Cheese Ball

As I was making these balls of goodness last night, my husband asked why we only eat cheese balls at Christmas time. I had no answer for him. All I know is that my mom only makes one once a year, and my husband's family eagerly awaits (and then fights over) the annual Walker cheese ball. I personally think we should have them year round...but being as you're eating straight cheese that never seems to fill you up (am I the only one who looks down to find half the cheese ball consumed and my hand and cracker about to dig back in?) it might be better to keep it as a once-a-year holiday treat.

Crepes

Crepes are a very thin pancake that originates from France. There are many ways to eat them, either as a breakfast food, or you can sweeten them with a little sugar and have them as dessert. This morning I made them for some of my family who are in town.

Generally, when you eat a crepe you put spread something on the flat crepe, roll it up, and then spread something over the top. I prefer to spread a little butter on them, roll up my crepe, squeeze on some fresh lemon and powdered sugar. I've also had them served with maple syrup, berry jam, fresh fruit, whipped cream, and of course Nutella; really the options are endless.
They are very versatile and fun to make.

As a side note, if you are making crepes for a large group, heat up two skillets and recruit someone else to help with the twisting and turning of the pans.

Crepes
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Pictures by Caroline

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine milk, flour, eggs, oil, and salt. Beat well, until the batter is smooth.
2. Heat a lightly greased medium skillet. Remove from heat, spoon in approximately 1/4 cup of batter (or less for thinner crepes). Lift and tilt in a circular motion to spread the batter. Return to heat; brown on one side only.
3. Invert pan over a paper towel lined plate and remove crepe. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet occasionally.

Cookie Contest Winners!

After much deliberation (and a lot of cookie eating), the winners of the cookie contest are...

Rebecca Krueger for the Lemon Kiss Cookies. Here's what she said about them: "I first had these cookies from an old roommate in graduate school who was quite a perfectionist baker. She made these around Christmas time and I made them for a Christmas party because they remind me of elegant little snowballs. Yum."

Lemon Kiss Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter
3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups almonds, chopped
1 (14 oz) package milk chocolate candy kisses
powdered sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Add flour and almonds. Beat at slow speed until well mix. Cover and refrigerate, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape a tablespoon full of dough around each chocolate kiss, covering it completely. Roll in hand to form ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-12 minutes or until set and the endges of lightly golden brown.
3. After removing from oven allow to partially cool on baking sheet until firm enough to lift (about 10 minutes) then cool completely on racks.
4. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and shortening in a small pan on medium heat. Stir until smooth.
   
5. Lightly dust cookies with powdered sugar. Then drizzle chocolate over each cookie.
   

Kristi Lopes for the Italian Jam Cookies. She said "I like these cookies because they taste good. And because we ALWAYS make them for Christmas. The recipe comes from a children's magazine with Christmas cookie recipes from around the world. We thought they looked good, so my mom and I made them...and liked them ever since!"

Italian Jam Cookies
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 cup flaked coconut
jam (raspberry, apricot, or blackberry)

1. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in egg yolk and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add slowly to butter mixture, stirring well. Chill the dough 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Dip each ball into egg white, then roll in coconut. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and then make a small well in the center of the ball with your thumb. Fill the wells with your favorite jam.
   
4. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until slightly browned. Cool and serve.

And Michelle and Kari Krueger for Christmas Cookies (this was pure coincidence to have two Kruegers win. As we baked and judged each cookie, we didn't have any idea who submitted each recipe. Honest). They said "Our mom tried this recipe years ago and it has since become our family's favorite holiday treat. The mint candy sets it apart from other chocolate cookies and the bright sprinkles give it a distinctive festive appearance."

Christmas Cookies
3/4 cups butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 tabelspoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 lb Andes mintes
Colored sprinkles

1. In a large heavy saucepan over low heat, heat butter, sugar, and water until melted. Add chocolate pieces and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into large mixing bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to cool slightly.
2. Add eggs, flour, and baking soda. Beat just until blended. Chill dough 1 hour.
3. Roll into balls and bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and place an Andes mint on each cookie when hot; immediately swirl mint over cookie. Add sprinkles.
   

Enjoy!

Winners, please send us an email with your desired prize. Click here to see the prizes.

Symphony Bar Fudge

In my family, fudge = Christmas. We might go through up to three 9 x 13 pans of it, what with all the pieces passed out to neighbors, friends, extended family, and co-workers. Not to mention how much we consume in my own family...it's almost frightening. In a good way.

This recipe isn't my mom's fudge (that will come at a later date), but it's quite nearly as good and almost ridiculously simple to make. You don't need a candy thermometer or fancy chocolate- just a few symphony bars, a sturdy wooden spoon, and a strong arm.

Symphony Bar Fudge
Recipe from an unknown source
Pictures by Caroline

4 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
3 jumbo symphony bars
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)
1 cup butter
1 cup marshmallows

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine chocolate, butter and marshmallows. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, add sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil on medium high heat; once boiling reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove sugar mixture from heat and pour into the bowl with the chocolate, butter, and marshmallows. Stir vigorously until everything has melted together. Add the toffee and stir until combined.
4. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with parchment paper and spread evenly. Let cool about 10 minutes, then place in refrigerator until solid, 4-5 hours. Cut and serve.

Penne with Beef and Arugula

This is simple, yet delicious. And I'm sure in the next few weeks, you'll have reason to want something both fast enough for a weeknight, but elegant enough for dinner guests.

Cook this steak to your preferred degree of done-ness. I like it red as red can be, but knowing that not everyone likes their beef still mooing, I usually go for medium/medium-rare. Also, the original recipe calls for arugula, but as it can be expensive and hard to find at this time of year, we used spinach instead.

Penne with Beef and Arugula
Recipe adapted from Everyday Pasta
Pictures by Caroline

2 New York strip steaks, about 8 ounces each
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach or arugula

1. Rub the steak with salt and pepper, herbes de Provence, and the minced garlic. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook the steaks for about 5 minutes per side, or until outside is browned and inside is still pink (or red, if you prefer; remember that the steak will keep cooking after you take it off the heat, so pull it off just before you think it's actually done). Let cool about 5 minutes, then slice the steaks into thin pieces.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water (this is very important!).
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, basil, pasley, and 3/4 cup olive oil.
4. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with half the vinegar mixture and the drained pasta water. Add meat and spinach (or arugula). Add more dressing, salt and pepper, as desired.

Biscuit-Topped Chicken Potpie

When I was a kid and my mom didn't have time to make a real dinner for us, she would occasionally throw some packaged potpies in the oven. They had a deliciously flaky crust, perfectly salty gravy, and not much resembling real vegetables or meat. I loved them. But the thought of eating one of those today makes my stomach curl (I'm not big on the trans-fats these days...). My alternative is this "potpie" with real vegetables and no pie crust...it's actually more like a stew with biscuits baked on top. It's the perfect sitting-at-home-in-a-snow-storm meal.
This recipe is fairly fast and definitely easy. And you probably already have all the ingredients for it on hand. The topping is made simpler by using a biscuit mix rather than from scratch. But if you don't have any bisquick on hand (like I didn't today), you can make the topping from a regular biscuit recipe like this one that I used (which explains why my topping looks more like real biscuits. If you follow the recipe below exactly, your topping will be smoother on top). Either way, you, your spouse, your parents, your neighbor next door, and even your kids will love it. This is comfort food at its best.

Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe very very loosely adapted from Cooking Light October 2006
Pictures by Kelly

Filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped (or 1 cup pearl onions, whole)
2 medium sized potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped*
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables**
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (3/4 tsp fresh)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch backing dish.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme; saute 2 minutes. Add potatoes, saute 4 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to soften.
3. Stir in chicken, mixed vegetables, salt, and pepper. Cook 2 minutes.
4. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, whisking until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and milk to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, until liquid has thickened.
5. Pour vegetable mixture into 9 x 13 in pan.

*As always, I like to broil my chicken. It doesn't matter how you cook it for this recipe as long as it's done most of the way through when you add it to the vegetable mixture.
**If you don't have a mixture of frozen vegetables, use a mixture of fresh. I used 3 carrots, 1 green pepper, and some frozen peas and green beans in mine.

Biscuit:
1 1/4 cups biscuit mix (like Bisquick)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

1. In a medium bowl, combine baking mix, milk and egg. Stir just until combined (there may still be a few lumps in the batter).
2. Spoon batter evenly over chicken mixture. Spread as evenly as possible, though you may have a few "holes" where the biscuit will spread. Bake for 20 or until topping is golden and filling is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

There's lemon and then there's lemon. This is the latter. A good lemon dessert should make you go weak at the knees, and this one does not disappoint. It might even be almost as good as the perfect lemon tart.

To spread the meringue "decoratively" over the pie (as the recipe suggests), take a rubber spatula and smooth the meringue over the entire pie. Then gently press the spatula into the meringue and lift up, leaving small peaks behind. If your meringue isn't quite as stiff, your peaks will tip slightly, as you seen my did.

If you've ever made a pie with meringue, you know that it's in its nature to "weep," or slowly loose volume as the sugar begins to dissolve into a syrup. I've tried every "no fail" trick I've been able to find (room-temperature eggs, cold eggs, adding corn starch, chilling the bowl, etc), and still my meringue weeps. And shrinks, too. So don't be alarmed if your pie has a weeping, shrinking meringue; you've done nothing wrong. Hopefully one day in the future I'll be able to post some tips to making a perfect meringue, but for now, this one will have to suffice. I'm sure you'll manage to enjoy it nonetheless.

Lemon Meringue Pie
Recipe adapted from Gourmet January 2008
Pictures by Caroline

For Crust
Use a store bought crust to simplify things or try this recipe.

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick shell all over with a fork, then chill 30 minutes.
2. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shell until bottom and side are golden, about 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350°F.

For Filling:
5 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1. Whisk together yolks in a small bowl.
2. In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually add water and milk, whisking until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently as mixture begins to thicken.
   
3. Remove from heat and gradually whisk about 1 cup milk mixture into yolks, then whisk yolk mixture into remaining milk mixture (this will prevent the eggs from cooking too quickly, leaving you with nasty looking scrambled bits).
   
4. Add lemon zest and juice and simmer, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until incorporated. Cover surface with wax paper to keep hot.

For meringue
5 large egg whites, at room temperature 30 minutes
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 superfine granulated sugar

1. Beat whites with cream of tartar and salt using an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks.
   
2. Increase speed to high and add superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until meringue just holds stiff, glossy peaks.

To assemble pie:

1. Pour hot filling into warm pie shell and gently shake to smooth top. Spread meringue decoratively over hot filling, covering filling completely.
2. Immediately bake until meringue is golden-brown, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, 2 to 3 hours. Chill until serving.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Sometimes Caroline and I get together and cook on Tuesday nights so we can watch the Biggest Loser while we eat. Usually we prepare a full course meal complete with meat, vegetables, and a sumptuous dessert. But we're watching the Biggest Loser- people exercising to the point of exhaustion and eating healthy, super low-fat meals while we chow down on chocolate fudge torte! Talk about guilt! So tonight being the second to last episode, we decided we should eat something a little more health-conscious. Aside from the 2 different types of cookies we made, tonight's meal was a low-fat, gluten free, vegetarian success.


I was initially wary of the apples in this soup. But it actually creats a subtle sweetness that completments the nutmeg-y butternut. Serve as a light main course with a green salad and french bread.


Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Recipe adapted from health.com
Pictures by Caroline

1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups apple, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and chopped (about 1 large)
1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and apple; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add squash, sage, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; stir 30 seconds or until well-combined. Add broth, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 minutes or until squash and vegetables are tender.
2. Place half of squash mixture in blender with about 1/4 cup evaporated milk. Remove center of blender lid (to let steam escape); secure lid. Place clean towel over opening to avoid splatters; blend until smooth. Pour into bowl. Repeat with remaining squash and evaporated milk.
3. Pour blended squash back into saucepan and heat on medium. Serve with a scoop of sour cream or sprinkle of nutmeg.