Christmas Dinner

Sunday, December 27, 2009


Every year my family's dinner for Christmas is a fancy prime rib dinner. Well, this year we decided to stay home for Christmas dinner (long story). So we decided to continue on the tradition. However, thinking we didn't need a huge 7-8 pound roast, we bought a 2-3 pound. Upon inspection, we realized that it was too small to roast, so we cut it in half and had a nice rib-eye steak dinner. Just as fabulous!!! We served it with a creamy gorgonzola sauce, Cheddar bacon smashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was divine!!!



Cheddar Bacon Smashed Potatoes

5 lbs potatoes, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced.

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cube butter, melted

1 cup sour cream

1 lb crisp bacon, crumbled – reserve some to sprinkle on top

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated – reserve some to sprinkle on top

1 bunch green onions, chopped – reserve some to sprinkle on top

Boil together potatoes and garlic until tender. Mash. Add remaining ingredients. Put into casserole dish. Sprinkle top with bacon, cheese, and onions. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes. Serve.


***I halved the recipe, cooked it in a 9 x 9 pan.

Roasted Asparagus

1 TBSP Olive Oil

2 pounds asparagus spears, ends trimmed

Kosher salt and ground pepper

Parmesean Cheese, finely grated


Line asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Roll asparagus to coat evenly. Bake at 400˚for 10-15 minutes. After removing from oven, sprinkle with Parmesean Cheese.


Gorgonzola Sauce

1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced


Bring the heavy cream and garlic to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 10-20 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.



Holiday Cookies & Candy...

Thursday, December 17, 2009

We had a great time at our Holiday Cookie & Candy Swap! We all went home with lots of delicious treats & recipes! Here are a few that we sampled...

Pecan Tassies
(Kristen Healy)

Crust:

1 C. margarine

1/2 C. Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

2 C. flour

Mix the above ingredients and roll into small balls. Put into mini muffin tins and smash down with your thumb or a pastry press to create a tart. Fill with filling about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for about 15 mins.

Filling:

2 eggs

1 1/2 C Brown Sugar

2 TB melted butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1 C finely chopped pecans







Pretzel Hugs

(Natalie Cheney)


1/2 bag pretzels (about 80) the square snyder's grid looking ones work the best
1 bag of herseys hugs
m&m's

line pretzels on baking sheet and place a hug in the middle of each one. Place in oven at 200 degrees for about 5-6 minutes. They should just be shiny not melted.

Remove from oven and squish an m&m down into the hug . Place in fridge for awhile to let harden. Enjoy!


Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies

(Jeanne Booth)


1 cup butter, softened

17 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided

1 (13 ounce) package Rolo candies

4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, melted


In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy, forming a ball. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans; dip each cookie halfway. Place nut side up 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.