Archive for the 'Recipes' Category
Christmas Delights: Delicious New Traditions Your Family will Love
Christmas Delights is not your average modern cookbook, a baker’s dozen recipes alongside full page photographs–pretty, but with little substance. No, this is your mother or grandmother’s cookbook, a weighty and serious volume with more than 200 scrumptious recipes divided into comprehensive sections that make it quick and easy to find exactly what you are looking for. The recipes are laid out in a clear and consistent manner, easy to follow and understand for even a kitchen novice. At the same time, more experienced cooks will not find themselves bored by the recipes, which offer many unique ideas and flavor combinations that are sure to tantalize the tastebuds.
Christmas Delights is packed with extras including the history of Christmas traditions around the world, the meaning of familiar Christmas symbols, even tips on how to care for your poinsettia. There are also several Christmas-themed poems by Karen Hood, and these have her usual simple yet elegant style, ensuring that this section of the book will be read and enjoyed time and time again. Further facts about Christmas are sprinkled throughout the cookbook, livening up the recipes with fun tidbits of trivia. There is also a US and Metric Measurement Chart in the back, an invaluable assistance for conversions and measuring ingredients; a glossary of cooking terms that will help even an inexperienced cook feel comfortable in the kitchen; and an alphabetized index of recipes.
Karen Jean Matsko Hood has a great deal of experience in the kitchen, and it definitely shows. I tried out several of the recipes: Ham Casserole Supreme, Artichoke Green Chile Dip, and Butternut Ball Cookies. The ham casserole made a wonderful dinner that my entire family loved, a very flavorful and unique twist on the old favorite macaroni and cheese. The dip was very quick and easy to make, and again provided an unexpected and delightful twist on the usual artichoke dip that I am familiar with. The cookies also made a big hit, and were alot of fun to make. I have looked through many of the other recipes in the book and am very excited about trying them out. There are many fun ideas that any parent or grandparent will love to make with their little ones. The Cookie Casserole in particular looks like it will be a blast for children, and every recipe I turn to sounds delicious. This is definitely a cookbook my family will enjoy not just at the holidays, but all year long.
Order your copy of Christmas Delights today!
Homemade Eggnog Recipe and History
by Stephanie Jolly
Source: Suite 101
If you’re like most holiday revelers, you’ve got a few parties to attend this season. Odds are that upon walking through the door, you’ll come face-to-face with a large bowl of murky liquid known as eggnog.
Your first reaction may be one of confusion, but try to keep it together. Although eggnog isn’t much to look at, it’s impossible to get away from. Around the holidays, sales of this gelatinous liquid skyrocket, and so do the Web searches.
For centuries eggnog was prepared and served as a hot beverage and it has only been in the last one-hundred years with the invention of easy refrigeration systems that this holiday cocktail became well-known as a thick, cold beverage found in grocery store dairy cases.
Traditional eggnog recipes call for heating the egg-yolks and cream to form thickened custard, making this homemade eggnog a safe, delicious alternative to the commercial product for those who cannot eat raw or unpasteurized egg products.
Eggnog History and Origin of New England Holiday Drink
The history of the word eggnog, often spelled egg nog, is contentious. Some scholars say it is derived from a combination of the words egg and grog, a dilution of rum and water served aboard British Naval vessels to prevent drunkenness. Others believe it comes from the word noggin – a small wooden mug used to serve drinks in taverns.
Regardless of etymology, the holiday beverage has its roots in an old English drink called posset. A London recipe from Robert May’s 1678 The Accomplisht Cook calls for “twenty eggs, a pottle of good sweet cream,” whole cinnamon, nutmeg and sack, a type of alcohol.
While posset remained a drink of the wealthy and elite in Britain, due to the limited availability of fresh dairy products by the average city dweller, American colonists had easy access to both dairy products and cheap imported Caribbean rum, making eggnog a popular and affordable holiday beverage.
The earliest known published mentions of eggnog appear in 1788 in the New Jersey Journal and the Philadelphia newspaper The Independent Gazetteer. By the late 19th century eggnog had become a social drink served mainly at holiday parties. Several recipe books, including Jennie June’s American Cookery Book of 1870, list separate recipes for “egg nog” and “Christmas egg nog,” the later including nutmeg and Jamaican rum.
Homemade Colonial Eggnog Recipe
Ingredients:
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cups granulated white sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup dark rum
Directions:
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and granulated sugar until thick and pale yellow. Set aside.
- Combine one cup heavy cream, milk and vanilla in a large saucepot on medium heat. Heat slowly until hot and just about to simmer.
- Slowly pour hot milk into egg mixture, stirring continuously to temper. Pour back into saucepan.
- Continue heating on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken slightly. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil or it will curdle.
- Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in egg whites into custard, along with remaining heavy cream. Add alcohol if desired. Sprinkle with nutmeg before serving. Serves 6.
Other popular winter cocktails, such as hot buttered rum, also have origins in Colonial America. Both can be made using whiskey, brandy or bourbon as substitutes for Jamaican rum.
Christmas Cookie Making, a Family Tradition
Making Spritz cookies is one of my Christmas memories. It was extremely rare that we made these cookies at any other time of the year, so in my mind they are connected with the Christmas season. We would divide up the dough and color it, generally making some of it green and dark pink, and sometimes leaving some the original color. I liked to put two or three colors in the press to make cookies more than one color. We would decorate the cookies with colored sprinkles or strategically place those little silver BBs on them.
(I didn’t learn until a few years ago that these are called dragees, and I’m no Spring chicken!)
My sisters and I usually squabbled over who got to do the pressing – we all wanted to do it! We had the old manual press. I don’t think there were electric ones back then. I remember that making the camels was the most difficult. If you didn’t squeeze out quite enough dough, you could tear off their heads or legs, but if you pressed out too much dough, they got too fat and didn’t really look like camels. The Christmas trees were fun to do, and we put the colored sprinkles mostly on them.
It seemed that we had to watch them like a hawk when they were baking. They just didn’t look right if they got browned on the edges. That ruined their looks. Inevitably, some did get too brown, though. We would sort those out if we were taking the cookies to share with others. Of course, I never minded eating them!
The Spritz cookies I grew up making used shortening, but this recipe, which is a Hood and Matsko Family Favorite, is made with butter. Butter makes a very tasty, creamy cookie. If you haven’t done it already, start a Christmas tradition of making certain types of cookies with your children. They will remember it fondly as they grow older.
Pressed Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 c. butter, softened (no substitutions)
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 c. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
colored sugar or sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.
- Add eggs and beat well.
- Stir in flour and salt until blended.
- Using cookie press, press dough into long strips on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Cut into pieces about 1½ inches long.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are just slightly browned.
- Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks to cool.
Yields: 4 to 6 dozen.
Triple Layer Chocolate Mints
Christmas is a time of family gatherings and sharing with others. Among the traditions in many parts of this country is that of sharing plates of cookies and candy with friends and family. Some candies and cookies are only made during the Christmas holiday time. When we see them or make them, they remind us of our childhood and the wonder and excitement we experienced then. Candies like Penuche and Divinity bring to mind my grandmother, who would make these special treats at Christmas time. A wonderful, creamy fudge (the cooked kind made from scratch) was my mother’s special contribution. None of us have been able to master that recipe like she did! — Beverly K
Peppermint and chocolate are always a delightful combination. These mints have three layers, with the middle layer of white chocolate enhanced with the flavor of peppermint. These little triangles add class to any holiday goodie plate!
Ingredients:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. peppermint extract
6 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
Directions:
- Line 8-inch square pan with foil, leaving 1-inch overhang on sides.
- Place semisweet chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water; stir until melted.
- Remove from heat.
- Spread melted chocolate onto bottom of prepared pan; let stand until firm. (If not firm after 45 minutes, refrigerate for 10 minutes.)
- Melt white chocolate in clean double boiler.
- Stir in peppermint extract, then spread over semisweet chocolate later; shake pan to spread evenly.
- Let stand 45 minutes or until set.
- Melt milk chocolate in same double boiler.
- Spread over white chocolate later; shake pan to spread evenly.
- Let stand 45 minutes or until set.
- Cut mints into 16 (2-inch) squares.
- Remove from pan with foil; place squares on cutting board.
- Cut each square diagonally into 2 triangles.
- Cut in half again to make 64 triangles.
- Store in airtight container in refrigerator
Yields: 64 mints.
Huckleberry Season is Here!
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are right in the thick of huckleberry season, that marvelous time of year when the Northwest’s favorite berry is ripe and ready for the plucking!
Huckleberries are a delicious, blueberry-like fruit that can range in color from deep crimson to dark purple. Because huckleberry bushes yield a small amount of fruit compared to other berry bushes, they are rarely grown by farmers. Most huckleberries are handpicked in the wild and sold in local stores and farmer’s markets, or harvested for specific companies that use the berries to make syrups, jams, jellies, and other tasty treats. Many huckleberries grow in high elevations on the slopes of mountains. There are dozens of varieties, but the most sought after is the black huckleberry, which yields its sweetest fruit at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet.
The huckleberry has great cultural significance for the local Native Americans: the Yakamas used them as a major food source for centuries, and still uses them in feasts and religious ceremonies today. For others in the Pacific Northwest, this berry is quite beloved, spawning numerous Huckleberry Festivals in small towns across the region. Even bears love these juicy, flavorful berries–so if you are out in a remote location looking for your own huckleberries to pick, be careful!
Once you have a gallon or two of huckleberries, what next? How to transform all those sweet berries into delectable treats that will delight you and your family… Luckily, we have just the thing! Huckleberry Delights is a wonderful cookbook full of delicious recipes that will help you make the most out of your huckleberries. Recipes have clear, simple directions and are accompanied by a collection of poems, folklore, and history that add to your enjoyment and knowledge. Huckleberry Delights comes in several formats, including a bilingual English-Spanish version, a Christian version with selected Bible verses, a large print edition, and a journal that can be used to record your own thoughts and recipes. To order this unique cookbook, click here.
