At my neighbor’s engagement party last weekend, one of the guests made the Neely’s recipe for pigs in a blanket. Although the mini hot dogs were more geared towards the kids, I couldn’t get enough of them. I decided to try them out for myself and make them at home.
With the ingredients already in the fridge, the preparation and cook time were minimal. Initially, I was not going to make the Neely’s tangy dipping sauce, but already had all the required ingredients. The sweet sauce boosted the flavor of the salty and juicy turkey dogs wrapped in the fluffy crescent roll.
This recipe is the perfect appetizer for a New Year’s Eve party. Serve alongside some ketchup, tangy sauce and honey mustard and they’ll be gobbled up in no time.
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By Bob
Christmas morning would not be the same without my dad’s more than restaurant worthy eggs benedict. We always purchase the ingredients in advance so that he won’t have any excuse for not making this delicious breakfast or brunch.
My dad has mastered this recipe over the years, which inspired me to highlight his Christmas morning tradition on my blog. The gooey egg, savory Canadian bacon and crisp muffin topped with the lemon infused hollandaise sauce make a delectable combination.
I’m already looking forward to this breakfast next Christmas. Too many calories and too unhealthy to eat more than once a year!
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Since I’m fully embracing the Christmas season, I wanted to experiment with the holiday’s most popular and traditional flavors. My mom purchased a variety of Christmas themed cupcake liners a month ago—a small gift that wouldn’t excite many people. But I, of course, was ecstatic over her purchase. I wanted to use some of these liners before Saturday, so I decided to bake some cupcakes for my friend, Dana’s, ugly Christmas-sweater party.
I baked gingerbread cupcakes and chose to pipe them with a cream cheese frosting. Although moist and delicious, the cupcakes did not have a strong gingerbread flavor. I decided to add cinnamon and imitation maple extract to the frosting to give the cupcakes a more prominent taste. The frosting turned out absolutely delectable and paired wonderfully with the cupcakes.
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In addition to the chocolate peppermint bark cookies I made (here) for my holiday treat bags, my mom and I made English toffee. My mom received this fabulous recipe from our neighbor’s friend a couple of years ago and we’ve used it ever since.
One thing we’ve both learned about making toffee is that in no way is it a one man job. Since the butter and sugar mixture requires constant attention with the spatula/whisk during the time it takes to thicken, someone’s arm is bound to get tired. My mom and I switched off every five minutes or so stirring the mixture. The process takes about 20 minutes.
Although a tedious and laborious task, indulging in a piece of the crunchy and decadent toffee makes the work well worth it in the end.
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Since Christmas is fast approaching, I wanted to get a head start on some holiday baking. I’d been itching to bake something with peppermint, so I scoured the Internet for unique ideas. I found a Bon Appetit recipe for chocolate peppermint bark cookies with a shortbread crust. The cookies looked incredible, so I decided to make these holiday treats.
The recipe called for a candy cane topping, but I chose to use Hershey’s candy cane kisses instead, since I already had a bag at home. Although the crunchy texture of the candy cane pieces would have offered another dimension to the semi-soft cookies, I thought the candy cane kisses worked even better, as they kept the texture consistent.
I am certainly going to make and include these peppermint bark cookies in holiday treat bags for friends and co-workers. My brother, who absolutely loved these cookies, already requested I make them again for him to bring to work.
I recommend refrigerating these cookies even after the chocolate hardens, to prevent melting. Remove the cookies from the fridge 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
More holiday baking and cooking to come!
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My eco-friendly brothers are always telling me to use what we already have in terms of food. So for once I listened to them.
With leftover smoked turkey and a few crowns of broccoli, my mom and I decided to create a delicious mixture to fill empanadas and phyllo cups. We started with the turkey and broccoli and rummaged through the fridge to find other ingredients to spruce up the mixture. Our fridge offered some leftover crisped prosciutto, a block of Monterey Jack cheese and a sweet yellow onion.
We racked our brains for recipe ideas to use the broccoli, not wanting to simply eat the vegetable plain or make broccoli and cheese soup. After searching online for ideas, we decided to try making empanadas with the leftover puff pastry in the freezer and phyllo cups with the leftover phyllo dough.
To our surprise, our little creations were quite a success. The turkey and broccoli mixture combined with the flakey crust of the pastry dough was delectable. Everyone in our family loved the concoction. If we end up having ingredients such as these leftover again, we will definitely make this recipe!
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This is undoubtedly the perfect dessert to make a significant impression on dinner guests. Although time-consuming (I spent about 6 hours total making all 4 components), the end product was absolutely delectable. I discovered this recipe when watching a Thanksgiving episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The moment I saw everyone’s reaction after sampling the dessert, I decided to take on the challenge of one of Bobby’s laborious recipes.
I found his five-star recipe for pumpkin bread pudding with spicy caramel apple sauce and vanilla bean creme anglaise on the Food Network website. I first made the homemade pumpkin bread, which turned out moist and rich with flavor. Next, I made the homemade caramel sauce and vanilla bean creme anglaise.
I had to improvise a bit because I did not have every ingredient in the recipe. For example, instead of using bourbon for the pudding, I used whiskey. I also did not have any star anise for the cream anglaise, so I left this ingredient out. However, I doubt I would include star anise even if I had some in my spice cabinet because I am not a fan of licorice.
Next time I make this dish, I will split the task up into two days, making the bread, caramel and creme anglaise the day before. This way, I would only have to make the pudding and bake the dish the day I want to serve the dessert.
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A significant amount of meat was leftover after making Emeril Lagasse’s oven roasted pork tenderloin recipe from the Food Network website a few nights ago. My mom decided to make use of the leftover pork by making lettuce wraps with ingredients already in our fridge and pantry. We paired the pork with shredded carrots, scallions, peanuts, sweet and sour sauce and soy sauce. The combination of flavors was absolutely delicious.
The tenderness of the pork juxtaposed the slight crunchiness of the shredded carrots and salty peanuts. When wrapped up in a fresh and crisp butter lettuce cup, the texture was perfect.
Lettuce wraps made for a simple and delicious additional meal from the leftover pork.
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This is one of my all-time favorite breads, mainly because it’s extremely easy to make and on top of that, it’s ridiculously delicious. I baked two loaves earlier this week, both of which vanished within a couple of days. I had some leftover zucchini and wanted to slice it up, brush it with olive oil and sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on top.
However, as soon as I brought the zucchini out of the fridge, my dad protested. Apparently he didn’t get to try enough of the bread. Being the wonderful daughter I am [ :) ], I decided to bake two more loaves. Upon further reflection, I decided that my dad’s idea was the superior one for using up the zucchini.
Zucchini that is fresh and has lots of moisture makes for perfectly moist and tender bread with a slightly crisped and browned exterior. This delectable and sweet bread makes for a great breakfast or dessert.
As the wise Jim Davis once said, “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
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My mom and I wanted to find the perfect green bean recipe to bring to Thanksgiving. After a few days of hunting on the Internet for recipes, we finally decided on a recipe for green beans with prosciutto, lemon juice, lemon zest and toasted pine nuts.
A few nights before, we tested a different recipe that called for green beans with pancetta, caramelized shallots and toasted hazelnuts.This recipe sounded delicious, however, the taste was not there. The pancetta was so salty that my mouth puckered with distaste and the hazelnuts were too large and somewhat bitter.
My mom and I selected a recipe from Eating Well, not for health reasons, but because the ingredients were appealing. Eating healthy does not mean sacrificing deliciousness or taste. The tart of the lemon juice and zest worked well with the slightly salty and savory prosciutto, garlic and toasted pine nuts. Hopefully the rest of the Thanksgiving guests approve of our decision!
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