Christmas Cheer is Here

Cookies, cookies, cookies!  It's time to get your best cookie recipies out and get baking!
I have a huge assortment of cookie cutters and every Christmas I pull them out and make The Best Suagr Cookies You Eve Ate or Snitched and  my favorite Ginger Bread .cookie.
They both are the best basic cookie I make every year and people ALWAYS comment on how good they are. DO not vary the sugar or fat content or you will be disappointed.

The Best Sugar Cookie You Ever Ate or Snitched (crispy chewy type)
350 Degree Oven
Makes 5-6 dozen
1 c butter
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cream of tarter
5 c flour
Beat sugar, butter, eggs,vanilla and oil  very well. Then add dry ingredients that you have incorporated in another bowl first. Slowly add it to the butter and sugar mixture. Once blended all together don"t over work the dough.
Now, you can either divide the dough in four balls refrigerate 30 minutes in saran wrap. Take them out one at a time roll it out on a lightly floured board and cut out designs with cookie cutters OR you can simply make balls of dough what ever size you desire, roll in colored red or green sugar, flatten after you placed them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper with a glass jar or cup and bake. This goes much quicker than cutting them out.  You might want to leaev them plain and decorate them after they cool with  red, green, and white spray frosting. You can pick these canned frostings up at most grocery stores in the frosting section.

You Asked For It!

It's post Thanksgiving and all the left overs are done with!  We had a record number of Emergency Food Network call-ins with various food dilemas which our experts handled with ease.
Your satisfaction surveys stated we ranked amongst the highest in your estimation. We aim the please.
One of the best feedbacks we received was in regards to a Pumpkin Pie recipe we encouraged you to try, here it is in case you did not get it.

The BEST Pumpkin Pie Your Ever Ate
Paula Deed w/ Peg Christensen

Ingredients:

• 1- 8 oz. package of cream cheese softened
• 2 c. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 c. light brown sugar (you can use all or either or  a combination of brown or white sugar)
• 1/2 c. regular sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg plus two egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 c. half and half
• 1/4 c. butter melted and cooled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 pie shell (see method for blind baking technique below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make pie dough or use pre-made dough, put into a 9 inch pie pan (TIP: put 2 tsp flour in the bottom of the pan prior to placing dough in pan to prevent sticking)
Pinch or crimp edge or cut out leaf shaped pie dough and place along edge. Use a sharp knife to create veins in the leaves. Overlap dough leaves one about half way over the other all the way around edge. Use an egg and water wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Put pie shell in the freezer for 1 hour.
Take out of the freezer and cut a piece of aluminum foil to the size of the bottom of the pie pan with a one inch lip to hold pennies or pie weights or beans to go half way up the sides. Put on the bottom rack of the oven bake for 10 minutes, remove pie weights and bake another 10 minutes. Make sure your filling is made and ready to put right into the shell and bake.
Filling:
Beat cream cheese, add pumpkin, beat until all combined. Add sugar, and salt, then add eggs mixed in one at a time, add half and half and melted butter. Then add vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, beat until well incorporated. Pour into shell and continue to bake for 50 minutes.  Remove and place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Make  the day before and refrigerate until one hour prior to serving. Serve with a generous amount of whipped cream.  You won't believe how fabulous this is!

Happy Turkey Day!

Good Turkey Morning to you! Well,the turkey is in at 325 degrees and stuffed with the above stuffing recipe, the mashed potatoes are boiling and the buffet table is set. Extra stuffing went into large muffin tins and baked ahead  for extra serving s off the luscious stuff. I used clear glass columnar vases filled with  dry white beans, layered with black bean with a sage green  tapered drippless candle. Looks cool, (took three minutes to do) tied it all with a black veil netting. The center piece on the main table has a  beveled glass mirror tile about 24X6 inches and I have layed a variety of pomogranets, grasses, a berry acorn nut garland, short square sage green candles, tons of nuts in the shell in piles, and a couple of limes.  This is one of those keep adding until it looks right things.  It took all of 15 minutes. We recommend you ALWAYS set your table the day before, it saves a ton of time.
Hot cider is bubbling away with mullings spices, smells devine! Pictures to follow soon. Several wines have been chosen at recommended wine pairing, but I say drink what you like!  Some just taste better with the food served on this day. We recommend:  Starling Castle Riesling, a white wine,  a Francis Coppola Pinot Noir, red wine, and a  Georges Dubceuf Beaujolais-Villages, a lovely blend red French wine. If you enjoy a sweet wine, try a Muscat wine wine. Enjoy your day and eat slowwwwww!

Help It's the Stuffing Dilema

Stuffing is kind of a strange thing.  It often times conjures images of grandma's stuffing  which can be a gaggy, soggy, slimmey glob of gooey unidentifiable "stuff" that comes out of a turkey or a pork chop. Some times it is dry, sometimes its too wet, but when it is made right it is the BEST comfort food ever as a side dish.
We like our sausage pecan dressing that most people find rediculously good. Even people who thought they HATED stuffing love this.
Most stuffing has dried bread cubes,  sauted onions, celery, sage and mushrooms,  some tabs of butter and chicken stock & cream in it. Some add cooked wild rice or corn bread, even a diced apple or cranberries can add a hint of sweetness. Here is it:

Sausage Pecan Stuffing

12 c dried bread cubes

3 c heavy whipping cream ( I know, it's bad:) 

1 stick butter cut unto cubes (I know, even worse!)

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 c chopped parsley

1 tbsp. summer savory

1 minced onion

3 1/2 lbs of cooked ground pork sausage

1 tbsp. celery salt

2 tbsp. sage

2 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. nutmeg 

1 c chopped pecans (at least)           

Make sure the sausage, onion, and celery is browned, drained and then cooled down ahead of time so all the ingredients are cold and at the same temperature when you put them all together. Just mix all of the stuffing ingredients in a big honking bowl (and add a little chicken broth if it feels a little dry.) Stuff that bird!  (Or for individual servings you can put big scoops into a buttered muffin tin and bake!)  YUM!