Gingerbread Doughnuts and Other Christmas Treats (Days 335-343)

Christmas week flew by and was filled with yummy treats in this house!  We had people over here and we gathered with family elsewhere.  I made dinners, desserts, appetizers, and breakfasts--basically, we feasted (and continue to do so)!  Here's a recap of some of our holiday feasts:

Day 335 (Saturday): We had my dad's concert tonight so we quickly ate some leftover pizza from the night before and then had my parents over for coffee and cookies and fudge.  For Christmas cookies, we had spritz (a Swedish cookie), gingerbread cookies, and chocolate fudge.  I just follow the fudge recipe that's on the Fluff container--it's name is accurate "Never Fail Fudge."  At least that's how it's always been for me!

Spritz
I triple the recipe, but then use 1 cup less of flour so the dough is easier to handle and press.

1 cup soft butter
2/3 cups sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.  Squeeze dough into a cookie press (I use Pampered Chef) and press out onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Sprinkle with colored sprinkles and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Day 336 (Sunday): Today I made my roasted whole chicken for Sunday dinner and my sister-in-law was able to join us after watching Abby sing her Christmas song at church.  I love making big dinners--especially around the holidays.

Abby singing and waving at church.

Day 337 (Monday): Vegetarian Enchiladas
So, a while ago I started making vegetable tostadas which you can do grilled or roasted and use pretty much any variety of vegetables you like.  I started dinner tonight with that recipe in mind, but it ended up turning into vegetarian enchiladas.  First off, my tortillas were a little too big for the "tostada" idea, so they were better treated as a wrap.  Second, I had some avocadoes that were about to become overripe, so I decided to make an avocado-ranch sauce.  So when everything was said and done, I had some roasted eggplant, squash, and peppers.  I mashed up the avocadoes and mixed in a little ranch dressing and spread that on my tortillas, then topped it with the roasted vegetables.  I sprinkled in a little cheese, rolled the tortillas, and sprinkled more cheese on top.  Then they went back in the oven (400*) for a few minutes until the cheese was melted.  I served it with sour cream and my homemade salsa.

Day 338 (Tuesday): My parents and brother came over for dinner tonight and I remade my entire Olive Garden dinner experience consisting of Zuppa Toscana soup, salad, and homemade breadsticks.  It was delish!

Day 339 (Christmas Eve):

We went to my aunt and uncle's house for Christmas Eve dinner.  I come from a Swedish family, so Christmas Eve is a huge deal--we have a smorgasbord of food!  I brought desserts including a bourbon spice cake, cherry cordial trifle, and a mint chocolate ice cream cake.  Christmas Eve morning I also made my homemade cinnamon buns for my family.  I didn't get any pictures of the desserts, but they are all Pampered Chef recipes and you can look them up here.

Day 340 (Christmas Day): After presents were opened, coffee was had by adults and Santa's leftover cookies were eaten by the children, we had a nice, big breakfast!  I made a kale and sausage strata and gingerbread doughnuts.  We went to my parents' house for Christmas dinner and I brought homemade jalapeno poppers for an appetizer.

Gingerbread Doughnuts
I follow a few blogs of my own, in order to stay "in the loop" with different cooking techniques, writing styles, and blogging trends.  I don't always get to read every post that comes my way due to lack of time. ("No, really?"  You might be thinking.)  But I had to read this recipe that came to me from The Texan New Yorker.  These doughnuts are absolutely divine and will now become a staple among our breakfast items!  This recipe makes 6 doughnuts and uses a doughnut pan which you can buy at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar (she called for dark, but I used light)
3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 sour cream
1 TB honey
1 TB molasses
2 TB vegetable oil
2 TB whole milk

GLAZE
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
2-3 TB whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease a 6-count doughnut pan.  In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.  In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, honey, molasses, vegetable oil, and milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until combined.  (Don't overmix or you will get a heavier doughnut.)
Spoon the batter into a pastry bag or a ziploc bag and cut one corner off.  Pipe the batter into the doughnut pan, being careful not to overfill the doughnut rounds.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients, adding more milk for a thinner glaze if desired.  Pour over the doughnuts.

Day 341 (Friday): Tonight we went to Via Italian Table to celebrate my parents' 30th anniversary.  It was a great time with great food!  And if I can take a minute to share a "proud mom moment"--a couple who sat near us came over to me when they left to tell me that my kids were very well-behaved and that I should be proud.  I was! :)

Day 342 (Saturday):

Smoked Gouda Burgers for family movie night!  I bought a variety of cheeses for a cheese and cracker appetizer Christmas day.  I used the leftover smoked gouda as inspiration for these burgers.  I cooked up some bacon and crumbled it and put it in the actual burger meat with a dash of hot sauce, some Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, a bit of mayo and a tad of stone-ground mustard.  I caramelized some onions to top the burgers with and melted the smoked gouda on top.  Those burgers were delicious!



Day 343 (Sunday): We had our 3rd floor tenants over for Sunday dinner today.  I made a rosemary-salt crusted rib roast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli au gratin.  One thing I love about hosting dinners around the holidays is that I seldom have to worry about dessert.  We just passed around cookies and more fudge and that definitely satisfies everyone's sweet tooth!

Days 274 & 275: Swedish Meatballs, Swedish Potatoes, Broccoli Au Gratin

Alas, I find myself one week behind on my postings. (Sigh!)  Will I ever get fully caught up again???  I have about 5 posts lined up with recipes ready to go.  Now I just need an assistant to come and type them up for me (and do my dishes).  I can dream, can't I?

So last Monday, the crown molding went up on our cabinets in the kitchen!  I know, I owe everyone pictures of how it's coming along.  We're almost at the end, so I'm just trying to hold out a little longer before posting "before" and "after" pictures.  These finishing touches are taking longer because they aren't vital to the function of the kitchen, so it's easier to push them back when we need a renovation break.  So for Monday, Day 274, we ordered pizza.  It would've been too hard to try to cook and maneuver around the equipment that was in the kitchen--the molding went up right around supper time.

On Tuesday, Day 275, we had ourselves a little feast.  I love throwing together a super big meal on the occasional fall weekday.  It reminds me that the holidays are right around the corner, which gets me excited like a little kid!  And somehow, serving 2 sides of vegetables plus crescent rolls makes a Tuesday night meal feel more like Thanksgiving!  I made Swedish meatballs, Swedish potatoes, broccoli au gratin, corn, and rolls. 

Swedish meatballs
I get asked how I make Swedish meatballs all the time.  Yes, I'm part Swedish.  My mother's family is all 100% Swedish, actually.  And yes, I love to cook!  But I must confess, my Swedish meatballs are not necessarily authentic--they're traditional, but only to my family.  What does it take to make an authentic Swedish meatball?  Well, if you look on the back of a McCormick all-spice container, it would say to just add all-spice to ground beef and then you'll have Swedish meatballs.  If you look at a Swedish recipe, however, it will say to soak bread in milk until it's crumbly and to add the moist "breadcrumbs" to the beef and the all-spice, maybe a few other seasonings, and then there will be a recipe for a white sauce to go with them.  Me?  I use my regular recipe for meatballs and add about 1/4 tsp (or 1/2, depending on how much meat I use) of all-spice to the mixture.  And here's where I cheat... big time.  I either make my own brown gravy with any beef stock I have in the fridge, or I get a little help from McCormick (again) and use their brown gravy sauce.  I'm sorry, but that's how my 100% Swedish grandmother has always done it!  So for me, yeah, that's tradition...

 I first brown my meatballs in a skillet, but don't be like me and overcrowd your pan... do as I say, not as I do.  ;) I was probably in a rush that night!

 Then I add my meatballs and gravy into a casserole dish and bake in a 350* oven for about 20 minutes.

Swedish Potatoes
A much more authentic recipe, even though I'm the first one in my Swedish family to make them!

4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
heavy cream (about 1-2 cups)
salt, lots of pepper
vegetable oil

In a large skillet, drizzle in some vegetable oil and turn the heat to medium-high.  Cook the onions until they are translucent, then add the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the white wine and cook for another 5 minutes. 

Pour in the heavy cream using enough so that all the potatoes are coated with cream.  Reduce the heat and let the potatoes cook until tender.  Season liberally with black pepper.

Broccoli Au Gratin
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
French fried onions

In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Add the milk and the broccoli and simmer until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the shredded cheese.  Pour into a casserole dish and top with French fried onions.  Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes.

Days 271-273: Pot Roast & Other News...

So this past weekend I had another catering job, on a smaller scale.  You can see pictures from it here. So while I was preparing the food Friday and Saturday, not much dinner cooking happened.  Friday night (Day 271) was "ladies' night" among a few of my friends.  Hello, hibachi!  Randy and his friend watched our kids together and I made the hubbies and kids my stromboli.  Saturday night Randy and I had a birthday party to go to and then met up with some friends at Southside Bar & Grille in Gardner.  But Sunday (Day 273) was pot roast day!

Ahh, pot roast.  It honestly doesn't get much better than that on a fall or winter day.  This is another recipe I posted back in February.  But I realized the other day that professional cooks and bloggers write about the same thing more than once, so I can do the same.  ;) The recipe is pretty much the same every time, but I took new pictures.  So you can click the "February" link above to see the original, or just follow along here.  Either way, this is a great recipe to share with family and friends in this season!

Pot Roast
Some people call it "beef stew", others just refer to the meal as a whole as "pot roast."  Whatever you call it, it's delicious!  This recipe includes extremely flavorful seasonings and will probably be the best pot roast you've ever had...

3-5 lb roasting meat
5-6 carrots + 1 more (depending on size and desired meat/vegetable ratio)
3-4 large potatoes (6 small)
14 oz beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1-2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, minced
10 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
5-6 sprigs of rosemary (leaves only, roughly chopped)
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TB onion flakes
salt, pepper
extra virgin olive oil
3 TB butter
2 TB flour

Place 1 carrot (peeled and roughly chopped), the onion, and the garlic in a slow-cooker on low.  Drizzle with olive oil and add 1 TB of butter.  Put about half of the thyme and rosemary in, too. 

Heat a cast iron skillet on high heat and sear the beef on all sides--sprinkled with salt and pepper. 

When the meat is seared, deglaze the skillet with the red wine and then add the beef and the wine and pan drippings to the slow-cooker.  Drizzle in the Worcestershire sauce and pour in the beef broth.  Season everything with salt and pepper and a little bit of dried oregano.  Let cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.

If this is your thing, go ahead and pour yourself a glass of wine, too--you've got time to kill!  Of course, if you're preparing this in the morning for a Sunday noon-time meal, I'd skip the glass of wine for yourself. ;)

About 45 minutes before the meat is done, heat the oven to 400*.  On a baking sheet, place the peeled and chopped potatoes and carrots.  Drizzle them with olive oil and season with the rest of the herbs, the garlic powder, and the onion flakes, and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 30-40 minutes.
When the vegetables are about done, remove the meat from the slow-cooker and let rest on a cutting board.  Pour half of the sauce and vegetables from the slow-cooker into a blender.  Add 1 TB of butter and 1 TB of flour.  Blend until smooth.  Repeat with the remaining sauce.  (Do it in 2 batches rather than 1 big batch so the blender won't explode!--Yep, speaking from experience!)  Check seasonings and adjust with salt and pepper.  Pour all of the gravy back into the slow-cooker once blended and thick.  Cut up the beef and add it and the roasted veggies back into the slow-cooker, toss altogether and let sit on low or warm until ready to serve.

Day 47: Beef Wellington with Cheesy Sauce, Ceasar Salads, Rum Runners

It's not all that often that we feed the kids a separate meal and eat together after they go to bed.  Before I had kids, I never thought I would prepare a different meal for my kids.  My kids CAN eat whatever we eat, and usually do.  I'm not the type of mother to give in to "picky" eaters.  But now I see a better reason for eating separate meals: peace and quiet.  How nice to eat dinner without having to worry about two little extra mouths.  Randy now has Fridays off from his night job.  Yay!  So tonight, we had a mini celebration!  While we fed the kids and got them ready for bed, we snacked on a baguette with cheese, jam, and wine.  Then it was cooking time!

Beef Wellington with Cheese Sauce  (for 2)
A traditional beef wellington is usually one piece of meat wrapped in a puff pastry.  I create mine more like a calzone.  The beef is cut into chunks with a mushroom/dijon sauce.  I saw this made on a food network cooking show a few years ago.  I honestly don't even remember the person's name.  It was a weekend show that wasn't one of the "popular" ones--but I'm glad I caught it, this recipe rocks!

1/2 lb filet mignon
4-6 oz white mushrooms, minced or finely chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 TB dijon mustard
1-2 TB olive oil
salt, pepper
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg + water (for egg wash)
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
paprika
pepper

In a small saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the finely chopped mushrooms and garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat.  When the mushrooms have cooked down, turn off the heat and add the dijon mustard.  Cut the beef into small chunks and add it to the mushroom mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Cut a sheet of puff pastry diagonally.  Spoon half of the filling onto each triangle.  Spread the egg wash around the edges of the pastry, and fold over.  Brush the egg wash onto the wellingtons and poke a few holes in them with a knife.  Bake at 400* for 20 minutes.

For the cheese sauce:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk one minute.  Add the beer, milk, and Worcestershire sauce.  Season with paprika and pepper.  Turn the heat up to high and add the cheese.  Whisk continually until the cheese is melted, then turn off the heat.
Pour over the wellingtons and serve with a ceasar salad with homemade dressing.

Rum Runner
1 1/2 oz coconut rum
1 oz blackberry brandy
3 oz orange juice
3 oz pineapple juice
3 oz cranberry juice
ice

Day 28: Another Sunday Dinner: Pot Roast

I've mentioned before how much I love the idea of Sunday dinners with a big family.  Here's another regular Sunday dinner meal for the Dattolos during the fall/winter: pot roast.  My recipe comes from a combination of research and my own trial and error.  This recipe is fantastic!  The combination of flavors and a nice, tender cut of meat are essential for making this a Sunday dinner keeper!

Sunday Dinner Pot Roast
3-5 lb roasting meat
5-6 carrots + 1 more (depending on size and desired meat/vegetable ratio)
3-4 large potatoes
14 oz beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1-2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
10 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
5-6 sprigs of rosemary (leaves only, roughly chopped)
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TB onion flakes
salt, pepper
extra virgin olive oil
3 TB butter
2 TB flour

Peel and quarter the onion and place in a slow-cooker.   Add the garlic.  Peel and roughly chop 1 carrot and add it with the onion and garlic.  Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, 1 TB butter, and season with salt and pepper.  Add the leaves of 5 thyme sprigs, 3 sprigs of rosemary, and about 1 tsp of the dried oregano.  Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it's piping hot.  Season the meat with salt and pepper.  Add oil to the skillet and sear all sides of the meat.  Once seared, add it to the slow-cooker on top of the vegetables.  Drizzle in the Worcestershire sauce, red wine, and beef broth.  Cook on high 2 hours or low 4 hours or until medium-rare.

About 45 minutes before the meat is done, start the vegetables.  Peel and chop the remaining carrots and chop the potatoes.  Put all the vegetables on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, and add the remaining rosemary and thyme.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion flakes.  Bake at 400* for about 20-30 minutes.

When the meat is ready, remove it from the slow-cooker onto a cutting board to rest.  While it's resting, whisk 2 TB butter and 2 TB flour into the sauce and vegetables in the slow-cooker.  Pour all of the contents into a blender and blend until smooth and thick.  (*It helps to do this in batches to avoid a blender explosion!)  Pour back into the slow cooker.  Cut up the meat and add it to the sauce.  Remove the vegetables from the oven and add them to the meat and sauce.  Mix everything together and serve in bowls with bread.

Day 22: Meatloaf "Crater", Broccoli Au Gratin, Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

When I was young, I liked to cook meals for my family.  I had a Betty Crocker cookbook for kids and this idea for meatloaf was in it.  The idea is that it's fun for kids to make, but it really tastes great and enhances regular meatloaf, I think.

For the Meatloaf Crater, I use the same recipe I use for Italian meatballs, but I add some dried oregano as well.  I then shape the meat into a mound and make a "crater" in the center.  Whisk one egg and pour it into the crater.  Top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes.

Broccoli Au Gratin
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
French fried onions

In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Add the milk and the broccoli and simmer until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the shredded cheese.  Pour into a casserole dish and top with French fried onions.  Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes.

To find the recipe for Mustard Roasted Potatoes, see Day 2.