Tag Archives: Christmas
Christmas Dinner
This year, I wanted to experiment with a few new and non-traditional recipes (for example: berry pie instead of pumpkin pie). The following highlights some interesting recipes I made from Real Simple and Epicurious.
Carmelized Onion Tart With Apples: I chose to make this because I liked the fact that this recipe was a mix of a savory and sweet flavors. Specifically, carmelized onions add a perfect flair to any recipe. Plus, this recipe called for Pastry Sheets which means I didn’t have to make the dough! Simple, easy, few ingredients, and delicious! What’s not to love?
Step 1: Chop Onions and Apples
Step 2: Carmelize Onions;
Add Apples and Other Spices
Step 3: Thaw Pastry Sheets, Add
Sour Cream, Apples and
Carmelized Onions, Bake!
Mustard-Crusted Pork Roasted With Shallots and Wine Sauce: I’m not going to lie — this recipe just LOOKED amazing from it’s picture so I decided on a whim to make it. Good thing I wasn’t dissapointed! I would have never thought to use Mustard, but it made the pork juicy and very flavorful.
Step 1: Toss Shallots in Olive Oil
Step 2: Mix Mustards and Chopped
Sage; Add to Pork
Step 3: Bake at 400 Degrees for 95
Minutes, Cut, Serve!
Now, this next concoction was a mix of two recipes: Classic Sour Cherry Pie With Lattice Crust (crust) and Mixed Berry Pie With Ginger, Orange, and Almond Streusel (filling). Every time I make pie, I always end up with too many leftovers that do not get eaten in time. So, this time, I opted to make individualized berry pies. Plus, I found a super good deal at Kitchen Kaboodle ($2.95 each for Ramekins!).
Step 1: Make Dough With Flour, Butter,
and Other Ingredients; Chill Slightly
Step 2: Use Rolling Pin to Roll Out
Dough, Spread onto Ramekins,
Cut Off Border
Step 3: Use Pastry Wheel to Cut Lattices
Step 4: Stir Filling with Berries,
Sugar, Cornstarch, and Lemon Juice
Step 5: Fill Dough, Place Lattices, Bake!
The dessert definitely took the longest hands-on time to make, but it was definitely worth it. I hope your Christmas was fabulous!
Cheers!
5 Things I Love About the Christmas Season
Christmas is one of my FAVORITE times of year — family traditions, delicious food, wonderful sights, and the reminder to be thankful makes this a truly enjoyable time.
1. Christmas Lights — Every house on Peacock Lane in Southeast Portland is completely decorated in Christmas lights starting on December 15 and lasting through December 31. I don’t know if I’d get any sleep with all of the lights and constant stream of cars passing through if I lived there, but I am in complete awe and admiration of their light display!
2. Christmas Sweets — Not only do I love desserts and all things sweet, but I love concocting sweets into some type of creative invention. So, Gingerbread Houses seem to satisfy this desire through the Holiday season. Although I didn’t make my own this year, I did manage to luckily find a Gingerbread competition while on vacation at the lodge in Sunriver, Oregon. These definitely weren’t the traditional Gingerbread houses, but I did pick a few to show of my favorites:
Gingerbread Ski Lodge
Gingerbread Barn
Gingerbread Woodstock Style
3. Christmas Music — There’s something about Christmas music that always puts me in a good mood. I haven’t had time to go this year, but last year I went to The Grotto in Portland and loved hearing the choir sing.
4. Christmas Movies – Even though we watch it (It’s a Wonderful Life) every Christmas, it never gets old.
5. Christmas Food – Of course, I couldn’t forget the Christmas food! This year, I experimented with new recipes and a non-traditional dessert for the Holiday season. Check it out here.
Cheers!
Filed under Uncategorized
Festive Biscotti for December
Biscuit? Bread? Cookie? Depending on who you talk to or what region of the world you are in, Biscotti takes on a different classification. In my opinion, I view Biscotti as a dessert and therefore classify it as a cookie. So, as I searched for Biscotti recipes on FoodNetwork.com, I finally settled upon Almond and Lemon Biscotti Dipped in White Chocolate.
The task of baking Biscotti seemed quite daunting considering that I had never made it before. Unfortunately, my first batch of Biscotti burned on the outside and remained uncooked in the center. By making a few modifications, I was able to reverse my previous mistakes and create some festive Biscotti with a few added elements (sprinkles)!
Step 1: Mix Eggs, Sugar, and Lemon Zest
Step 2: Stir Almonds into Mixture
Step 3: Bake Dough Once, Slice, Bake Again
Step 4: Melt White Chocolate, Dip
Biscotti, Add Sprinkles
So, no matter what you classify Biscotti as, when done right it does not disappoint!
Next time, I will opt to experiment with pistachios and cranberry or perhaps include some chocolate (to satisfy my chocolate cravings, of course)!
Cheers!
Homemade Christmas Cards
Every now and then, I feel the urge to be crafty. My inspiration for this week’s craft adventure arises from two sources: my Aunt and a fabulous pop-up book from my childhood. First, my Aunt creatively makes holiday cards from scratch instead of buying Hallmark cards. Secondly, as a young child, I was always fascinated by the intricate detail of pop-up books. One of my favorite pop-up books is titled America the Beautiful by Robert Sabuda. I’ve included a few pictures to give you a quick taste of my favorite pop-up book!
Mt. Rushmore
Golden Gate Bridge
So, as a result of my two inspirations, I decided to make pop-up Christmas cards this year. Granted, my pop-up Christmas cards look nothing like my childhood pop-up books. But, I did want to at least attempt something different for these cards instead of the standard fare!
Basically, I created a simple card with Christmas trees as the pop-up theme. I used green and red paper stock for the Christmas cards themselves and used a hole puncher to cut out perfect circles for the ornaments on the Christmas trees. In addition, I also added stamping, stickers, and a short personalized note to the bottom with a metallic gold pen.
It is a simple card, but I’m actually quite happy with the final result and I hope that my skills and creativity will improve with the upcoming years!
Cheers!
Filed under Create
