Here we are in the middle of November - the heart of a very busy season for a lot of us. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas right on its heels. Everyone's to-do list is longer than normal these days. I'm finding myself attempting to cram a little more into each day and sleeping a little less just to try and keep my head above water. Fortunately, I do have a few little tricks up my sleeve that get me through my busiest cooking days. One of my favorite not-so-secret tricks that gets me through the holiday season? - frozen cookie dough. Having cookie dough balls in the freezer has literally saved me from a mental breakdown - more than once. Christmas parties at the kids school, work parties at Ben's office, last minute gifts for teachers and neighbors, etc. I am doing my best to be super chef this month and those little balls of butter and sugar in my freezer are my cryptonite. I freeze almost all of my cookie dough and most of it I don't even thaw before I bake. (I do add a couple of extra minutes to baking time though.) These pumpkin gingersnap cookies from twopeasandtheirpod.com is especially festive and super freezer friendly. Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies ½ cup of butter, at room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies ½ cup of pure pumpkin ¼ cup of molasses 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined. Whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.
You may want to make a double batch of these delicious little treats. When you smell the dough - it will make you want to bake some right away. I want to know what your tricks are for surviving the busy holiday season. Send them to me in a comment.
Ciao!
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When a waiter or waitress shows up at my table and presents me with an Andes mint at the end of my meal - it makes me ridiculously happy. (It doesn't take much.) After I finish my little happy dance, I immediately start the negotiation with my kids to try and "buy" their mints from them. Apparently, I'm not the only one who boasts a great admiration for the Andes mints though. They're popping up all over the place. You can even buy the crushed candies in bags in the chocolate chip isle at the grocery store. They are so good that they really shouldn't be saved just for an after dinner palate cleanser - they should BE the dessert. That is the very reason that I came up with the idea for my Chocolate Mint Cake. Chocolate Mint Cake 1 cup butter 3 cups brown sugar 4 eggs 3 teaspoons vanilla ¾ cup cocoa 3 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ cups brewed coffee 1 1/3 cups sour cream
Top with a third cake layer. Spread a thin layer of icing all over cake. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Spread another layer of icing over cake and decorate as desired. Ciao!
The colors of Fall are nothing short of spectacular. Orange and red and yellow just don't seem like adequate words to describe the colors that color the landscape during this glorious season. If I was a painter, I would probably know the proper color names but since I'm a chef, I just make up my own names for the Fall colors that inspire me. (Deep amber almond, ruby cranberry and golden pistachio.) It's all about the food. Anyone else notice that the leaves on the trees bear a striking resemblance to the color of buttered popcorn drizzled with thick caramel syrup? When I first found this recipe for Autumn Brittle I figured that it's name was derived from the Fall inspired ingredients that went into the candy. (Pumpkin seeds, almonds, cranberries - all seasonal favorites.) Once I made it I realized that it not only TASTES like Fall, it LOOKS like Fall! These are the colors that I just cant seem to describe without using food words. They are brilliant and beautiful and the essence of Fall - in edible form. Autumn Brittle 1 Cup Almonds 1 Cup Cashews 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds 2/3 Cup Dried Cranberries 2 and 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar 1/2 Cup Honey 1 Cup Water 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 Tablespoon Butter Heat the sugar, honey, water and salt in a large pot over a low-medium flame. Using a candy thermometer, continue to heat the mixture until it reaches a temperature of 310 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine nuts, pumpkin seeds and craisins.
Break into pieces. Ciao!
MUST ... STOP ... EATING ... COURTNEY'S ... HALLOWEEN ... CANDY! How am I going to stop myself from eating ALL of her candy? Don't get me wrong - I'm only taking the pieces that Courtney agrees to share. But staring at a giant pile of candy all day is an obvious hazard but it also inspires me to create some new (and delicious) cupcake flavors. Butterfingers, rolos, snickers, Hershey bars, M & M's, Reese's Pieces - you name it - I can bake it into a cupcake. (Pretty much anything that you can bring home in your Halloween pumpkin.) All of the components of this cupcake came from things that I have already blogged about so I will just link up to those blog posts instead of reposting each recipe. Reese's Pieces Cupcakes Chocolate Cupcakes 1 cup flour 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter. melted 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup hot water Peanut Butter Buttercream Peanut Butter Filling Chocolate Ganache Reese's Pieces
Pour into paper lined muffin cups. Bake 25 minutes. Cut a hole into the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with peanut butter filling. Top with peanut butter buttercream, a drizzle of chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of Reese's Pieces. A perfect way to use up some extra Halloween candy - don't you think?
Ciao! Last week, Courtney ran in her last Cross Country of the season. If you want my opinion (and why wouldn't you?) Cross Country should START in November instead of ending the season when it finally starts to get cool enough to run. I have to admire their perseverance and determination though - I'm not sure that I could run a 5K in extreme heat after sitting in school all day. I am so proud of the entire team for all of their hard work this season. They certainly deserve a hand - or maybe even a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Now that Cross Country is nearly over, it does help alleviate some of the evening stress in the house. No more having to immediately feed a starved runner as she stumbled through the door after practice, with barely enough strength to hold her fork. Seriously - most days poor Courtney looked completely wiped out after practice and the thought of waiting even 5 minutes for dinner was more than she could bear. Quick and easy meals were the name of the game during Cross Country season because it wasn't always easy or convenient to have dinner prepared and on the table by 5:00. One of my very favorite meals on busy nights are sweet potato bowls. They're easy, simple to clean up, can be made ahead of time AND they're delicious. Sweet Potato Bowls 1 pound (heaping 2 cups) sweet potatoes (I used a package of crinkle cut sweet potato fries.) 3 tablespoons olive oil, separated 1 cup chopped sweet bell peppers 1 cup white rice 1 can (14.5 ounces) petite diced tomatoes 1 can (15.25 ounces) black beans 1 cup frozen corn 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (vegetable for a vegetarian meal) 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, optional
Add in the undrained diced tomatoes, drained & rinsed black beans, bell pepper, frozen corn, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, and vegetable or chicken broth. Give everything a really good stir, bring to a boil. Cover the skillet with a lid and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the liquid is drained and the rice is cooked through. Remove the lid and stir in the lime juice. I like to eat my sweet potato bowl just like this. You could of course add some cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro or fresh tomatoes to make it even more decadent but honestly, I love it just like this. A perfect meal for a cool Fall evening. Even if you aren't rushing to get dinner on the table by 5:00.
The girls and the boys cross country teams are both competing at state this Saturday so best of luck to all of the Social Circle runners. Ciao! |
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