Double Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Chocolate cookies, maraschino cherries, chocolate ganache. Can you think of anything we're missing. Whiskey? Oh, its got that too.



Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies.

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp whiskey**
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 10 oz. jar of marachino cherries
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 c. sweet condensed milk

Using a mixer, cream together sugar and butter on low until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and whiskey, beat well. In a large bowl stir dry ingredients together. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beat until well blended.

**Of course, I like to add whiskey to all things. If you don't have any just add 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

Shape dough into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet. Press down in the center of the ball with your thumb.



Drain cherries and save the juice. Place a cherry in the center of the cookies. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, combine chocolate and milk. Heat until chocolate is melted, stir in 1/4 c. cherry juice. After 8 minutes, remove tray from oven, spoon 1 tsp of ganache over cookies and place back in oven for 2-3 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Raspberry Jam Kolaches

Jam Kolaches have to be one of my all time favorite Christmas cookies. Biting through the delicate savory cream cheese pastry helps set off the sweetness of the jam interior which almost pops in your mouth as you enjoy this rich little treat. I have to admit, because each cookie has to be filled with jam and folded over individually, its a little high on the putzy meter, which is why this is always one of the first batches I make (before I am too sick of baking to be bothered). Its worth the time though. I make them every year with NO REGRETS!



Jam Kolaches

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• Jam of your taste. I always use raspberry, because, come on, raspberry is the best.
• approx. 1/4 c. milk
  
• approx. 1/4 c. sifted confectioners sugar.

Using a mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Add flour slowly and mix until a dough forms. Chill in fridge for 15-20 minutes (you can skip this if you are in a hurry).

Roll dough out on a floured surface to approx 1/4" thickness. Using a 2" round cookie cutter cut out as many circles as you can. If you don't have a round cookie cutter (I don't) you can use a drinking glass or a tin can.



Just dip glass or tin can in flour to coat edges before cutting.

Place dough circles on a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon lining. You can also just grease it if you don't use those things, but I suggest parchment at least (helps to keep your dough from burning).



Brush one side of dough circle with milk. Spoon 1/4 tsp jam on each cookie. Fold opposite sides together, slightly overlapping edges and gently pinch closed to form little half circle pockets around jam.



Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.



Remove to cool and sift confectioners sugar over cookies.



So delicate. So delicious.
These cookies are truly precious.
Eat the whole batch in one sitting
and you'll find your pants not fitting.

Christmas= Cookie Time!

Christmas Cookies 4 by Flickr User Dano

Christmas time, its Christmas time, lets all have good cheer to all our friends and neighbors.

This weekend you'll find me completely covered in flour and chocolatebaking in the kitchen to prepare for our annual Cookie Party next Saturday. Every year I make about 10 different kinds or so. So pull out a big glass a milk because for the next week, expect only cookie posts.


Pinwheel Log by Flickr User PugnoM

Here's a list of the cookies I plan on making. I'll be picking my favorites to share as recipes, but let me know if you want any specific ones and I'll try to provide.

• Classic Gingersnaps
• Chocolate Cherry Ganache Cookies
• Jam Kolaches
• Margie's Russian Tea Cakes
• Thumbprints
• Christmas Tree Sandwiches
  
• Mudballs
  
• Lime Glazed Cornmeal cookies
• Palmiers
• Nutballs
  
• Fantasy Fudge
• Kissable Mice
• Spice Spritzes
• Almond Crescents (unfortunately this is my Mom's secret recipe which I had to beg her just to give to me, so I can't share, unless you beg her too.)

Ugh. I just realized, I've listed 14 different kinds. Hopefully I'll have time for all of them. Well lets shoot high!

If this isn't enough, there are lots of blogs running a different cookie recipe everyday, and they have newsletters you can sign up for which will send the recipes straight to your email! So lets get baking!

Kickasserole!

A million years ago, when Ira gave me that incredible Le Creuset casserole pan, I asked for submissions for your favorite casserole recipes. I sort of got caught up in so many different food projects, time got away from me. Paltry as this excuse sounds, please be rest assured, casseroles remain at the top of my list of fav foods to eat on a busy night. We got a lot of great submissions, and I want to thank everyone who participated. One submission however stuck out not only because of its great recipe but by is sensational headline grabbing name. May I present you with Wendy Petrosky's submission;

The Kick-Asserole!

• 1 container(7oz) of pesto
• 14 oz raditore(or rotini) pasta cooked and drained (I like whole wheat)
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast (pre-cooked in package)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 14.5oz can Hunt's diced tomatoes w/roasted garlic
• 2/3 cup feta cheese
• 14oz can quartered artichoke hearts (rinse)
• 1/2 cup parmesan for top

Combine all ingredients (except parmesan) in large bowl,leaving artichokes last and lightly tossed in. Spoon mixture into lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake @ 350 for 35-40 minutes.

All measurements are approximate, and sometimes I add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, extra tomatoes, etc. As with all casseroles, it tastes even better the next day after you re-heat it.

Thanks Wendy! I made this and it was soooo awesome! It was tasty, easy and so quick, it went from zero to kick ass in less then 15 minutes prep time!



My notes: I had some raw chicken breast in the freezer so I cooked up to substitute for the pre-cooked package. I also added some bread crumbs to the top to give some added crunchiness. To finish the meal off, I made a quick garlic bread and we were ready to go. This casserole is kickassa-rolin into my cookbook!

Scallop Pot PIe

The scallop pot pies we made for my Mom's Birthday Dinner turned out absolutely delicious and the only richness required was in the flavor not the pocket book. The use of the acorn squash as bowls is so Autumnal and really made this dish perfect for a cozy fall candle lit dinner.

Scallop Pot Pie
serves six

• 1 lb small scallops
• 1 1/2 c. - 2 c. white wine
• 1 1/2 c. half and half or 3/4 c. heavy cream and 3/4 c. milk
• 1 large onion diced or two medium onions diced
• 1 large carrot diced or two medium carrots diced
• 1-1 1/2 cups diced fennel bulb
  
• 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 1/4 c. frozen corn
• 1-2 Tbs chopped dill
• 1 stick of butter + 4 Tbs
  
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1-2 tsp garlic salt, onion salt or shallot salt
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 0ptional 1/2 lb raw shrimp chopped
  
• 3 small acorn squash
• biscuit dough for topping, recipe follows.

Being by preparing your acorn squash to use for your bowls. Cut the squash in half and scoop out all the seeds and stringy stuff. Cut a small disk off the outter ends of each squash bowl so they will sit flat and not roll. Using a paring knife or sharp spoon, cut out as much of the squash meat from the sides as possible.


The squash at the top has been fully scooped, and the one the bottom shows the disk shape at the bottom cut for the pot pie to keep it from rolling over.

I found a spiky ended grapefruit spoon worked really great for this. Be careful not to puncture through the sides of the squash skin. You can scoop some of the squash out of the bottom if the squash is really thick, but you want to leave some in place so the pot pie doesn't leak out the bottom. We planned on using the squash filling to make soup, but ran out of time. My recipe for roasted butternut squash soup would work well for this. Set squash bowls aside.

Prepare biscuit dough for topping and chill while preparing filling. Recipe follows.

To prepare the filling:
I like to poach the seafood first, as sometimes it takes me a while to get my sauce just right and I don't want it to be overcooked. Over medium-low heat, saute 1/4 of diced onions and fennel in 2 Tbs of butter until clear. Add 1 1/2 cups of white wine and scallops (add optional shrimp as well). Allow to come to a boil. Once the wine is boiling remove pan from the burner and drain scallops reserving the white wine. We want to under cook the scallops here, because they will finish cooking when we complete the sauce. This step is to infuse the wine with the scallop juice so it will cook into the sauce.

Now we want to prepare a roux to help the sauce thicken. An easy roux can be made by mixing an equal part butter to flour. Using a fork, mix together your stick of butter and 1/2 c. flour. Keep mixing until you have a thick paste.


Thickening your sauce, adding roux and boiling.

Place the saute pan back on burner over medium to low heat. Melt 2 Tbs butter and suate remaining onions and fennel until clear. Add carrots and saute for a couple minutes. Don't overcook the carrots, our goal is to retain a bit of crispness to them. Add the reserved wine you drained from your scallops and your half and half. Allow to bring to a boil and add 1/2 the roux and allow to boil. As it boils it will thicken. Keep adding roux a tsp at a time until your sauce is at your disired thickness.


Filling with all ingredients added.

Add peas, corn, dill, and onion salt and allow to cook for a minute or two. Add your scallops. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. I find a generous dose of pepper (1/4- 1/2 tsp) works well, but season to your taste.

Fill acorn squash with filling. Roll out prepared biscuit dough in a rectangle on a floured surface and cut into six equal sections large enough to fit your squash.



Brush dough with raw egg. Place dough, egg side down onto squash and trim excess dough. Pinch dough around rounded edges of squash and brush top of dough with egg yolk. Spinkle with paprika. Place squash on a baking tray.



Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375. After 15 minutes check your dough. If it looks like it is getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil until cooking is done.



Serve and eat up. OK, I know all these directions sound complicated, but this dish is not super hard. Try it and see.

Swiss Cheese Biscuit Dough

• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 4-6 Tbs chilled butter
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. shredded Swiss cheese

This recipe is based on the Joy of Cooking biscuit recipe, which I use so much I keep one of my red ribbons to keep this page permanently marked.

Mix the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or large fork, fork butter into the flour mixture until chunky. Add milk and mix with fork until dough is pretty well mixed. Empty onto a floured surface and gently kneed to form a dough until you have a desired thickness. I try not to handle the dough too much, biscuit dough is best if its not overworked. This will help it be nice and flaky. Chill dough until your ready to use it.

A Forkable Birthday

My Mother spent her whole birthday cooking and hosting her Thanksgiving feast. When my sister, Emily, posed the idea of us hosting a dinner at her house to celebrate my Mom's birthday in style, I was immediately game. She suggested 3 course prefix include personal pot pies as the main course. We knew Mom, being very thrifty by nature, wouldn't want us to go to any expense, so we decided to go to the store and prepare whatever we found on sale.

Fresh small scallops were on special so we decided a scallop pot pie with a white wine cream sauce would do just nicely. A sale on red potatoes was enough to settle our side dish. One look at the teeny acorn squash on sale at the farmers market and we knew we'd found the bowls for our pot pies. Armed with our produce we headed for home.

Here is the 3 course prefix we served to celebrate our Mom's Birthday!

Starter: A salad of fresh greens with shaved fennel, apple, walnuts and Danish Bleu cheese with an apple cranberry vinaigrette.



Main Course: Scallop Pot Pies served in an acorn squash bowl with a Swiss cheese biscuit pastry, sided with New England boiled red potatoes with butter, parsley, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.




Dessert: 3 Lemon Cheesecake



Our pot pies turned out very well, and my sister's cheesecake recipe is literally the best cheesecake I have ever eaten.

While eating dinner, we sat around and played a little game our family likes to call "How Much Would You Pay", where we all sit around a guess at the price we would pay for our meal at a fancy restaurant. For all three courses, guesses ranged from $50 to $75 including alcohol per plate. In truth, our meals cost the hosts about $10 per plate including alcohol. Score!

Stay tuned for the pot pie recipe.

Thankful Reflections of My Parent's Thanksgiving

Sliced thyme and rosemary stuffed turkey rotisserie roasted on the BBQ.

I spent the weekend at my parents house and I am finally getting a chance to sit down and post about our Thanksgiving feast. This year fell on my Mother's birthday, so we had a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. I keep talking about how my parents always do it up big. Here are some pictures to put my money where my mouth is.


Plate setting on my Great Grandmother's satin tablecloth.

I am always in charge of setting the table.



This year, I used some small pumpkins from my parents garden as well small glasses of dried weeds and grass from the poolside flower beds to decorate the table.



For starters, a relish plate of my parents home made pickles. Organic cucumbers, Jerusalem artichokes, carrots and cauliflower from my parents garden.



Everyone loves olives!


My family members pictured from left, Grandma, Aunt Anne (in purple), Aunt Shirley, Aunt Lynda, my Dad and my Uncle John who seems to be in mid-pontification.

We serve ourselves buffet style. Food pictured (counter-clockwise from bottom right) Relish platters, radish rosettes, orange infused cranberry compote, creamy mashed potatoes, sliced oven roasted turkey, sliced rotisserie turkey, cheesy onion casserole, roasted sweet potatoes in a maple syrup sauce, roasted squash (in turkey tureen), green bean casserole (brought by my Aunt Margie), corn pudding, and apple walnut stuffing. You can see the pies on the upper right. The gravy bowls were on the tables.



My parents brined and roasted two turkeys, one on the BBQ (first picture) and another in the oven, stuffed with apple walnut stuffing, pictured above.



With so much food, its always hard to find a big enough plate!



My brother was a member of the clean plate club. Good job Alger!



We had to remember to save room for dessert. Pie options included peach raspberry, a ginormous apple pie, and good old pumpkin with fresh vanilla whipped cream. I ate so much, I think I'm good to until until next year.

Click here for more Thanksgiving photos.