Fun at Christmas Time!

Adam by our front door with our Christmas wreath.

This year since Adam is older we have been enjoying taking him to all kinds of fun Christmas events around town. It is great to see what is offered in our community. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! What a special time of year to spend with our son, we are so fortunate!

Reindeer:

A couple of weekends ago Paul took Adam to see live reindeer at a local nursery. It was such a special event. They had several reindeer that you could observe in a large pen so it was safe. What a fun holiday outing!

Adam watching the reindeer at Seven Dees Nursery.

Adam and the reindeer in their pen.

Alpenrose Dairyville:

This is an event that I recently heard about and it is free to all! Alpenrose Dairy nearby in Portland has a Christmas village that you can visit with lots of fun things to do. They had two large model train displays, a theater where you could watch holiday movies, "Storybook Lane" with live animals and beautifully lit, flocked trees, pictures/visit with Santa and more! We had a great time exploring this village with Adam!

Me with Adam on one of the old fashioned carts in Dairyville.

Adam having fun in one of the circus carts.

Paul and Adam in front of the sleigh full of presents in the theater area.

Inside Storybook Lane at Dairyville.

Macy's Santaland:

This is a very special place that reminds me of my childhood because we would take a special trip here to visit Santa and ride the train around the ceiling of the top floor of what used to be Meier and Frank and is now Macy's. The train no longer is in place but they had part of it for kids to climb in and explore as well as a large scale model train display and other fun displays. Adam did visit Santa and tell him "I want a candy cane" when prompted what he wanted for Christmas. He was a little shy about sitting on his lap or taking a photo, so we didn't end up doing that. He really loved the model trains and the big train though. What fun!

Paul with Adam looking at the train at Santaland.

Me with Adam at the downtown Portland Macy's Santa-land train display.

Adam in the front of one of the train cars that used to run on the ceiling at Meir and Frank's Santaland.

Adam's First Preschool Christmas Ornaments:

This year was Adam's first time making ornaments in preschool. I was amazed at how wonderful and precious they are! I especially like the face on the gingerbread man!

A gingerbread man ornament that Adam made at school.

The sparkly ornament Adam made with beads.

Making Christmas Cookies:

The other day I made some sugar cookie dough and Adam helped cut out the cookies and decorate them. We had so much fun. He even told a story about the cookie cutters which I wrote down and pass along to you below. He was very patient with the cutting out process and had a great time picking out icing colors and sprinkles. His favorite decorations were the hot cinnamon "buttons." He loved to combine those with green sprinkles for a festive flair! Here are a few pictures of our cookie making adventures. Also, here is the link to the recipe we used. I like how the cookies were sturdy but still had great flavor! I also liked how pretty and shiny the glaze recipe was!

http://www.food.com/recipe/roll-out-classic-butter-sugar-cookies-christmas-or-holidays-223477

Adam cutting out a star sugar cookie.

Adam decorating a sugar cookie.

Adam telling a story about the cookie cutters.

This is the story that Adam told about the cookie cutters:

"Goodnight Moon" said the girl and the angel. "It's bedtime."

They were scary from that scary noise.

"Girl Angel are you there?" said the girl.

"Come on out, it's bedtime."

"Don't be scared. The moon is not going to be scary from those girls and the angel."

"They better fly to the moon."

I love this story and I am so happy that I wrote it down. It was a special memory that we made that day together making and decorating cookies and I love that Adam told a story using the girl, angel and moon cookie cutters! So creative and fun!

Cooking:

Since the holidays are approaching I have not done quite as many varied dinners as I usually do because I have been fitting in extra baking and other activities. I still made a couple of dishes we really enjoyed and also some amazing cookies! Enjoy them all!


Shrimp with Grits:

I made this dish upon request from my husband Paul. We all really loved it! This is a recipe from Paula Deen. I love how simple it is yet how amazingly delicious and fancy it seems!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, left whole if small and roughly chopped if medium or large
• 6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Directions:

1. To make the shrimp and grits recipe, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the grits and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well with a whisk. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook the grits until all the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Keep covered until ready to serve.

2. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp, then drain on a paper towel. Add the shrimp to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute over medium heat just until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook! Immediately add the lemon juice, parsley, green onions, and garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat.

3. Pour the grits into a serving bowl. Pour the shrimp mixture over the grits. Garnish with the bacon bits.

Note: If you are serving this as an appetizer, spoon 1/4 cup grits onto a bread or salad plate. Top with 1/4 cup of the shrimp mixture. Garnish with a sprinkling of crisp bacon bits and serve immediately.

Vegetarian Nachos:

This is a twist on a dish I grew up with. We always had nachos as a bean casserole which we would dip chips into. It was one of our favorite dishes growing up. Recently I talked to my mom and found out the origin of the recipe. She said that it was from a "Sunset Magazine". The original was served in an oval dish with corn chips placed all around the rim. In our family we always had one small "section" of the nacho that had hot salsa on top reserved for my parents. This is a vegetarian version I made of the nacho dish I love. I made these for my husband's holiday potluck at his work.

The nachos before I put the cheese on top.

Refried Beans:

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 tablespoons butter
salt to taste
water

1. Place the beans, onion, garlic and some salt to taste in a crock pot. Pour enough water over to cover the beans. It should go 1-2 inches above the beans. Cook overnight or for 8 hours on the low setting.

2. In the morning, or 8 hours later, place the beans and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the bean liquid in a large saucepan along with the butter.

3. Mash the beans with a potato masher while cooking them over medium heat. Add salt to taste. Mash and cook the beans until they are fairly smooth. It is okay to have a few beans that aren't mashed.

4. Place the refried beans in a 13 x 9 casserole dish.

Casserole toppings:

1 package white button mushrooms, sliced
1 Anaheim pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
Adobo seasoning to taste
Pico de gallo seasoning or chili powder to taste
1 package whole milk mozarella cheese, grated
salsa- if desired
olive oil

1. Heat your oven to 400F.

2. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute the mushrooms, peppers and onion together until they are soft. Add seasonings as desired. Make sure to taste and add according to what you like.

3. Place the sauteed vegetables on top of the refried beans in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the grated mozarella cheese on top.

4. Place the nachos in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes. Make sure the edges are bubbly.

Enjoy!

Carol's Ginger Molasses Cookies:

My dear friend Carol perfected this recipe for these delightfully spiced cookies. In my book, they are absolutely perfect and everything I could want in a cookie! It is an amazing recipe and I love to make them for Christmas!

One of my favorite cookies ever- they are soft, spicy and crunchy-sugary!

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Extra sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking

1. Mix the ingredients in order given with a stand mixer or a hand mixer.

2. Chill the dough for around an hour.

3. Roll into small balls and then roll in sugar. Place the cookie balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

4. Heat your oven to 375F.

5. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes.


Pretzel Caramel Peanut Bars:

This is a new recipe I tried this year. It is spectacular! It is from a Christmas cookie magazine I could not resist buying a few years ago.

The delicious caramel peanut cookie bars!

Ingredients:

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup crushed pretzels
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Peanut Butter Layer:

1 7 ounce jar marshmallow creme
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup salted cocktail peanuts

Caramel Layer:

One 14 oz. package vanilla caramels, unwrapped
3 tablespoons milk


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13x9x2 inch pan with heavy foil, extending foil over edges of the pan, spray the foil with cooking oil spray; set pan aside. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, pretzels, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a medium microwave safe bowl, combine marshmallow creme and peanut butter. Microwave on 100 percent (high) power for 1 minute or until softened and slightly melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir in powdered sugar. Spread mixture over crust. Sprinkle with salted peanuts.

4. In a heavy, large saucepan , combine unwrapped caramels and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour caramel mixture evenly over peanut layer. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using the foil, lift the uncut bars out of the pan. Cut into bars.

Makes 48 bars.

Enjoy!


Gingerbread White Chocolate Chip Bars:

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. The original asked you to make the bars in a jelly roll pan and pat them out thin. I read several comments that said it was better to put them into a regular 13 x 9 pan and bake them like brownies. I am very glad I did because they turned out soft and delicious! I also used white chocolate chips that I had on hand instead of the chopped white chocolate. My husband said these are like gingerbread brownies and he is right!

These bars are soft, chewy, buttery and spiced just like gingerbread!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 bag (11 to 12 ounces ounces) white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and coat parchment. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
2. Beat butter and brown and granulated sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares or desired shape.

Enjoy!

The beautiful Christmas wreath we put up this year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you and I am looking forward to continuing this wonderful journey of wonder and discovery with you in 2012! I am continuing to discover who I am and what lies ahead for me and my family. I know that there are some amazing times coming up!

Approaching the Holidays

Adam helping the lego-men give the Rudolphs a hug!

This past couple of weeks have been very busy between finishing up work and getting ready for the holiday season! It has taken me a while to get this blog post finished and meanwhile I have been busy sending out cards and packages as well a finishing up our Christmas shopping and preparations. It is a really fun but busy time. I continue to work on cooking, baking and learning new things every day!

Cooking and Thoughts about a Business:

I love trying out new recipes and finding new ways to enjoy our favorite foods. This is a busy time of year but it is even more important to do menu planning in order to enjoy healthy food during the holiday season.

I continue to work on my goal of starting another food related business. I have come up with another possible idea- starting a baking CSA (community supported agriculture). When we had the baking booth at the Oregon City Farmer's Market we would use a lot of local, seasonal produce in our baked goods and I felt so good about supporting our community in that way. I think that I want to explore ways to team up with farms and other local producers of food goods in order to make the best, healthy and organic baked goods available to people in the area. One idea I had would be to partner with a local farm that has existing CSA customers and provide them with different packages of baked goods that could be added on to their box of fruits and vegetables during the season. I could have bread, cookie or pie selections available to people. There will be more on this to come a I formulate my ideas, get them on paper and get going on this new venture in the year or two to come!


Potato Gruyere Soup:

This is a lovely soup recipe that I found Epicurious. It is such a yummy soup for a cold winter day! I took out the parsley in the recipe because I don't usually use it, however you may add it if you like.

The potato Gruyere soup.

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 3 medium onions, chopped fine
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 3 pounds boiling potatoes (preferably yellow-fleshed)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound Gruyère cheese, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon Madeira or Sherry if desired (the Sherry really adds a lot of flavor)
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
  

Preparation:

In a heavy kettle (at least 5 quarts) cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and spoon off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add onions and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add broth and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Add potatoes to soup and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk together flour and remaining 1/4 cup water until smooth and add to simmering soup, whisking. Simmer soup, covered, 5 minutes.

In a blender purée Gruyère with 3 cups hot soup broth. Stir purée into soup with Madeira, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper to taste and remove soup from heat. Soup may be prepared up to this point 3 days ahead (cool uncovered before chilling covered). Reheat over low heat but do not let boil.

Chicken Pot Pie:

This is a combination recipe with my pie dough recipe and the filling recipe from "The Best Recipe" cookbook. The resulting pie was out of this world! It was so flaky and buttery and the filling was creamy and delicious!

The chicken pot pie fresh out of the oven.

All Butter Pie Crust:

Pie Crust: Makes 2 large (10 inch) or 3 small (8 inch) single crust pies. ( I prefer my crust to be fairly thick and have a lot of room for crimping around the edge.) You can use this 1 recipe to make one 10-inch chicken pot pie with a double crust.

5 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 pound- 4 sticks cold butter cut into small pieces
1 cup ice water

Mix dry ingredients together in a food processor. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs appear. I learned from making the crust for the chicken pot pie it is best to leave the butter chunks larger because it makes a flakier pie crust. Pour in ice water slowly until combined. Make 2 large disks out of the dough & wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. After 1 hour let dough set on counter for about 15 to 20 minutes until pliable. I always freeze my bottom crusts before I bake them and that way they hold their shape better.

May be frozen as dough or made into pie crusts & frozen.

A slice of pot pie.

Pot Pie Filling:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-large onion, chopped fine
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 small celery stalks, cut crosswise, 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 tablespoons dry sherry
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1. Make pie dough and form crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Adju st oven rack to the low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken and broth in a small Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer; simmer until chicken is just done, 8-10 minutes. Transfer meat to large bowl, reserving broth in a liquid measuring cup.

3. Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onion, carrots and celery; saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While vegetables are sauteing, shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.

4. Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty skillet. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, milk, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute.

5. Pour sauce over chicken mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas. Adjust seasonings. Pour mixture into 10 inch pie crust. Top with a top crust and seal the edges. I found out that dipping my fingers in water to seal the edges worked very well. I also cut some vent holes in the top of my pot pie.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread:

This is a recipe that I found on "The Fresh Loaf" a really great bread blog. I am going to post the link to their recipe because they do a good job of describing how to make it. I love this bread because it is soft but makes great toast and sandwiches. It is whole great without being too heavy.

A fresh slice of the wheat bread.

A link to the bread recipe:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/wholewheathoneybread

Enjoy! I love that they mention this is kind of like the bread they used to serve at The Good Earth Restaurant.

Milk Chocolate Brownies:

This is another great recipe I found on Epicurious. I had some large milk chocolate bars leftover from Halloween and this was a great use for them. They sure were popular with my students!

A yummy plate full of brownies!

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.

Melt butter and half of chocolate in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is glossy and smooth.

Whisk together remaining ingredients, then stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate.

Spread batter in pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs adhering, 25 to 30 minutes.

Aebleskiver- Danish Pancake Balls:

These are a delicious treat for a weekend breakfast! I made these a couple of weekends ago and they were a hit. I also filled some of them with lingonberry jam!

Some Aebleskiver dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. butter plus butter to grease aebleskiver pan
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preparation:

Place aebleskiver pan over medium-high burner and bring up to heat (to the point where butter sizzles on the surface).

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until creamy. Sift together flour and baking powder; gradually stir flour and buttermilk, alternating with each 1/2-cup addition, into egg mixture. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Reduce heat under aebleskiver pan to medium. Place 1/8 tsp. butter into each well to grease, using a pastry brush to coat surface of wells entirely.

Spoon batter into each well, filling half-way (about 1 tsp.). Then, if desired fill with jam or other filling, then spoon enough additional batter over filling to cover and fill well to the top. Allow to cook until the edges of each “pancake” begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the wells.

Lightly run a knife or (in the traditional fashion) a knitting needle around the edge of each ball to loosen, and then flip over to cook through (about 2 minutes).

Remove the aebleskiver to a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar to serve.

Yield: 28 aebleskiver.

The cast iron aebleskiver pan that I use.

Calzones:

I found the recipe for these online. I changed it a bit but for the most part I kept it the same. I will outline the changes I made below a well a post a link to the original recipe. These were super delicious and made several meals for us!

One of the freshly baked calzones!


A slice of the delicious calzone!

Here is a link to the recipe. I used fresh mushrooms instead of the canned ones, which I sauteed in a skillet with olive oil along with the onions and peppers before adding them to the rest of the filling ingredients. Also, I used olive oil in the dough. This made the dough turn out really silky and soft! Amazingly good!

http://blogchef.net/calzones-recipe/

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies:

This has become one of my favorite cookies of all time. It is a Cook's Illustrated recipe and I love it. It comes out perfectly every time! I made these for a school meeting as well as for Christmas cookies to share.

A plate of delicious peanut butter cookies!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar + extra for rolling the dough balls in before baking
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter, at room temperature (in this version I used creamy because I had it on hand)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup roasted, salted peanut, ground in a food processor or chopped finely

1. Adjust oven rack to upper and lower middle positions and heat oven to 35oF. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.

4. Working with generous 2 tablespoons each time, roll dough into 2 inch balls. (I like to roll the dough balls into granulated sugar too). Place balls on parchment lined cookie sheets, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball.

5. Bake, reversing the position of the cookie sheets halfway through baking time. From top to bottom racks and back to front, until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along the edges, but not on top, 10-12 minutes. Cookies will not look fully baked. Cool cookies to finish baking on the cookie sheets until fully set, about 4-5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.

Going to Christmas Tea:

On a past Saturday I had a lovely and special Christmas tea with my dear friend Carol, her mom Carol Jo and my mom Serena. We went to a local tea shop in Hillsboro called Tea's Me. It was a beautiful and delicious tea as you can see below.

Carol, Carol Jo, Serena and Trista at Tea's Me in Hillsboro.

A first coarse of sorbet at Tea's Me.

The delicious artichoke-chicken soup we had with our tea!


The amazing 3 tier tray of tea goodies!

The delicious spreads for the scones: jam, clotted cream and lemon curd.

Enjoy your week! Have a great one!! My next post should include more Christmas goodies!

Giving Thanks

A table setting for our "Day after Thanksgiving" Japanese meal. Adam made the centerpiece at his preschool.

This week we enjoyed preparing for Thanksgiving along with the visits with friends and family. It is such a special time of year to reflect on what we are grateful for and what we are fortunate enough to have.

I feel so thankful for family and friends and to have plenty of food to eat and cook. Cooking gives me such joy because I am able to share that joy with others. One of my favorite days is the day before thanksgiving because I love to have a day to cook many dishes that I don't normally cook. This year I made the stuffing, pumpkin pie and a cranberry cocktail to contribute to our Thanksgiving dinner with friends.

We were also fortunate to have a lovely visit with my sister in law Abby. She flew in on Thanksgiving morning and we enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend with her. We had a very special Japanese dinner on Friday with my side of the family at our house and Abby shared her gyoza (Japanese dumpling) recipe with us as well as teaching us how to fold them. It was a fun team effort as Abby, Paul myself, my dad, mom and Kim all worked together to make the gyoza. Such fun!

As I give thanks for this year I think about all of the things I have accomplished and what lies ahead for me. I am amazed at what I have done and all of the progress that I have made. Especially with keeping up with this blog. I think that writing, taking photos & sharing recipes and gardening news every week has been such a great learning experience and has taught me a lot about myself and brought me more in focus with what I love to do. Thank you all for reading this blog and being a part of my life. I could not be here today or have dreams for the future without you!

Cooking & Celebrations:

We had such a wonderful week sharing our home with family and spending time with friends! All of this celebrating involved a lot of fun cooking and new experiences. I feel so fortunate to have learned how to make gyoza from my sister in law Abby. It was such a gift and treasure! Below I will share with you this week's recipes and adventures!

Pushing your Limits:

Every day I love seeing how Adam tries everything and seldom gives up. He also doesn't seem to have many fears. He loves heights, he loves to climb, jump and run! All that I really want for him is to never give up and really follow his passions and dreams. I think this is so important! I love to see his enthusiasm for life and this helps me try to reach higher every day and push my own limits. I want to keep working on my business ideas and keep improving my cooking and baking skills. This will lead to fulfilling my dreams and allowing me to follow my passion! I think Adam is my daily teacher and I am enjoying the lessons!

This is a recipe I found online and have made several times. It is simple but very delicious and feels very fancy to make on a weeknight! Enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi Anne:

A yummy plate of Shrimp Scampi Anne with pasta.

Ingredients:

30 jumbo bay shrimp (I usually buy a bag of frozen shrimp that are deveined)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, black and red pepper to taste
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup bread crumbs (I usually just tear up some leftover bread slices)
8 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup white wine
dash Tabasco sauce
-Linguini or spaghetti noodles, cooked
1/4 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, freshly grated

Preheat oven to 300F.

1. Slit shrimp down the back leaving tail tip section of shell on the shrimp. Devein (if they are not already deveined), wash and dry shrimp.

2. Arrange shrimp, single layer, in a 10 inch square baking dish. Pour olive oil evenly over shrimp. Sprinkle to coat with salt, black and red pepper, garlic, and bread crumbs.

3. Cover dish with foil and bake in a preheated 300F oven for 20 minutes.

4. Pour butter, Tabasco, and wine evenly over shrimp.

5. Bake uncovered 5 minutes longer or until done. Do not overcook; the shrimp will toughen.

6. Serve over cooked linguini or spaghetti noodles and top with grated cheese. Enjoy!!


Peach Hazelnut Cinnamon Rugelach:

This was my fancy pastry project of the week! I really enjoyed making these. I am finding that I have a lot of fun weighing the ingredients for the pastry. I especially like weighing them using "grams" as a unit of measure. It is new for me but a lot of fun! These were so delicious! I made them with my homemade peach jam and some local hazelnuts. This again, was a bit of a long process for a recipe- involving a long chilling time for the dough, but it was well worth it. If anyone wants the recipe I will be happy to e-mail it to you or post it here later by request.

A peach and hazelnut cinnamon rugelach cookie.

A round of dough ready to make rugelach with. I found a pizza cutter to help with cutting the long triangles for the cookies.


The formed rugelach with a egg wash ready to put into the oven.

Buttermilk Whole Wheat & Oat Bread:

This is going to become one of my favorite bread recipes. The bread is so soft and moist! Even my husband who usually prefers rice to bread had many slices of this amazing bread! I found this recipe online but changed it slightly. I added more yeast and honey instead of the agave nectar.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp honey
2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (extra light)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt

Egg wash for top of bread: 1 egg, beaten + 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions:

1. Set aside 1/4 cup rolled oats. Place the remaining oats into a medium bowl. Cover with boiling water. Mix with spoon and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Whisk 2 tablespoons honey with 1/4 cup of warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add soaked oats, buttermilk, oil, 2 Tbsp agave, both flours, and salt. With hook attachment, mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Dough will be wet and cling to hook, but have a satiny finish.

3.Place dough in an oiled bowl and over with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm area for 1 hour, the dough will almost double in size.

4. Place dough onto a floured surface and flatten it with your hands, releasing excess air bubbles. Form dough into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and position it so that a long side is facing you. Fold the 2 short ends onto the top so they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll dough away from you into a log. Let loaf rest on its seam for a few minutes.

5. Transfer loaf to an oiled 10-inch loaf pan (if your pan measures 8-9 inches, consider dividing it into two loaves - this is a big loaf of bread!), pressing dough into the corners. Mix beaten egg with 1/4 teaspoon salt to make egg wash. Brush over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with the remaining oats. Let sit for 35-45 minutes, until loaf rises just over the top of the pan.

6. While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 385. Bake for 1 hour and allow to cool completely before cutting.


Yields: 1 large loaf, or 2 medium loaves

Cranberry Cobbler Cocktail:

This is the cocktail I made to go with the appetizer course before Thanksgiving dinner. It was a recipe I found in Bon Apetit magazine. It was very delicious!

Our friend Amy holding one of the cranberry cobbler cocktails I made.

This recipe makes 6 cocktails.

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 lemon cut into wedges
1/2 orange, sliced into thin rounds
1 1/2 cups dry gin such as Tanqueray
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon off dry Sherry

6 mint sprigs for garnish

1. Bring sugar and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan; stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour off all but 1 cup simple syrup; refrigerate remaining syrup for another use.

2. Heat syrup in pan almost to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Add cranberries and simmer until they just begin to burst, 2-3 minutes. Let cool in syrup.

3. Place 2 tablespoons drained cranberries and 6 tablespoons cranberry syrup in a large pitcher. Add lemon wedges and orange slices. Using a muddler or a wooden spoon, vigorously mash fruit. Stir in gin and Sherry. Let steep for 5 minutes.

4. Strain into a medium pitcher. Fill 3 glasses with crushed ice. Pour half of the mixture into a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice; shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into prepared glasses, then mound with more crushed ice. Garnish each with a mint sprig and 3 cranberries. Repeat to make 3 more cocktails.

Note: This drink was fairly strong although delicious. When I made another round of them I halved the liquor and added a bit more fruit. It was still delicious. Also, I cut the second batch with some strong ginger ale. Delicious!!

Abby's Turkey and Vegetable Gyoza:

This is a special and very tasty recipe that my sister in law Abby created herself. It made such a fabulous healthy and delicious dinner for the day after Thanksgiving.

The formed gyoza ready to be cooked.

Ingredients:

Makes about 80 gyoza dumplings- this served about 8 people along with appetizers.

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 large carrot- shredded
4 small cloves garlic, minced or chopped fine
1-2 inches of fresh grated ginger root
1 top half of napa cabbage, chopped fine
2 tablespoons dry white wine or Japanese cooking wine
2+ cups chopped baby spinach
1 bunch green onion, chopped finely
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil

-Gyoza or Wonton wrappers
-Sesame oil for skillet
-Bowl of water
1/4 cup water for skillet

1. Mix all of the ingredients together well in a large bowl. Make the mix 1-2 hours ahead and store it in the refrigerator.

2. When you are ready to make the gyoza, take the turkey mixture out of the refrigerator. Get out a small bowl and fill it with water.

3. Put a small dollop (about a teaspoon) of the meat mixture in the middle of a gyoza or won-ton wrapper. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and "paint" the outside edge of the wrapper- this will help it stick when you are pinching the wrapper over the filling.

4. If you are using the round wrappers- only pinch the wrapper on one side. This will create a half moon shape.

5. Once all of the gyoza are formed, heat an electric skillet to about 300-350F. Pour a bit of sesame oil into the skillet. Brown the bottoms of the gyoza. After they have browned add about 1/4 cup water to the skillet, put the lid on and let the gyoza steam for a few minutes. Then, serve the gyoza. Yum!!

Abby and Paul folding gyoza together.


The delicious and beautiful salad rolls we made for appetizers.

Delicious yellowtail hamachi with soy sauce and green Tabasco sauce.

Adam with Auntie Kim at our Japanese dinner.

Adam with Grandpa Dale, Grandma Serena, Uncle Stuart and Auntie Kim eating appetizers.

Abby, Mom and Kim enjoying the gyoza dinner.

Zoo Lights:

This year since we are local zoo members we got to attend the preview night for zoo lights. It was a fantastic event because it was not very crowded and we were able to hop right on to the zoo train and really fully enjoy all of the splendid and festive lights!

Paul and Adam at zoo lights at the Washington Park Zoo.

Me with Adam at zoo lights with his holographic glasses.

Adam's favorite gingerbread house at zoo lights.

Adam contemplating the lights at the zoo lights event.

Adam & Imagination:

We had a fun week together. Adam has really continued to love making picnics for me! He is also very imaginative with his play and loves to put in different hats and direct your "lines" in a play. He says "you say this" and "I'll say that." It is a fun exercise in theater & film!

A very serious Adam with his "picnic" that he made for me with bottles of snow-cone syrups for our drinks!

Adam coming down the stairs with his hat on!

Adam and Auntie Abby had a great time decorating the tree together.

We had a really special morning with my sister in law Abby- decorating the tree and the house for Christmas. Adam's eyes really lit up with wonder as we got out the tree, ornaments and decorations. Every morning now he asks "Is it Christmas yet?" Also, he discovered his love for candy canes because we found a few to decorate the tree with. When asked what he wants for Christmas now he says "A candy cane." What a fun season for him!

Enjoy your week and the start of the holiday season!