COOKIE MONSTER!

Cookie Monster Time!

hosted by Lindsey Fears Harrington

The holidays are such a fun time. You reunite with old friends that may live far away or you meet new friends that live right around the corner. Either way it's a time for you to get together, celebrate life, and talk shop. Kitchen shop that is! This time is was a holiday cookie exchange hosted by my baking friend, Lindsey. 11 of us girls, 2 kids, 1 mom, a husband, and a dad got together to try dozens of different cookies - all of which were delicious. This was only after we had tons of appetizers, such as; homemade pigs in a blanket, 7-layer dip, Bruschetta and the list goes on and on, but I don't want to make you jealous, so here's the recipe I made - a true hit in our household!

Appalachian Trail Cookies
from the Vegetarian Hausfrau (my sister's blog - original orientation found there)

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I love this!)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon pastry flour (I used all purpose flour)
pinch salt
pinch baking soda
pinch ground cinnamon
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I didn't use them)
1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1/3 cup M&M candies (plain)

1. Blend shortening, butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and mix well.

2. Add coconut, flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix only until blended.

3. Fold in oats by hand, then mix in raisins, peanuts and M&Ms.

4. Spoon out in equal portions on parchment-lined baking pan. Bake at 360 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes two dozen.

Delicious! Happy Holidays everyone!

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

Yum Yum Yum! If you have a potluck to go to or you're making dinner for a crowd (this feeds 12) this is the way to go! The ingredients are all reasonably priced, so it makes for a wonderful potluck dish. I made this for the girls at our annual gift exchange and it was perfect. We all had a bit with the other dishes that were brought (a wonderful salad from Meg & Kelsey and great cookies from Courtney & Ashley) and then still were able to take some away for our lunches the next day. This would also be great with chicken if you are craving some meat in your pasta/main dish. You can make the pesto or also buy store bought - Kelsey S. recommends Trader Joe's Pesto (she says it's amazing).

Man....I sorta want to make this again tonight! Enjoy!

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
from Ina Garten

3/4 lb. Fusilli Pasta
3/4 lb. Bow Tie Pasta
1/4 cup EVOO
1 1/2 cups Pesto (see below for a home-made Pesto recipe)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup Pine Nuts
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper

1. Cook the fusilli and bow ties seperately in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and toss into a bowl with the Olive Oil. Cool to room temperature.

2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree.

3. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Serve!

Homemade Pesto
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 tbsp. chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 cups EVOO
1 cup grated Parmesan

1. Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor for 15 seconds.

2. Add the Basil leaves, salt and pepper.

3. With the processor running, slowly pour in the EVOO and process until pureed.

4. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away.

Arugala, Fennel, Apple, Mandarin Orange, & Pomegranate Salad

Lately I've been feeling more and more like it's Winter time. The time when I start gaining a bit of weight because it has become harder and harder to get to the gym as it's so cold outside. Most of the time I just want to curl up in a blanket at home. Well, on the nights I decide to skip the gym I try to eat healthier. Now, don't get me wrong, I tend to eat pretty healthy, but I make salads on the nights I don't workout. This salad was GREAT! It was easy and a burst of flavors - bitterness (from the Arugala), sweetness (from the apple), and tangy (from the Mandarin Oranges). Enjoy it and feel good about eating it - it's healthy!

Arugala, Fennel, Apple, Mandarin Orange, & Pomegranate Salad
from Epicurious

(I reduced the recipe to be just enough for 2)
Dressing:
1/4 cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 Shallot
1/4 tsp. grated lemon peel

Salad:
1/2 cup fennel (thinly sliced)
1/2 fuji apple (sliced like match-sticks)
3 cups of Arugala
3 mandarin oranges (I used Satsumas)
1 seeded Pomegranate (the trick here is de-seed it in a bowl of hot water - you stay clean and the seeds sink to the bottom!)

1. Mix the first ingredients to make the dressing.

2. Put thinly sliced fennel and apple in a bowl and drizzle about 3 tbsp. of the dressing over the top.

3. Put the arugala in a bowl, add the fennel/apple and toss with the rest of the dressing.

4. Plate and then put mandarins and pomegranates on top of each one.

Delicious!

Rum Cake

Man-Oh-Man, this is worth sharing. If you can believe it, I've never had Rum Cake! Chad requested this last weekend when we were decorating our Christmas tree as he said it makes him feel like the holidays and it lasted ALL week (even after we were eating 2 slices every other night)! We had our final piece last night - it was just as moist as the first day it was made. Delicious! The recipe claims the nuts are optional, but I felt they made the cake, so if you are allergic take them out (otherwise leave 'em in). This is a Chop, Mince, and Dice Favorite! Enjoy!

Rum Cake
from Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
1 cup chopped pecans
1 yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) pkg. instant French vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Glaze:
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup dark rum

1. Preheat oven to 375* F

2. Grease and flour a Bundt pan

3. Sprinkle the chopped pecan pieces on the bottom of the Bundt pan

4. In a large bowl combine cake mix, instant French vanilla pudding, eggs, water, oil, and rum

5. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes or beat by hand with a whisk until smooth and satiny and there are no more lumps

6. Pour batter evenly over the pecan pieces into the bundt pan.

7. Bake the rum cake for 1 hour at 375* F

8. During the last 15 minutes of baking make the rum glaze. In a medium sauce pan, place the stick of butter, water, sugar, and rum for the glaze and stir until the glaze comes to a rolling boil and all of the sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly for a few minutes.

9. When the cake is done baking, let it cool slightly a few minutes and turn out the cake by inverting it onto a large plate.

10. Poke holes in the side and top of the cake with a fork.

11. With a ladle, begin pouring the glaze over the hot cake, covering it so that the glaze begins soaking into the cake.

12. Once the glaze has soaked in, flip the cake back into the Bundt pan, poke more holes in it and continue to ladle the glaze onto the rum cake.

13. Throughout the day, continue to keep ladling the glaze over the cake until it cannot absorb any more glaze. Continue this process until all of the glaze is used up. This may take a few hours.

Begin making this rum cake recipe in the morning if you want to serve it for the evening dessert. This cake will taste even better if you make it a day ahead, as the flavors will have time to mellow.

Ricotta Cheesecake

I've never made a cheesecake, so I thought I'd start by making a Ricotta Cheesecake! To me, it has a very similar taste to a regular cheesecake, but much lighter in texture and weight (making it not seem like you're eating a heavy dessert after a big meal)! This easy recipe will surely "wow" your guests as it literally looked like something I would have bought at a Whole Foods, but really was only a fraction of the cost! Bon Appetit!

Ricotta Cheesecake
from the Food Network
Cooking Spray
1 (15 oz.) container part-skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
4 oz. Neufchatel cheese (or reduced fat cream cheese) softened
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
1 tbsp. orange liqueur or water
2 (6oz.) containers of fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 325* F

2. Coat a 9-inch round pan with cooking spray.

3. Mix Ricotta in your food processor or with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sour cream, Nefchatel, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt. Process until blended.

4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until the center is just set - about 50-55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

5. In a small saucepan, bring the jam and liqueur/water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Brush the top of the cheesecake with the jam mixture and top with raspberries. Enjoy!