It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas...

With finals looming, things were pretty crazy last week. I finally had a few days to relax, and decided to make a new post about some wonderful goodies my friends and I had made a few weeks ago.

It's always fun creaming butter and sugar when you don't have any sort of electric mixer, and I'm grateful that both of my friends who helped are very athletic and actually have some upper body strength. We made the traditional sugar cookies, but made them kind of thin, and so decided to make them thicker the next time we would bake them.

I was also dying to try my hand at some puff pastry treats, and obviously bought the frozen pre-made phyllo dough sheets. I had seen Sunny Anderson on the Food Network make these beautifully simply puff pastry cookies simply by spreading jam on the sheet, and rolling and slicing.

We decided to be safe with only one sheet, and went crazy with the other! I can't tell you exact amounts, but here's how we made our filling:

-first, we started with a simple sugar in a small saucepan

-then, we diced clementines very small and added them

-when they didn't reduce exactly how we wanted, my friend popped them in the Magic Bullet (love that thing!) and returned back to the saucepan

-We added about 2.5-3 tbs of Blackberry Jam and let it all meld together

-To get the consistency we wanted, we popped it in the fridge for a few minutes

The clementines weren't at their best, so there was a slight aftertaste, but overall, they were great!

The pictures show sloppy pastries, but my friend reminded me how to make them really look like hearts: you roll the doll from each end, meeting in the middle, and you slice them. It was a yummy and fun experience! We also discussed adding cinnamon, sugar, and butter for the next time we experiment with phyllo dough.

Does anyone out there have any great phyllo dough dessert recipes or suggestions?

Great Success! Fried Dough!

I made this a couple months ago for a special Halloween Treat, but I'm very tempted to try it again. It's something that is warm and delicious, and great for an evening in when you just want to drink hot chocolate and munch on something delicious and festive. To be honest, I can't remember if I got the recipe from Food Network or Epicurious, but they have since taken the recipe down, and I can't give either proper credit. The recipe for the fried dough had maple syrup and cinnamon, which was a great alternative to the usual sugar. It was a delicious fall treat! I made the batter and tried to create a make-shift piping bag, but was pretty bad at it. I need more practice in that department.

Here is what I learned:

The fried dough works better when piped in thin pieces. You should remove excess oil well, and put LOTS of confectioner's sugar on top. Also, be sure to serve hot. They're far better when warm, but I also served them cold to some PRSSA kids, and I got some great reviews.

As you may have gathered by now, I'm a proud New Jerseyan, and I always remember Zeppoles from the church fairs and street festivals. This is basically the Italian fried dough, placed in a brown paper bag with confectioner's sugar, and then shaken up for a delicious warm and sugary bite. I can never turn down a visit to a Zeppole stand, and you really shouldn't either. Do you have any great fried dough memories or recipes?

Thanksgiving Recap!

Here is what is left after the delicious and painful consumption that was Thanksgiving:

It's such a lonely piece of pie, isn't it? Maybe I should go take it out of its misery...

Anyway, here's what we had for Thanksgiving. My sister is actually a pretty good cook, and she chipped in a lot. Overall, it was a success!

-Salume and Sopressata with Melba Toast Rounds

-Turkey rubbed with butter, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

-Standard sour dough stuffing with celery, onion, mushroom, rosemary, and sage.

-Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top.

-Mashed potatoes with disgusting amounts of butter and milk.

-Fresh cranberry sauce and cranberry jelly. The sauce had orange zest and fresh orange juice.

-Heat 'n serve rolls.

-Steamed green beans.

-Homemade gravy.

-Pecan Pie

-Apple Pie with Splenda

-Peppermint Ice Cream (no winter holiday is complete without it!)

Now, this may seem like a bit of a basic menu, and it is. Keep in mind, though, that I have a very small family (four of us only!), and I am just a beginning cook. Considering we used to use Stove Top, canned Cranberry Jelly, and store-bought pies, I think we did quite well.

This was our first year with fresh stuffing, and it was pretty clear that my family didn't have a ton of confidence in my newly found culinary abilities! My dad bought about four boxes of Stove Top "just in case." This was also our first year cooking real cranberry jelly (yes, jelly!) and it was super easy, and so worth any of the extra effort! We also enjoyed a Prosecco before the meal and a Riesling to accompany the turkey. Nothing like a good bubbly bubbly to get the holiday spirits going!

I was also pretty impressed with the Splenda Apple Pie. My father's diabetic, so I've recently been trying to have at least one diabetic-friendly dessert. Confession: I did use an already-made pie crust for the apple pie and the pecan pie. It was still delicious!

I cannot wait for Christmas to bake more desserts and cookies. I think I'll ask to make a ham this year instead of a turkey. And I promise to try and make things a bit more...nontraditional.