Roasted Garlic and Walnut Chickpea Pate

Welcome to the party, elegant and tasty spread.  I’m lovin’ your roasty garlic flavor and your silky texture.  Won’t you join me over here by the crackers?

This pate is hummus in black tie.  Approachable and friendly black tie.  Spread on a cracker, it’s right at home at a cocktail party or the party for the big game.  I found the recipe at the Amuse Your Bouche blog via the Finding Vegan Facebook page.  The original recipe makes a tiny amount, so I adjusted ingredients to make a whole can of chickpeas-worth, and reduced the amount of oil.  This larger amount still doesn’t last long-it’s that kind of yummy!  Here’s what you need to start your relationship with your new favorite party date.

• 1 entire head of garlic, roasted  (12-14 cloves, or more if you like garlic like we do!)
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts, plus a bit more to garnish
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained but NOT rinsed
• 4 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 TBSP olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

First, roast the garlic.  Heat oven to 375F.

Cut the top off a head of garlic, place it in a pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

(Save the little tops for another garlic recipe.)

Roast for 25 minutes and remove to cool.  When cool enough to handle, pop the cloves out of their skins.

Place roasted garlic cloves into a food processor along with the walnuts.

Process until you achieve a coarse crumb.

Add the drained chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Process until smooth.  Taste, and adjust seasoning if needed.

Place in a pretty bowl, garnish with chopped walnuts, set out some crackers and prepare to be enchanted.  Seduced, really.

There is a LOT of garlic in this recipe, and it is definitely the top-note of the flavor.  However, since it’s roasted, it’s a mellow and earthy garlic.  Definitely yummy!

Advertisement

Chipotle-Style Sofritas

Generally, eating out–especially fast food, and being vegan in Western Colorado is not an easy thing.  And THEN(!) Chipotle introduced its fabulous Sofritas (Crumbled tofu marinated and braised in chipotles, poblanos and other spices….slurp!).  So yummy!  Any time we’re in the Chipotle neighborhood, we’re there for a Sofritas Burrito.  Michael suggested we could figure out how to make this spicy tofu nirvana ourselves; we are “accomplished” vegans, after all, now that we’ve been cooking with tofu for over a year.  🙂

By chance, another blogger liked one of my posts, and I clicked his link “to see what he’s been up to” from the WordPress notification that always shows up with a like.  In the sidebar of his blog, there it was.  Chipotle Sofritas Recipe!  I always have tofu, but needed the poblanos.  Unfortunately, none to be found, so I used a combo of serranos and cubanelles.  The resulting sofritas were spicy (thanks serranos!) and close enough to the Chipotle flavor that I wanted to make them again.

I found poblanos, adjusted the seasoning just a bit and voila!  Homemade sofritas!

Plan ahead–the sofritas are best after marinating for at least two hours.

• 1/4 cup chipotles in adobo sauce
• 2 poblanos, roasted, peeled and seeded
• 1 14-0z package extra-firm organic tofu (Get organic to avoid GMOs)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili blend–like a fajita mix or a chili powder of your choice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• a splash of lime juice
• 1/4 cup broth–I use No Chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf

Roast your poblanos, either in a 400F oven or on your grill.  I chose my outdoor grill–it was a beautiful day!  Roast, turning until blistered on all sides.

Place the peppers in a plastic bag and seal to steam.  This will help the skins slip right off.

Drain tofu and place on a clean kitchen towel.

Wrap the towel around the tofu and place something on top to help press out most of the remaining liquid.

When the peppers have cooled enough for you to handle them, peel by rubbing them gently with your fingers.

Then remove the seeds and stem.

Place the cleaned poblanos in your blender.

Then add the chipotles, cumin, chili blend, salt, garlic powder, oregano, lime juice and broth.

Blend until smooth.  Oh my does this smell amazing.  I think it would be a great sauce for all sorts of things!

Crumble the tofu into mostly uniform pieces.  I like mine to be about the same texture as cooked and crumbled ground beef.

Add the sauce and stir to mix.  Toss the bay leaf in–it will add to the flavor as you cook the sofritas later, and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours or over night.

Place the marinated sofritas in a pan and heat, stirring until heated through–about 10 minutes.  I added a bit more broth to help keep the mixture moist.

Then serve it up however you like!  Use it however you might use seasoned taco meat.  We decided to make burritos with brown cilantro rice, pinto beans, avocado and lettuce.

How do you like YOUR burrito?  Last time we made sofritas, we combined the leftover sofrita, beans and rice and made it into enchiladas the next night.  Yum-yum-yummy!

You’ll have leftover chipotles, and they won’t keep long in the refrigerator.  I like to place individual peppers with a bit of adobo sauce into snack size bags, seal them and then seal them into a freezer bag.

Then I can thaw out however many chipotles I need for a particular recipe later.  🙂

Sweet and Spicy Pecans

Why hello easy, delicious, make-ahead appetizer!  You’re the perfect crunch that’s not quite sweet, not quite savory and yet completely addictive.  I think I love you.

Another recipe from the Holiday Appetizer Buffet in Vegan Holiday Kitchen, these pecans were coveted by party guests at this year’s New Year’s Eve party.  Holiday parties are super fun, but happen when you’re most busy and stressed.  This nice little appetizer is the first guest to invite.  🙂

• 1/3 cup agave or maple syrup (I used maple!)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8-1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 2 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 300F.

Combine the maple syrup with cinnamon, chili powder, ginger, nutmeg and salt.

Stir in the pecans to coat them evenly.  (Ack!  What possessed me to think stirring with my whisk was a good idea?!  The pecans got all caught in there….Just use a spoon.  Really.)

Spread coated pecans in a 9×9, aluminum foil-lined baking pan, or an aluminum pan if you have one.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes, until pecans are nicely glazed and toasted.  (This is a departure from the original recipe which says to heat oven to 250F and bake for 20 minutes, stirring after 10.  My location is considered high altitude, and the original temp and time didn’t result in a crunchy glaze for me.)

Let cool and break apart any clumps.  Serve in a pretty dish.

I wasn’t sure I liked the ginger in these at first–I thought it was a bit too floral.  However, something about the spice combo makes these super addictive.  If you have any leftover after the party, store in an air-tight container and then count out how many you plan to eat as a snack.  Reseal the container.  If you don’t follow this advice, you may end up eating all that are left.  Not that I’d know. 😉

These would be super-delish garnishing a spring spinach and strawberry salad.  Yummmmmm!

Hot Artichoke and White Bean Dip

Many years ago, a restaurant here in town served an appetizer called Sheep Dip.  I know, not the most appetizing name, but oh my what a delicious combination of hot, gooey deliciousness.  It had tons of cheese and spinach and artichokes.  Yum, yum, yummy!  We ordered it EVERY time we went there.  I have since given up dairy, so no more Sheep Dip for me.  Not that I don’t think about it sometimes.  And THEN!  I treated myself to a new cookbook for the holidays: Vegan Holiday Kitchen.  A beautiful book full of complete menus for every occasion, including a section on appetizers.  One of those recipes looked very, very much like my beloved Sheep Dip.  I just had to try it!  I’m sharing it with you because YES!  Very reminiscent of the original hot gooey deliciousness!

Serve it in a bread bowl, serve it in the baking dish, serve it with bread or crackers or crudites….perfect for a party, perfect for just you and your sweetie…or just you!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
• 1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves (or arugula or watercress)
• 2 TBSP fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup mozzarella-style grated vegan cheese
• paprika for topping

Preheat oven to 375F.

Saute onion and garlic in a bit of veggie or No-Chicken broth until the onion starts to caramelize.

Place the saute in a food processor along with the beans and cream cheese, process until smooth.

Add artichoke hearts, spinach, dill, thyme, salt and pepper.

Pulse until evenly chopped, but not pureed.

Place in a oven-safe dish, top with grated cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle top with paprika and serve hot or warm.

Have you noticed I don’t have a picture of the final gooey yuminess?  My guests were already here when I pulled it from the oven.  I was so amazed with it, I sprinkled the paprika, set it on my kitchen island with a flourish and completely forgot to take a picture!  It was delish.  Go make some and see for yourself!

Tazza Toscano aka Those Filled Wonton Thingies

For this year’s New Year’s Eve party, I wanted to make appetizers and finger foods for everyone’s dietary preferences.  This one satisfies everyone but the gluten-free.  It was one I had completely forgotten about until I asked my son what food he’d like to have for the party.  He remembered these when I suggested a filled mushroom as a possibility.  “What were those things you made that one time?  The ones in the wonton wrappers?”  Oh!  The Filled Wonton Thingies!  I knew where to look for the recipe….I think.  Success!  I found the stapled sheets that contained the recipes from a wine tasting we had attended at a local winery and there they were, Tazza Toscana.  Crunchymeltyflavor-y bites of pure yum.  I made them vegan from a non-vegan recipe; easily adjusted to go vegan or not.  These disappeared quickly; devoured by vegans and non-vegans alike!

They’re amazingly easy to put together.

• 1 lb sausage, breakfast or Italian, cooked and crumbled.  I used Gimme Lean Sausage-style.
• 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar.  I used Daiya.  (Be careful with non-dairy cheese. Not all of them are vegan.)
• 1 1/2 cup grated montery jack.  I used Daiya pepper jack.
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 package of wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 375 F.

First, press wonton wrappers into 24 openings of mini muffin pans.  I discovered that the pestle from my small wooden mortar and pestle worked perfectly for this job.  Try to keep the wrapper as “open” as possible.

Bake the wraps for 5 minutes and remove to cooling racks.

Brown the sausage, breaking it up as you go.  I use a potato masher at the end to get a good crumbled texture.

Add cheeses, onions, pepper and ranch dressing to the cooked sausage and stir to combine.

Divide the filling evenly between the 24 wrappers.  I had to “rob” some of the more generously filled ones to get enough for my 24.

Bake the filled wrappers for 10 minutes and transfer to a serving platter.  They are best served warm, right from the oven.

Stand back.  Tazza Toscano are irresistible and will be immediately pounced upon by your party guests!  So yummy.  So easy.  I really should make these more often!

Celine’s Aebelskivers

Have I mentioned how great it is to have been brought up Norwegian?  My son, who is even less Norwegian than I am, is as pleased as I’ve always been to enjoy the special yumminess found in Scandinavian holiday treats.   Mom started it all.  She adored all things Scandinavian, baking all kinds of traditional holiday recipes, including these light little pillows of yumminess from Denmark, aebelskivers. 

Here it is almost Christmas, and I have piles of cookies and breads and candies and nuts to keep me happy for months, but still I felt compelled yesterday to add to my dragon’s horde and make aebelskivers.  Especially after reading that they freeze well and then reheat beautifully in the oven for a traditional Scandinavian Christmas breakfast.  Aebelskivers originally had bits of apple or applesauce inside–aebel means apple.  They are also made plain, like my Mom’s recipe, and served with applesauce or a berry jam on the side.  I like lingonberry–a Scandinavian cranberry-esque fruit.  Find lingonberry in your natural foods market or at IKEA.  Yup, IKEA.  You can also buy pre-made mixes from places like Williams Sonoma.  (Mom bough these for me.)  They are yummy, but are pretty much the same in prep time as scratch-made.

The manufacturer of my glass-top range says cast iron is a no-no because it could damage the glass.  I pouted for a year over this because I knew it meant no aebelskivers for me.  Traditional aebelskiver pans like mine are cast iron.

William Sonoma has a variety of electric and stove-top pans and accessories.  I wasn’t quite ready to spend sixty bucks plus shipping for a treat I generally make only once a year.  I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and nearly ordered one when…

Cake pops became all the rage and electric cake pop makers began “popping” up all over.  They make little spherical cakes, and aebelskivers are spherical.  Could a cake pop maker be used for aebelskivers?!  Between a coupon and a sale at Bed Bath and Beyond, I procured a Babycakes cake pop maker for about $15 and set out to find out.  YES!  The abelskivers are smaller, but just as yummy.  Good news for those of you already in possession of a cake pop maker!

All you need are a cake pop maker and a few ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 2 cups flour
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cardamom, optional
• powdered sugar
• applesauce or berry jam to serve

If you don’t keep buttermilk around, measure any milk (I used regular, unsweetened almond milk) and add the lemon juice to it and allow it to “curdle” a bit.

Meanwhile, separate the eggs, making sure the whites get into a clean glass or metal bowl for better whipping results.

Lightly beat the yolks and add the milk, sugar and salt.

Then add the flour, soda, and baking powder.  Add cardamom here if using.  I completely forgot the cardamom until I was nearly done baking the aebelskivers!  Sorry Mom!  I’ll put it in next time for sure!

Using an electric mixer, whip egg whites to a stiff peak.

Gently fold in the whites in two batches.  This takes a while–be patient to maintain as much fluff as possible.  This fluff is what will make your aebelskivers so pillowy.

Spray the cake pop maker lightly with spray oil and wipe away any excess to avoid smoking up your kitchen as the appliance heats.  Yup.  Know this from experience.  Heat the cake pop maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then fill the wells brim-full with batter.  My cake pop maker has 1 tablespoon-sized wells which are conveniently filled with a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop!

Fill as quickly as you can and close the lid to bake.  I baked mine for 6 minutes.  Your cake pop maker may take more or less time.  If you use a regular aebelskiver pan, wait for the tops to get bubbly–like you do for pancakes–and then gently turn them over in their wells using a wooden skewer or knitting needle or little tools made specifically for this purpose.  If you’re feeling adventurous, fill the wells only 2/3 full and add a wee bit of applesauce or jelly before adding the last 1/3 of batter per well.  I use a 1/4 tsp measure to add jam for my tiny cake pop-sized aebelskivers.

Use the little prong thingie that comes with a cake pop maker or a thin wooden skewer or knitting needle to remove your perfect little aebelskivers.  Place them on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Use a small sieve for this or purchase a powdered sugar shaker from a kitchen store–worth the money!  (Look around, I know mine wasn’t as pricey as the one linked to.)  They have lids, so powdered sugar can be stored in it, making it ready to use whenever you need it.

This recipe makes 6 or 7 dozen one-inch aebelskivers.

While a batch is baking, get out a pretty plate and some lingonberry jam and do a taste test.   Dip each pillowy bite in the jam and enjoy.

Keep adding to your mountain of aebelskiver wonderfulness, sugaring each layer.

If you plan to freeze your aebelskivers for later, let them cool completely before placing in a freezer bag.  The aebelskivers will freeze separately from one another, allowing you to take out only how many you want. Then when you’re ready, bake them in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.  Sugar them again and serve with applesauce or jam.  Oh, yum-yum-yummy!

Christmas traditions always make the season cozy for me.  I find myself reaching back into the past to bring some of that childhood Christmas magic to my adulthood.  This year, I found a wee, tiny tinsel tree that reminded me of the big one my grandparents had.  I selected ornaments that are reminiscent of the time and lit it with battery-powered color-changing LED lights.  The sun made it sparkle yesterday.

Back in the day, these tinsel trees were lit with a color wheel aimed at the tree.  The wheel turned, bathing the tree in a progression of colors–red, blue, yellow, and green–that were at their most wonderful at the juncture between colors.  It was like waves of color moving across and reflected by the tinsel.  Spectacular, and pure Christmas magic.  I hope your holidays bring you some of the magic from your childhood.  Merry Christmas!

 

Celine’s Krumkake

A krumkake is a traditional Norwegian Christmas cookie cooked on a special griddle and then rolled into a cone shape.  They are beautiful, delicate, crisp and lightly seasoned with cardamom.  You can fill them with whipped cream or custard or whatever sounds yummy to you, but my Mom never did, so I don’t either.  As much as my sister and I loved these, It might be that Mom didn’t fill them because they were gone before she had a chance!  Mom made piles of krumkaker (the plural of krumkake) every Christmas along with other Scandiavian yummies like lefse, kringla, rosettes, and aebelskivers.  She had a little sign in her kitchen the stated “Tis a blessing to be Norwegian;” a sentiment I must agree with, especially whenever there are treats like these around!

To get started, you’ll need a krumkake iron and cone form.  I don’t remember where I got my original iron that sits on a stove burner, but I bought my electric one at a local kitchen store.  Both can be found online, and having used both, I’m preferring the electric iron.

Then, gather up a few things for a simple batter and you’re ready to go!

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 TBSP corn starch
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

Lightly beat the eggs,

and then add sugar, starch, flour, vanilla and cardamom.  Stir to combine.

Then add the melted, cooled butter.  (The butter should still be liquid, just not so hot as to cook the eggs!)

Stir to a smooth batter.

Heat iron according to the manufacturer’s directions, and spray lightly with spray oil.

Place 1 TBSP of batter near the center of the heated iron for a 4-inch krumkake, or 2 TBSP for a 6-inch krumkake.  This recipe will make 1 1/2 dozen 6-inch or 3 dozen 4-inch krumkaker.  I used a 1 TBSP cookie scoop to place my batter on the iron.

Close the lid and press lightly to distribute the batter.  One of the coolest things about the electric iron is that you don’t have to turn it over while cooking like you do with the stove-top iron.  Love it!

Check after a minute to see if the krumkake is the shade of brown you like–I like mine fairly light.  See how this krumkake has gotten outside the patterned section of the iron?  Too much batter.  I used a wee bit less better for the next ones and ended up with prettier cookies, but they’re yummy no matter what!

When ready, remove from the iron using a fork or small spatula, and place on a paper towel.  Immediately position the cone form like this:

Quickly roll the krumkake around the form while it is still hot.  This gets easier as you go.  I messed up the first one because I let it get too cool while I took pictures–it cracked as I rolled it.  My son was more than happy to “take care of” my ugly krumkake.  😉

Gently press the form over the seam to help set the cone shape.  I leave the form sitting in the cone as I add more batter to the iron.  Then remove the form!  Look at the pretty cookie you just made!

Stack them up on a plate or platter to cool and become crisp.  This platter was a gift from my Mom from her favorite Scandinavian gift shop, Vanberia.

I think they’re pretty stacked on top of each other like this.

The iron makes a beautiful almost tapestry-like pattern in each cookie.  So pretty!  My cousin’s husband sculpted the Santa that has been keeping my krumkaker company, and the cute little towel was in a tub marked “Norwegian Tree”  that I brought home from Mom’s house.

Here are some more Santas– hand carved, painted and accessorized by a friend of my Mom’s–Mr Barnett.  My sister and I went to school with his daughters.   Mr. Barnett carved a different Santa each year; Mom bought one for herself every year and sometimes bought them for my sister and me.  I love the different faces, beard details and little details of the clothing and accessories.

I usually have them above my kitchen cabinets, to keep them a bit more cat-safe, but brought them down to take their pictures.  Just love them.  What are your favorite Christmas decorations?

Holiday Baking Needs a Festive Apron

I’ve posted about my apron fetish before–I just can’t resist a cute apron!  In that post, I showed you my collection at that point, but my Holiday aprons were packed away in a box marked linens.  In with red and green kitchen towels and napkins and such is an equally sizable and always increasing selection of required Holiday kitchen apparel.  Now that I’ve decorated my house for Christmas, I get to decorate myself as well.  Oh how I loves to wear a festive apron when baking Christmas cookies!

Let’s start with aprons handmade by my Mom, and given to me as Christmas gifts.  To me, handmade gifts are the best.  When you make something for someone else, you spend time thinking of the person you’re making it for and all the love you have for them goes right into the gift.  These aprons are hugs from my Mom.  One is from a pattern she had that called for a variety of Christmas print “fat quarters.”  Fat quarters are remnants of fabric that are just over a quarter yard.  It has a great roomy pocket and a skinny one for a wooden spoon, and is tied with green grosgrain ribbon.  The one in the middle is made from a fabric printed especially to be an apron.  It has a teddy bear Christmas tree on it and is tied with fabric that looks like music.  The last is the first one she made for me from a single pretty red Christmas print.  It’s the least fancy of the three, and usually my favorite of the three.  My mood or what I’m cooking sometimes sways me to one of the others, plus a silly sense of fairness–“Oh I haven’t worn that one in a while, I probably should.”

My BFF Becky and I both have these three.  We co-host a cookie exchange party each year, and some years we get new matching aprons as gifts to each other.  The newest one is the one with words all over it.  We love the colors and style and that whoever designed the print might not have been paying attention.  The word Noel is there, its first three letters capitalized and the L in lower case, so it looks like this:  NOEl.  Like it should be pronounced no-ee.  A funny little flaw that is somehow endearing.  We also have hand-painted Christmas tree aprons with jaunty little striped bows and “sexy” Santa aprons complete with feather boa “fur.”

These are two aprons I bought for myself.  The one with red and white shoulders and pockets is made from an old-fashioned pattern, and I’m a total sucker for such bits of nostalgia–had to have it.  The black and white one isn’t what you might think of as festive, but it is definitely a holiday apron.

Here’s the story:

My Mom used to give a Holiday party between Christmas and New Years.  It was quite the event, with tons of food and drinks and people.  Michael, Zach and I were there for one of them and got roped into making all of the lefse and kringla and then making sure that platters were kept full as the Open House progressed.  Mom teased me about needing a black and white maid’s outfit.  The year she died, she was planning another of these extravaganzas and asked if we would come (to New Mexico) for it.  Yes! we said.  She said to be sure to bring my maid’s outfit.  I schemed with my sister to have maid’s uniforms ready and to not tell Mom.  We had white shirts, black pants and these black and white aprons.  What a fun surprise it would have been!  Mom’s last party didn’t happen and the apron went unused.  I’m hoping one of these years I’ll be organized enough to host my own Holiday Open House.  I’ll wear the black and white apron.

The last two belonged to Michael’s Mom.  We came upon them packing up her things after she died, so I don’t know their stories.  I do know that this sort of apron is known as a hostess apron–worn by the hostess after all the cooking is done, during the party.  Probably with pearls.  And heels.  And a pretty party dress.  These aprons are for someone (like my Mom-in-law) with a tiny, tiny waist.  I keep them around for the nostalgia, because they’re not going around MY waist!  My favorite is the green one with red, flocked poinsettias.

All of these aprons bring me a great deal of joy when I unpack them each year.  They make the Holidays all the more special, especially by remembering the great cooks and hostesses they represent for me.  ❤

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

What makes a Christmas cookie a Christmas cookie?  I posed this question on Facebook last week after making these yummy little stunners.

The answers were:  whatever is tradition–that is, what your family always bakes, shape and decoration, type of cookie–such as a sugar cookie or ginger cookie.  I’d say these Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies qualify!  The original recipe is from the December 2009 Food and Wine Magazine.  If you haven’t tried the combination of ginger and chocolate, it’s time!  It’s a ginger cookie taken to the next level.  With hot chocolate, with coffee, with a dessert wine….oh my.

If you bake, most likely you have everything you need:

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 TBSP ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 TBSP baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 TBSP softened, unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients:  flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Beat butter and shortening together until smooth in another bowl.

Cream in the brown sugar until light and fluffy–about 2-3 minutes.

Add egg and beat until combined.

Beat in molasses,

and then melted chocolate until smooth.

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating in between each addition.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts.

Form each third into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a disk to a thickness of 1/4 inch.  Use desired cutters to cut dough into shapes and transfer to baking sheets.  Dust cutters lightly with flour in between cookies to help the cookies release from the cutters.  I find that using cutters of different sizes allows for more efficient use of the dough and less re-rolling.

Gather the scraps together and continue to cut cookies.

Bake cookies for about 7 minutes, rotating pans halfway through unless you have a convection oven.  Let cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes and transfer to racks to finish cooling.

When cool, it’s time to decorate!  Be as fancy as you want to be.  I decided on using white and blue frosting tubes fitted with decorating tips and blue and white sanding sugars–they have a larger crystal than regular sugar, making my snowflakes more snowflake-y, in my opinion.  🙂  I frost each cookie first,

And then dip in sugar while the frosting is still wet.  Different colors come from different combos of sugar and frosting.

Pretty soon you have a whole flurry of delicious and beautiful snowflakes!

While one batch was baking, I thought it would be fun to see if I could make one of the smaller flakes perch on a cocoa mug.  Through a bit of trial and error and having to eat my mistakes…I ended up with this method:

I used a popsicle stick to press a mark into a raw cookie, just over halfway up the cookie, trying to leave equal amounts of cookie on each side of the mark.

Then, I used a sharp paring knife to cut out the notch and carefully transferred the perching cookies to a baking sheet and baked and decorated the same as the regular cookies.

So fun!  A cute little cookie that parks nicely on your mug in between sips and can be dunked as you go!

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies if you vary sizes.  My largest cutter was about 3 inches, the medium 2 inches and the tiny ones are about 1 inch.

The recipe also makes an excellent sandwich cookie.  The filling recipe I’ve used is:  1 stick unsalted, softened butter, 8 oz mascarpone, softened, 3 cups powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Yum!

They are just fine all by themselves, though.  Aren’t they pretty?!

The smell of chocolate gingerbread baking filled my house with Christmas!  It really put me in the mood to start decorating, so I got out the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations, trees and ornaments.  Here’s one of my favorite ornaments from when I was little.

Do you have ornaments from your childhood?  I still need to bake a few more traditional cookies and make a Buche de Noel, but the house is decorated and cozy, and presents are wrapped.  I feel like I’m ready enough for Christmas.  I hope you have a merry holiday season where you are.

 

Turkey White Chili

Ah Thanksgiving leftovers.  They seem like a bounty of riches at first, and then…  I’ve gotten to the I’m-so-tired-of-turkey phase.  Part of this is because most of the time I’m vegan, and I just don’t care much for meat anymore.  However, my son is NOT vegan, and I didn’t want to mess with a holiday tradition for him, so we roasted a small turkey.  But even a small turkey can result in a fairly large bag of leftover meat!  What to do, what to do?  I’d already made tetrazzini and enchiladas.  I didn’t want it going to waste, or even lurking in my freezer, scolding me for not using it.  I want to use up ALL of the rest of it!

Winter weather has a tendency to make me crave a warm bowl of soup, and my husband ALWAYS craves spicy.  How ’bout a white chili, then?  The Google provided me with lots of inspiration.  Does anyone else resort to the interwebs for food inspiration?  It’s like searching through ton of cookbooks with a click!  The Pioneer Woman got me started and I improvised from there.

Grab your bag of leftover turkey and a crockpot and by the time you get home from work, Turkey White Chili will be waiting to warm your chilly self!

• 2-2 1/2 cups cooked turkey, shredded or chunked
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 4 cups or so chicken broth (I use No Chicken Broth)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or minced
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 2 cans white beans
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
• 1 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• 2 TBSP masa harina

Saute onions in a bit of broth or butter if you’d rather.  Saute until onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

Add garlic and saute until it becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove from heat.

Chop or shred the turkey.  I like to use a cutting board that can go into the dishwasher when cutting meat, even if it IS cooked.

Open one can of beans, drain and place into your crockpot.  Mash them so you still have some pieces left.

Drain the other can of beans and add to the pot.  Add turkey, onions and garlic, green chiles, enchilada sauce and spices.

Cover with broth, give it a stir, cover and set the cooker to low for 5-6 hours. Alternately, set to high for 2-3 hours.

Whisk masa harina–a corn flour–into the milk.  If you can’t find masa harina, corn meal is ok.  It helps thicken your chili and gives it a fabulous corn tortilla sort of flavor.

Add the milk mixture to the crockpot, set it to high and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Ladle it up in a pretty bowl and cut yourself a slice of crusty bread.  Garnish with cilantro and avocado.  Yum, yum, yummy!

Just the remedy for a cold and wintry day.  Go ahead.  Have seconds.

Winter is here to stay in Western Colorado.  Not crazy about the cold, but it sure is pretty.

Alpenglow is the term used when the setting sun “warms” the nearby Grand Mesa.  Especially pretty in the snow!