Tag: Holiday Ideas
Cranberry Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
Another delicious way to have pumpkin flavored desserts!
- 2½ cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup extra light olive oil
- 1½ cups turbinado sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves into a medium bowl. Keep aside. Cream together the oil and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat for another minute. Add the cranberries and chocolate and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine. Scoop with a tablespoon measure and drop the cookies onto a lined cookie sheet, flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 and 20 minutes. Cool on a baking rack and serve.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Roast Lamb
This is an amazing roast to make for the holidays. We originally had it in Spello, Umbria. A friendly woman named Paula made it for us. I watched her make it step by step and replicated it at home.
I realized the ingredients make an amazing difference. The Italian vegetables and meats are amazingly fresh and taste so different. I tried my best to buy the most local and fresh ingredients I could find including using herbs from my garden.
The key is to use a lamb shoulder which can be roasted several hours in the oven. If you prefer a lamb leg, make sure you don’t over cook it.
It is perfect for Christmas. I made it with a white bean ragu, a big green salad and a huge tray of tiramisu. How can you go wrong with that??
- One 5 pound lamb shoulder roast
- ¼ cup chopped pancetta
- ¼ cup chopped pork fat
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- ¼ cup fennel frawns
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Process the pancetta, pork fat, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel frawns and garlic cloves in a food processor until smooth. Keep aside.
Place the roast in a roasting pan and spread the pancetta mixture on the lamb roast- you can use all of it or save some for roast vegetables to be served on the side. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Pour 2 cups chicken broth at the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 2 to 2 ½ hours. Bring the heat down to 350 degrees and roast for another 45 minutes- till the meat is tender and soft.
Gingerbread Cake with Whipped Cream and Candied Ginger & Chocolate Ganache
Here are some dessert ideas for the holidays…
- 2½ cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup extra light olive oil
- ½ cup evaporated cane juice
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup molasses mixed with 1 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and line two 9 inch round pans.
Combine the flour, baking soda, spices and the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk and keep aside.
Beat together the oil and sugar with an electric mixture for a minute. Add the egg and beat for 2 to 3 minutes. In 3 batches, alternately bean in flour mixture and molasses mixture on a low speed. Beat till smooth and pour batter into the two pans dividing equally. Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
Take out and let cool.
Filling
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped
Beat the cream with an electric beater till stiff peaks are formed. Add the sugar and ginger and mix well.
Place the first layer of cake onto a cake stand and add the filling, smoothing it all over. Place the second layer and gently press down, cleaning up any filling spilling out of the cakes.
Topping
- 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cups whipping cream
Heat the cream in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Once bubbles begin to form on the edges, turn the heat off and take the pan off the stove. Add the chocolate and stir until it melts. Let cool and pour the ganache over the cake covering the sides evenly.
Top the cake with candied ginger for decoration.
Orange Cardamom Panna Cotta
I have decided to do all desserts this week in honor of Valentines day. I may disappoint all the chocolate lovers out there.. most of the desserts are fruit based- something different for V-Day!
I love any custardy dessert…I find them very comforting. This panna cotta is comforting and healthy at the same time. I have used cream, which can be substituted with all milk. Either way, this dessert is delicious, especially topped with fresh chopped oranges.
- ¼ cup 2% milk
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
Add the milk to a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin and let sit and absorb.
- ½ cup 2% milk
- ½ cup cream
- 3 to 4 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/3 cup agave (add more according to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt
Add the milk, cream, cardamom and agave to a medium saucepan and simmer without boiling for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk well to make sure the gelatin dissolves. Add the vanilla extract and yogurt. Taste and add more agave if needed.
Pour into small bowls and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to cover with plastic wrap.
Orange Topping
- 2 navel oranges, peeled, segmented, chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
Add the chopped orange segments to a small bowl. Add the vanilla sugar and let sit for an hour. Top the panna cottas with the topping before serving.
Tuscan Style Cannellini Beans and Tomato Ragu
This ragu is delicious and very easy to make. I decided to make it dried beans and soaked them overnight, but you can definitely make them with the canned variety. The dried beans give the dish a bit more depth of flavor but the canned ones are very comparable.
I started with pancetta, onion, celery, carrots and garlic. I got fresh herbs from my backyard including rosemary, thyme and sage. I always buy San Marzano tomatoes which are special ones grown in Italy and have an amazing flavor. Some white wine and chicken broth later, I had a start to a very delicious stew. I let it cook for a couple of hours. The good thing about this dish is you can make it in advance. In fact it will taste better the next day as all the flavors will have a chance to marry.
Make this ragu with the lamb roast and have a wonderful holiday.
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Roasted and Mashed Butternut Squash and Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese
This is one of the sides I came up for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I was in Trader Joes, as usual, and came across already peeled and cut up butternut squash. I am quite lazy and usually never pick up a whole one- so when I saw a package of organic cut up squash- I was thrilled.
I usually always make some kind of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. There is also some kind of sweet potato or butternut squash dish. I wanted to combine the potato and butternut squash and come up with one dish.
Usually for a mashed dish, potatoes are boiled and then mashed. I decided to roast pieces of butternut squash, potatoes and garlic with some olive oil, salt and pepper instead.
Once the vegetables were soft, I ran them through a food mill and added grated cheese, half and half and fresh sage. I baked the dish once more with some grated cheese on top. It was simply delicious! Roasting the vegetables instead of boiling them gave the dish a more intense flavor. It was creamy and the sharp cheddar cheese and sage made it taste like a fabulous holiday side.
I was thrilled with this concoction- please try it for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- 1 pound cut up butternut squash (Trader Joes has it already cut and peeled)
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut up same size as the squash- about 2 inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, whole with skin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a lined cookie sheet, add the squash, potatoes and garlic cloves. Drizzle the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or till the pieces are tender. Take out and let cool. Run the roasted mixture through a food mill or a potato ricer.
At this point the mixture can be refrigerated up to 2 days.
- 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and divided
- ½ cup half and half
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4 generous servings. Recipe can be doubles.
In a serving bowl, add the butternut squash and potato mixture. Add ½ cup cheese, half and half, salt and sage. Mix well and check for seasonings. Sprinkle remaining of the half cup cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes.
Cranberry Orange Sauce
It seems to be kind of an orange theme this Thanksgiving. This easy, easy cranberry sauce from scratch is delicious and very quick to make. For those of you who traditionally open a can, please make this as well!
- 1 dry quart cranberries
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 cups orange juice
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 navel orange segments
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Add the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, adobo sauce, smoke paprika and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or till the berries begin to split open and the sauce thickens. Taste for seasonings and cool in the fridge. Add the orange segments and cilantro once the sauce is chilled. Serve with turkey.