Melting Snowman Cookies

I feel like now that we are at least past Halloween I can start posting some holiday treats.  It just doesn't feel right to do it before then.  



I made these last year and they were an absolute hit, and SO stinkin easy.

What you'll need:


Sugar cookie dough (you can make it, or buy it)
Marshmallows
Sugar cookie frosting (make or buy, I bought mine because this was a school night project)
Decorator icing in different colors, you need black and orange for sure.



So, bake your cookies according to the directions, but make them a little misshapen when you put them on the pan.


After they have cooled, put your frosting on, making it drizzle down the edge a bit like it is snow melting.


Pop your marshmallows on a plate and microwave them for like 2-3 seconds.  You just need to be able to mash them a tiny bit so they don't need long.


Affix them to the top of the cookie, using your icing as glue.


Then, decorate with faces, scarves and hands!

Boston Baked Beans

Last fathers day my mother-in-law called over to the house and asked my husband what we wanted to bring to the picnic.  He said "Katie will make baked beans".

Um. Hello, I've never MADE baked beans.  I think those take a while to do!  And, this phone call was literally ON Fathers Day. So, I had about two hours to come up with "homemade" baked beans.

I managed to come up with something that everyone raved about, thanks to All Recipes, and some cheating.  Everyone loved the beans so much that I felt it was only right if I actually made them the right way the next time.

So, the second time I made them was for another family get together and even though I baked those damn beans in the oven for 12 hours (after soaking them of course), they were HARD and I made a freaking mess all over my oven because you have to keep adding water and it all spattered and well, not cool.

The third time I made them was this past weekend.  Slow cooker = life saver.  They cooked for 28 HOURS!  But they were very yummy.

Here is a photo of the third batch.  Nice deep reddish brown color, just like they are supposed to look.



At the end of the day though, I kind of liked the cheat beans the best!  But, everyone raved about the last batch I made so here are the recipes for both.

Boston Baked Beans, the right way... sorta.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups navy beans, dry
• 1 pound bacon
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 8 tablespoons molasses
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Rinse the navy beans and remove any rocks.  No one wants to eat rocks.

Pour beans in the slow cooker and cover with water.  Let them sit overnight.

In the morning drain the beans.

Take some scissors to your raw bacon and just slice it in small chunks and toss it in the slowcooker raw along with the onions.  You can cook it before hand, but it'll cook in 28 hours, trust me and it saves cleaning dishes.

Mix the molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar in a bowl and pour over the beans.

Pour in as much water as your slow cooker will hold.

Turn the slow cooker on high for about 5 - 8 hours, then turn it on low for the rest of the time (it'll go overnight).  Cook for 24 to 28 hours, or until your beans are nice and tender.  Check the beans from time to time as you may need to add a bit more water to prevent burning - I did twice.

Boston Baked Beans, the cheaters way.


Six cans (16 ounces each) of canned navy beans, rinsed.
1 pound of cooked bacon, chopped.
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

Pour your beans in a very large baking dish  Layer your bacon and onions on top.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a pot on the stove until the sugar dissolves.  Pour over the beans

Bake in the oven at 350 four about 45 minutes, or until everything is heated through.

Sweet potato side

I always have spice packets in my house, always.  They come in handy in so many ways when I am making dinner on the fly.  Onion soup packets are a favorite of mine and they make this side dish heaven, it's perfect along side a perfect roast chicken.




Even with my horrible photography skills, don't they look heavenly?


What you need:


About 2lbs of sweet potatoes, peeled cut into 1" cubes.


A tablespoon or so of olive oil.


1 packet of onion soup mix.


Directions:


Put everything in a bag and toss.


Lay it out on a sheet pan, bake at 350 for about an hour, stirring once.

Best Roast Chicken

Have you ever tried Alton Browns turkey recipe? If you haven't, you simply must. It's better than any turkey ever. Do you hear me? e.v.e.r.

And, you can take the same recipe and apply it to a chicken - with a few minor tweaks.





So, here is the famous Alton Brown recipe.

Read it, save it, make it. You won't regret it.

The secret is in the brine.

So, here are the ingredients. Although, I like to change up the aromatics and the seasonings I put in the bring. The main points you need are the salt, sugar and stock in the brine. Whatever else you add to it is up to you and the flavor you want. I keep the brine simple for the chicken, it doesn't need much.

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

For the aromatics:

• 3 lemons, cut in half.
• 1 bunch of rosemary.
• 1 cup water
• Canola oil

First, thaw the chicken in the fridge.

Combine the brine ingredients in a stock pot. Bring to a boil and then allow to cool in the fridge.

I have a small cooler that I place my chicken in, and then cover with the brine mixture. The cooler fits in my fridge (it's like one of those little Ocsar type ones) This is why I don't have a need for the ice water from Alton's recipe - I let my mixture completely chill in the fridge and I don't have a need for extra liquid.

So, place the chicken in the cooler first (don't forget to remove the gizzards & neck first) and then pour the brine over it.

Let that sit for 6-8 hours. It doesn't need to go any longer or you'll have a salty bird. You can probably get away with 4.

Take the chicken out of the brine, rinse it off and pat it dry. Place on a roasting rack. Make a shield out of foil for the breast section and set aside (see the how to video here)

Stuff with aromatics.

Tuck wings under and coat the bird with canola oil.

Stick an oven safe thermometer in the thickest part of the bird.

Roast at 475 for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover the breast of the chicken with foil breast plate you made earlier.

Reduce the oven to 375 and roast until the thermometer reaches 170 degrees at the thickest part of the meat.

As a general rule it takes about 20 minutes per pound but it really is best to use a meat thermometer. Once you take the chicken out of the oven the temperature will continue to rise to closer to 180 and the juices will settle.

I know it seems like a lot of work for a chicken, but trust me it is SOOOO worth the effort.  A few hours work on this and you'll be able to transform it into a few meals, like this or this or maybe it's a little chilly and you need this.  Or, Monday night when you're beat and it's bath night and you have 5 minutes to prepare dinner, you could make this or this or this.   Happy cooking!

Chocolate Pumpkin Biscotti

My first attempt making biscotti and holy cow that was easy! I cannot believe I've ever paid nearly a dollar a piece for these things at coffee shops. Never again! I found this lovely fall version on Simply Recipes and because I've never made biscotti I didn't get brave so no alterations. Well, other than I used crystallized ginger because that's what I had. Oh, yeah, and the chocolate. They looked lonely without chocolate. I just melted some in a double boiler and spread over the tops of my biscotti. I threw them in the fridge to set.



It is not too early for Christmas. Ever.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• Pinch of ginger
• Pinch of cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices into a large bowl.

2 In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Give it a rough stir to generally incorporate the ingredients, the dough will be crumbly.

3 Flour your hands and a clean kitchen surface and lightly knead the dough. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Form the dough into a large log, roughly about 15-20 inches by 6-7 inches. The loaves should be relatively flat, only about 1/2 inch high. Bake for 22-30 minutes at 350 F, until the center is firm to the touch. (Feel free to also form two smaller logs for cute two-bite biscotti; just cut the baking time to 18-24 minutes.)

So, when they say "log" they are using the term very loosely. Actually, I think they don't want people to know to make biscotti so they can continue to charge $1 a cookie. By log they really mean a rounded, 1/2" thick, rectangle. Like so:

Ignore my baking pan, it's been loved... a lot. This is after the first baking process so you can see how to cut the biscotti too, on a bias.

4 Let biscotti cool for 15 minutes and then using a serrated knife cut into 1 inch wide pieces. Turn the oven to 300 F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Biscotti may be still a tad moist and chewy, so if you prefer it crisp let it sit uncovered overnight in a dry space. Serve and enjoy.

Makes approximately 15 cookies.

Cranberry Sauce

We had an early Thanksgiving at the in-laws yesterday and my mother-in-law made the BEST cranberry sauce ever. If you still serve yours out of the can, cutting along the indentations, you need to stop. Just stop. Collaborate and Listen. Just kidding. But seriously, please don't plop the canned stuff out onto your Thanksgiving table next to the perfectly cooked Turkey and yummy walnut topped sweet potatoes. Just don't do it. They are SO easy to do.

2 cups orange juice
2 cups sugar
2 bags of cranberries (I believe they are 12 ounces)

Wash and rinse the cranberries. Combine the sugar and orange juice in a pot until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries and cook over medium heat until the cranberries pop. My mother-in-law brings hers to a boil and then removes from the heat. Pour into your serving dish and allow to cool in the refrigerator. They will set as they cool.

I'll post my weekly meal plan later this evening.