Sept. 20: Friday night grateful list: Holiday time!

Today's blogging challenge: What is your favorite holiday and what are your traditions around it?

Well, this is what I get for blogging late in the day: I look like a big, fat copycat. Jen already posted about Thanksgiving, and that's my favorite holiday too. Thankfully, I have lots of documentation of my holiday love, not the least of which... it's the day husband and I got married!

There are a lot of great quotes about Thanksgiving and gratitude/thankfulness, but I am always very grateful to find a new one that speaks to me. Just today, I saw this on Facebook, and my heart sang with joy:

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. -G.K. Chesterton

To prove my love for all things Thanksgiving/anniversary, here's a rundown of posts since the blog began:
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

As Thanksgiving approaches this year and we contemplate our time with family, I think about all that I enjoy: the food, the family, the relaxation of the day. I love autumn, so I will undoubtedly be past the grief of losing summer fruits and veggies, and by then I surely will have embraced all things pumpkin. I will be happily wearing sweaters and boots and appreciate the chill in the air and the lack of yard work.

Our traditions are fairly simple:
*Turkey dinner with all the fixings (turkey substitute too). We have many "stand bys" but there is usually a little room to experiment--though, not with the pumpkin pie. Husband needs the pie to be regular--none of this "sour cream pumpkin pie" or "pumpkin struesel pie." Pumpkin. Pie. That's all he asks.
*Decorate a bit--leaves and pumpkins and candles.
*Wake late, eat breakfast, then lay around for awhile before thinking about dinner.
*I have stretched the boundaries of Christmas decorating to include possibly decorating the tree on--or near--Thanksgiving, if I am home. This may confuse some, but I enjoy it.
*Watch movies and/or football. Surely there's a 007 marathon on somewhere?
*Nap.
*Maybe go for a walk if we're not too groggy.
*Make dinner.
*Eat dinner. Recount our many blessings.
*Lay around some more.
*Depending on how large the celebration is, play a game of hearts, or Taboo, or Pictionary.

Don't we sound like a barrel of fun? Why yes, we are! Ha. We have even been known to combine Thanksgiving, a couple of birthdays (Ma & Pa) and Christmas into one big (and multi-day) festival of family love, which we call Thanksbirthmas. It's pretty spectacular.

Tonight I am ever so grateful that Thanksgiving exists, and that it is coming up in the not-too-distant future.

What is your favorite holiday, and why? 

Jen and I (and occasionally my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.

Christmas caramel corn

aramel corn holds a very special place in my heart. I know, you're thinking to yourself, doesn't EVERY thing Sher makes hold a "special place" in her heart? The way I rant and rave about food... well, yes, I suppose there's some truth to that. But in this case, it's REALLY extra-super-duper true; there is a particularly sentimental sway that caramel corn holds...

It wasn't rare on a Saturday night during my childhood for my mom and I to make a pan of caramel corn. I associate it mostly with winter evenings, probably even near the holidays? I have enjoyed making it occasionally myself over the years, turning a bit of a blind eye to the butter factor! Also, my sister-in-law Kim and I have been known to plow through one of those rather large-ish bins of popcorn during the holidays, though usually those have the added "benefit" of having a cheese or buttery or chocolate partition. Hmmm. Benefit? Sure...

Well, this year I had been thinking I would haul out the homegrown caramel corn recipes again, and wouldn't it be fun to make it "holiday-ish?" I looked over quite a few recipes and was very pleased to find this recipe via Pinterest for a red and green version. In many recipes I've seen, the red and green effect is arrived at via Jello as the coloring method. While I'm sure that works out great, I just wasn't in the mood for lime and strawberry caramel corn--I want caramel corn that tastes like caramel corn! And I was happy to let good old fashioned food coloring help me out with the holiday-ish aspect...

Caramel Popcorn
slightly adapted from Baked Perfection's version
21 cups airpopped popcorn
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 + 1/8 cup light corn syrup
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
red and green food coloring

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, sitting frequently. Boil over low heat for five minutes. Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla.

Place half of the popcorn in a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Place the other half in another 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray.

Place half the carmel in a medium bowl and add red food coloring until you reach the desired shade of red. Immediately pour over one pan of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Add green food coloring to the remaining caramel until you reach desired shade of green. Immediately pour over second pan of popcorn. Toss to coat.

Bake for 45 minutes, rotating pans and stirring each pan with a spatula coated with cooking spray every 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

So fun, so easy and so pretty! A complete keeper for this holiday, and one I expect to haul out many times in the years to come.

Whimsical swirl cookies

he minute I saw these cookies (on Pinterest, of course), I knew I needed to make them. This year. The theme at work for Christmas decor is "whimsical" Christmas, which involves a bit of the Krinkles look, with a touch of Dr. Seuss thrown in. These cookies looked perfect for that theme, and besides, all that green? I love it. I've made rolled cookies before (a cranberry concoction from Joy of Baking, years ago) and they turned out fairly well, so that memory just bolstered my resolve!

And, they turned out to be just as easy as I was hoping. The steps themselves take a little bit of time, but the "wow-cool" factor makes them well worth it.

Colorful swirl cookies 
2 cups flour, plus possibly a few more tbsp (the original recipe called for cake flour, but I used all-purpose flour and the dough was amply soft)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of food coloring of your choice(and/or 1/2 tsp of any desired extra extracts; I skipped this)
1 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles

In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended.

Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. At this point, your dough will form a ball on your paddle.

Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. If you are using liquid food coloring, you will need to add a few tbsp of flour to keep the dough from becoming too wet. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.

Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until is reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is 1/4 inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Brush the uncolored vanilla dough lightly with water using a pastry brush. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small pairing knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.

Pour out sprinkles onto a large platter and set aside. Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it's ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style. Now, don't get nervous if the outer layer of uncolored dough tears a bit. It's no problem, just pinch and pat those tears and reseal them, then just keep rolling.

Now gently lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and roll away. Cover the log completely with your sprinkles. Wrap the colorfully decorated log in plastic wrap twice. Depending on when you want to bake the cookies, either place the wrapped dough into refrigerator for about 3-4 hours or you can put it the freezer and keep it there for up to 2 months. (If freezing, give yourself time for the dough to defrost in the fridge overnight before cutting.)

Slice your dough into 1/4-1/8 inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (recipes posted soon, pinky swear)!

Thursday 13: Holiday baking/party list

his week I've been working quite a bit on refining my baking list for the holidays. I know, nothing like waiting until the holiday is UPON us, right? There's a work event next week-- half sweet and half savory bites--and two cookie exchanges as well, so it is definitely time to get hopping!

I've always relied a lot on various food blogs and now Pinterest to bring new ideas my way, and they have not disappointed. Here are 13 items that are on my must-make list this holiday. My hope is to actually blog about them as I make them, but we all know how that goes around here lately... But, hope is a good thing.

 Marshmallows! Homemade! The top spot is currently held by this adorable candy cane variety...

Chai latte cookies


 I'm torn between making red velvet cake balls, or these red velvet cookies... still undecided.

Oreo cheesecake cookies? Yes, please.

My sister-in-law Kim is a torrone fan. I'd tell you exactly how big a fan she is, but I promised I'd stop teasing her about eating the whole bar of it she brought to Thanksgiving. So I won't mention it again. Ever. But I have promised to figure out how to make a home version. I think it looks doable... somewhere between a nougat and a fudge...

Whimsical spiral cookies... how fabulous do these look?

Eggnog is a seasonal favorite--I've made pound cake and cheesecake and custard pie--and so this year I'm going to try a fudge of eggnog. Sounds pretty yummy to me!

I love the buttery-ness of shortbread, and this recipe with the additions of cranberries, nuts and white chocolate would tip it over into holiday heaven.

A couple of years ago I dipped little apple balls into caramel and nuts, and put them on sticks like mini caramel apples... this year I saw a recipe that will have similar flavor--but with a cheesecake twist: Caramel Cheesecake Apple Dip. Yum.

Cranberry and nut nougat slice: doesn't this picture look almost vintage? The rosy color of this sweet bar totally won me over, and the cranberries sure don't hurt. So pretty.

Macarons have been on my to-do list for a long time. I am always compelled by their look, their color, and of course, the imagined flavor as well... I finally overcame my silly intimidation and gave them a whirl just yesterday--last night--and while I was distracted and moving too quickly (a beloved family dog passed away yesterday), they were passable and I learned quite a bit about the process. Certainly not perfect, and not as puffy as the pictures, but I am going to get right back on the macaron horse later this week and give it another gallop. I had been thinking about doing a hazelnut variety when I happened upon the picture and recipe above... voila!

I have been wanting to play with this idea for awhile, the stuffed baguette... Not sure what exactly I'll put in the middle, but their jumping off point of cream cheese and olives and such is a good one. Perhaps I'll figure a way to turn my old sundried tomato-pesto torte into this clever appetizer?

Also utilizing our friend the baguette, this little clever vehicle for the fresh veggies is cute and unique. I think I will take the extra time--it's more work than throwing together a crudite platter, for sure--and do this for the work event next week...

I'm looking forward to getting started on my lists--lots of groceries to buy, for sure. I will also haul out the old standards of fruit and nut fudge, cake truffles/balls (coconut ones were very popular last year), and maybe something that has lemon curd in it--there are a lot of egg yolks that will be looking for a home when I get done with whipping whites for macarons! And I noticed in my recipe list that I've never posted my flourless chocolate bites... what's with that? Those are a must EVERY year... this year I've been thinking I might mix it up a bit, but they'll definitely get made!

Happy holiday baking! What are you making? I'm still open to suggestions... tell me what I'm missing.

For more Thursday 13s, go here.

For the holidays or ANY day: Chocolate sandwich cookies

he first time I had a homemade chocolate sandwich cookie was in 2003 at Tom Colicchio's fast-casual place in New York, 'wichcraft. The lunch was really great but the cookie absolutely stood out--it was chocolate with a peanut butter filling--heavenly!--and I have been meaning to attempt something in the chocolate sandwich cookie realm ever since. 

I looked up a number of sandwich cookie recipes online and wavered between this style (more of a drop cookie) or a roll of dough that would be sliced. In hoping that the drop cookie would be softer (my experience with sliced roll cookies is that they tend to be a bit on the crisp/tough side), I went for it. And the payoff was delightful!

Chocolate sandwich cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 whole large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
3 oz fine-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, melted, and cooled
2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped, melted, and cooled

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl until combined.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 4 minutes with a handheld. Add whole eggs, yolks, and chocolate, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until combined well.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Drop 1/2 teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are puffed up, 7 to 8 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Cool baking sheets and make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled sheets.

I "dropped" the dough the first sheet of cookies and they didn't look like thin sandwich cookies; I knew I would need to take a more active hand in their shape! So I filled a gallon ziploc (homemade piping bag, don't you know?) and snipped off the corner and piped rounds onto the baking sheet, then smoothed them with my finger. This worked really well. I would highly recommend this approach, rather than just dropping dough onto the pan.

Also, the recipe above (epicurious again, of course!) calls for a chocolate filling, as well. I wasn't in the mood for double chocolate, and whenever there's Nutella in the house, it is the go-to filling of choice. Naturally.

So to fill:

Spread 1/2 teaspoon filling on flat side of 1 cookie, then place flat side of a second cookie over filling to form a sandwich. Fill remaining cookies in same manner.

These cookies tasted pretty good right out of the oven, without filling. They tasted even better the next day, with Nutella firmly in place. They seemed to continue to improve for a number of days, but I did not get a chance to verify past three or four days, as they were long gone by then!

Next up: to experiment with a peanut butter filling, and a peppermint filling too... looking forward to sharing the results.

Days of Awe

osh Hoshanah took place this past week--sunset Sept. 8 through sunset last night. Not being Jewish, or having extensive knowledge of Jewish traditions, and not living in an area with many observant Jewish people, it passed by my notice as every other year.

But in catching up on reading a few of my regular blog feeds over the past couple of days, I found a number of posts about the tradition of Rosh Hoshanah, and what it represents in terms of renewal and fresh starts. And, you know me and fresh starts... love 'em. New calendar years, new school years, new months, even a new morning, a blank journal... all good.

The days between Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, 10 days later, sunset Sept. 17 through sunset Sept. 18) are called the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim). Isn't that a great name: Days of Awe? During these 10 days, it's a time of reflection on the past year, to recognize the wrongs of the year and reconcile with each other and with God. (Who, I've noticed, Jewish people refer to as "G-d" when writing... I had to look it up and discovered that apparently spelling out the name might be taking it in vain.)

A couple of my favorite posts were at Eat The Damn Cake and in the SmartlyLA blog. At the end of Kate's post at Eat The Damn Cake was a list of questions that she uses to reflect on the past year and move forward. I enjoyed reading her questions and thought I'd answer them in my own way here, as my own kind of Rosh Hoshanah practice. It's a new meme! And maybe, just maybe, I'll remember this next year and come back and see if I really do learn anything or am just stuck on repeat, year after year. (Some days it does feel like that.)

What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned this year?
I seem to learn the same lessons over and over: Slow down. This applies to all areas of my life. Driving. Talking. Thinking. Moving. Mowing. Making decisions. Reacting. Speaking before thinking.

What is a new skill you’ve acquired?
I have learned bits in photography. A little with sewing. I definitely want to keep going further with the photography, and add in more artistic creativity to my life overall.

Did you do something big that you never thought you’d be able to? What was it?
Can't think of anything BIG.

What do you find beautiful about yourself that you didn’t before this year?
I can't think of anything. I may need to ponder this one a bit.

Who did you grow to love even more?
My husband.

Who did you grow to love or appreciate for the first time?
A new friend. A lovely surprise.

Who impacted you in a profoundly positive way?
A group of women I have lunch with about once a month. It's pretty great.

Who surprised you?
My son, with his maturity and insight.

Who infuriated you? Have you been able to come to terms with it?
Can't say, we live in a small town. And, no, haven't come to terms with it. I'll keep working on it.

Who hurt you? Have you been able to forgive them?
No significant hurts to me personally this past year. But, when you hurt my guys, you hurt me... I actively work on forgiveness; it's a process.

What do you recognize in yourself that you want to work to improve?
Pettiness. Seeing issues in other people and being blind to my own "stuff."

What food did you discover? Or what food did you grow to love?
Is there any food I don't already love? That is the better question...

What negative thing have you let go of?
The need to be right; I don't need to be right, I need to be learning. But I'll be reminding myself of that one over and over in the coming years, I'm sure.

What is something you’re truly sorry for?
Turning a blind eye to situations and circumstances that have needed my attention. Letting things be, thinking they'd fix or improve when in fact they needed addressing.

Who did you really hurt? Did you tell them you’re sorry?
Significant other of the past. Yes.

What goal did you accomplish? (It’s OK if it’s something “small.”)
I have started running again, and practicing my calligraphy on a daily basis. And writing more, but I need to get more consistent with that discipline.

What are you really looking forward to?
Celebrating my fifth anniversary with my husband in Hawaii.

What is one of your favorite things about your life, looking back?
That I made a choice to turn back toward a more spiritual basis for living and learning. The blessings have been innumerable.

Would love to know how you'd answer these, either in the comments or on your own blog. Shalom.

Photo source: (A Rosh Hoshanah tradition includes eating apples dipped in honey in the hopes that eating them will bring about a sweet new year.)

Mother's Day ponderings

My mother and my son

here are certain things in life that you don't understand until "later": What love really means, what core values to actually base key decisions on, how to whip up a dinner from what looks like an empty refrigerator, how many times you can squeeze the tube of toothpaste after the last remnants appear to be gone, and why a good night's sleep doesn't come in a bottle. To name a few.

When "later" arrives is different for each of us, but for me, much of my "later" understanding has been revealed through being a mother. Being a mother is a daily seat at the table of learning about myself (and others). From mundane conversation about everything from homework to friends to girls to "consequences;" discussing how different individuals and households operate and function; ever-present politics and the variety of opinions that abound; the beauty of spirituality and life choices that stem from a belief system; there is never a lack of opportunity for learning and growth, for both of us.

For me, Mother's Day is a celebration of my mother as well as a celebration of my own mothering. Which is not to say it's an ego-fest; rather, it is a truly delightful day when I am able to relish one of my very favorite roles here on earth, and that is being the mother of an amazing and loving child. My mothering, though, would be quite different (and lacking), I know, without the influence of my own mother, who has taught me many things, including (but certainly not limited to) the true meaning of kindness, forgiveness and unconditional love, as well as a hearty work ethic. She has also passed on many other qualities of worth, including an appreciation for the art of a home-cooked meal and the comfort a thoughtfully appointed home can provide at the end of a long day. The list goes on, I assure you.

In the best of senses, I'm the filling in a great Mother's Day sandwich--happily between my son and my mother. I am blessed beyond what I deserve to have my mother alive and well, and my son also thriving and flourishing. I know in this world that those two simple things are often taken for granted; today, and every day, I give thanks for the gift of motherhood.

Turtles: Hawaiian, coastal and otherwise

My mother-in-law loves turtles. She especially enjoys a variety she found on the Oregon Coast that have cashews as the nuts, not pecans. I decided I wanted to make some for her for a Christmas treat. Having cashews around our house (or nuts of any kind, really), they can disappear rather quickly (!), so I ended up with much more caramel than nuts, so I rummaged up some peanuts and some macadamia nuts I hadn't already used for Christmas baking, and thus, some unusual and tasty turtles were born!

These sweet treats were made on the night that Bad Dog Ruby temporarily disappeared. (I have been told that maybe she wouldn't hike off if I called her Good Dog Ruby, but I'm not so sure.) For some reason, she decided that one of her little bunkers under the junipers would make a good overnight camp, much to our distress. When she reappeared at the back door at 7 a.m. the next morning, I was much too happy to be angry. We had a hugging/warming session and all was well.

All that is to say that the caramel came off the stove just as I discovered Ruby was AWOL. So it sat for more than an hour cooling, and I thought maybe it would be a wash and I'd be starting over the next day. But when I finally decided I'd searched high and low and wasn't going to find Ruby that night, I came back in and distracted myself with putting the turtles together. The caramel actually worked quite well still after all that cooling, and was actually more manageable than I imagine it would be with the 5 minutes* recommended cooling in the recipe I was (sort of) following.

Caramel on the stove, bubbling away.

Peanuty turtles...

Aloha! This will be the closest I'll get to Hawaii this year...

Turtles
(adapted from the Boston Herald)

Caramel requires about 60 to 70 minutes from start to finish. Remember never to touch the boiling sugar mixture. (Have you ever had a caramel burn? It's unlike any other. Really.)

3/4 pound roasted cashews (Coastal!)
3/4 pound raw macadamias (Hawaiian!)
3/4 pound roasted peanuts (otherwise...)
2 2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut up
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 pounds semisweet and milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

In a medium heavy-based saucepan, combine the milk, granulated and brown sugars, and corn syrup. Set the pan over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugars. Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in hot water. When the sugar mixture begins to bubble, turn the heat to medium-low. Stir every 3 to 5 minutes until it turns dark amber and a candy thermometer reads 236 degrees. This will take about 1 hour and time will vary with each pot. (If you do not have a candy thermometer, remove a sample of the caramel with a spoon and drop it in a glass of cold water. If it forms into a soft ball, the caramel is done.)

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Let the mixture cool without stirring for about 5 minutes.*

Spoon a dollop of caramel over a small group of nuts. Spoon another dollop of caramel over another group of nuts, so the two rounds do not touch. Repeat until every group of nuts has a hood of caramel on top. Leave to cool.

You can do the grown up thing and melt your chocolate over a simmering water bath, but if you're a shortcutter like me, the microwave works just fine. I have learned my lesson (repeatedly, sadly) and follow the general rule of 1 minute of microwave time, followed by 30 second intervals with stirring at each stop, until a soft and dippable consistency is reached.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the turtles and transfer to the parchment.

Spoon melted chocolate over the turtle clumps, thoroughly, and chill.

Goody platter delights!

Here's a platter of goodies I took to a ladies' tea a couple of weeks ago... and these also graced teh first work party, too. Candy cane biscotti (left), fruit and nut fudge (center) and elfin shortbread bites (right). A happy trio!

Elfin shortbread bites

1 1/4 cups flour

3 T sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 TB red and green sprinkles

If using a food processor, pulse the flour and sugar until blended. Add in the butter until it all resembles fine crumbs. Add the sprinkles and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. (Don't overdo it, or the dough will turn pink from the sprinkles.)

Remove to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough forms a ball. The original recipe I found online called for patting it out into a square and cutting little squares. I decided I wanted round shapes, so used a melon baller and used that to shape little cookies.

Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes, and then transfer the cookies on the parchment to a cooling rack. Store in a tightly covered container at room temp for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months. Makes approximately 4 dozen little rounds.

Candy cane biscotti

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes

Coating:

1 14 oz. package white chocolate chips

Crushed peppermint candy canes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in large bowl, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy. Add eggs, continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and baking powder; continue beating until well mixed. Stir in crushed candy.

Divide dough into fourths on lightly floured surface. Shape each fourth into long round logs with lightly floured hands. Place logs three inches apart onto lightly greased large cookie sheet.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tops are cracked and ends just start to turn light brown. Remove from oven; reduce oven termperature to 325 degrees. Cool logs 10 minutes on cookie sheet.

Carefully remove logs to cutting surface. Cut each log into 1/2 inch slices with sharp serrated knife. Arrange pieces on same cookie sheet, cut side down.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, turning once, or until cookies are ligh golden brown and crisp on both sides. Place on cooling rack, cool completely.

Melt white chocolate in microwave--1 minute, then stir, continue 30 seconds at a time, stirring until chocolate is melted. Dip one end of biscotti into chocolate, then into bowl of chopped candy canes, set on wax paper until hard.

Makes about 4 dozen biscotti.

Fruit and Nut Fudge

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

3 cups chocolate chips (half semi-sweet, half milk chocolate)

1.5 tsp vanilla

Dash salt

1/2 c toasted hazelnuts, chopped in half

1/2 c dried blueberries

1/2 c dried cherries

Foil line an 8x8 pan, and spray lightly with cooking spray. Melt your milk, your chips and vanilla in a pot on stove top. Remove from heat, stir in nuts and fruit, then pour into foil-lined pan. Chill 2 to 3 hours. Put your longest non-serated cuttin' knife in a glass of warm water, wipe dry, then slice. Re-heat your knife via the water whenever the going gets less smooth.

Florentine tarts and bars, oh my!

I have always had a hard time remembering the camera... I used to think, after every catering event, that I really should have taken pictures. And yet I never got any better at remembering the camera! Same was true this December... alas. I did think of it last Wednesday, but after the hungry hordes had already gone by, and things were a little picked over... but I a couple of shots of the holidays, with recipes:

The very popular mini caramel apples:

These are florentine tarts, about to go in the oven. They bubbled and baked quite lovely.


Florentine tarts
Traditionally these are cookies dipped in chocolate. I remember the day I first tasted these. 1988. (Holy cow, that's 20 years ago. Calm down, old lady. Breathe.) There was this amazing bakery down on the food level of the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney and I would pass by it each day on my way to work. I hadn't ever heard of Florentines before, but never forgot them from the first bite, and tried various recipes over the years. Caramel and fruit and nuts and chocolate. Wow. They aren't the easiest to make (runny and hot, sometimes unruly. If you've ever had a burn from caramel, you won't soon forget it!), so when I discovered this recipe for Florentine Bars in Sunset magazine a couple of years ago, I was quite happy. It was an easier version of the original, and a way to make large quantities--alwasy a plus with me. But me being me, I needed to find an even easier way to make Florentines, and thought maybe putting the filling in tart shells would accomplish that. It did, more or less... But I'm going to list the recipe for the bars here, and let you fiddle as you will...

Florentine bars
1 c salted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c sugar
1 egg plus one egg yolk
2 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 c plus 6 T unsalted butter
1/3 c honey
1/3 c heavy whipping cream
12 oz. sliced almonds
1/2 c. candied orange peel
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter with 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk and beat to combine. Gradually add flour and mix well. Dough will be very soft. Transfer to a floured 16x11 inch parchment paper and roll to size of parchment. Lift and transfer, still on parchment, to large rimmed baking sheet. Bake about 12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together unsalted butter, remaing 1 1/4 cup sugar, honey and cream. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until it registers 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in nuts and fruit.

Using spatula, spread warm topping over crust and bake until topping is carmelized and almonds are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cut while still warm into 2-inch squares. Cool completely.

So good. Just ask my sister-in-law. We've been known to sit around the Florentine platter on many a Christmas morn. That and the caramel corn... but that's another story!

Cake truffles: Peanut butter and Nutella heaven

I posted a couple of pictures last week on these babies, but not the recipe. It's really easy, and really yummy, so you must give it a whirl sometime. The blog where I found it online, Baked Perfection, talked about all sorts of flavors, but I went for the same ones she tried and loved them. I didn't go all out and dip them in chocolate--I had just finished dipping a couple of hundred little marshmallow-krispie treats in chocolate and thought not only would that be redundant, but my little carpal tunnel hands needed a different activity!



Peanut Butter and Nutella Cake Truffles
(I changed the name from "balls" to "truffles"... don't you think?)

1 box yellow cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
8 oz. peanut butter
8 oz. nutella

Bake the cake according to package directions. As soon cake is cooked split the cake into two halves and crumble each half into a large bowl. Mix each bowl of crumbled cake thoroughly with peanut butter in one and nutella in the other. Roll each mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 40). Chill for several hours (you can speed this up by putting in the freezer).

I rolled the peanut butter truffles in confectioner's sugar and the nutella ones in finely chopped toasted hazelnuts. I would probably do the peanut butter ones in chocolate in the future, but I was perfectly happy with how the nutella ones turned out.

These are definitely keepers!

Party No. 2, or as Sher says...

...help me, I've fallen into the holiday baking black hole! Or is it rabbit hole? Either one works right now. I have moments of sheer baking joy, followed by despair. (Will my kitchen ever be clean again? How many cookies should one person eat in an hour? Why am I out of chocolate again?) The highs, the lows. Could it have something to do with sugar? Perhaps...

But the menu for this week... think of me at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Actually, just think of me all day on Wednesday!

In the savory realm...
*Tortilla tapas. Think bite size chile rellanos, sort of.
*Broccoli cheese souffle cups. The broccoli is just there as a foil for the cheese, and a little color too, I suppose.
*Endive with chevre and grapes.
*Artichoke toasts--as in, artichoke spread on baguette, broiled, toasted, etc.
*Cucumber cups with salmon mousse.

The sweet kingdom contains:
*Chocolate cups with custard--I have wanted to get those chocolate cups from Costco for the past couple of years... finally did. Now to fill! Yum.
*Florentine tarts. Taking the easy way out with the florentines... yum. They turned out scrummy tonight. Don't ask me how I know for sure (pats her tummy).
*Chocolate-dipped marshmallow squares.
* And here's where we confess that things change up around here... rather frequently. I said something about peanut butter cake "truffles" and chocolate hazelnut cake "truffles" for the last party... then I decided I didn't want too many round things (mini caramel apples in little cups) and went for the fruit and nut fudge (which was very yummy indeed). Well, now the truffles are ready to roll (ha, literally! I amuse myself!), and they are quite fine. AND, I'm making those apples again (see below; so obviously I got over the too-man-round-things issue...).

So here are the truffles on their first go-round with experimenting...
Fine, pretty, gooey and chocolatey, of course...

And then, I spent a few hours dipping the marshmallow treats in chocolate and thought, not gonna do that again. I like mindless dipping same as the next fella, but really? Let's get a little creative. And, having a steady supply of hazelnuts on hand (always!), I went for a little more rustic on the approach. And, frankly, I like the taste better... less overwhemingly CHOCOLATE. (Don't kill me chocoholics. I understand your kind, I'm just not one of you.)


*And back, by popular demand, the mini caramel apples. Every once in awhile there's an item that gets so many positive comments you just have to make it over and over again. And since I finally got it going really well just as I was finishing making these last week, I figured, why not?!This time I will take pictures.


And now for a completely random boy in the post. Someone had his last basketball game of the 6th grade season today! It's been a fun season, some really good games, and not that it matters, but his teams (he's on both A and B) both won today, so yeah! And the only way I got him to even smile for my camera (Mom at a basketball game is pretty embarrasing on so many levels) was to tell him this was for his Grandma and Grandpa! Ha. So I figured I should share, seeing as how it was such a blatant lie!

I will one day figure out how to cook AND blog about it at the same time. Right now I am fine doing one or the other, but both seems just a little more than this little bunyon can handle. Yes, you read right. I feel like a bunyon right now. Not Paul. A foot thing. And yes, that is an acceptable spelling. Thanks for asking.

Relish the thought

In preparation for the Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner photo shoot on Wednesday, I needed to come up with a couple of different relish/sauce/accompaniments for the turkey. One I knew would be a pretty traditional cranberry sauce, the other took a little more thought, and some creative license!

Cranberry sauce the way Sher likes it:
2 bags of fresh cranberries, picked over and washed
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
1 cup sweetener--you can use sugar, light corn syrup, honey or maple syrup
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 T vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on the stove and heat slowly over medium-low heat, to avoid popping all the cranberries. Stir occasionally. When simmering and about 3/4 of the cranberries are open and bubbly, turn off and cool. Taste and adjust sweetener as needed.

The photo above is pretty monochromatic--I'm still working on ye olde food photography, and feel extremely limited with my kitchen lighting, especially with zero sunshine when I'm cooking most days. Anyway, all that is to say that when we're shooting the sauce on Wednesday, I think I'll zest some more orange and maybe even thinly strip off some rind to give some more texture and color to it.


For sauce No. 2, I went rummaging online and found a recipe for a pineapple relish that sounded good, and one for an apricot relish, and so I combined them, threw in a little grapefruit juice for an acid and some habaneros for heat and pomegranates for texture and color and, voila!, a pretty zesty little combo.

Pineapple-apricot-pomegranate relish
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup chopped dried apricots
2 T grapefruit juice (you could easily use lime or orange instead)
1/2 cup sugar

Simmer over medium heat until apricots are softened and mixture is bubbly. Take off the heat and add:
1/2 cup fiinely diced shallots
2 habaneros, sliced cross-wise
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Stir until blended. Serve warm or cold.

When I was tasting I avoided actually chomping on a habanero since I'm kinda wimpy in the heat department, but the overall flavor of the sauce had been warmed through by the peppers and it had a nice fire to it--nothing radical, just tasty and glow-y! This relish would also work well with "other" white meats... not just Mr. Turkey. You could even pretend it's a salsa and serve with chips, or, dare I say it, a cheesey quesadilla!