Holiday Goodies (Savory)

Since holiday cooking isn't just about the sweet stuff, I thought I should add a post about some of my favorite savory holiday dishes.

Mary's Corn Pudding
This stuff is so good that I usually end up making 2 batches at a time

Ingredients

• 1/2 C Butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 16 oz can of whole kernel corn
• 1 16oz can of cream style corn
• 8 oz sour cream
• 8 oz corn bread mix (I prefer Jiffy Mix)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
  
• Mix butter, eggs, corn and sour cream together
• Add corn bread mix, stir to combine
• Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole pan
• Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown and set in the middle

The Best Holiday Cheese Ball

Surprisingly easy to make and delightful to consume

Ingredients

• 2 C shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbl mayonnaise
• 1 Tbl worcestershire sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp cayanne pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 c sliced almonds, toasted
  

Directions

• Process all ingredients except almonds in a food processor until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary, about 1 minute
• Transfer cheese mixture to center of a large sheet of plastic wrap
• Holding the corners of wrap in one hand, twist cheese with other hand to seal wrap and shape cheese into a rough ball
• Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours
• Once cheese ball is firm, reshape as necessary into a smooth sphere
• Unwrap cheese ball and roll in almonds
• Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving

Breakfast Strata

Its tradition in my family to have a large breakfast buffet while unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning. A breakfast casserole, or strata, is perfect for such an occasion. I've included a basic recipe but you can change out the various cheese, meats and veggies as you want.

WARNING: This recipe takes some time and planning ahead. Do not try to put it together the morning you want to eat it.

Ingredients

• 8-10 (1/2) inch slices of French or Italian Bread
• 3 Tbl unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz bulk breakfast sausage, crumbled
• 3 medium green onions, minced
• 8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 1/2 C dry white wine (Sauvingnon Blanc)
• 6 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, grated (1 1/2 Cups)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 3/4 C half and half
  

Directions

• Heat oven to 225 degrees
• Arrange bread in a single layers on a large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning over halfway through drying time (or leave them out overnight to dry).
• When cooled, butter slices on 1 side and set aside
• Brown sausage in a skillet, about 4 minutes
• Add green onions and cook until softened and translucent
• Add mushrooms and cook until they no longer release liquid, about 6 minutes
• Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper
• Add wine to skillet and simmer until reduced to1/4 C, 2-3 minutes; set aside
• Butter an 8 inch square baking dish and arrange half of the buttered slices, buttered side up in a single layer in the dish.
  
• Sprinkle with 1/2 of the sausage/mushroom mixture then add 1/2 C of cheese over the slices; repeat
• Whisk eggs in a medium bowl until combined
• Whisk in reduced wine, half and half, salt and pepper to taste
• Pour egg mixture evenly over bread layers
• Cover surface flush with plastic wrap
• Weigh down and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight
• Remover dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes
• Preheat oven to 325
• Uncover Strata and sprinkle remaining cheese over surface
• Bake until both edges and center are barely puffed and edges have pulled slightly away from the sides, 50-55 minutes (or 1 hr, 20 minutes for a doubled recipe)
  

Holiday Goodies (Sweet)

I love Christmas for many different reasons, one of which is making all the goodies that signify the holiday season for me. Below are number of recipes, some of which (Cyclops Cookies) are family traditions, while other are new additions.

I made most of the cookie dough in one evening and refrigerated it until (a) it was easy to work with and not sticky, and (b) I had the time to make them with my wonderful sous chefs, Clint and Cece. I would highly suggest doing something similar. Also if the recipe calls for balls of cookie dough to be rolled in sugar, a good tip is to put the sugar in a non-stick cake pan, add the cookie dough balls and shake until coated--this keeps you from handling them too much and getting doughy, sticky hands.

Mom's Cyclops Cookies
Last year, my brother, his wife, Clint, and Cece all took part in baking this recipe for my Mom who was craving Christmas cookies but didn't have the time to bake them. We surprised her with a big batch of these goodies, and good ole Uncle Jim introduced my 1 year old daughter to chocolate by letting her bite the tops off the Hershey Kisses. She has been a fiend ever since.

Ingredients

• 1 stick of Butter
• 1/2 C Creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbl Milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• bag of Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
  

Directions

• Cream the butter in a stand mixer
• Add peanut butter, then the sugars
• Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat well
• In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture
• Cover and chill at least 1 hour
• Preheat oven to 375
• Shape dough into 1 in balls (I use a melon baller for consistent size) and roll in additional sugar
  
• Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until edges are firm
• Remove from the oven and immediately press a Hershey Kiss on top of each cookie
• Cool and serve. Makes 60 or so

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

These cookies quickly became a favorite of a large contingent of my office mates, my mother, and myself. They're just plain yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 C Shortening
• 1 1/2 C granulated Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 C Molasses
• 4 C flour
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ginger
• additional sugar for dipping

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Cream shortening and sugar
• Add eggs and molasses
• Sift flour with cinnamon, baking soda, salt and ginger
• Add to sugar mixture and mix well
• Cover and chill for at least 1 hour
  
• Roll into 1 inch balls and coat with granulated sugar
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart
• Bake 12-15 minutes rotating halfway through baking time
• Cool on a cooling rack
  
• Makes 3 dozen

Iced Sugar Cookies

No Christmas would be complete without iced and decorated sugar cookies. My daughter had a blast decorating the cookies with her Daddy, but I'm not sure my kitchen will ever fully recover!

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 2 C Flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 C butter
• 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  

Icing:

• 2 C powdered Sugar
• 2 Tbl Milk
• Food coloring
• Sprinkles (if desired)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Sift dry ingredients together for the cookies
• Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer
• Add egg and beat until well blended
• Beat in Vanilla and reduce speed to low
• Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until just combined
• Cover and Chill for at least 1 hour
• Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface
• Cut out about 40 cookies, re-rolling scraps as necessary
• Place cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom
• Cool on a wire rack
• Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and milk, stirring until smooth
• Decorate cookies as desired

Peanut Butter -Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

These pretzels are incredibly easy to make and are a hit with a crowd.

Ingredients

• 1/2 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 C creamy peanut butter
• 1 bag of Honey Wheat Pretzel Twists
• Sprinkles, if desired (they add a festive air to the goodies)
  

Directions

• Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper
• Place chocolates in a micro-wave safe bowl
• Microwave for 30 seconds and stir, repeat until chocolate melts
• Add peanut butter and stir until smooth
• Dip and roll 1 end of a pretzel at at time in the chocolate mixture
• Place pretzel on pan and top with sprinkles if desired
• Repeat until you run out of chocolate and pretzels
• Refrigerate until served

Peanut Butter Carmel Corn

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 Tbl canola oil
• 1/2 C unpopped pocorn kernels
• 2/3 C packed brown sugar
• 2/3 C light corn syrup
• 2 1/2 TBL butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 250
• Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper
• Coat with cooking spray
• Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat
• Add popcorn, cover and cook 4 minutes, shaking pan frequently
• When popping slows, remove pan from heat
• Let stand until popping stops
• Uncover
• Meanwhile, combine sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan
• Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally
  
• Remove from heat
• Add peanut butter and vanilla; stir until smooth
• Drizzle over popcorn and toss well
• Spread mixture out onto prepared pan
• Bake at 250 for 1 hour
• Cool completely and break into bite sized chunks.