Bark don't Bite!

I have made bark for the last few years - it is so easy and yummy and always impresses since most people see it sold at william sonoma for an arm and a leg! But its SO easy! I made two kinds this year - peppermint and cran-almond.

Melt 1.5 bag of good dark chocolate chips and spread in a 9x13 rimmed baking sheet, lined with wax paper (I also spray it). Chill in fridge till just set.

Melt 1.5 bags of white chocolate chips (if they dont melt well add a touch of shortening to smooth it out). For Peppermint bark, mix in crushed candy canes (4). Spread over the dark chocolate carefully. Top with chunky candy cane pieces, or for the cran-almond, slivered and crunched almonds and chopped dried cranberries and press gently into the chocolate.

Chill in refridgerator until competely hardened (I usually give it at least 24 hours). Pull out and break into pieces. Keeps best chilled.

Chinese New Year Cookies

Ryan actually made these this year! They are his favorite, and a fav of my grandmother's too. This is his mom's recipe, and it is beyond easy - no baking required and only 3 ingredients!

Chinese New Year Cookies
12 oz of butterscotch chips - microwave in bowl for 1 min 30 sec on medium (important so they dont scorch)
Chips should hold shape but be soft and tacky. And more time as needed but dont burn.
Stir in 7 oz spanish (red) salted peanuts and 3.5 oz chinese noodles (sold in small round tins in the ethnic section).
Stir well to combine. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let harden and place in container. Voila!

It's not Christmas without...

Peanut Butter Kisses

48 kisses

1/2 c shortening(I always use butter)

3/4 c peanut butter

1/3 c granulated sugar

1/3 c packed (light-I always just use the dark I already have on hand)brown sugar

1 egg

2 T milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

granulated sugar

1.Heat oven to 375, Remove wrappers from kisses.

2.In large bowl,beat shortening and peanut butter until well blended. Add 1/3 c sugar and brown sugar, beat til light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1" balls.Roll in sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet

3. Bake 8 to 10 min or until lightly browned. Immediately place kiss on top of each cookie, pressing down so cookie cracks around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

OR....

Cutouts!

I love love love this recipe. Its a butter cookie recipe, as opposed to a sugar cookie recipe. The difference being, of course, the buttery flavor which I love!

I use the Rich Rolled butter cookie dough from my mom's Joy of Cooking (they changed the recipe in mine so I have the old recipe written in).

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
Beat well.
Add: 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla (I make it 2 because I like the added flavor).
Stir in 2.5 cups of flour until well-mixed and smooth.
Wrap the dough in plastic and put in the fridge.

When chilled, roll out on floured wax paper and cut out!

Place on greased cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees, 8 to 10 min

Cran-Orange Sugar Cookies

Every Christmas, I try to make at least one new cookie. Sometimes they make the cut to become regulars, sometimes they dont. This one DEFINITELY will! It is a light counterpart to all the chocolate and rich cookies and the bite from the orange and cranberries is both seasonal and different. I saw this recipe on Good Eats N Sweet Treats, and it is originally from Land o Lakes.

Orange Sugar Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel (I found I needed double the orange sugar)
Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped macademia nuts (omitted)
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all orange sugar ingredients in small bowl; stir until well mixed. Set aside.Combine 1 cup sugar, butter and egg in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until well mixed.
Add all remaining ingredients. Continue beating just until mixed.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in orange sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass to 1 1/2-inch circles.
Bake for 7 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. (DO NOT OVERBAKE.) Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.Yield: 5 Dozen Cookies.

Note: these do spread alot, so give them plenty of space!

Brussels Sprouts?!?!

What? Is this green-vegetable-hatin-child actually now an adult who will voluntarily cook and eat Brussels Sprouts?! Yep! This is my 3rd new vegetable of 2007 (in addition to beets and parsnips) and like the former two, we loved it!

I saw this recipe linked on Elly Says Opa!s blog, originally from Heidi Swanson's blog/cookbook (a new cookbook of mine I might add!)

This was an easy and yummy way to cook the brussels sprouts and we will definitely make them again.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe (from Heidi Swanson's website, linked above)

This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.

Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing

fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice
Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

I *think* I used gouda, possible Gruyere but I think it was gouda. REALLY good, the saltiness of the cheese worked well with the sprouts.

Gambas al Ajillo

I saw this recipe on An Olive Tree Grows in Manhattan, a blog with so many unique yummy sounding dishes. It is simple but seems authentic and was fabulouso.

Please go to the link to read the details on this dish! Basically, it is shrimp wiht olive oil, lots of garlic, and some red pepper flakes, just enough for a little kick that even I can handle! The recipe is so simlpe it almost seems silly to write it out, but its so yummy - try it!! Great with bread to soak up the oil (instead of serving break with butter or oil)

3/4 lb of medium sized shrimp, peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced (I used crushed since I dont have the patience to mince 8 cloves!)

2 tsp red pepper flake

Salt

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pan. Add garlic, shrimp, and red pepper flake. Salt to taste. Mix to combine.

2. When the shrimp are almost completely opaque, flip them over and cook until done. Enjoy!

Baked French Toast, Christmas-style

After the hustle and bustle and some sick days, I am finally catching up on here! My sister and I decided months ago that we wanted to have a fabulous Christmas morning breakfast - not that it isnt usually good, we just wanted a step up from the entemann's coffee cake ;)

The menu included: Mimosa's during presents, Coffee with Kahlua, Cheddar-Apple Scramble, really good maple breakfast Sausage from Kane's, our local market, and this - baked french toast. THe great thing about this is you can prep it the night before, cutting out the work in the morning.

I got this recipe from my fav magazine, Everyday Food, with a few minor tweaks :) My changes are in italics

This crowd-pleasing weekend brunch (prep tonight, bake tomorrow) also makes a festive Christmas breakfast. Let the thick slices of bread absorb the egg batter for at least 45 minutes, and your French toast will be deliciously custardy throughout.

Prep: 20 minutes

Total: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used Egg Nog)
1/2 cup sugar - divided (since nog is so sweet, I cut this in half)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 thick slices challah, brioche, or other egg bread (1 inch thick) (I used italian bread - it was what was available and worked just great)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 bag (10 to 12 ounces) frozen raspberries (or strawberries), thawed (I used blueberries - I set my frozen raspberries out in a bag to bring to my parents on christmas eve to prep there but left them on the counter and they thawed and leaked all over! I had frozen blueberries on hand too though and they were a yummy substitution)

Directions
In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, whisk together eggs, milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Arrange bread in dish in a single layer; let soak 15 minutes. Turn bread over; cover, and refrigerate until most of the liquid is absorbed, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with butter. With a spatula, carefully transfer soaked bread to sheet. Bake until French toast is set in center and lightly browned on the bottom, 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine raspberries and remaining 1/4 cup sugar, mashing lightly with a fork.
Remove French toast from baking sheet with a thin metal spatula; serve with raspberry sauce.

This was SO.FREAKIN.GOOD. Definitely not "resolution-friendly" but for a decadent special-occasion breakfast? So easy and delish. No pics wiht the sauce, but it was great with or without!