A Christmas Feast

 

Before the year ends, I thought I would share our Christmas feast with you. 

We have Christmas Eve dinner at our house with my husband’s family.  The above picture shows the turkey and gravy, rolls, cranberry salad, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, ham, Nuts ‘N’ Bolts and Holiday M&Ms. 

AHH! I forgot to take a picture of the cranberry salad.  It’s really pretty.  It’s basically Paula Deen’s recipe with a Nana twist.  Here is Paula’s recipe.  Nana adds a larger can of crushed pineapple.  It’s probably about 15 oz. or so.  I don’t know if doing it this way will work in a mold, but it looks lovely in a crystal dish. 

I couldn’t get a good picture of my turkey, but it looked almost as good as Nigella’s from her book Nigella Christmas.

My husband’s family is more of a ham family, but this turkey went over extremely well.  I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Super Juicy and Spiced Turkey.  I don’t think I will ever use another recipe.  Brining the turkey really does make all the difference.  The turkey was sooo moist and flavorful.  It got rave reviews from my Father-In-Law, who doesn’t really like turkey.  So thank you Nigella. 

I also made Nigella’s All Spice Gravy.  I actually boiled a turkey neck.  It looked so disgusting, but smelled heavenly.  The gravy was good, but I think it was barely used because the turkey was so moist, the dressing was so flavorful and the potatoes were so buttery.  Oh, well, there’s always leftovers to drown in gravy.

Pioneer Woman’s Mashed Potatoes were also a hit.  “These mashed potatoes are so creamy.”  So good!      

 

This recipe for dressing is made in the crock-pot.  I finished mine off in the microwave just to get rid of some of the moisture that was left.  Don’t worry, it was still incredibly moist.  I think I could eat this all year long.  I think I may just do that. 

Crock-Pot Dressing

3-4 cups shredded turkey or chicken (optional)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 quarts corn bread, crumbled

2 tablespoons dried sage

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup melted margarine

3-4 cups turkey or chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients in the bowl of a 6 quart crock-pot.  Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

We also had a nice display of sweets.  No pictures though, sorry.  It’s really hard to take pictures when everyone, including the photographer/cook is starving.  But here’s what we had: Nigella’s Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake, Banana Pudding, Pumpkin Pie, fruit cake, and Mocha Punch.

Mocha Punch is a Christmas necessity.  It is requested every year.  Bring this out for your next special occasion and you will be praised.  Again, no pictures of it, but imagine a slightly melted milk shake.  You’ll love it!

Thanks to Nigella’s fantastic turkey recipe, I’m taking part in this month’s Forever Nigella, Christmas Presence, hosted this month by Sarah of Maison Cupcake. 

A reminder of the rules:

Forever Nigella #10 ”Christmas Presence”

Challenge: To prepare and blog any Nigella recipe during the Christmas period. Ideally it will be Christmassy but I’m not fussy.
Deadline: December 31st 2011 at midnight wherever you are.
Winner announcement: Within a week, to be added to the Forever Nigella page.

There are:
No rules about how often you must take part
No rules about stuff being secret until certain dates
No rules that everyone cook exactly the same thing
No rules about not being able to submit to any other blog events – just check it doesn’t contravene the other guys’ rules

But there are 3 rules:
1. Blog your entry by the deadline including:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to the current host (ME)
c) a link to the official Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

2. So not to breach Nigella’s copyright you must NOT reproduce recipes verbatim as shown in her books. If using an original Nigella recipe, tell us which book it is from and/or where we find it online (see most likely sites below). If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write the directions in your own words.

3. Tell us about your post by adding it to the Linky Tool below! I have made this into a Blog Hop so feel free to post the script at the bottom of your post to encourage your readers to visit the other entries. If you can’t see the linky below it’s because I’ve never done one before and I’ve stuffed it up. Nag me and I’ll sort it out.

Don’t forget to tweet your post with the hashtag #forevernigella – I will retweet all those I see!

Enjoy your Nigella Christmas presence!

Forever Nigella: Iced Dreams

 

Summer is hot and that means ice cream is a freezer necessity.  I love that this month’s Forever Nigella theme, host by Soul Curry, is “iced dreams”.  We’re challenged to create one of Nigella’s cold desserts.  It took me most of the month to decide what I wanted to do, but after seeing this picture I was hooked:

(Source)

Nigella has here given us her version of Cheesecake Ice Cream sandwiched between two digestive biscuits.  Digestives are very similar to graham crackers, although not as thin.  In Britain, they are used to make the crust for cheesecakes as we do with graham crackers here in the States.  You can find Digestives at World Market and other stores that sell international foods.  Of course, if you can’t find them, plain graham crackers crumbled into the ice cream would be delicious as Nigella suggests doing when she gives the recipe here:

Nigella Lawson’s Cheesecake Ice Cream

This has all the goodness of cheesecake with the cool, creaminess that only ice cream can deliver.  It makes about a quart of ice cream.  I store my ice cream in plastic take-out containers.  Pioneer Woman has a little post about these containers.  These babies really come in handy. 

If you’re planning on making these sandwiches, it’s a good idea to make them, then return to the freezer to harden a little.  Otherwise, when you take a bite the ice cream will ooze out all around.

One other note on Digestives: they are great for kids.  Liam, who isn’t quite one year especially enjoys them.  They are yum!  You can also find them dipped in chocolate.  Those are certainly worth searching for; you’ll thank me later.

(We have a nice coincidence here; today is National Cheesecake Day.  I celebrated without realizing!)

Forever Nigella Rules:

The current theme is “Iced Dreams” runs until Sunday July 31st. The current host is Arthi at Soul Curry. For more details read the current announcement post.

A reminder of the rules:

Forever Nigella #7 “Iced Dreams”Challenge:

To prepare and blog any Nigella recipe for a chilled or iced dessert. Not just ice cream, any dessert served ice cold will do!
Deadline: Sunday, July 31st 2011 at midnight wherever you are.
Round up: By the next weekend.

There are:

• No rules about how often you must take part
• No rules about stuff being secret until certain dates
• No rules that everyone cook exactly the same thing
• No rules about not being able to submit to any other blog events – just check it doesn’t contravene the other guys’ rules

But there are 3 rules:
1. Blog your entry by the deadline including:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to the current host
c) a link to the official Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

2. So not to breach Nigella’s copyright you must NOT reproduce recipes verbatim as shown in her books. If using an original Nigella recipe, tell us which book it is from and/or where we find it online (see most likely sites below). If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write the directions in your own words.

3. Tell us about your post by emailing the current host at “debugcookingATgmailDOTcom”  and c.c. to “sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com” with:
a) your name
b) URL of your post
c) a photo no more than 300 pixels wide.

Don’t forget to tweet your post with the hashtag #forevernigella – I will retweet all those I see!

N.B. Your entry must have been published since the announcement post. You may only submit something from your archives if you republish it as a new post.

If you don’t have any Nigella books check out these resources online:

Nigella’s official site: http://www.nigella.com/
BBC Food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/nigella_lawson
Channel 4 Food: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-chefs/nigella-lawson-recipes
UKTV Good Food Channel: http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530864/
Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-lawson/index.html
Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nigella+Lawson

 

Linked to Made It On Monday and Polly Want A Crafter?.

Tinker Bell Birthday Party

 

This weekend we celebrated Sophie’s 3rd birthday.  It became obvious to me a few months ago that Sophie’s obsession with Tinker Bell would provide the perfect theme for this party.  Our colors were Lime and Lavender to match just about every Tinker Bell item Sophie owns.   It was so much fun to plan!

We had the challenge of turning our church fellowship room into “Pixie Hollow”.  First let me show you “the backdrop”.  I had originally dreamt up something different, but it wasn’t going to work out.  My sister-in-law, Leigh, whipped this backdrop up the morning of the party to give a nice scene for opening presents.  Those are “fairy lights” aka white Christmas lights leftover from our wedding (they are used elsewhere too), a blue sheet and purple and green tulle tied with ribbon.  Leigh used thumbtacks to hold everything up.  This turned out so much nicer than what I had planned.

Hanging above is a “wreath-a-lier” that I made.  It is a Styrofoam wreath form (14”) with crepe paper roses hot glued all over and hung with ivory ribbon.  Don’t ask me how many roses! This was definitely a labor of love.  I wish you could all see it in person as these pictures do not do it justice.  Good news is that I can use it to decorate for spring, so we will get a lot of miles out of this thing.

To use as table centerpieces, I bought six of these little $1 birdhouses from Jo-Ann’s Fabric.  Then I painted them brown and hot glued green Spanish Moss, also from Jo-Ann’s, to the roofs.  On three of them I made “Fairies Welcome” signs made from stuff from my yard.  The other three I left blank.  And that’s scrapbook paper they are sitting on. Now that the party is over, I’m using the scrapbook paper to make a mini Birthday Party scrapbook using a small photo album. The kids got to take the birdhouses home along with their goodie bags.  The girls got the ones with signs and the boys got the plain ones to be “bug houses.”  I meant to stick some flowers in the moss, but left them at home.  Oh, well.

Speaking of goodie bags, here they are.  They are just brown lunch sacks that have Tinker Bell and friends printed on the front.  I can’t remember where these were bought, but I’ve seen them all over.  Behind them are more fairy lights with flowers attached. These were made by dying white coffee filters in water and food coloring.  After drying, I stacked four filters of the same color and pinched them in the middle and tied a twist tie around the pinch.  Then I fluffed the flowers and attached them to the lights with their twist ties.  It’s super easy!

The kids made necklaces with “Fairy Treasure”. 

The food table was a challenge. As you can see there is a plain brick wall behind the table.  Leigh and I hung streamers and white paper lanterns over the table.  More fairy lights grace the table behind the food.  Aside from the food I’m about to mention, we also had a fruit and veggie tray, dip and chips, and Starburst Jelly beans, which just happen to be the best jelly beans to be found on this Earth, just sayin’.

We served lemonade out of this cute dispenser bought for 6 bucks at Walmart.  It has a lovely pattern on it too, which worked well with the theme.  Behind it are the napkins I fanned into a wing pattern, don’t know if anyone noticed but it thought I was clever.  Punch cups for the adults and Tinker Bell cups and straws for the kids.  Leftover lanterns rest in a wire basket.

Our choice of cookies were Oreos, to cater to a child with nut and egg allergies, and these cute flower shaped sugar cookies made using Nigella’s recipe and Wilton’s Royal Icing in Lavender to match our theme.

I wanted to serve Tinker Bell inspired cupcakes, so I sketched a few ideas and settled on these two.  In the yellow baking cups (both ruffled baking cups made by Wilton) are Yellow Cake (from a box because I haven’t found my perfect yellow cake recipe yet).  The purple cups hold the most amazing chocolate cake ever (from Pioneer Woman).  Both are toped with That’s The Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had.  The chocolate cupcakes are iced to look like grass with purple wildflowers.  The yellow cupcakes just scream ‘Tink’ to me.  On top of the green swirl rests a pearlescent gumball from Party City.  It’s pretty and tastes good too!

I brought Sophie’s Tinker Bell costume which she had to wear for singing to her, blowing out the candles and opening presents. 

We’re blessed to have a playground at the church building, so the kids got to play.  I think they had a good time.

Sophie had a great birthday party, she’s still talking about it.  Now we just have to sit back and wait for a fairy to take up residence in our little fairy house. “Come on Tink, we’ll even share our jelly beans!”

Linked to Made It On Monday, Bear Rabbit Bear and Muffin Monday.

Dessert Wars: Go Green

March’s Dessert Wars challenge is Go Green. To celebrate St. Patty’s Day and the color green, the challenge is to create a dessert using naturally green ingredients. We must use at least one traditional dessert ingredient and at least one non-traditional ingredient.

Traditional	Non-Traditonal
Green Apples	Cucumber
Green Grapes	Green Tea
Limes	Wasabi
Pistachios	Green Chilies
Honeydew Kiwi	Basil or other green herbs
Green Pears	Soybeans/Tofu
Mint Pandan	Vegetables like Spinach or Peas
	Lemon Grass
	Green Cheese
	Avocado

My inspiration came to me in a funny way. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for this challenge. Then one day I was adding wax to my Scentsy warmer. It smelled so good, and I realized that the scent was Cucumber Lime. Perfect! Now what to make with that? I settled on a granita, something I’ve never made before, but it’s so easy I don’t know why I haven’t yet.

Granita is a Sicilian dessert with many variations. It can either be coarse and crystalline or smooth and slushy. The technique I’m giving provides the coarse texture.

Cucumber Lime Granita

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt
• zest of two limes, divided
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 2 cucumbers

Directions:

In a small saucepan, add the sugar and water. Swirl the pan to mix. Then bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes to make a thin syrup. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Now is a good time to zest and juice your limes. Then, using a peeler, peel the cucumber, cut off the ends and slice the cucumber in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds using a melon baller or a spoon. Chop the cucumber into smallish cubes until you have 2 cups.

Add to a blender the cucumber, lime juice, half the zest, salt, and 1/3 cup of syrup. Puree until it is nice and smooth. Pour into a shallow dish, cover and stick it in the freezer for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove the dish from the freezer, uncover and rake a fork through the mixture. Recover and return to the freezer for another 1-2 hours. Repeat the raking/freezing process every 1-2 hours until you are left with nothing but tiny ice crystals.

Serve in chilled glass vessels of your choice. Garnish with the remaining lime zest.

Pioneer Woman has a great step-by-step for making granitas. Check it out!

Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen.

As February’s Dessert Wars Winner, I’m not currently eligible to win any more challenges until December. But I can’t leave you without showing you what this month’s winner will receive.

The March prize package includes:

Whisk and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

Beanilla Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

Organic Valley $50 Gift Certificate

Organic Prairie $50 Gift Certificate

Theme Kitchen $50 Gift Certificate

BEKA Cookware Crepe Pan

Click here to see the Dessert Wars rules

Pizza Mia

Back in February, my husband and I went to a youth conference in Gatlinburg, TN with some teens from church. We stayed in a townhouse that weekend, so we took advantage of having a full kitchen and I cooked all our meals. Well, that’s not entirely true. I wrangled everyone into helping. That’s right, I got teen guys to cook.

Here’s the details on planning the menu. First, I had to find out if there were any food allergies or special dietary needs. We had one vegetarian, but other than that all the others said they would eat anything.

Next, I decided on meals that were easy to prepare, and could be done in an assembly line. The desserts would be easy too. A lot of the ingredients could be used in multiple dishes too. Here’s our menu:

Friday Dinner: Hamburgers/Veggie burgers with all the good stuff you want on a burger, French Fries and Mocha Pudding for dessert. (Mocha Pudding deserves it’s own post, coming soon.)

Saturday Breakfast: Omelets in a Bag, muffins, and cereal.

Saturday Lunch: Quesadillas, Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, Chips and Salsa.

Saturday Dinner: Pizza Mias, Gooey Butter Cake.

Sunday Breakfast: Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls with How Sweet Eats’ Vanilla Cream Glaze, muffins, cereal.

Before going, I made sure that I had as much prepared as possible. Meats cooked, muffins made, ingredients mixed. Hey, I didn’t want to spend the whole weekend in the kitchen. It worked out really well. I’m so proud of how organized I was. Friday night after dinner, I had everyone mix up their omelets and store in the fridge overnight. That made Saturday morning go smoothly. I was so proud of our teens. Not only did they help me out in the kitchen, but by the end of the weekend were taking the initiative in getting food ready. You don’t see that everyday. Thanks guys!

Anyway, here is a recipe that is a crowd pleaser. Nothing fancy here, just something incredibly easy that can be adjusted to your tastes and easy to serve to a large group. We call them Pizza Mias, not just because they are personal pizzas, but because the recipe was given to me by my friend Mia. Here’s what you need:

• Sub rolls
• Marinara sauce
• Your favorite pizza toppings
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese, or whatever cheese you prefer for pizza
• Aluminum foil to keep you sane

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Slice the rolls into two halves if not already sliced.

Add your sauce.

Then lay on the toppings.

Now the cheese.

Now stick it in the oven for 10 minutes or so until the cheese has melted. See how easy that was, I kinda feel goofy for spelling it all out for you, it’s such a no brainer.

Mia suggests that for a large crowd, use multiple pans so they are ready to go as soon as another comes out of the oven. She also sticks to just 3 options, cheese, peperoni, and sausage. Get an assembly line going and it couldn’t be easier!

The Best Cupcakes Ever

Unless you're new here, you'll know that I feel no shame in using a box cake mix, as long as you make your own icing. But the recipe below is worth the extra effort to make the perfect chocolate cake.

We had a baby shower for my Sister-In-Law Saturday. I made cupcakes using Pioneer Woman's recipe for "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever." I just had to let them bake a little bit longer than if it had been a sheet cake. Then I used a recipe from Tasty Kitchen called, "That's The Best Frosting I've Ever Had!" This is the frosting for people who don't like frosting. It's not overly sweet like most icings you'll find. It also has a secret ingredient: flour! It sounds crazy, but it soooo works! Since the shower was for my first nephew, I just added some blue sugar crystals to the top, easy peasy!



If you're wondering about the double wrapper, it's to prevent the cupcake from pulling away from the paper. Use two baking cups when baking cupcakes and then when they are cool, you can either serve them doubled or take the outer baking cup off and save for later use. Or you could use one of these, I really wanted some, but I couldn't find a pattern I could use.

These really are incredible. Just look at how fluffy that icing is! The cake itself is so good that I love to eat the cake, icing free, straight from the fridge, (make sure they are covered well, so they don't dry out!). And don't even get my Father-In-Law started on these, he might not stop!

Click here to check out Pioneer Woman's step by step for these cupcakes. And try these soon, you'll be glad you did!