Christmas Treat Arrived Early!

So today was a day of surprises for our kids.  It was delightfully fun to see their faces as Grandma and Grandpa delivered their Christmas gift a few days early so that Grandpa could see their faces.  If you want to see how it all went down, here you go...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5tOyy3CM3w

We're still trying to figure out names for her.  She is 8 weeks old and just so sweet.  Initially the kids wanted to call her Tiki--yes, like a Tiki Torch or the Tiki Room--after I caught on to that I put a stop to it.  We decided maybe Roxy would be a better fit.  So we'll see how she fits that one.  Right now we are learning that she has 2 speeds...fast and off.  We're also learning the patience of potty training.  She doesn't like it very much.  But she's pretty little still and we know she'll catch on.  It is going to be a fun Christmas!

Drowning in Chocolate!

Back at it again.  My M-i-L and I recruited my husband and daughter to help dip chocolates this last weekend.  We accomplished a lot and had over 600 dipped by lunch time.  It is no small undertaking.  We had issues with chocolate too hot or too cold, and people not stirring it often enough.  Heaven knows these ones may not be pretty but they were dipped with love.  Chris and Claire have never helped dip like this before.  Claire complained half an hour in that her arm was going to fall off.  It was hilarious.  How I love that kid.  She was happy when we told her she could quit dipping and place the walnut on top of each maple chocolate. 

The coconuts are one of my favorite.  I am really hoping they turned out well this year.  Claire got to help sprinkle the tops on these as well.  She loves being the topper I think.

...and of course it wouldn't be Christmas without peppermint patties.  They seem to be the overwhelming favorite of most people I talk to.  Anyways, I hope you like them this year.  If you want some how to pictures, let me know.  I've taken some step by step ones but wasn't sure if they were interesting enough to post.  :-)

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'....keep that salad rollin'!

So I'm off to a Christmas party this evening and was asked to bring a salad or dessert.  While desserts are an obsession of mine, I decided to do something equally yummy but less fattening; Salad Rolls.  Once upon a time, my brother was married to a girl from Laos and she taught my mother and I how to do these.  They are best served with either peanut sauce or sweet chili sauce (although some people like to use Hoisin Sauce for dipping).  I chose to take both to the party incase someone has an allergy to peanuts or an aversion to spicy things.  I'll give you the low-down on how to make these.

First:  Make your peanut sauce.  1cup water, 1 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Kraft brand), 1/2-2/3 cup white vinegar, 2 TB Hoisin sauce.  Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly...it will look lumpy and wierd for a bit but will smooth out closer to when it's boiling.  Bring it to a boil and allow it to simmer while stirring occasionaly for 5-10 minutes.  It will thicken if you let it do this.  Cool sauce completely.  It will also thicken slightly as it cools.

Once your done your sauce you can build your assembly line.  For the rolls you will need 6 inch rice paper rounds, rice vermicelli noodles, romaine lettuce, carrots, peppers, cucumber, cold cuts (shaved) or cooked shrimp, and red cabbage.  Truly you could use whatever veggies you'd like; just make sure they are prepped small.  For the carrots, I have a special peeler from the asian market in Edmonton that peels them into skinny strips.  They are perfect for Salad rolls that way.

Lay out all your filling ingredients in order and roll one round at a time. 

The rice paper rounds are quite thin and can break easily so be gentle with them.  Fill a large bowl with hot water and place one round in making sure to have it covered in the water.  It will curl at the edges if they aren't in contact with the water.  It will soften quickly and be ready for filling. 

 Gently take it out when it's soft and spread it on your working surface (mine is a cutting board).  Layer your filling ingredients starting with the lettuce--make sure you've removed or broken the spines of the lettuce pieces for easier rolling--Lettuce, meat--if you're using it--2 small pieces of cucumber, some shredded carrot, shredded cabbage, red pepper and rice vermicelli noodles (cooked according to package directions).  **caution**DO NOT OVERFILL OR RICE PAPER WILL SPLIT!**

Roll it up like a burrito tucking in the ends as you go.  Slice it in half.  Arrange the halves on a serving platter and cover with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.  Store in the fridge until you are ready to dig in!

 

Cookies for Santa

So I've been wanting to try a recipe for several months that I found online.  They are for a batch of cookies called Brownie Pillow Cookies.  This blog has given me the excuse to give them a try!  And, I must say that they are divine!  It's like someone came along and said..."Hmmm, this brownie sure is missing something.  I guess I'll have a cookie.  Nope, the cookie is missing something too...better add a brownie to it!"  The are a match made in heaven.  I'm sorry for those of you watching your wastelines but this is not a "Light" recipe.  But it is delish...and I bet your kids would like to share them with Santa on Christmas Eve!  The recipe will be on the left and I'll do the "How To.."  Here.  :-)

Make Brownies and let cool completely.  Cut in about 1 inch squares. 

**Important**Let this dough chill for at least an hour in the fridge.  I chilled mine overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Now the fun part!!

Measure out about 1/2 cup (yes...half a cup) cookie dough and buddy it up with a 1 inch (approx) brownie.

Place the brownie top down in the cookie dough and work dough around the brownie until it's gone...not gone...just hiding and completely covered in cookie dough.  Who wouldn't want a cookie blanket?!? 

You will be able to fit 6 cookies on a regular cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

Let sit on cookie sheet a few minutes and then move to cookie rack.  When you split your cookie in half, you'll find your brownie pillow.  Let me know what you think! 

A Day in the Kitchen

Literally!  I spent a whole day in my kitchen!  Thursday was a wild day.  Because I got the bug on Wednesday, I decided there was no point in procrastinating on Thursday.  I got up and by 9am I had baked all the cookies for my homemade Oreos.  After that I made some killer Peanut Butter Butterscotch sqares and followed those up with a batch of my husbands Grandpa's homemade granola (yum!).  When the granola came out of the oven I decided I needed one more thing...Banana Chocolate Chip Bread.  By the time the banana bread came out of the oven, it was 3 o'clock and school was out.  I couldn't believe it...I'd truly spent the day in my kitchen...and there were plenty of dishes to show for it.  Yesterday I tried a modified recipe for Orange Cranberry muffins.  I wasn't really thrilled with the result of those...they were a little dry.  I threw them in the freezer and have decided to work out some kind of orange glaze to put on them.  We'll see if that works or not.  It was too bad they were dry because they smelled fabulous!!

Christmas is Coming

I had a horrible realization this morning as I was doing my daughter's hair before school...one month until Christmas Eve!!!  Where has the time gone and why is my baking not done.  (Surely typing on my computer isn't going to help my baking get done but here I sit anyways).  I think the tricky part for me about Christmas baking is how much to bake and what will I be left with when the kids go back to school.  This year I plan on my regular recipes with a few new ones as well.  I made an attempt at Wellington Squares yesterday.  They look delish...I've never made them before but have always enjoyed them when I've tasted them elsewhere.  Let's be real, with shortbread, caramel and chocolate, what could go wrong?!?!!?

There will be the usual nuts and bolts along with lots of different cookies.  My m-i-l and I will work on Gingerbread Houses with the kids--I wonder if they'll finish eating them this year or not?  With Christmas comes company and I like to have some things to pull out at the last minute (or make it look like I can do that).  The Greek Bread will be made as we will go through a loaf of that a day (probably need to make a double batch of it) and likely sugar cookies for the kids to decorate.  How I love the smells that come from the kitchen during the Christmas Season.  To me, it makes everything a little merrier and a little brighter.

So here it is...

I have a dear friend who has been insisting that I blog.  You see, I have an addiction.  That addiction is my kitchen and all things that are produced therein.  Unfortunately that addiction has led to sharing treats with friends and neighbors, school teachers, and staff at my husbands work.  My addiction has somewhat led to the food addictions of others.  I've been encouraged to open a bakery, to start my own e-business, and now to start blogging about what comes out of my kitchen...so here it is.

In a given month I can usually be found in my kitchen baking cakes, cookies, "Sin"-a-mon buns, and other various muffins and snacks.  Come Christmas, I spend hours with my m-i-l working on our hand dipped chocolates.  Yesterday for example, we spent around 5 and half hours making the fondant from scratch.  We're doing some of the old favorites as well as trying something new.  This year will be peppermint patties, coconut creams, maple walnut, turtles, turkish delights, truffles, olympian creams, white chocolate candycane bark, and -for the first time- dipped nougat filling.  We, on average, dip 3000 chocolates a year and they are delicious.  The vast majority of these are given as gifts--some people think I'm nuts for just giving them away--the rest are kept for my family to enjoy...and we DO enjoy them.  Everyone seems to have a favorite.  I wish I knew who liked what exactly and then maybe I could rule out making one kind or another.  My husband jokes that if I were to decide to quit making them, he may have an uprising at work and lose his job.  I sure hope he's kidding.