Tomato Soup with Mozzarella Croutons

So, the main objective of this soup was to recreate all the fabulous tastes of a pizza, in soup form.  The crust, the cheese, the scrumptious tomato sauce, all in good-for-you soup form.  And you know what?   While I am not going to look you straight in the eye (electronically-speaking) and say this is the same as digging into a nice hot cheesy slice of pizza, it's actually pretty fabulous at being soup trying really hard to be pizza.

The soup base is a super-easy mixture of canned tomatoes (side note: please, please, please use the San Marzano variety if you possibly can) that you whiz up in your food processor.  You toss some red pepper flakes, some garlic and some onion into a skillet with some hot olive oil, saute for a few minutes and then add in your tomatoes and some chicken stock (side note: please, please, please use the Imagine or Pacific variety if you possibly can.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, then puree in your blender.  I love my immersion blender for this sort of thing - it's easy and fun, so long as you turn it off before you lift it out of the soup.  Otherwise you end up flinging tomato soup the entire length and breadth of your kitchen.  I won't tell you how I know this, but I do.

OK, on to the croutons, which are just thin slices of French bread that you have drizzled with olive oil and lightly toasted.  Top them with some slice mozzarella and stick them back into the oven until the cheese just starts to melt, about a minute or so.  Now float them on the top of your soup and sprinkle with whatever you like to sprinkle with.  Fresh ground pepper, grated parmesan, dried oregano, chopped fresh basil.  Good luck finding THAT at this time of the year unless you are one of my friends living on the other side of the equator.  I did just get an AeroGarden to grow winter herbs in, but I just got it about 2 weeks ago and the cute little baby herbs are only about an inch tall at the moment.



Anyway...pizza soup!  Yum and yum and yum again...

Tomato Soup with Mozzarella Croutons, adapted from Whole Living

• One 28 ounce can peeled plum tomatoes, pureed with their juice in food processor
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 16 french bread slices
• Olive oil
• 8 ounces slices fresh mozzarella
• Assorted toppings (oregano, parmesan, basil, etc.)

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in saucepan over medium heat.  Add red pepper, garlic and onion and cook, stirring, about 6 minutes or until onions are tender.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Puree in blender until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

1. Brush bread with olive oil and cook in 375 oven until golden, about 5 minutes.  Top with cheese and return to oven until cheese just starts to melt, another minute or two.  

3. Float croutons on soup (or serve on the side if you are very, very neat and tidy) and garnish with your choice of toppings.

Click here for printable recipe

Pasta Amatriciana

I have no idea what "Amatraciana" actually means in real life, but in my house it means "the pasta dish that the Southern husband loves above all others". Maybe because it is just a little bit tangy/spicy because it slow cooks with a lot of chopped onion and smashed garlic. Maybe because it includes a LOT of chopped Canadian bacon. Maybe because you simmer the whole thing in a deliriously amazing mixture of red wine and plum tomatoes with just a dash of sugar to take the edge off all the tangy stuff.

Well, whatever it is, I try and make it for him every once in a while just to show my undying love and devotion, and I always use the recipe from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, because if you are going to make someone's favorite pasta dish you should go right to the heart of cookbook heaven.

This is not to say others in the house don't appreciate my efforts to make suppertime a significant experience as well, just for the record.

Meanwhile, back at the Pasta Amatriciana, this recipe is simple but perfect, and here's my best advice for this one: San Marzano canned plum tomatoes, and Jones Canadian Bacon. Trust me. That and a handful of really, really food fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and all is right with the world. The Silver Palate says "this is a splendid meal for the heartiest of appetites," and I really couldn't have said it better myself. Make it for suppertime for someone you love very soon.

Pasta Amatriciana, adapted from THE SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 8 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped into one inch squares
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 cups drained canned plum tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 cup red wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound cooked pasta (I used ziti, but your choice!)
• Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes. Stir in bacon and garlic and saute for 5 minutes more.

2. Stir in tomatoes, sugar and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with cooked pasta of your choice, sprinkled generously with Parmesan.

Click here for printable recipe

French Onion Soup

Okay, so first of all, this recipe is a major exception to my "must be able to be cooked in 30 minutes or less" rule.  But every once in a while I break that rule to make something I really, really love and really, really want to try making, just for the thrill of it all.  So one Sunday afternoon I settled in to my kitchen with a load of onions, my Dutch oven and the Cooks Illustrated recipe for French Onion Soup.  Because if you are going to spend HOURS on end cooking something, you don't want heartbreak at the end when it doesn't work out, and Cooks Illustrated is as close as any girl can get to a money-back guarantee, recipe-wise.

Now, this would be a good time to confess that those hours are mainly spent lounging around watching Netflix movies while this soup cooks slowly and langorously in the oven and then the stovetop, before you get all worried about me slaving away or anything.  The single hardest part of all of this is not sobbing while cutting up all those onions.  After that, it's pretty much smooth sailing.  Don't get worried when your onions are very dark brown or even blackened in spots.  That is supposed to happen, and it's all essential to the rich onion taste you are going to be spooning up very very soon.  Right after you finish watching Gone with the Wind for the millionth time.  As always, I highly recommend either the Imagine or Pacific brands of broth - the kind that comes in the box right next to the canned broths.  They are SO much better.

Happy French Onion Soup, everyone!

French Onion Soup, from Cooks Illustrated

3	tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
6	large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
	Table salt
2	cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2	cup dry sherry
4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	cups beef broth
6	sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
1	bay leaf
	Ground black pepper
1	small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
8	ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Eggnog Cookies

'Tis the season of eggnog, and I love eggnog just a little bit too much for my own good.  I am SO happy to buy that first carton that shows up on the supermarket shelf, but after I have a glass or two I start getting that little annoying voice in my head that reminds me that eggnog is about one million calories a glassful, and that's before you start eating the Christmas cookies that go along with it.

This cookie is the answer to all of that.  It's a light and delicious little treat with just a hint of eggnog flavor in it (there is only 1/4 cup of eggnog in the whole batch), and those little brown flecks on the top of the cookie?  Yep, nutmeg.  It's like having a cup of eggnog AND a Christmas cookie, all in one scrumptious package.  Plus they are a snap to make.

AND, if you have any eggnog left over after all that, you can make this.

The end.

Except for the recipe, which I snagged from the always fabulous The Cooking Photographer's blog - LOVE her. 

Eggnog Cookies, from The Cooking Photographer

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 scant teaspoon mace or nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup full fat eggnog
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, salt, mace and vanilla extract together until fluffy. Mix in the egg and eggnog. Mix in baking soda, and then beat in flour until just combined.

3. With a standard (size 50) cookie scoop, scoop the batter and place on sheets 2 inches apart. Sprinkle dough very lightly with mace and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Let rest for 2 minutes on sheets then move to cooling rack.

Makes 32 cookies.

Click here for printable recipe

Roasted Shrimp with Feta: Guest Blogger Aileen Morgan!

So, I'm kinda good at a couple of things.  I can cook, and I can take a decent picture now and then.  But there's one talent that I don't have that I would LOVE to have, and that is singing.  I can belt out my own personal version of Free To Be Me in the shower, but you wouldn't necessarily want to be there to actually hear it.  My beautiful little sister, on the other hand, can sing like an angel.  

And she writes all her own songs.  And as it turns out, she can cook, too.  If she gets her hands on my Nikon, I may be in trouble.  In the meantime, I'm taking advantage of all this talent by getting her as a guest blogger on Framed Cooks today...so my wonderful readers, meet my wonderful sister!

 Hi! My name is Aileen Morgan and I'm proud to say Kate is my big sis! She is just as incredible as you can imagine from this beautiful home on the web, and a tough act to follow. I am super excited and grateful to be a guest blogger. I hope you enjoy. 

  It’s the holiday season, a time that brings such joy, but it’s also a time that can be difficult for many 
of us. The expectation of having to give (great!) gifts can make us feel stressed and even strapped at   the same time. You may be asking yourself what to give your significant other when they either have everything, want for nothing, and/or you simply don’t have a ton of dough to spend.

Well, we have to eat, right? So what better
  gift is there then that of a delicious homemade meal- and how about a romantic one? To me, holidays symbolize love, sharing, and time spent with those who mean the most to you. Add wine, candles, music, sumptuous food and love- what more could anyone want?!

To go along with this yummy one dish dinner is a song! Inspired by a romantic dinner made standing next to someone I was falling for, it’s of course, a love song. Follow the following  link, click on "Join Aileen's Email List!" and you'll receive an mp3 that is yours to give a gift! 


www.aileenmorgan.com 

(and that amazing picture on the home page is, of course, Kate's!)

 Here is another gift idea for you for that special night- burn the song onto a CD, wrap it in pretty  tissue paper, add a ribbon and a handwritten message and give it to your loved one to play while you pop open that yummy bottle of wine.

Ahhhh, the holidays.


This dish can be made ahead of time, up to the last step before adding the shrimp, which means more time for romance!

Roasted Shrimp with Feta from Ina Garten's HOW EASY IS THAT?

Serves 4

• 4 tbs good olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups medium diced fennel
• 1 tbs minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbs Pernod (optional)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 lb (16-20) peeled and cleaned shrimp, tails on
• 5 oz good Feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 3 tbs minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 lemons

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat 2 tbs of the olive oil in a 10 or 12 inch heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the fennel and saute for 8-10 minutes, until the fennel is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, tomato paste, oregano, Pernod (if you have it), salt, and pepper to the skillet. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 - 15 minutes.

3. Arrange the shrimp, tails up, in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet. Scatter the feta evenly over the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 tbs olive oil and sprinkle over the shrimp.

4. Bake for 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp and serve hot with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

Click here for printable recipe

Last Minute Christmas Wonderfulness!

Last year, right before Christmas, I came home one day to see this intriguing box outside my front door. The great folks at Tassimo had sent me this this fabulous little number. It makes cappuchino, hot chocolate, chai tea latte...oh and also coffee and tea.

You get all this hot beverage stuff done via these handy little pods - you pop one into the top of the brewer and it magically figures out what you are cooking up and adds in the exact amount of hot water for exactly the right amount of time. Now THAT'S what I call the miracle of modern technology.

It was pretty much love at first sight for me, and I've spent the last year saying to everyone who comes to my house, "May I get you a hot beverage?" And being ridiculously excited when they say yes.

So you can imagine my excitement last week when I came home and there was ANOTHER Tassimo box outside my front door...this time with the T20 model. Which is kind of like the original machine's cute little brother. And before I start going on AGAIN about how much I love this thing, let me just state for the record that the great folks at Tassimo sent me this fabulous device at no cost and with no strings attached other than to give my straight-up, no-holds-barred, honest opinion. Which is, straight-up and no-holds-barred, that I love this new version of the machine just as much as I did a year ago.

It does all the great stuff the bigger model does, but takes up less counter space. Great taste, less filling!

Over the course of the past year, I have learned that you can get the beverage pods at Amazon, at Bed Bath and Beyond, or you can sign up for a regular delivery system if you are a dedicated hot beverage drinker and are very organized. So...if you are looking for a last minute holiday gift idea, or are wondering what to do with those gift cards you got in your stocking...I'll just wrap this up by saying I do love mine. Love it. Hot beverage, anyone??

Tassimo Home Brewing System

Peppermint Brownies

Here's one that was inspired by my friends at the Fat Witch Bakery, who despite their name have you covered through all the holidays, not just Halloween.  I have made their S'mores Brownies about one million times (I am an honorary member of the teenager's posse purely on the basis of making them S'Mores Brownies over and over and over again.  Not that they let me actually hang out with them or anything, but they love me from afar.)

Anyway, here's the next one that I tried from the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook, and to be completely honest, I followed the directions for the brownie part to the letter, but then ran totally amuck on the topping.  Fat Witch called for the topping to be made with a mixture of white chocolate and confectioner's sugar and chopped peppermint, and I just...couldn't...do it.  It just seemed like a little too much chocolate to me (I know!  What is wrong with me???) so I went for a more traditional vanilla buttercream frosting, which came together in a jiff, and I did use the chopped peppermint.  Obviously.  It's still puh-lenty sweet, but the consistency is just a little bit lighter than the white chocolate would have been.  I hope the Fat Witch will still love me, and no hexes will be coming my way.

By the way, since it is the holiday season and I am feeling very generous and like I need to give credit where credit is due, I would like to go on record as saying that these little candy canes that I used for this recipe?  They were individually wrapped (AAAARRRGGGHHH!) and my dashing Southern husband unwrapped them all for me so I didn't lose my mind.

That is what you call true love and devotion.  Peppermint Brownies...make them for someone YOU truly love this Christmas.

Peppermint Brownies, inspired by Fat Witch Bakery

• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound (3 1/2 cups) sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk or light cream, or to make smooth and spreadable
• 1/2 cup chopped candy canes

1. Line 9x9 inch baking pan with foil and spray with Pam.  Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mlet the butter and the bittersweet chocolate together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. Beat together eggs, sugar and both extracts until smooth.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended.  

4. Sift flour and salt together directly into the batter and stir until well-combined.  Stir in white chocolate.  Spread into pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with crumbs, not batter.  Cool on rack until completely cool.

5. Cream butter, salt, and vanilla, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add 3 tablespoons milk or light cream, beating until smooth. Beat in more milk until desired spreading consistency is reached and the frosting is spreadable.

6. Spread over cooled brownies and sprinkle chopped candy canes on top.  Using sides of foil, lift brownies out of pan and on to cutting surface.  Cut into small pieces.

Click here for printable recipe

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Soup

I know, I know, this is a weird one, but work with me here and imagine this.  You know how sometimes you have a bagel, and you spread it with vegetable cream cheese?  Cream cheese that has been mixed up with chopped veggies like spinach, maybe a little tomato, maybe some chopped onion, maybe some herbs like chives and dill?  And then you top it with a little bit of lox or smoked salmon?  (Digression: can someone tell me if lox and smoked salmon are the same thing?  I should know, but I don't.)

Anyway, imagine that...still with me?  Now, take that scrumptious bagel topping and (work with me here), imagine it as a warm and creamy soup.  The cheese is all melted and smooth and creamy, the veggies are cooked and mixed throughout the cheese, the herbs are sprinkled throughout, and in the midst of all of this are pieces of salty, delicious smoked salmon.  And if you still aren't convinced (and the Southern husband wasn't when I first mentioned I would be making this for dinner), see if this helps: this recipe is from the always fabulous SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK.

Now, the Silver Palate and I can't BOTH be wrong, can we?  We can't.  Just ask the Southern husband, who after having it for dinner is now hoarding the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow.  That's the true test if you ask me...leftover hoarding.

Give it a try and see what you think!

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Soup, adapted from SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK

• 3/4 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 8 ounces smoked salmon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 8 cups water
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2 cups fresh spinach, washed and chopped
• 2  eight ounce packages cream cheese, sliced into 8 pieces each
• 1/3 cup vodka
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Snipped fresh chives, for garnish

1. Melt butter in medium size saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in dill, tomatoes and salmon and cook 3 minutes.  Add flour and cook 1 minute more.  Gradually stir in water and heat to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

3. Season with pepper, stir in spinach and simmer 5 more minutes.  Now stir in cream cheese, one piece at a time, allowing each piece to melt into the soup.  When all the cheese is added and the soup is smooth, stir in the vodka and lemon juice.  Taste for seasonings, and ladle into bowls.  Garnish with chives and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Pappardelle with Zucchini, Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Rosemary

1. Don't you just love it when it is time to take the Christmas plates out?

2. Don't you just love it when your dinner actually MATCHES the Christmas plates?

I know, but these are the little things in life that keep a smile on my face, and so I am going with the flow here. This great recipe is another one from THE NEW BROOKLYN COOKBOOK, and is easy enough that you actually don't mind whipping it up in the midst of the wrapping and the shopping and the fa-la-la-la-la. Don't be tempted to use anything other than pappardale in this recipe - it's that gorgeous wide pasta that you see in the picture, and it is the perfect pasta for this dish. I found it without any problem in my local market, right there on the pasta aisle, but if you have any problem you can order it from that same place you are getting all your holiday gifts...here's the link:

Pappardelle Pasta

Anyway, this is a fast and scrumptious dish that will remind you a little of that old standard, pasta primavera, but in this case the veggies are limited to cherry tomatoes that are roasted with a little olive oil and coarse salt, and zucchini that is cut into matchstick size pieces and quickly sauteed. A few toasted pine nuts, some parmesan cheese and you are in business - a red and green pasta dish that would be just perfect for an elegant dinner on, say, Christmas Eve?

Yum and yum and ho ho ho.

Pappardelle with Zucchini, Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Rosemary, adapted from THE NEW BROOKLYN COOKBOOK

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt
• 16 ounces papparedelle
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks (about 2 inches by 1/4 inch)
• leaves from two fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
• Freshly grated parmesan

1. Lightly toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425. Toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil and a generous pinch of salt. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or nonstick foil and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain.

4. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and zucchini and cook for 3 minutes, stirring now and then. Stir in rosemary and cook for 2 minutes more. Add drained pasta and tomatoes and toss, adding a little pasta water to make a light sauce. Sprinkle with pine nuts and cheese and serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Chai Hot Chocolate

Here's the thing about this time of year.  It's heartwarming, and exciting, and magical...and exhausting.  Because let's face it, we were a little busy even BEFORE we started having to make all those lists and check them twice, right?  Don't get me wrong - I like the holidays as much as the next girl.  I love decorating the entire house within an inch of its life.  Even those parts that don't especially love being draped in jingle bells...I just can't help it.

In addition to all this, my birthday is in the middle of December - and the day after my birthday is the teenager's birthday.  And six days after that is my anniversary.  From now to New Year's Eve, it's a merry, action-packed blur of wrapping paper and champagne...and I know you can relate, even without birthdays and anniversaries thrown into the mix.  Which brings me to the reason (you knew I had a reason, right??) for this particular post.  Sometime amid all the shopping and the wrapping and the baking and the tinsel, take a few minutes and make this for yourself.  This is NOT your garden variety cup of hot chocolate.  This is the kind of hot chocolate that someone who has been running around like Santa's head elf deserves.  It's not made with powder, it's made with milk and bittersweet chocolate and chai spices and brown sugar and fresh ginger.  It's topped with a sweet ginger cream that slowly melts into the chocolate.  It's an amazing, once a year holiday treat that has to be sipped slowly and with your eyes closed.

So give yourself a gift sometime in the next few weeks and make this.  Turn your favorite holiday music on low, curl up in your favorite chair, and be quietly merry.

Chai Hot Chocolate, from Epicurious

• 4 cups low-fat milk
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
• 10 cardamom pods, coarsely cracked (and if you can't find these, don't give up!  Just use a little cardamom powder, or some extra allspice)
• 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice, cracked
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
• 6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger plus 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
• 1/2 cup chilled whipping cream

1. Combine first 6 ingredients, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and ginger slices in medium saucepan. Bring almost to simmer, whisking frequently. Remove from heat; cover and steep 10 minutes. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

2. Meanwhile, whisk cream, remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, grated ginger, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in medium bowl to peaks.  Add more sugar to taste if not sweet enough for your taste.

3. Strain hot chocolate. Ladle into 6 mugs. Top each with dollop of ginger cream. 

Click here for printable recipe

Bacon Pancakes

I have several things to say about this particular recipe. First of all, while it may look from that picture up there that I have simply artfully arranged a piece of bacon on the top of those pancakes, if you look very closely you will see that the bacon has actually been cooked INTO the pancake itself. Yes, while those pancakes were on the griddle I dropped some bacon on top of the batter and let that bacon cook into the center of the pancake. Wrap your mind around that for a minute. Take deep breaths.

The other thing I want to point out is the placemat. I got these a couple of years ago at Williams Sonoma...they are hard placemats with Twelve Days Of Christmas artwork on them, and they make me so, so happy. They have a whole line of Twelve Days stuff now, and last week when I was in the store I had to restrain myself from buying matching napkins. Actually the Southern husband had to restrain me - he literally took them out of my hands and put them back on the shelf. Probably because he was remembering that we already have napkins that each have the name of one of Santa's reindeer on them. (I always save Vixen for myself. Which explains a lot about me that you probably didn't want to know.)

But I digress. The pancakes are as simple as I described them above - you mix up a batch of your favorite pancake batter (I am a faithful Bisquick girl myself), and after you ladle your batter onto the skillet, drop on a piece of cooked bacon. Flip your pancake as usual, and when they are gorgeously brown you will see that the bacon has cooked into the batter.

Now pour on some maple syrup, and ask yourself where this bacon-infused pancake has been all your life.

Bacon Pancakes, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 batch of pancake batter - your choice.  I like the Bisquick recipe, which is happily right there on the back of the box
• Butter for griddle
• 8-12 slices of bacon, depending on how much pancake batter you are making.
• Warm maple syrup

1. Preheat of to 400.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay bacon strips on the foil.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is cooked but not too crispy.

2.  Heat griddle or large frying pan over medium heat and melt a tablespoon or so of butter on the griddle.  Pour scant 1/4 cups of pancake batter on the griddle.  Carefully lay a slice of cooked bacon on top of each pancake.  Cook until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake and the underside is golden.  Carefully flip and cook for another minute or two until second side is golden.

3. Serve at once with warm maple syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

 

Devil's Food Butterfinger Cake

Oh, this cake.

I'm kind of at a loss, and probably the best thing to say is simply the following:

1. Devil's food cake.

2. Caramel glaze poured OVER the devil's food cake. While it is still warm. After you have poked holes in it so that the caramel can soak deep into the warm cake.

3. Freshly whipped sweetened cream on the top of the cake.

4. Crushed Butterfinger bars sprinkled liberally over the cream topping. And I do mean liberally.

At this point you may need to breathe into a brown paper bag because of all the excitement. This recipe comes from a great new cookbook called SOUTHERN PLATE that holds a particular special place in my Southern husband's heart, for obvious reasons. I think you'll be able to see from this cover why he was very happy to see this particular book on the kitchen counter.

It's full of all sorts of great stuff, but the desserts are what really caught my eye. Many of them call for packaged ingredients like cake mix, which is just fine with me because they are combined in various ways that make me need to breathe into a brown paper bag. As a matter of fact, this particular recipe called for using Cool Whip instead of homemade whipped cream, and I'm sure that would have worked out just fine. I happened to have some cream in my fridge that needed to be used, but I am certainly no stranger to the wonders of cooking with Cool Whip.

Luckily for me, my house was full of teenagers the weekend I made this cake, or there is an extremely good chance that I would have just sat down with the entire cake and a fork. You have been warned...

Butterfinger Cake, from SOUTHERN PLATE

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12 ounce jar caramel topping
• 1 12 ounce container whipped topping (aka Cool Whip. Or make your own by whipping 1 cup heavy cream with 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until soft peaks form.)
• 1-2 Butterfinger bars, crushed.

1. Prepare the cake according to package directions. You can use either a 9x13 pan or a bundt pan.  Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, poke several holes in it with a fork or a skewer. Mix the condensed milk with the caramel topping and spread over the entire cake.

2. Cool cake completely, then spread the whipped topping over the top, and sprinkle the crushed Butterfinger over the topping.

3. Stand back!

Click here for printable recipe

More Holiday Kitchen Gifts

So, if you've been following this blog this week, you know that I have been up to my ears in sugar and spice and lots of things VERY nice as I have been trying out all kinds of treats that are perfect for wrapping up and giving to near and dear ones for the holidays. And while I do love all these new recipes, it reminds me that I have some old favorites that are pretty delectable as well.

So just as a reminder, here are a few treats from Christmas Past, starting with one that is absolutely guaranteed to be a huge hit, and that is Cookie Truffles! Super-easy to make, and you can make them in either Chocolate Nutter-Butter variety (pictured above) or the equally wonderful White Chocolate Oreo version. Here's the link:

Cookie Truffles

Now, for all you fudge fans out there, here's the perfect marriage of fudge and the holidays...

...and that is Eggnog Fudge, with a little nutmeg sprinkled on top. And if you give it to your true love on a pretty holiday plate, you won't even have to look around for any mistletoe. Here's the link for this one:

Eggnog Fudge

Next is a recipe that is SO fabulous, I actually had to make an entire secret batch for my sweet little sister last year and sneak it to her out of sight of the rest of the family. As she will tell you, this crunchy, salty, sweet, chocolate extravaganza is, um, well worth hiding from the rest of the gang!

It's called Cookie Brittle, and you actually make it with not cookies but saltines, and you really MUST make it because it is crazily good. Here's the link:

Cookie Brittle

And now that you have made all these delectable treats for everyone else, here's one that you need to make for yourself. This is my most beloved recipe because it came to me from my grandmother, and it is - day in and day out - the single most popular recipe on my blog. So if you haven't made them already, give yourself a gift from the kitchen... make them this holiday season, settle down with a cookie and a cup of tea, and you will know why they are my very favorite cookie. From me to you, my grandmother's molasses cookies, with love.

Here's the link:

My Grandma's Molasses Cookies

And now for the most important recipe of all this holiday season: Gather up your favorite people. Mix in some babies and grandparents and stir well. Wrap securely in hugs and sprinkle with kisses.

From my kitchen to yours - a sweet holiday season, my friends!

xox * Kate * xox

Chocolate Pretzel Bites

I've been happily cooking away for days now testing holiday "gifts from the kitchen" recipes." My kitchen is a cheery, sticky mess of sugar, chopped nuts, and more chocolate than the eye can see. The Southern husband and the teenager keep drifting in and out to sample things, and I keep having to explain to the dog that, incredibly unfair as it may seem, dogs are not allowed to eat chocolate, even if it falls on the floor. Even if she is wearing a completely adorable Christmas collar with a jingle bell on it. Sorry, pooch.

And out of all of this merry chaos, out of all the sweet treats I have mixed up, this one is my hands-down favorite. Sweet and salty, peanut butter and chocolate, smooth and crunchy, this one could not be easier to make or more addictive to have on your counter. Or to have HAD on your counter, because the bowl I had on my own counter is now sadly empty.

Here's what you need:

A bag of what they call "fountain and fondue chocolate," and before you panic, they have giant bins of this stuff at Michael's craft stores. I bought several bags, just in case I can't stop myself from making MORE of these.

You also need a couple of bags of those little pretzel peanut butter sandwiches (I used the Snyder's brand. Two 8 ounce bags.

Plus peanuts, peanut butter chips, shortening and some bittersweet chocolate chips. (I'm assuming here that you know what all that stuff looks like so no more cute little explanatory pictures.)

Okay! You melt up the two chocolates in the microwave, and then dump in the pretzels. Swirl them around until they are good and coated with melted chocolate. Then scoop them out with a fork (which lets the excess chocolate drip off) and lay them in a single layer on cookie sheets that have been lined with wax paper. Now sprinkle them with chopped up peanuts. So far so good...but there's MORE. Melt the peanut butter chips with a little shortening in the microwave and pour it into a ziploc bag. Now snip a corner of the bag and drizzle the peanut butter mixture over the pretzels. Now pop them in the fridge until the chocolate is hardened and then break them apart.

You have now achieved perfect chocolate and peanut butter happiness. Now all you have to do next is decide: are you REALLY going to wrap them up and give them away?

I'll leave that entirely up to you.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites, adapted from Southern Living

• 2 1/2 cups fountain and fondue chocolate
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 eight ounce bags pretzel sandwich crackers
• 1 cup chopped salted peanuts
• 3/4 cups peanut butter morsels
• 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening

1. Microwave both chocolates in large bowl for 2-3 minutes or until melted, stirring at 1 minute intervals.

2. Pour pretzels into bowl of melted chocolate and stir gently until coated. Lift out with fork, allowing excess chocolate to drip off, and lay in single layer on cookie sheets lined with wax paper.

3. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over pretzels.

4. Melt peanut butter chips and shortening in microwave for 30 seconds or until chips are soft. Stir until smooth and spoon into ziploc bag. Snip tiny corner off off bag and squeeze peanut butter mixture over pretzels.

5. Put cookie sheets in the fridge until chocolate has hardened, about an hour. Break into pieces.

Click here for printable recipe