Archive for the ‘Holiday Favorites’ Category

Fat Tuesday? Already? It’s amazing how adding one little 5lb 13oz munchkin to your household puts “outside time” completely out of reach.

Sausage? Check.
Rice? Check.
Tobasco? Check.
Cornbread? After digging around a bit in the freezer for the bag of madeleines… check!

All those pieces means that we have dinner for a week

This is the only jambalaya recipe that I’ve ever needed. It’s spicy, full of flavor, and full of meat – hearty enough for a one-pot and one-bowl dinner.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
1lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 tsp Tony Cachere’s
1 1/2lb chicken, cut into 1-in cubes
3 bay leaves
3 cups rice (I used half white and brown)
3 cups water
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped green onions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, salt and cayenne. Stirring often, brown the vegetables for about 20 minutes, or until they are caramelized and dark brown in color. Scrape the bottom and sides to loosen any browned particles. Add the sausage and cook, stirring often for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides to loosen any browned particles.

Season the chicken with Tony Cachere’s. Add the chicken and the bay leaves to the pot. Brown the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes, scrapping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned particles. Add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat it evenly. Add the water and stock, stir to combine, and cover. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, without stirring, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the green onions and serve.

Adapted from: The Food Network

Christmas baking is pretty standard around here. I make a Red, White, and Green Biscotti every year – it’s fool-proof, the raw dough tastes awesome, and everyone loves them. With every passing year, I’ve pretty much had to double the previous year’s output. Supply and demand doesn’t lie!

Then there are the Fleur de Sel Caramels. Last years batches were spiked with pretty flecks of Tahitian vanilla bean. I also think that we might actually enjoy them more than the recipients but they’re definitely one of our holiday favorites.

And then there’s the annual, revolving-door Chocolate + Peppermint combo. I’ve made Swirly Peppermint Bark and a decadent hot chocolate mix with peppermint marshmallows before. But this year, I decided to slap a bow on an oldie-but-goodie and call it a Christmas cookie. And with my holiday chocolate order arriving, I have plenty of chocolate hanging around.

I recently stumbled across an old recipe that I used to make in my pre-Foodie Bride days, forever known as “The Emergency Cookies.” There aren’t many cookies out there that I’d say taste better cold than fresh-from-the-oven warm but these are one of them. Straight out of the gate, these cookies are fall-apart tender but I love sneaking two of these for breakfast the next morning. The cooled and crackly chocolate leaves a very chewy cookie that borders on confection and the peppermint extract provides a Christmasy hint of mint among all that chocolate.

Peppermint Chunk Cookies
8 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-1 tsp peppermint extract, to taste
12 oz chocolate, roughly chopped (or 1 package chocolate chunks)*
12 peppermint candies, roughly chopped for garnish

* I used 6oz chopped semisweet and 6oz chopped dark chocolate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment or silpat.

Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 25-second increments, stirring in between, until just melted. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract on high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved (4-5 minutes). Reduce speed to low and add the melted (and now slightly cooled) chocolate. Mix until uniform. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Sprinkle a few pieces of the chopped peppermints over each of the dough mounds, pressing lightly into the dough. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet still soft in centers, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living
Yields: ~2 dozen cookies

They say you’re not supposed to try new recipes out at the holidays because it’s stressful and you don’t want to be faced with a houseful of disappointed guests. Because cooking a familiar meal for 13 isn’t stressful enough already? Whatev. “They” are crazy – the holidays are the perfect time to try out new things because you have a houseful of guinea pigs!

My dad usually hosts and handles most holiday dinners and for those dinners that he doesn’t handle, he still always makes the dressing and baked beans (we’re dressing people, not stuffing people). I ran across this gem of a recipe by Tyler Florence by accident – I mistakenly DVRed a rerun of the Dear Food Network Thanksgiving special rather than what was supposed to be a really good Jess/Tess/Bess episode of One Life to Live. Multiple personalities… it wouldn’t be the holidays without ‘em

Everyone seemed to really like the dressing – I know I sure did! The ruling on the chestnuts was somewhere around 60-70% in favor of omitting the nuts next time. They have a strange texture that I wasn’t thrilled about – I think chestnuts were new to most of us around the table but my sister Angie really liked them in. Maybe I’ll do half of the baking dish without them next year.

I also used a hardier crust-on bread than the original recipe called for so I think there would be enough texture without the chestnuts. Either way, this dressing has secured its place at our future holiday tables… or at least those future holidays that I can guilt my dad into letting me host.

Updated

Roasted Chestnut and Sausage Dressing
1 lb Italian chestnuts
1 medium carrot, peeled and rough chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 green onions, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic
4 slices of thick-cut bacon
1 lb loose sweet Italian sausage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 lb loaf of fresh bread, cut into 1-inch cubes*
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

* You want enough fresh bread cubes to fill a 9×13 pan. I’ve used ciabatta before and a mix of sourdough and a whole grain baguette.

Preheat oven to 400. Score an X onto the bottom of each chestnut with a paring knife (the knife must go all the way through the shell) and roast 20-25 minutes on a baking sheet. Shell nuts after cooling and rough chop.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the bread cubes into a large bowl.

In a food processor puree the carrot, onions, celery, sage, parsley, and garlic until you have a fine pulp. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan with tongs and reserve for another use. Add the sausage to the bacon grease and cook until browned – about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage and place in a large mixing bowl.

Add the vegetable pulp to the pan and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables, sausage, and chopped chestnuts to the bread bowl. Mix well.

Whisk together chicken stock, cream, and eggs. Pour over the dressing and toss to mix and coat well. Transfer stuffing into the prepared dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on the top (if it gets too brown before the 30 minutes is up, tent with foil).

Adapted from Food Network