Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Cheesy Jalapeño Corn Casserole

If you are a fan of cheese and spice and corn, you are going to love this cheesy jalapeño corn casserole. The whole dish is great, but that golden top is the absolute best part.



I must confess that in my family we have a standard set of sides that must be made for Thanksgiving and Christmas and this cheesy jalapeño corn casserole isn't on that list. Not because it’s not perfectly spicy, cheesy and delicious. No, it's because that list was set in stone many years ago and no one is allowed to alter it. In fact. lest we forget, the list is kept at the front of my recipe binder, in a little pocket. Along with the turkey and stuffing, we must have rich creamed potatoes, sticky sweet potatoes, maque choux, green beans with baby new potatoes and, of course, my aunt's best pecan pie for dessert. Is it only my family that is so set in our ways?

If your family is not as persnickety about the holiday menu, you’ll want to add this casserole to your line up. Never mind, if they are. Just make it for a Sunday Supper.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh jalapeño or part thereof- depending on your heat tolerance - minced
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, about 12 oz or 340g
4 cups or 540g fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 eggs
1 cup or 240ml milk

Method
Use one tablespoon of the butter to sauté the onion, garlic and jalapeño in a small saucepan, over a very low heat, just until softened, about 5-7 minutes. The onion doesn’t need to color, just soften. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and use the other tablespoon of butter to grease your casserole dish.

Toss together cheese, flour, mustard powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add in the corn and mix well. Set aside.




Beat the eggs and whisk in the milk and the sautéed vegetables.



Pour milk/egg mixture in the corn/cheese mixture; stir well to blend evenly.



Pour the combined mixture into your buttered casserole dish. It looks a bit dry on the top but don't worry, the egg and cheese will rise up and created a beautiful almost soufflé like texture throughout.


Bake in your preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until puffy and golden on top. The middle should be ever so slightly jiggly when you take it out and will firm up as it cools.



Enjoy!



Check out all the other special tasty side dishes our Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing today! Many thanks to this week's host, Caroline of Caroline's Cooking and our event manager, Renee of Renee's Kitchen Adventures for all of their hard word.

Fruity Side Dishes

Other Side Dishes

Potato Side Dishes

Vegetable Side Dishes



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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Christmas Morning Muffins #BreadBakers


With just a little preparation the day before, your family can enjoy freshly baked cranberry orange muffins on Christmas morning, with the bonus of filling your house with Christmasy baking aromas. What a joy to wake up to these!

The Christmas Day rule of my family growing up was that no presents could be opened before breakfast. I remember being happy with a bowl of cereal - and let’s get this show on the road! - but frustrated by the grownups who wanted eggs or pancakes or, most likely, freshly baked biscuits. Clearly they had their priorities askew! But don’t you know, when I became a mother, I kept the same rule. Turns out that it’s always a good plan to serve a decent breakfast when Christmas dinner won’t be on the table until three or four o’clock in the afternoon.

With just a little preparation, a hot, freshly baked breakfast is a cinch and you can get to the important part: Opening the gifts! This month our Bread Bakers host is Holly from A Baker’s House and she has challenged us to bake breads – quick or yeasty – which can be started one day and baked the next, giving you lots of lovely ideas for a perfectly easy holiday breakfast.

(And don’t forget my friend Donna’s great cookbook, Make Ahead Breads <Amazon affiliate link* which is also a wonderful source of recipes and inspiration for this theme and would make a fabulous Christmas gift for a baker in your life.)

This post is not technically part of Christmas Week but I would be remiss if I didn't tell you to check out my coconut praline post from yesterday, with details on how to enter to win one of three ($500, $250 and $50) Amazon gift cards up for grabs!

These muffins are adapted from this recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk
1/3 cup or 75ml canola or other oil
1 large egg
2 clementines (for zest and 1/3 cup or 80ml juice)
1 cup or 140g dried cranberries, plus 12 more for decoration, if desired.

Method
Prepare your muffin pan by greasing it with butter or nonstick spray or lining it with paper muffin cups. I usually line it with the paper cups and give the whole pan a quick spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add in the dried cranberries, mixing well, and cover the bowl with cling film and set it aside with the baking pan.



Measure your milk and oil into a large measuring jug. Add the egg and beat until well combined.

Zest the two clementines with a fine grater or microplane straight into the measuring jug.



Juice the clementines and add 1/3 cup or 80ml of the juice into the measuring jug as well. If you don’t get quite enough juice, top up with more milk to reach your required measurement. Cover the jug with cling film and pop it in the refrigerator.

The next morning, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Give your liquid ingredients a good mix with a fork and pour them into the dry ingredient bowl.



Fold to combine, being careful not to over mix. If a little flour still shows here and there, that’s a good thing.



Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Add one more dried cranberry to each muffin, if desired. I like to see a little of what's inside on top of my muffins.



Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful these smell while baking! The aroma will get the laggards out of bed and running to the kitchen.



Leave the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove them to a wire rack. Serve them warm with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of Champagne, if you are so inclined, in front of the sparkling Christmas tree.



Enjoy!

Check out all the other great recipes for Overnight Bread! Which one will you make first this holiday season?

BreadBakers
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.


*Items purchased through an Amazon affiliate link cost no extra to the buyer but earn me a few pennies to buy more bacon. Thanks for the support.


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Aussie Boiled Fruitcake #FoodieExtravaganza

Since the dried fruit and candied peel are first boiled with sugar, water and butter, they turn plump and juicy, filling the cake batter with tender bits of fruit. This makes for such a moist fruitcake that even non-lovers would like a slice.

Happy Christmas month! We are finally into December and while I’d like to say, “Let the holiday baking begin!” I know for many of you it started ages ago. Meanwhile, my Foodie Extravaganza group is getting their fruitcake on. Growing up, the only fruitcake I would eat was my grandmother’s because it wasn’t dry and hard as so many are. Nowadays I am a little more flexible but since the dry cakes still aren’t a favorite, I was intrigued by recipes that kept popping up on the Australian websites. Called variously boiled fruitcake, Australian fruit cake or quick-mix fruitcake, the fruit mix is first boiled with sugar, water and butter then set aside to cool, allowing time for the dried fruit to be rehydrated in a most delicious manner.

I think you’ll find that this version isn’t dry at all and may even win over some fruitcake naysayers.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups or 375g mixed dried fruit
1/2 cup, firmly packed or 100g soft brown sugar
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml water
3 1/2 tablespoons or 50g butter, plus extra for buttering the pan
3 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons honey
To decorate:
1/2 cup or 80g whole blanched almonds
1 candied cherry - optional

Note: The Australian tablespoon is four teaspoons to the US tablespoon’s three. Amounts given here have been converted from the original recipes to match the US standard, where appropriate. Also, the Australian cup is 250ml to the US cup’s 240ml. This has likewise been converted when necessary or the recipe has been adapted to compensate.

Method
Place mixed dried fruit, soft brown sugar, sugar, water, butter and salt in a pot.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the brandy. Set aside to cool. This can even be done a day ahead.

The fruit will plump right up as it cools.



When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease a 9in or 23cm springform pan with the softened butter and line the base and sides with parchment baking paper.

First cover the buttered bottom with a circle of parchment and cut a long strip for the sides.

Use the long strip to cover the buttered sides from top to bottom.


To the cooled fruit mixture, add the golden syrup and vanilla extract and give it a good stir.

Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda straight into the fruit mixture.

Stir again until well combined.



Spoon the mixture into your prepared springform pan and decorate the top with the blanched almonds and the cherry.



Bake in your preheated oven for 55 minutes or until the top is dark golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Cover the top with foil if it’s browning too fast before the cake is baked through.



Remove the fruitcake from the oven and brush it with the honey while hot.



Wrap the pan in 2 clean tea towels and set aside until cool. Remove the cake from the pan. Store in an airtight container. You don’t want it drying out at this point!


Enjoy!



Many thanks to our host this month, Laura from Baking in Pyjamas, who says that fruit cake, soaked in brandy, is an absolute must for Christmas to be Christmas. From the looks of our link list this month, the rest of the Foodie Extravaganza group agree!




Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out here.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Cookie Cups #ChocPBDay

My favorite classic peanut cookie dough recipe, baked in a muffin pan, then filled with dark chocolate. This is how you should celebrate Chocolate Peanut Butter Day!

Peanut butter and chocolate fans, have I got a treat for you! This is the second annual celebration of the completely made up but fabulous holiday, Chocolate Peanut Butter Day, created and hosted by Carla from Chocolate Moosey and Miriam from Overtime Cook, where we share wonderful recipes featuring peanut butter and chocolate. It's a classic combination!

You might remember my contribution from last year, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares, topped with chopped peanut butter Girl Scout cookies. They were so delicious, but I don't think they were as wonderful as this year’s chocolate filled peanut butter cookie cups! Just look at these guys! That is one chewy center.


Well, what are we waiting for? Let's bake some peanut butter cookies with chocolate inside!

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
2/3 cup or 180g peanut butter
1/2 cup or 170g honey
1/3 cup or 65g sugar
1/3 cup or 75g butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
2 1/2 oz or 85g good quality chocolate (I used part of a Lindt dark chocolate bar.)

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Mix all the cookie dough ingredients together in your mixer until fully combined. Scrape sides down occasionally.



Roll into 24 balls and place in mini muffin pans. No need to grease the pan.



Bake for 15-18 minutes in your preheated oven or until balls are golden. They will probably still be a bit under cooked but it's all good. We are looking for chewy here.



When you take them out of the oven, use something clean and cylindrical (As you can see, I used a fingernail polish bottle.) to press the middle of each cookie down to make room for the chocolate. It won't go down far, perhaps half an inch or one centimeter.



Leave the cookies to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then remove them. Leave them cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt your chocolate a few zaps at a time in the microwave in a microwaveable bowl. Stir frequently. When it’s pourable, spoon or pour it into the cookies.



Give the chocolate time to firm up again before you move them. Store in a cool place in an airtight container. Fair warning: If you take them out to a picnic, keep them in the cooler. The chocolate will melt again in hot weather.

Enjoy!


Isn’t chocolate and peanut butter one of the best combinations every?! No wonder we celebrate! Many thanks to our two hosts, Carla from Chocolate Moosey and Miriam from Overtime Cook. You two are brilliant!

I want to make each and every one of these. Where to start?!


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Besitos de Coco - Coconut Kisses #CreativeCookieExchange

Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!

Food Lust People Love: Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!


This month’s Creative Cookie Exchange theme of International Winter Holiday Cookies challenged the group to make a cookie that is traditional at this time of year in a culture other than our own. I fear I have a distinct advantage here because of all the places I’ve lived, so choosing a cookie was pretty easy.

Venezuelans love their coconut and these little treats are popular, with or without the chocolate, which probably isn’t strictly traditional. But, since Christmas is coming, I thought it best to fancy them up. To that end, I also added a little rum. Delicious!


Besitos de Coco - Coconut Kisses

The recipe is based on one I found on Yo Soy Venezolano.

Ingredients for about 3 dozen cookies
3 1/2 cups or 300g flaked, desiccated coconut
1 can (14 oz or 405g) sweetened condensed milk (Not evaporated milk.)
1/2 cup or 65g flour
1 tablespoon dark or gold rum
1 teaspoon salt

Optional for decorating: 3/4 cup or 150g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat your oven to 350˚F or 180˚C and prepare your cookie sheet by lightly greasing or lining it with parchment or a silicon baking sheet. If you have two cookie sheets, prepare them both.

 In a large bowl, combine the coconut, condensed milk, flour, salt and rum.

Stir until well blended and you have a nice thick dough. If you are a fan of coconut and condensed milk, do not try the dough. It’s delicious and I cannot be responsible for how many cookies you end up with at the end.



Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets at least one inch apart. Try to keep them a bit rough looking so that the bits that stick out will brown first. A perfectly round ball won’t look as rustic or pretty.



Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the outside bits of coconut are toasted.



Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

If you are decorating with chocolate, warm the chocolate chips in a microwave, in a microwaveable bowl, by zapping them for 15-20 seconds at a time, until the chips are melted and you have a lovely drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the chocolate on the cooled besitos with a spoon or use a cake decorating piping bag.

Food Lust People Love: Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!


Allow the chocolate to set before storing the besitos in a cool covered container. These make a great gift! What better thing to give someone for Christmas than a bunch of sweet kisses?

Food Lust People Love: Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!
Yes, that's a Christmas deviled egg plate. Aren't you jealous?


Enjoy!



Check out all the other International Winter Holiday Cookies or what I've been calling Christmas Around the World in my head:
If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links. 

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts. (You can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Food Lust People Love: Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!
My "fireplace" in Dubai. It flickers and there is a switch you can turn on to make it blow hot air. 


Pin it! 

Food Lust People Love: Besitos de coco or coconut kisses are little bite-sized cookies that are popular in Venezuela and other South American countries, especially around Christmas time. Besitos are chewy and sweet, best baked till just golden. Mine also have a little rum, because it's the holidays!


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Friday, November 7, 2014

Chocolate Shot Cookies

Rich and buttery, like all shortbead cookies should be, these refrigerate-and-slice chocolate shot cookies also contain rolled oats. They are easy to make, keep well in the freezer and will be a welcome addition to your holiday cookie baking.

 

Welcome to the last day of Cookie Week, hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl In the Little Red Kitchen! We hope you've enjoyed this week as much as we have!

On to the final cookies! 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am a cookbook junkie. I have a very hard time passing by a stack of books at a garage sale or car boot sale or estate sale or charity shop without rifling through them and looking for cookbooks. Sometimes I get lucky and find an already coveted book and sometimes I find a treasure previously unknown to me.

The book whence came this slightly adapted recipe is one of the latter finds. It’s called Heart of the Home – Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen and it was published in 1986. According to author/illustrator Susan Branch, it is now out of print but copies can still be found on Ebay. It’s a beautiful book, hand lettered and illustrated with watercolors and each page is a joy to behold. Plus each recipe I’ve tried has been a keeper. It's so sad when beautiful books like this one are out of print so I am delighted to have found a copy.

Ingredients for 2 1/2 dozen cookies
1 cup or 225g butter, softened
1 cup or 125g powdered or icing sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1 cup or 90g rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup or 150g chocolate shots or sprinkles

Method
Cream the butter and the sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Add in the vanilla and beat again.



In a separate bowl, combine your flour, baking powder and salt.

Add them into the butter/sugar bowl, along with the oatmeal and beat until well combined.



Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for about half an hour. A word of warning: If you chill it for too long it gets completely stiff and unmalleable. (<new word I just made up. Oxford Dictionaries, take note. Why is it not a word?)



Cut the dough into three pieces and roll them into logs. Pile your chocolate shots in the middle of a clean tray with sides and roll the logs in them till you have full coverage.



Wrap the logs in more cling film and refrigerate for at least two hours or until you are ready to bake.  (These can also be frozen.)

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and use a thin serrated knife to slice off however many cookies you are wanting to bake. The original recipe says to use an ungreased cookie sheet but I lined mine with a silicone baking mat.



Bake in your preheated oven for about 9-11 minutes. The tops don’t brown much but the bottoms get lovely and golden. The bottom is definitely the more attractive side. :)

Food Lust People Love: Rich and buttery, like all shortbead cookies should be, these refrigerate-and-slice chocolate shot cookies also contain rolled oats. They are easy to make, keep well in the freezer and will be a welcome addition to your holiday cookie baking.
Just out of the oven

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: Rich and buttery, like all shortbead cookies should be, these refrigerate-and-slice chocolate shot cookies also contain rolled oats. They are easy to make, keep well in the freezer and will be a welcome addition to your holiday cookie baking.


Take a look to see what might inspire you to break out the butter and sugar this weekend.



Pin it! 

Food Lust People Love: Rich and buttery, like all shortbead cookies should be, these refrigerate-and-slice chocolate shot cookies also contain rolled oats. They are easy to make, keep well in the freezer and will be a welcome addition to your holiday cookie baking.