Tag Archives: holiday

Food

Easy Chocolate Pecan Pie

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I love this twist on the classic pecan pie. It is becoming a family tradition for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I totally cheat and use a deep dish frozen pie crust.

Ingredients:

4 ounces of semisweet chocolate (which is about 2/3 cup)
2 tablespoon margarine, melted
3 eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
1 cup of corn syrup (light or dark)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pecan halves
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell,
homemade or frozen

Process:
In a double boiler melt chocolate and margarine. Let cool. Beat eggs lightly and then add the sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir until blended, I use a wire whisk to mix it thoroughly. Mix in pecans. Put the pie shell on a lined baking sheet. Then pour in the filling. The pecans make sink to the bottom, don’t worry it will all even out. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until the knife inserted midway between the center and rim comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Food

Chocolate Almond Popcorn

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This is something I try to always have on hand during the holidays but it is great all year. It keeps for quite a while if you keep it in an airtight container so it is great to pull out for those drop in guests or to take as a hostess gift.

Ingredients
1 cup popcorn kernels, popped
3 cups unsalted whole skin-on almonds (about 1lb), toasted
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp kosher salt
(To the almonds you can put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 250 degrees. Cook 15 minutes until you just start to smell them. Or put them in a skillet on the stove top and cook them on medium/low until you smell them. DON’T LEAVE THEM, NUTS BURN EASILY)

Process:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put popcorn and nuts in a large bowl and set aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, butter, cocoa powder, and salt into a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a gentle simmer (about 5 minutes). Make sure to stir the mixture. Then pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn and nuts. Don’t pour it all in one spot; try to cover the popcorn and nuts. Toss until it is all coated. Put the mixture on rimmed cookie sheets. Bake, stirring every 20 minutes, until the mixture is almost dry to the touch (about 1 hour). Then cool completely on the cookie sheets. Store it in an airtight container.

Food

Hamantaschen

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Since Purim is tomorrow, I thought I would post my Hamantaschen recipe (or the one I use;). You make a cookie dough, then the filling dough, then you assemble. That is how this recipe will be formatted.

Cookie Dough:

Ingredients

2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
8 tbl (1 Stick) Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbl Lemon Zest

Process

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Work butter into dry ingredients (with forks or a pastry blender) until a consistent pebbly texture. The add the eggs one at a time while mixing with a pastry blender. Then add the lemon zest and form into a ball. Then refrigerator for 1 hour.

Poppy Seed (Mohn) Filling

Ingredients

1 cup Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Milk
1 tbl Lemon Juice
2 tsp Lemon Zest
1/2 cup Raisins

Process

Mix it poppy seeds, honey and milk together in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken. Then stir in remaining ingredients and set aside to cool. Take care to not over cook because it will cause a dry filling and therefore a dry cookie.

Assembly

Ingredients

Cookie Dough
Filling
1 Egg beaten with 1 tbl of water

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then roll out dough to about 1/8th an inch. I roll between 2 pieces of parchment, wax paper or silicon liners from my cookie sheet. Then cut dough into 3 or 4 inch circles depending on size of you cutter or glass. Place a tsp of filling in the middle and fold dough around it into the shape of a triangle. Then brush dough and bake about 20 minutes. They will brown when they are done.

Makes about 30.

Technorati Tags: Hamantaschen, Purim

Food

Cheap and Easy Romantic Meal

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I think Valentine’s Day is a challenge for everyone. Do you go out and pay a lot of money, not to mention the crowds? That is IF you can find a babysitter, which is always a challenge in my neck of the woods. So what is the solution? Tire out the kids, feed them early and put them to bed. Then decide on a decadent dinner you have always wanted to eat and make it yourself. I know, I know, it sounds hard but it really isn’t. Here is one of our favorites, Bacon Wrapped Fillet Mignon with Whipped Mashed Potatoes. When we first discussed this (years ago) I was mortified to pay that much for meat but let us really look at it. At our Meat Market it is $14 a pound and you can get 2 good sized fillets in a pound. Compare that with at least $20 a plate and you are saving money. This way it is made how you like it, nice ambiance and no crowds. The other part is that it is so easy to make. First take bacon and wrap it tightly around a fillet. You need to overlap so it may take a few pieces. Then cook it over medium heat in a skillet on the stove. When the bacon is done give the fillet a push with your finger. If it is real squishy put it in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes. Then take the meat out of the skillet to rest. Add a little red wine to deglaze the skillet. When it has reduced a little add a pat of butter, this rounds out the sauce (or gives it a rich taste). For a finishing touch, place your fillets on a piece of toast french bread and then pour your sauce over the top. Pair with mashed potatoes that have been finished with a little cream cheese and enjoy!

Then you have a fancy dinner for a fraction of the price! Have a great Valentine’s Day.

(This is a repost from last year on Nerdfamily!)