturday evening in time for Bubby to go to bed.  On to Sunday....

Sunday we had a birthday party to go to about forty miles away.  We had intentions of going out to dinner, but Will fell asleep in the car and there was NO way I was waking him up and taking his grumpy alter-ego into an eating establishment.  It just wouldn't be fair to the other patrons, not to mention terrible for us.  :)  So here we are.....mixing up frosting and decorating cookies at 7pm on Sunday.  And then....cookie-decorating lost out in the toddler popularity contest to the Dora the Explorer Holiday Special!  Ahhh.......I managed to stretch out ONE batch of cookie-making into three days!  Well, I did say that we were cutting back on the baking this year, and it's more enjoyable to stretch it out, right?

Tomorrow....Brian's favorite:  Coconut Macaroons!

(cross-posted at Life in the Carpool Lane.)

Pie: A Family Affair!

After work today, Brian and I set out to bake three pies and a cheesecake.  Of course, Will was happy to offer some assistance!  After a frozen Newman's Own pizza for dinner (which isn't a bad idea since you have to start up the oven anyway) we moved on to the desserts.

First the coconut custard pie and the cheesecake.  This coconut custard pie is Brian's absolute favorite and a simple Bisquick recipe.  You've got to appreciate a pie recipe that starts in a blender!  (no-fuss cleanup)  We always put waaayyyy more coconut in it than it actually calls for, and the rest Brian eats right out of the bag.  If they had a coconut addiction program, I would recommend my husband for its Twelve Steps.  The cheesecake is a recipe out of Kraft Foods this month, but their version called for a 13x9 pan.  Since we're bringing three other pies to my parents, we altered another cheesecake recipe at the Philadelphia Cream Cheese site.  Later on we'll top it with caramel sauce and cocktail peanuts.  Mmmm.......

Will begged to help with the pumpkin pie, so I let him mix up the sugar and spices, and then help stir the milk into the pumpkin mix.  As you can see, he loved helping us out in the kitchen.  Now that he's three, he's VERY interested in kitchen stuff!

Happy Thanksgiving from our Family to yours!

Pie Time!

It's Friday night before Thanksgiving, folks.  And I'm making our grocery list and weekly menu.  Time to think about pie!!  Mmm....pie.  :)

Thanksgiving is traditionally at my parents house, and we bring pies.  We're a small family, but that doesn't stop us from bringing like four pies.  I absolutely, thoroughly hatehatehate the grocery store the day or so before Thanksgiving.  It is so much worse than right before a New England snowstorm, with people hoarding bread and milk, running around like this storm is going to be the end-all of humanity as we know it! 

As I've mentioned before, I am not a fan of rolling out piecrust.  I just don't have the patience for it.  Brian enjoys it, it's something he remembers doing with his Dad and brothers when he was a kid.  Brian comes from a large extended family, so making pies for the Thanksgiving dinner (which consists of 50+ people!)  was serious business.  However, in recent years we've agreed to switch to the Pillsbury roll-up stuff in the interest of saving time.  Typically we bring an apple pie, pumpkin pie and Brian's favorite, coconut custard.  Actually, two coconut custard pies are usually baked, and Brian cuts into the first one for breakfast.  :) 

Gestational diabetes aside....I have to have some pie.  It's just not Thanksgiving without pie, sorry.  I've dodged sweets for the last month and didn't eat any pie at the Thanksgiving event that my job put on this week.  I'm breathlessly, anxiously anticipating that sweet, spicy pumpkin as it hits my lips.  Mmmmmm........I'll savor it so much more this year!

Christmas Cookies, Part II

Today was more of a lazy day than a baking day.......we didn't get around to making sugar cookie dough until the afternoon, and then it had to chill for 2-4 hours. No bother. There's no reason to rush through the cookies and make ourselves crazy. We did bake the Peanut Butter Blossoms, and they are to die for! I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter on the planet, but I do love a peanut butter cookie. We scrapped the idea of the honey nut cluster cookies. We can make them another time for ourselves but frankly, we're happy with five kinds. So here's the cookies by the numbers: In the past 24 hours, we have gone through 12 cups of flour, 10 eggs, 7 cups of sugar/brown sugar and 9 sticks of butter! And what have we achieved? Lots of Christmas cookie memories and a tradition we hope to share with our child(ren) someday. And now.....the Rollo cookie recipe that friends have asked for. They are my ultimate favorite Christmas cookie! TIP: Unless you have a big stand mixer like a KitchenAid, do not use a handmixer for these cookies. The dough gets so heavy, it will smoke out your motor and render your mixer useless!

Rollo Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1 c. sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c (two sticks) butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
48 unwrapped rollos
1 c. chopped pecans
1 T. sugar

Preheat oven to 375. In med bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Mix well and set aside. In lg bowl, blend 1 c. sugar, brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat well. Add flour mix, a little at a time and blend well.

For each cookie, shape dough around a rollo, covering completely. (Helps to coat hands with cooking spray!!) In small (cereal-sized) bowl, combine chopped pecans with T. of sugar. Press one side of each ball in pecan mix. Place nut-side-up on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes.

Christmas Cookies, Part I

It's Cookie Time!!!

It's that time of year where Brian and I have our holiday tradition of baking cookies to share with friends and family. In the past, we would take a Saturday and bake till we dropped from exhaustion. We'd start churning out cookies right after breakfast and be cleaning the kitchen around 11pm. Things have changed in the last couple of years because well.....we don't have a full Saturday anymore! Last year we were fortunate to both have jobs that enabled us to bake during the week, but since we're both now "nine to fivers" full-time, we decided to split the baking over a weekend and bake just a little less. I have to say, I like the format of stretching the baking over two days instead of killing ourselves over one day. This also makes us able to stick a fork in another "tradition:" the "Post-Cookie Exhaustion Argument." You know the one I mean, folks...the sqaubbly, gripe-y fight that is inevitable when you are both sore, tired and hungry. Not a tradition that I'm sorry to see go away!

So, in order to make fewer batches of cookies but still enjoy every minute, we made a list of cookies that we wanted to make and ranked them. (We're big, organized dorks in this house and take our cookie-baking seriously. And if you make fun, you may not get any cookies!!) First, we each chose a kind of cookie that it just wouldn't be Christmas for us if we didn't bake them. For me, that would be Rollo Cookies and for him, that would be Coconut Macarooons. Then we looked at a couple of other classic recipes and also decided on a couple of new recipes to try this year. Here is the list:

1. Rollo Cokies: I've been making these for years. I used to think they were some sort of family secret, but then I found out that my Mom got them on the back of a flour bag. Ah well. They're a chocolately, pecan cookie with a Rollo candy stuffed inside. Pure heaven.

2. Coconut Macaroons: Brian's absolute favorite, he could make these every week and still never have enough! They're crispy, coconutty and come together quickly.

3. Pecan Caramel Surprises: These are a new one for us this year, kind of like a rollo cookie but they aren't chocolate and they have a caramel square in the middle.

4. Rolled Sugar Cookies: A holiday tradition, the sugar cookies that you roll out and use cookie cutters and then decorate. I used to hate roll-out cookies until Alton Brown had a show dedicated with all sorts of tips and tricks to making them. We're not really picky about decorating them, usually it's frosting with sprinkles instead of a lot of detail.

5. Peanut Butter Blossoms: the traditional, peanut butter-and-hershey kiss variety. You know, the ones that tend to disappear from the platter first!!

6. Honey-Nut Clusters: This is also a new one for us this year.


Tonight we made the macaroons and the Rollo cookies, as we didn't remember until late that the sugar cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for 2-4 hours!! So we'll make the dough as soon as Will is napping tomorrow. Since we're supposed to get just a little snow tomorrow, it'll be fun to hang out at home and bake.

As I've already stated--we're pretty serious cookie bakers around the holidays. We double most of the recipes, plan grocery lists and only use the best ingredients. This is really the only time of the year that we bake like this, so we don't scrimp on quality. My feelings are, if you are going to bake a cookie, use what the recipe calls for and no substitution like margarine. Or applesauce, and if it calls for shortening, use it! I very rarely bake cookies, most of the time I can't be bothered. ('Cept for the occasional batch of Toll House Cookies!!) These are a real treat. :)

So what happens to all of these cookies?? Well, I'm glad that you asked. We make up platters and tins for friends and family. We also ship them in holiday packages to friends and family in places as far away as Maine, Pennsylvania and Illinois. And we keep some to indulge ourselves at home, sometimes with guests. There's nothing like sitting with your family by the tree, lights low and some cookies and milk. Mmmmm.............