Christmas Goodies

I've always wanted to make baskets of homemade goodies as gifts for Christmas, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and do it this year. I may have gone a little overboard, though, as I made 5 baskets each with 6 different items over the course of 3 long, tiring days in the kitchen. But after a few burnt fingers and a couple of sink-fulls of dirty pots, the results were worth it. The food looked and tasted pretty good, the process was fun, and I even had help from John along the way.

The baskets included almond crunch (my favorite), chocolate-covered pretzels, peppermint bark, fudge, Chex muddy buddies, and sugar cookies. Below is the recipe for the first 5...the sugar cookies were not my favorite, so I won't pass on that recipe.

If you decide to make some of these for your own holiday enjoyment, have fun...but pace yourself!!

Hazelnut (or Almond) Crunch

(When I went to the store, I couldn't get hazelnuts, so I made mine with almonds instead)

recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on foodnetwork.com


1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts (or almonds)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda


Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the sugar, water, light corn syrup, and dark corn syrup in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 260 degrees F, about 20 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Mix in the hazelnuts, butter, and salt (the mixture will be thick and nutty), and cook until the thermometer registers 295 degrees F, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Quickly stir in the baking soda.

Immediately pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it as thinly as possible. Let stand until hard.

Break the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

Really no recipe here...melt some chocolate chips (or use melting chocolate to save yourself some hassle), dip pretzels until coated, and let cool on wax paper.

Peppermint Bark

recipe from bettycrocker.com

1 package (16 ounces) vanilla-flavored candy coating (almond bark), broken into pieces
24 hard peppermint candies or about 10-12 candy canes

Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper, aluminum foil or cooking parchment paper. Place candy coating in 8-cup microwavable measure or 2-quart microwavable casserole. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until almost melted. Stir until smooth.

Place peppermint candies in heavy plastic bag; crush with rolling pin or bottom of small heavy saucepan. Pour crushed candies into wire strainer. Shake strainer over melted coating until all of the tiniest candy pieces fall into the coating; reserve the larger candy pieces. Stir coating to mix evenly.

Spread coating evenly on cookie sheet. Sprinkle evenly with remaining candy pieces. Let stand about 1 hour or until cool and hardened. Break into pieces.

Fantasy Fudge

(found on back of Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar or on kraftfoods.com)

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
1-1/2 pkg. (12 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 cup chopped walnuts (...I omitted these)
1 tsp. vanilla

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Place sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until completely melted. Add walnuts (if desired) and vanilla; mix well.

Pour immediately into prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1-inch squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Chex Muddy Buddies

found on the back of Chex cereal boxes

9 cups Corn Chex, Rice Chex, or Wheat Chex (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on high 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container .

A Real Southern Meal

Though I was born and raised in the South, my cooking style doesn't tend to follow traditional Southern meals. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy them! So, last Thursday, John and I had some family over to watch the Saints Thursday night game, and we decided to cook gumbo and bread pudding. Unfortunately, the game didn't turn out as great as the meal (...it seems to be a trend...maybe I need to stop serving food during football games!). We're not very good as measuring, so the recipe may not be very exact - but half the fun of cooking is using your own creativity!

Crawfish & Sausage Gumbo

(adapted from recipes from gumbocity.com)

1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 white onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped & liquid reserved
1 1/2 cups okra, sliced
5 cups chicken stock
1 lb crawfish
1 1/2 pounds sausage (we used andouille)
Cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
fresh parsley
fresh thyme
fresh basil
salt, pepper, & Tony's seasoning


First, you need to make the roux. Add the oil to a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Slowly and gradually whisk in the flour, stirring constantly.


Keep stirring - constantly - as the roux darkens to a light brown. This may take about 20 minutes or so. As the color darkens, the flavor will develop...just be careful not to burn it or it will not be usable. (If it smells burnt or you see black specks in the roux, it's burnt.)


Right before you get it to the color you want, turn off the heat and add the celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. This will help keep the roux from cooking further.


Turn the heat back on low and let the veggies cook a bit; then add the stewed tomatoes (with the liquid) and the chicken stock. Add the okra, sausage, and the herbs & seasonings and let cook for about 20-30 minutes on low.

Add the crawfish and more seasoning, if needed. Let cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve immediately, or allow to cool and put in refrigerator overnight. Serve with white rice.




Bread Pudding

Use this recipe as a base and make it your own by adding to the bread pudding (chunks of chocolate, blueberries, raisins, raspberries, etc.) or by mixing up the sauces. We actually made this twice during this week...once with white chocolate sauce and then again with blueberries added to the bread pudding and topped with a praline sauce...so I'm including both sauce recipes. Mix and match - almost anything goes!

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
6 cups bread cubes
1/2 cup pecans , roughly chopped

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and side 8x8 pan.

Mix all ingredients except bread cubes and pecans in large bowl until well blended. Stir in bread cubes. Let mixture stand 30 minutes to 1 hour, gently mixing occasionally to ensure all the bread is moistened.

Spoon into pan. Arrange pecans on top of pudding.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm, drizzled with one of the sauce recipes below. Refrigerate any remaining pudding.

White Chocolate Sauce

8 oz. white chocolate
3 oz. heavy cream

Stir white chocolate in a sauce pan over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and mix in heavy cream. Serve immediately.

Praline Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine butter and evaporated milk in small sauce pan over low heat. When the butter is melted, gradually stir in brown sugar.

Continue stirring until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened. Stir in vanilla extract. Serve immediately.

Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Sauce

Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce

At least the food was good...

The last home game of this year's LSU football season was against Ole Miss. Though the game wasn't a good one for LSU fans, we had a great time tailgating. The weather was beautiful but cold - a perfect opportunity to make a big pot of my white bean chicken chili to warm everyone up!

I'm always skeptical when I serve food to a bunch of other people because I am hesitant to believe them when they say it's good...I mean, it's not like they are going to tell you that it was awful, right? But I was asked for the recipe afterward, so I'm taking that as a good sign. Unfortunately, there isn't exactly a "recipe" I follow...I've taken what I like best of a few different chili recipes and tuned them to my personal tastes. I've tried to write down what I do, but it's definitely not as specific as a recipe in a cookbook! Hopefully, it will be a good guide, and others can adjust it to their own preferences.

White Bean Chicken Chili

1.5 to 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 green bell pepper
1 white or yellow onion
about 3-4 garlic cloves (more or less depending on how much you like garlic!)
1 carton or 2-3 cans of reduced sodium chicken broth
3 cans of white beans (I use great northern beans because they're easy to find)
2 cans of chopped green chilies (4 oz each...usually by the Mexican food)
1 lime
fresh cilantro
ground cumin
dried oregano

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook about the chicken over medium-high heat with a little bit of oil. When cooked, let cool, then shred by hand or with a fork.

Meanwhile, cook the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large stock pot with a little bit of oil. Season with a little salt, pepper, cumin, and a bit of oregano. Cook until the pepper and onion are somewhat tender but not too soft.

Drain the liquid from half the cans of beans and chilies. Add the beans, chilies and the remaining liquid to the pot. Add the cooked shredded chicken. Cook for a minute or so to heat.

Add the chicken stock - use more or less depending on how "soupy" you want it but remember that it will cook down a little bit.

Add the zest and juice from the lime and more cumin, pepper, and oregano to taste (but go easy on the oregano). Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat. Add cilantro to taste. You can serve right away, but the flavors come together better if you let it cook on low, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

If you need or want to thicken the liquid, take out a ladle of liquid and put in a separate bowl. Add about a tablespoon of flour and whisk until the flour is completely mixed in and there are no lumps. Add this mixture back to the pot.

Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese (and more fresh cilantro if desired).

My kitchen for the day

Some of my willing guinea pigs...

Mom

The boys

Dinner for One

I absolutely love eggplant. Unfortunately, my husband does not. So, everytime John goes out of town, I cook myself a simple eggplant pasta. It's nothing fancy, and I don't follow a recipe - I usually just buy an eggplant and use whatever else I happen to have on hand in the fridge and pantry. It's a quick dish to cook because, let's face it, who wants to slave over the stove all night when no one else is there to enjoy the outcome? Last week, John went out of town for a conference. Though I was not looking forward to a weekend alone, I was definitely looking forward to my eggplant pasta!!

(You'll have to excuse my pictures - I took them with my phone since John had the camera with him while traveling.)

Eggplant Pasta

(mmmm...eggplant!!)

Be creative...use whatever you like or whatever you have on hand. I usually keep it simple with a chunky tomato sauce.

Chop the eggplant into small cubes and mince some garlic (a must for me), and throw it in the pan with a little olive oil. The eggplant will start to turn somewhat translucent as it cooks.

Then, rough chop some tomatoes - I had roma & cherry tomatoes on hand, and they worked out great. Throw them in the pan, lower the heat, and let it all simmer for a while.

Meanwhile, cook some pasta - any type. Personally, I'm a fan of penne.

Serve with a little bit of parmesan cheese on top and a glass of wine (because you're by yourself, after all), and - voila! - a quick and easy dinner for one!

Una Bella Notte

I decided to start this blog with an old dinner but one of my favorites. I've been fortunate enough to visit Italy a few times, and among the numerous amazing dishes I've enjoyed there, gnocchi has been a favorite of John's and mine. Gnocchi (pronounced differently by practically everyone, but the way I heard it in Italy is "NYOH-kee") is a potato dumpling that is so soft and delicious that many people don't even realize it's potato and not pasta. It can be served with almost any type of sauce, though our favorite was a gorgonzola sauce we had in a small trattoria in Rome.

Gnocchi can be a somewhat involved dish, so for our first attempt earlier this summer, we took our potato ricer over to a friend's house for an Italian-themed cooking night. It was a fun night, and I think the gnocchi turned out really great for a first attempt. We made two sauces to try - a simple tomato sauce and a four-cheese sauce. (The four-cheese sauce was easily the winner, so I'll just include that recipe.) It is key to serve the gnocchi right away to keep the right texture & consistency.

(both recipes from cookingwithpatty.com)

Gnocchi:

2 lbs - 2 oz. whole baking potatoes

1 beaten egg

2-1/4 cups flour

a pinch of salt

1. Boil the potatoes whole with the skin in salted water until cooked.

2. Once cooked drain the potatoes and then peel them being careful not to burn yourself.

3. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and into a bowl.

4. Add the flour, egg and a good pinch of salt.

5. Mix until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.

6. Prepare a work area and dust it with flour.

7. Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.

8. Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long.

9. With a fork, holding the tines against the work surface, use your finger to press a piece of dough gently against the fork and roll it slightly then letting it fall to the table.

10. The result should be gnocchi with an indent on one side from your finger and a pattern on the other side from the fork.

11. Handle the gnocchi carefully so they don't loose their shape. Place them on lightly floured plates. Keep them apart so they don't touch one another, or they'll stick together.

12. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and then add the gnocchi carefully a plate or two at a time. When they float to the surface they are ready - just remove them with a slotted spoon and set them in a strainer to drain off the excess water.

13. Add more gnocchi to the water and serve the others right away.

Four Cheese Sauce:

1/4 cup creamy Italian gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup cubed Fontina cheese
1/4 cup Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated Italian parmesan
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Just before you put the gnocchi in the boiling water, melt all the other ingredients in a nonstick sauce pan over a medium-low heat. If it gets dry, add a little bit of milk.

2. Add the cooked gnocchi to the cheese in the pan. Combine well and serve immediately.

It all starts with a bunch of potatoes

The fun part...ricing the potatoes

The uncooked gnocchi

Cooking the sauces