Special Cookie Update

I'm on break now for the next two weeks, so menu planning is taking a back seat to other merriment. And also, I'll have time to go day-by-day and go to the grocery store during daylight hours and stuff like that. But I have been working on some goodies. Thought I'd share.

The big plan this year:

Chocolate-covered peanut brittle

Homemade s'mores

Chocolate caramel cookies

Strawberry jam thumbprints

Here's my peanut brittle recipe. It's made in the microwave, and it uses corn syrup, and while both of those things normally make my spine shriek a little, it is the holidays... I need to let go.

1 c sugar

1/2 c light corn syrup

mix together in microwavable glass dish (I use a giant Pyrex measuring cup)

microwave for 4 min.

add 1c peanuts, stir, cook for 3 - 5 min. more (I do 3:30)

add 1 tsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla, cook for 1 - 2 min (I do 1:30)

add 1 tsp baking soda, stir, pour on greased cookie sheet, cool

Then, later, I melt chocolate and dip the pieces, spread on waxed paper and cool.

The s'mores idea came from the $26 box that is currently selling at Williams Sonoma. It was one of those "I can make that" moments. I haven't yet, but here's the plan:

Make homemade marshmallow.

Cut to graham cracker size.

I'll either dip the whole sandwich in chocolate, or dip just the graham crackers and then sandwich them around the marshmallow. I need to experiment a little.

I might sprinkle some crushed candy cane on top, just for more fun.

The chocolate caramel cookies are Phil's favorite.

The strawberry jam thumbprints are another new thing this year. I was looking for something not chocolate-based, and I have a ton of strawberry jam that I made this summer.

Not currently on the menu, but a good gift option is orange coconut bread. I made some batches of this last week and gave a few loaves away. And it's yummy for breakfast or a snack.

Happy holidays!

December 13 and it's rainy and sleety

What yicky weather. Makes me want spicy food! (But then, I want spicy food in the summer too... so maybe I'm just looking for an excuse).

Sunday

Jambalaya. I'm trying a new recipe.

Monday

Sole, probably roasted in the oven... a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, a few capers. Roast until it's done, then sprinkle lemon juice.

Roasted fingerling potatoes

Salad

Tuesday

Homemade tomato soup

Cheese toast (bread with cheese sprinkled on it, then toasted in the oven)

Wednesday

More soup. Or maybe more jambalaya. Or both?

Thursday

Salmon with salad...

Probably pan-roasted (the salmon, not the salad)

and then just a basic salad with yummy balsamic vinegar dressing, and maybe sunflower seeds. They sound good right now.

And Christmas cookies for dessert!

December 6 and so on...

A great thing about cold weather is cooking warm delicious things and having the house smell all yummy for days afterwards. Just makes me want to roast chickens all the time, you know?

Sunday

We'll roast a chicken! A regular-sized one this time...

Mix up some chopped garlic, random herbs (maybe some pesto), olive oil, salt, pepper, a little bit of white wine... Loosen the chicken skin and start shoving the mixture in between the meat and skin. I've put quartered lemons and apples inside the chicken before, but today we have oranges, and so I'm wondering about doing that. Don't know for sure yet. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour covered with foil, then remove and roast the rest of the way (45 more minutes, about).

Roasted sweet potatoes, some kind of green veggie will accompany.

Most of the week...

Probably scrounging off extra chicken, eating random leftovers...

Thursday

Beef (or maybe venison) stroganoff:

Brown meat, add onions, garlic, mushrooms, some extra beef stock, simmer w/ salt and pepper, stir in sour cream, serve over egg noodles.

And maybe, if we're lucky, candy canes for dessert this week! (If I remember to buy some)