Adam with his Christmas wish- a giant candy cane!
A very serious baker Adam decorating a gingerbread man cookie.
We had a very eventful Christmas and Holiday season this year! With 2012 now here I wanted to re-live and re-count our wonderful, happy times together as a family and share the special recipes that made our days amazing and delicious! I hope you enjoy this post! I will be back soon writing more about my many personal goals for 2012 including getting going on starting a business to do with cooking and baking that will work for me as well as my family and serve the community with delicious, local and healthy food! Here's to a wonderful year ahead as we look back on our celebrations of 2011. Enjoy!
A very serious baker Adam decorating a gingerbread man cookie. Christmas Eve:
We had a lovely Christmas Eve here at our house with my parents, brother Stuart and sister in law Kim. We enjoyed our traditional Swedish dinner together and had many fun times! I made the meatballs and potato rolls Stuart and Kim made the potato sausages and the potato salad and my mom made the Swedish beans.
Swedish Meatballs:
Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground beef
1/4 pound ground pork
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 cup water and cream (I used 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup whole milk)
1 tablespoon onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter (for sauteing the onions in a pan)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Heat the oven to 350F.
1. Saute the onions in the 1 tablespoon butter until softened and golden brown. Let cool.
2. Soften the bread crumbs in the milk/cream mixture for 10-15 minutes.
3. Mix all of the ingredients together.
4. Form small meatballs and place them on greased baking sheets.
5. Bake the meatballs until well browned. You need to turn them over to make sure they brown on all sides.
Enjoy!
Sarah's Christmas Pie:
Our friend Sarah brought this pie to share with us this holiday season. It is so delicious! We served some more of it on Christmas Eve. I love the creaminess and lightness of this special pie. It is her family's recipe that she was very kind to share with me.
Two 9.5 inch baked pie shells
1 c milk
1 c sugar
3 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 envelope knox gelatin
1/4 c water
1 pint whipping cream
marascino cherries, rinsed
nuts (pecans or walnuts are good)
1. Mix milk, sugar, and beaten egg yolks together and cook in double boiler. Stir constantly about 20 minutes until mixture thickens a bit.
2. Dissolve gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Add gelatin to mixture. Stir, then set aside to cool. (Just long enough to cool; not long enough to gel.)
3. Beat whipping cream and egg whites together and add to first mixture when cool. Beat the whole thing for about 3 minutes. Put in baked pie shells. Put in fridge.
4. When the pies have gelled a bit, but not completely (after, say, 2 hours in fridge) top the pies with cherries and nuts. Don't add the cherries too soon, or they will sink to the bottom. Don't add the cherries too late, or they won't flavor the pies properly. Keep refrigerated.
Note: If the pies fail to gel, or if they separate into two layers, next time try cooking the first mixture even longer, and beating the two mixtures together longer. It can be a rickety recipe, so minor flaws can cause it to fail to gel.
Potato Sweet Rolls- Cinnamon Rolls and Coconut Rolls:
These are my Aunt Jean's recipe. They are so moist and divine! This year I even made coconut rolls with them so that we could all enjoy some for dinner as well as Christmas morning breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups milk (warm up the milk in the microwave and then place the butter in it)
1 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cups potatoes, mashed
4 tablespoons yeast
8 cups flour, plus up to1 cup additional if necessary
2 teaspoons salt
For cinnamon rolls:
-melted butter
-cinnamon sugar
-raisins
1. Mix the mashed potatoes with the yeast and sugar.
2. Add in the milk/butter mixture and then mix in the eggs.
3. Mix in the flour and salt. Knead with a dough hook in a stand mixer for about 4-5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup of flour up to one up if needed in the final kneading stage. The dough should be sticky and soft.
4. Cover and put in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Deflate or punch down dough. Turn out on to a flour surface and prepare according to your desired recipe.
6. For rolls and cinnamon rolls- bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check in between the rolls with a knife to check for doneness.
To make plain rolls for dinner:
Roll small balls of dough. Place them, touching each other in a round cake pan. Brush tops with butter and bake as directed.
To make cinnamon rolls:
Take a portion of the dough (one half or one third of it) and roll it out into a rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon-sugar. If desired, sprinkle the dough with raisins as well. Roll up the dough and cut rounds. Place the rounds together in round cake pans, touching each other like the rolls above. Brush with more melted butter and bake until golden brown.
To make coconut rolls:
Filling ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup milk
¾ cup coconut flakes
Mix the ingredients together and cook over low heat in a small saucepan until it turns into a slightly creamy sauce. Do not over cook.
Make these rolls the same way as cinnamon rolls except spread the coconut filling thinly over the dough. Roll up, slice and bake the same way as the cinnamon rolls.
I love how soft and moist these rolls were. This was my first time making the coconut rolls and I love them!
Christmas Day:
We had a very special Christmas morning with Adam. He was very excited and aware of Christmas! He had the best time opening his stocking gifts as well as his big gift of a new wooden train set! He was so excited about everything! It was so special to see the light in his eyes on this special morning!
Paella:
We had a Spanish theme to our Christmas dinner this year and my Mom pulled out all of the stops for this dinner with her paella! It was amazing and really delicious! She even made a small vegetarian portion with mushrooms as well.
Empanadas:
I found the recipe for the dough and fillings online. I changed the pumpkin recipe a bit and added a bit more spice. I baked these empanadas following the directions on the pumpkin filling recipe below. I also brushed them with an egg wash before baking to add a nice sheen to them. I made these for our contribution to the Spanish theme dinner.
3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shortening
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.
When you are ready to form, fill and bake or fry the empanadas, follow these steps:
1. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured cutting board. Cut out three-inch circles.
2. Place 1 Tablespoon of the chorizo or pumpkin mix in the center of each circle. Fold into a half-circle.
3. Crimp the outer edge with a fork to seal.
If you want to fry the empanadas, follow these instructions. If you would rather bake them, follow the baking instructions after the pumpkin filling recipe below.
1. Heat canola oil in a heavy skillet.
2. Add the empanadas and brown lightly on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
Tip: If you want to keep the dough longer than 24 hours, you can freeze it.
Servings: Makes approximately 10 six-inch empanadas.
Chorizo Filling:
Note: This makes a lot of filling. Unless you are making empanadas for a crowd you may decide to halve this recipe.
1 1/2 pounds Chorizo sausage, ground
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup salsa
Directions:
Brown the chorizo in a heavy skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is just soft.
Drain off any excess fat. Mix in the salsa. Set aside.
Pumpkin Filling:
Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix the ingredients together, then cook in a saucepan over medium low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Allow the mix to cool before filling the empanada discs. While the mix is cooling, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Place the filling by the spoonful into your prepared empanada dough, or store bought discs*.
Fold the dough and filling into a half circle shape and crimp the edges with a fork. If the edges won't stay sealed you can dip the fork in water before crimping or use an egg wash. (I used an egg wash which is 1 whole egg mixed with a teaspoon or two of water and a dash of salt. You brush this on the empanadas before baking them.) Do not overfill the empanadas. They will tear and you will lose your filling.
4. Bake the empanadas on a greased cookie sheet until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. To avoid burning, watch them closely.
Rachel's Coconut Granola:
Our cousin Rachel gave us a container of her homemade granola along with many other goodies in a gift basket for Christmas. I thought it looked so yummy I ate a small bowl of it that night. I love that it is very light and crunchy and I especially love the coconut in it.
Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 (14 ounce) package flaked coconut
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet with sides, or a large cake pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the oats, almonds, wheat germ, and coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, oil, water and salt. Pour the liquid over the oat and nut mixture, and stir untilevenly coated. Spread out on the prepared cookie sheet. If you want some chunky bits, squeeze some small handfuls into little clumps.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally until evenly toasted.
4. Mix in raisins. Cool, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
A Hannukah Dinner:
This year we celebrated Hanukkah with our Jewish cousin Helen. It was a special event! We hosted the dinner at our house and enjoyed the various delicious foods together and had fun taking part in Helen's traditions. What a fun night was had by all!
Southern Brisket:
This is a recipe from Southern Living. I love how tasty and tender the brisket turns out. I especially love to serve it with the pan drippings as gravy. Yum! We enjoyed this for our Hanukkah dinner.
Ingredients:
One 12-ounce bottle of chili sauce (I ended up using a bottle of sweet chili sauce)
2 cups ketchup
1 1/4 cups cola soft drink
1 1.9 ounce package dry onion soup mix (both envelopes)
1 (3-4 pound) beef brisket flat, trimmed
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together first 3 ingredients and both envelopes from soup mix package in a large bowl.
2. Place brisket, fat side up, in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Pour chili sauce mixture over brisket.
3. Bake, tightly covered at 350F for 4 to 4 1/2 hours or until fork tender. Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Cut brisket across the grain into thin slices using a sharp knife. Pour pan juices over slices.
Sweet Potato Latkes:
This is another Southern Living recipe. I love how tender, soft and yummy these latkes were. I used my Kitchen aide mixer shredder attachment to shred the sweet potatoes for these and I used the small shredder. I think it worked well in that the latkes browned up nicely and cooked through quicker.
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled.
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil
Accompaniments:
horseradish condiment
applesauce (or I used spiced apple butter)
1. Grate potatoes using a box grater, food processor or a Kitchen aide mixer with a grater attachment. Stir together potatoes and flour. Stir in eggs and next two ingredients until blended.
2. Pour oil to depth of 1/2 inch into a large heavy skillet or an electric fry pan. Heat to 350F.
3. Gently press 1 rounded tablespoonful potato mixture into a patty. Repeat procedure, making about 2 dozen. Fry in batches, 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with horseradish condiment and applesauce or apple butter.
Lemon Filled Doughnuts:
These are made using a Bon Appetit recipe. I made the dough as called for in the magazine but I filled the doughnuts with lemon curd that my mom, Kim and I made and froze a while ago. This was a special, traditional and sweet ending to our Hanukkah dinner.
This recipe makes about 30 small doughnut balls.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for bowl
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
1 1/4 ounce envelope active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons sugar (plus extra for rolling doughnuts in after frying)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Extras needed:
1 cup sugar for rolling doughnuts in
canola oil for frying doughnuts
a plate covered with paper towels
lemon curd for filling
1 pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch metal tip for filling the doughnuts
1. Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil.
2. Heat juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until an instant read thermometer registers 110 to 115F. Remove from heat; whisk in yeast. Let stand until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, eggs, grapefruit zest, salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and apple juice mixture until a sticky dough forms- 4-5 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to the oiled bowl. Turn to coat;cover with a kitchen towel. Let dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Gently roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter. Place on lightly floured baking sheets. Let rise until doubled, 30-40 minutes. ( I just cut them slightly before dinner and then let them rise until after dinner. That way we had freshly fried doughnuts right after dinner- so fresh!)
6. Pour 1 cup sugar into a shallow bowl and set aside.
7. Attach a deep fry thermometer to the side of a heavy pot. Pour vegetable oil into the pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium heat to 350F.
8. Working in batches, carefully add doughnuts to oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, allowing oil to return to 350F between batches. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to a plate with paper towels, let drain and then roll the doughnuts in sugar.
9. Transfer lemon curd to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 metal tip and pipe around 1 teaspoon lemon curd into each doughnut.
Enjoy immediately! These doughnuts are so light and tasty when they are fresh!
Lemon-Lime Bars:
I made these for a New Year's Day party. I made a gluten-free/dairy free version which I outline here. You are welcome to use regular flour and butter as well. These are a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I converted to make it gluten/dairy free.
Crust:
1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix (King Arthur has a very good mix) or all purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra to decorate finished bars
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons dairy free margarine or butter (softened and cut into 1 inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
Lemon-Lime Filling:
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons gluten free or all purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lime and 1 small lemon
2/3 cup juice from limes and lemons
1/3 cup rice milk or whole milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (you do not need to use this if you are not making the gluten free version)
Crust:
1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper. Grease the top of the parchment paper as well.
2. Pulse the flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch and salt in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add margarine or butter and process to blend, 8-10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 second bursts.
3. Sprinkle mixture into the pan and press firmly into the pan to form an even layer of crust. Refrigerate 30 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Filling:
1. Meanwhile, whisk egg, sugar and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in zest, juice, milk and salt to blend well.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Stir the filling mixture to re-blend; pour onto warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to at least room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
3. Grab the edges of the parchment paper and lift the bars onto a cutting board. Use a pizza wheel (I found this to work very smoothly) or a very sharp non-serrated knife and cut into bars. Wipe the pizza wheel or knife between cuts. Sieve confectioners' sugar over the bars to serve.
Enjoy!!!
I will be back soon to share my new goals and plans with you. I hope you enjoyed your holidays as much as we did!
We had a lovely Christmas Eve here at our house with my parents, brother Stuart and sister in law Kim. We enjoyed our traditional Swedish dinner together and had many fun times! I made the meatballs and potato rolls Stuart and Kim made the potato sausages and the potato salad and my mom made the Swedish beans.
Adam sitting on Daddy's lap with a present.
Adam playing on Grandma Serena's lap.
Kim and Stuart at Christmas Eve dinner.
Me helping Adam unwrap some Christmas presents.
Grandma Serena with Adam and his Christmas bow tie.
Mom, Kim and Me on Christmas Eve. I got a really fun nostalgic cookie book!
Me helping Adam unwrap some Christmas presents. 
Grandma Serena with Adam and his Christmas bow tie.
Mom, Kim and Me on Christmas Eve. I got a really fun nostalgic cookie book! Swedish Meatballs:
Swedish Meatballs or Sma Kottbuller.
Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground beef
1/4 pound ground pork
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 cup water and cream (I used 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup whole milk)
1 tablespoon onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter (for sauteing the onions in a pan)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Heat the oven to 350F.
1. Saute the onions in the 1 tablespoon butter until softened and golden brown. Let cool.
2. Soften the bread crumbs in the milk/cream mixture for 10-15 minutes.
3. Mix all of the ingredients together.
4. Form small meatballs and place them on greased baking sheets.
5. Bake the meatballs until well browned. You need to turn them over to make sure they brown on all sides.
Enjoy!
Sarah's Christmas Pie:
Our friend Sarah brought this pie to share with us this holiday season. It is so delicious! We served some more of it on Christmas Eve. I love the creaminess and lightness of this special pie. It is her family's recipe that she was very kind to share with me.
Sarah's spectacular Christmas Pie!
This recipe yields two pies.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
Two 9.5 inch baked pie shells
1 c milk
1 c sugar
3 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 envelope knox gelatin
1/4 c water
1 pint whipping cream
marascino cherries, rinsed
nuts (pecans or walnuts are good)
1. Mix milk, sugar, and beaten egg yolks together and cook in double boiler. Stir constantly about 20 minutes until mixture thickens a bit.
2. Dissolve gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Add gelatin to mixture. Stir, then set aside to cool. (Just long enough to cool; not long enough to gel.)
3. Beat whipping cream and egg whites together and add to first mixture when cool. Beat the whole thing for about 3 minutes. Put in baked pie shells. Put in fridge.
4. When the pies have gelled a bit, but not completely (after, say, 2 hours in fridge) top the pies with cherries and nuts. Don't add the cherries too soon, or they will sink to the bottom. Don't add the cherries too late, or they won't flavor the pies properly. Keep refrigerated.
Note: If the pies fail to gel, or if they separate into two layers, next time try cooking the first mixture even longer, and beating the two mixtures together longer. It can be a rickety recipe, so minor flaws can cause it to fail to gel.
Potato Sweet Rolls- Cinnamon Rolls and Coconut Rolls:
These are my Aunt Jean's recipe. They are so moist and divine! This year I even made coconut rolls with them so that we could all enjoy some for dinner as well as Christmas morning breakfast.
Potato Cinnamon Rolls.
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups milk (warm up the milk in the microwave and then place the butter in it)
1 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cups potatoes, mashed
4 tablespoons yeast
8 cups flour, plus up to1 cup additional if necessary
2 teaspoons salt
For cinnamon rolls:
-melted butter
-cinnamon sugar
-raisins
1. Mix the mashed potatoes with the yeast and sugar.
2. Add in the milk/butter mixture and then mix in the eggs.
3. Mix in the flour and salt. Knead with a dough hook in a stand mixer for about 4-5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup of flour up to one up if needed in the final kneading stage. The dough should be sticky and soft.
4. Cover and put in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Deflate or punch down dough. Turn out on to a flour surface and prepare according to your desired recipe.
6. For rolls and cinnamon rolls- bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check in between the rolls with a knife to check for doneness.
To make plain rolls for dinner:
Roll small balls of dough. Place them, touching each other in a round cake pan. Brush tops with butter and bake as directed.
To make cinnamon rolls:
Take a portion of the dough (one half or one third of it) and roll it out into a rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon-sugar. If desired, sprinkle the dough with raisins as well. Roll up the dough and cut rounds. Place the rounds together in round cake pans, touching each other like the rolls above. Brush with more melted butter and bake until golden brown.
To make coconut rolls:
Filling ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup milk
¾ cup coconut flakes
Mix the ingredients together and cook over low heat in a small saucepan until it turns into a slightly creamy sauce. Do not over cook.
Make these rolls the same way as cinnamon rolls except spread the coconut filling thinly over the dough. Roll up, slice and bake the same way as the cinnamon rolls.
I love how soft and moist these rolls were. This was my first time making the coconut rolls and I love them!
Christmas Day:
We had a very special Christmas morning with Adam. He was very excited and aware of Christmas! He had the best time opening his stocking gifts as well as his big gift of a new wooden train set! He was so excited about everything! It was so special to see the light in his eyes on this special morning!
Paul with Adam opening a Christmas gift on Christmas morning.
Adam happily playing with his train set.
Me with Adam and his candy cane he got from cousin Helen.
Rachel and Rein, Kim and Stuart on Christmas Day.
Rachel and Rein, Kim and Stuart on Christmas Day.
Helen with her beautiful orange almond cake on Christmas Day.
Uncle Mark, Lauren and Mom.
Dad and Mom by the Christmas tree.
Uncle Mark, Lauren and Mom.
Dad and Mom by the Christmas tree. Paella:
We had a Spanish theme to our Christmas dinner this year and my Mom pulled out all of the stops for this dinner with her paella! It was amazing and really delicious! She even made a small vegetarian portion with mushrooms as well.
The huge paella dish that my mom made for Christmas Day. It was so delicious!
The delicious salad that my Aunt Debbie made on Christmas Day.
Empanadas:
I found the recipe for the dough and fillings online. I changed the pumpkin recipe a bit and added a bit more spice. I baked these empanadas following the directions on the pumpkin filling recipe below. I also brushed them with an egg wash before baking to add a nice sheen to them. I made these for our contribution to the Spanish theme dinner.
Pumpkin and Chorizo Empanadas.
Ingredients:Flour Dough for Empanadas:
3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shortening
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.
When you are ready to form, fill and bake or fry the empanadas, follow these steps:
1. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured cutting board. Cut out three-inch circles.
2. Place 1 Tablespoon of the chorizo or pumpkin mix in the center of each circle. Fold into a half-circle.
3. Crimp the outer edge with a fork to seal.
If you want to fry the empanadas, follow these instructions. If you would rather bake them, follow the baking instructions after the pumpkin filling recipe below.
1. Heat canola oil in a heavy skillet.
2. Add the empanadas and brown lightly on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
Tip: If you want to keep the dough longer than 24 hours, you can freeze it.
Servings: Makes approximately 10 six-inch empanadas.
Chorizo Filling:
Note: This makes a lot of filling. Unless you are making empanadas for a crowd you may decide to halve this recipe.
1 1/2 pounds Chorizo sausage, ground
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup salsa
Directions:
Brown the chorizo in a heavy skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is just soft.
Drain off any excess fat. Mix in the salsa. Set aside.
Pumpkin Filling:
Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix the ingredients together, then cook in a saucepan over medium low heat for 20 minutes.
2. Allow the mix to cool before filling the empanada discs. While the mix is cooling, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Place the filling by the spoonful into your prepared empanada dough, or store bought discs*.
Fold the dough and filling into a half circle shape and crimp the edges with a fork. If the edges won't stay sealed you can dip the fork in water before crimping or use an egg wash. (I used an egg wash which is 1 whole egg mixed with a teaspoon or two of water and a dash of salt. You brush this on the empanadas before baking them.) Do not overfill the empanadas. They will tear and you will lose your filling.
4. Bake the empanadas on a greased cookie sheet until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. To avoid burning, watch them closely.
Rachel's Coconut Granola:
Our cousin Rachel gave us a container of her homemade granola along with many other goodies in a gift basket for Christmas. I thought it looked so yummy I ate a small bowl of it that night. I love that it is very light and crunchy and I especially love the coconut in it.
A small bowl of the coconut granola.
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 (14 ounce) package flaked coconut
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet with sides, or a large cake pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the oats, almonds, wheat germ, and coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, oil, water and salt. Pour the liquid over the oat and nut mixture, and stir untilevenly coated. Spread out on the prepared cookie sheet. If you want some chunky bits, squeeze some small handfuls into little clumps.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally until evenly toasted.
4. Mix in raisins. Cool, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
A Hannukah Dinner:
This year we celebrated Hanukkah with our Jewish cousin Helen. It was a special event! We hosted the dinner at our house and enjoyed the various delicious foods together and had fun taking part in Helen's traditions. What a fun night was had by all!
Helen and her menorah at our dinner.
Mom, Helen, Stuart, Dad and Kim playing the dreidel game.
Mom, Helen, Stuart, Dad and Kim playing the dreidel game. 
Me with the lemon filled doughnuts for dessert.
Southern Brisket:
This is a recipe from Southern Living. I love how tasty and tender the brisket turns out. I especially love to serve it with the pan drippings as gravy. Yum! We enjoyed this for our Hanukkah dinner.
Southern Baked Brisket.
Ingredients:
One 12-ounce bottle of chili sauce (I ended up using a bottle of sweet chili sauce)
2 cups ketchup
1 1/4 cups cola soft drink
1 1.9 ounce package dry onion soup mix (both envelopes)
1 (3-4 pound) beef brisket flat, trimmed
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together first 3 ingredients and both envelopes from soup mix package in a large bowl.
2. Place brisket, fat side up, in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Pour chili sauce mixture over brisket.
3. Bake, tightly covered at 350F for 4 to 4 1/2 hours or until fork tender. Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Cut brisket across the grain into thin slices using a sharp knife. Pour pan juices over slices.
Sweet Potato Latkes:
This is another Southern Living recipe. I love how tender, soft and yummy these latkes were. I used my Kitchen aide mixer shredder attachment to shred the sweet potatoes for these and I used the small shredder. I think it worked well in that the latkes browned up nicely and cooked through quicker.
Sweet Potato Latkes.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled.
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil
Accompaniments:
horseradish condiment
applesauce (or I used spiced apple butter)
1. Grate potatoes using a box grater, food processor or a Kitchen aide mixer with a grater attachment. Stir together potatoes and flour. Stir in eggs and next two ingredients until blended.
2. Pour oil to depth of 1/2 inch into a large heavy skillet or an electric fry pan. Heat to 350F.
3. Gently press 1 rounded tablespoonful potato mixture into a patty. Repeat procedure, making about 2 dozen. Fry in batches, 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with horseradish condiment and applesauce or apple butter.
Lemon Filled Doughnuts:
These are made using a Bon Appetit recipe. I made the dough as called for in the magazine but I filled the doughnuts with lemon curd that my mom, Kim and I made and froze a while ago. This was a special, traditional and sweet ending to our Hanukkah dinner.
Lemon Filled Doughnuts
This recipe makes about 30 small doughnut balls.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for bowl
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
1 1/4 ounce envelope active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons sugar (plus extra for rolling doughnuts in after frying)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Extras needed:
1 cup sugar for rolling doughnuts in
canola oil for frying doughnuts
a plate covered with paper towels
lemon curd for filling
1 pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch metal tip for filling the doughnuts
1. Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil.
2. Heat juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until an instant read thermometer registers 110 to 115F. Remove from heat; whisk in yeast. Let stand until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, eggs, grapefruit zest, salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and apple juice mixture until a sticky dough forms- 4-5 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to the oiled bowl. Turn to coat;cover with a kitchen towel. Let dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Gently roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter. Place on lightly floured baking sheets. Let rise until doubled, 30-40 minutes. ( I just cut them slightly before dinner and then let them rise until after dinner. That way we had freshly fried doughnuts right after dinner- so fresh!)
6. Pour 1 cup sugar into a shallow bowl and set aside.
7. Attach a deep fry thermometer to the side of a heavy pot. Pour vegetable oil into the pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium heat to 350F.
8. Working in batches, carefully add doughnuts to oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, allowing oil to return to 350F between batches. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to a plate with paper towels, let drain and then roll the doughnuts in sugar.
9. Transfer lemon curd to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 metal tip and pipe around 1 teaspoon lemon curd into each doughnut.
Enjoy immediately! These doughnuts are so light and tasty when they are fresh!
Lemon-Lime Bars:
I made these for a New Year's Day party. I made a gluten-free/dairy free version which I outline here. You are welcome to use regular flour and butter as well. These are a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I converted to make it gluten/dairy free.
Delicious lemon-lime bars.
Crust:
1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix (King Arthur has a very good mix) or all purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra to decorate finished bars
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons dairy free margarine or butter (softened and cut into 1 inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
Lemon-Lime Filling:
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons gluten free or all purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lime and 1 small lemon
2/3 cup juice from limes and lemons
1/3 cup rice milk or whole milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (you do not need to use this if you are not making the gluten free version)
Crust:
1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper. Grease the top of the parchment paper as well.
2. Pulse the flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch and salt in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add margarine or butter and process to blend, 8-10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 second bursts.
3. Sprinkle mixture into the pan and press firmly into the pan to form an even layer of crust. Refrigerate 30 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Filling:
1. Meanwhile, whisk egg, sugar and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in zest, juice, milk and salt to blend well.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Stir the filling mixture to re-blend; pour onto warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to at least room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
3. Grab the edges of the parchment paper and lift the bars onto a cutting board. Use a pizza wheel (I found this to work very smoothly) or a very sharp non-serrated knife and cut into bars. Wipe the pizza wheel or knife between cuts. Sieve confectioners' sugar over the bars to serve.
Enjoy!!!
I will be back soon to share my new goals and plans with you. I hope you enjoyed your holidays as much as we did!
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1 comment:
It all looks so wonderful, fun, and tasty!!! Where do you find all the time to make so many different things? I enjoyed seeing Adam helping with the cookies...he is going to end up quite the accomplished cook! Thanks for the pictures of all the family doings...I do miss my kids and grandchildren and all of you at this time of year and your pictures make me feel like I am there. Thank you.
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