Holiday appetizer: Cranberry-Pineapple Salsa

Appetizers - -  not exactly my specialty!  

It's always nice to have a few nibbles ready when guests arrive, but I always struggle as to what to serve.  Here's a great recipe that is healthy and fresh -- quite welcome with the heaviness of appetizers at this time of year.  I served this easy and delicious salsa with Trader Joe's organic corn, quinoa, and chia chips.  YUM -- try this soon!

Cranberry Pineapple Salsa

Makes about 3 1/2 cups or 12 servings

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1/2 medium pineapple, pared, cored and coarsely chopped (about 2 packed cups)
1 green onion (white and green parts), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (may add some seeds if heat is desired)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place cranberries, pineapple, green onion, mint, jalapeño, garlic and salt in food processor fitted with metal chopping blade. Pulse until cranberries are coarsely chopped. 

Transfer to serving dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours. Serve chilled.

Empty Nesting Begins...

I never expected to be empty nested so soon or so young!  With one in heaven, and two married, somehow here we are.   Out of the almost 27 years we've been married, we have had children in our home 25 of them. Thus begins a new chapter for us- or back to the honeymoon phase!  :-)  

People ask me how I feel or what it's like.  First of all, it really doesn't seem that different  --  in the last couple years our kids lived with us they were quite busy and not really home that much anyways.  I adjusted to long stretches of time without them, which was a blessing for me as a mother.  I would say it was a slow process, over many years, of letting go.  I will admit there were times of sadness along the way when I anticipated them leaving our home forever. But, since the changes were gradual it didn't really seem abrupt or sad when they actually got married.   We are happy for them and their new lives as married people so that surely helps the process for us.  We love to get together with our kids and plan to do it often. So, it's more of a change, not a loss, in our relationship with them.

So, I guess my answer is, it's kind of nice.  I still have plenty to keep me busy, which I'm thankful for.  I do enjoy having more freedom in my schedule to say yes to different opportunities.  I still want to serve my kids -- it just looks different now.  But the best bonus of all is that I have my hubby all to myself much more! I'm actually feeling excited about what lies ahead.

After the wedding, Rich took the week off and we got away for a few days to celebrate the beginning of this new chapter.  We grabbed a Living Social deal and stayed at an adorable bed and breakfast inn at Cayucos, which is between Pismo and Cambria.  Cayucos is just a quaint little seaside tourist town. There is not much but the beach, a few antique shops and some restaurants (including the amazing, not to be missed Brown Butter Cookie Company.). It was very quiet at this time of year but in the summer it gets busy. 

Everything about our trip was so nice.  The drive up the coast listening to great 70's music, the gorgeous warm weather, the place we stayed, the food, a walk on Moonstone Beach cliff, the McConnell's ice cream on the way home (my fave ice cream on earth) and especially the company.  :-)

On the Beach  --The Bed and Breakfast Inn we stayed at.

A shot from our beautiful room -- see the ocean?  We had a spacious room that featured a fireplace and a big jacuzzi tub.  I think everything in our room was Tommy Bahama --

 

I took this shot inside the inn.  I think there were 12 units at the place.  We stayed on the ground floor. Loved the beachy look and feel of the place.

Chef Maureen made us feel like a guest in her home.  Everything was from scratch and so good!  Every morning we could even smell breakfast cooking from our room!  And they even gave us appetizers in the afternoons and dessert in the evenings (which we gladly ate).   Great place!

The view out our room window

 

 Cayucos pier

 

More time with him is definitely a benefit!

 
 


We went to Cambria one of our days.  I may have posted food pictures from this restaurant in Cambria before -- but it's worth a repeat!  We love the Main Street Grill there.
Yummy salad, a beef rib and fries, and the best tri tip sandwich on earth!!



Did I mention that this sandwich is the best tri tip I've ever had?  Oops, sorry. I don't know how they make it, but it has an awesome smoky flavor and is super tender.  The bun is made into garlic bread before they slap this baby together which sends it over the top.  I think our conversation at lunch was mostly us repeatedly saying how good it was.  Seriously! You gotta go!!

It's time for Hanukkah and latkes!

Since I was raised in a Jewish home, I grew up not with Christmas, but with Hanukkah.   It was a cherished time of family. As children, my sister and I lit the menorah candles, said the prayer in Hebrew, and received a gift from our parents for eight consecutive nights!   My parents always invited grandparents to come celebrate with us at least one night and we'd have a big dinner. When I married Rich and we started having kids, we continued to share the tradition with my family.  Therefore, our kids grew up with all the traditions as well and love Hanukkah.  Nowadays, I host and my sister and her family come, as well as a cousin of my mom's.

Now, the crown jewel of our Hanukkah meal is the latkes.  Latkes are basically potato pancakes which are deep fried.  Though they are made with shredded potatoes, they actually bear little resemblance to breakfast hashed browns.  They are more like the texture of (flat) dumplings, as they are made with flour, eggs, and grated onion as well.  Making them is a laborious process so we don't have them but once a year.  They are absolutely delicious! Everyone in our family loves them. My favorite way to eat them is with sour cream and a little sugar sprinkled on.  Applesauce is also a traditional topping.  However...some people in our family (who shall remain nameless) put KETCHUP on theirs, which is such a gentile thing to do (and so very WRONG). I do not allow the ketchup to be on the table, so the bottle is usually smuggled in by a certain person and clandestinely shared with others also in the wrong.  :-)

We have always had a tradition that everyone gathered must "rub" some of the potatoes.  We do them by hand and the method is more of ricing than grating, as we rub the potatoes over an old rectangular cooling rack!  Kind of funny, but the small grid of the cooling rack gives the mixture the best texture. One by one, each person goes to the kitchen to rub, and then my dad mixes in the rest of the ingredients to just the right consistency.   He then frys them in oil over the stove, which takes over an hour.

This year, Dad handed the tradition over to his oldest grandson, Drew.  Dad taught Drew how to make the batter just right, and then Drew fried all the latkes on his own.  I must say he did a great job!  I was so proud of him, and my dad was literally beaming that his grandson was now fit to carry on our family tradition.  Drew was very enthusiastic and loved the experience, too!  He even had Hanukkah music playing in the kitchen and was quite into it.  He is the best.  :-)

 

Drew showed up sporting his yarmulke (that he got from his semester in Israel).

My nephew Luke doing his "rub."

Other nephew Vance got a little tired of rubbing (and poor Stephanie looks a little freaky here).

A much more flattering pic of my lovely daughter-in-love, as she puts in her time.

Steadman doing his part. :-)

Dad and his girls.
One thing I realized recently is that my dad and I have EXACTLY the same teeth.   That probably isn't interesting to anyone but me, but I thought I'd throw it in anyways (you must admit that you went back and looked -- didn't you?) :-)

The soon-to-be-married couple!

 

Proud Grandpa moment!



Drew hard at work frying the latkes to perfection!

WDW - the BEST Christmas cookies!

 

Yes, that's a pretty bold title.   But I stand by it.

Over the years, I've had several favorite Christmas cookie recipes --frosted sugar cookies, Russian tea cakes, etc. but the perfect ginger cookie was always elusive to me.  Dry, crunchy ginger cookies are just not my thing.  And, I'm a HUGE ginger fan -- I'm even one of those who likes the wicked spicy ginger Altoids. 

At Emma's final bridal shower last week, her maid of honor, Kaitlyn, made these simple but perfect little ginger cookies.  Moist, chewy, decadent, and with an over the top lemon glaze... I fell in love!  As we were packing up, I not-so-discreetly packed myself a sizeable to-go bag of these little gems.  

As my supply was dwindling, I panicked a bit. I began texting Kait every day until she finally gave up the recipe.

Last night, Kait was over and I made up a batch of these.  I even made her do most of the work to ensure they would be as good as hers.  :-)  Man are these good.   You gotta make them.

P.S. the recipe is from Sunset magazine, which always publishes the most amazing cookie recipes!

FROSTED GINGER COOKIES

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling cookies
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 cups powdered sugar
lemon juice to desired consistency (about 2 lemons, I 
       like the glaze on the thick side)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup granulated sugar with butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and molasses.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and spices. Add to butter mixture and blend well.

3. Fill a shallow bowl with granulated sugar. Break off walnut-size pieces of dough and roll into balls; roll balls in sugar. Arrange on greased cookie sheets and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks.

4. Meanwhile, make glaze: Combine powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over cookies.  Let glaze harden before packaging cookies.

Makes about 50-60 cookies.

Using your freezer to get ahead for the holidays!

I cannot BELIEVE Thanksgiving is next week!  How did that happen? And since there is one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year -- it's time to get on the ball!

This year, I anticipated that the holiday season might be a bit more hectic with a wedding coming mid January... so I've been working on my Christmas list/shopping for a month or so, and I've been setting aside time to  prepare and freeze some holiday treats for my family, for events & when hosting guests, and even some for gift giving.  It's a big stress avoider for me to operate this way.  :-)

Here are a few of my favorite tips for utilizing your freezer NOW for easy holidays later.  Maybe it will encourage you to take a look at your November/December calendar and see what you can get a head start on putting away to make the holidays more enjoyable.  :-)

Freeze Apple Pie Filling.

This is truly a delicious apple pie -- and the filling can be done in advance and frozen!  How great is that?  I just put two bags of this filling up yesterday --  so my Thanksgiving and Christmas apple pies will be a snap. :-)

All I do is thaw the filling the day before in the fridge, make the double pie crust, assemble the pie, and bake.  Saves SO much time and clean up.  This can be done up to 8 weeks in advance.   Be sure to use apples that are good for baking, such as Fuji or Pink Lady.

Rose's Apple Pie Filling
{from Blissfully Content}

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon…or to taste

6- 6 1/2 cups peeled & cubed apples

If freezing: 1 gallon freezer bag

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon and mix well. Fold in fruit and toss until well coated. 

Transfer to the freezer bag. Squeeze air out and reseal.

Lay flat and freeze.

To Bake: 

Put thawed frozen pie filling into crust lined pie dish. 

Dot the filling with 3 Tbsp. butter. 

Put top crust on, flute edges, and sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar, if you like. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes...until hot and bubbly.

{I usually put a cookie sheet on the bottom rack with a little foil on it...just in case the pie bubbles over a bit.}

Bake lots of bacon.

My family loves bacon, but  much to their dismay, I don't make it much.  However, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I make sure there are lots! This year, I made the bacon for both holidays at once.

Have you ever baked your bacon?  I do it all the time -- it's easier and affords WAY less clean up.   

If you cook and freeze your bacon, later you can just put it on the foil lined cookie sheet frozen, and warm it in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes. You can then have warm, hot bacon ready to serve in hardly NO time and with NO mess!

To bake from raw, I line rimmed cookie sheets with a few layers of foil, overlapping them over the edge so no grease can get through to your cookie sheet.   Lay bacon slices side by side (do not overlap) and cook in a 400 degree oven until done.  

If I'm going to be freezing the bacon, I undercook it slightly, so when it's re-warmed it isn't petrified.  :-)   The time it takes to cook will vary, but it's approximately 1/2 hour.  I turn the pan (not the bacon itself) every 5 minutes until it is done.   When done, drain the bacon on paper towels and carefully fold the foil full of bacon grease up and throw away -- virtually no clean up.

Yesterday, I baked 8 pounds of bacon and stashed it away in the freezer.  Hope nobody finds it before then! 


Saute and freeze stuffing vegetables.

One of my favorite tricks that my mother in law taught me is to get a head start on the stuffing veggies for Thanksgiving.  If you saute all your veggies (I use onions, celery, mushrooms, and eggplant) in advance and freeze them, it makes your stuffing on Thanksgiving day SO much easier.   Just thaw the veggies, mix them in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and bake.  No chopping or sauteeing on Thanksgiving day.  Ahh.

Make and freeze sweet rolls.

Our family's traditional breakfast on Christmas morning is cinnamon rolls (and bacon, of course).  But, Christmas eve is so busy I don't usually like to prepare them then.  So, I get ahead of the game by preparing and freezing the rolls.   I just undercook them slightly, and do not frost.   I wrap them tightly in foil and freeze.   The day before, I thaw them, and bake them 5-10 minutes to warm.  I top the warm rolls with icing and serve fresh, hot cinnamon rolls with hardly any effort at all.  I haven't yet put up my cinnamon rolls, but yesterday I made some orange/cranberry sweet rolls for a Thanksgiving brunch we are having this Saturday for Rich's family.  They are super easy to make, and perfect for the season.  They also make a great gift -- give frozen -- just provide the frosting separately and it's a welcome and inexpensive gift.  You can easily double this recipe.

Orange/Cranberry Rolls

2 ¼ tsp. yeast

½ cup lukewarm water

½ cup lukewarm milk

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. butter, soft

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 ½ - 4 cups flour

In KitchenAid bowl, combine yeast and warm water and let set 3 minutes.

Add lukewarm milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg and mix 1 minute.

Switch to dough hook and begin to add flour, ½ cup at a time, until dough cleans the sides of the bowl.  Add only enough flour to achieve this result.

Knead on low speed for 2 minutes. 

Place  dough in a greased blowl, turning to coat.  Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 hour, or until doubled.

Divide dough in half.  Roll each half into a 7 x 12 rectangle.  Spread each with ¼ of the following mixture (saving half for frosting) and half of the fresh cranberries.

Filling/Icing

3 cups powdered sugar

6 Tbsp. butter, soft

2 Tbsp. grated orange peel

4 Tbsp. orange juice

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cranberries

Roll up dough into a roll, pinching edges tightly, and cut into 1/2” thick rolls.  Place rolls, cut side down, into two greased round cake pans.  Put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Frost rolls with remaining frosting while they are still warm.

Bake and freeze cookies and quick breads.

Plan to set aside some time to make some treats and freeze them.  Even if you don't have a specific time you think you'll use them, I promise they will come in handy for that forgotten gift for someone, for an event you need to bring a sweet treat to, or when you have unexpected friends come by and want to have something to serve with coffee.   My favorite pumpkin bread recipe is listed below, and I've also included a very special treat if you are gluten-free or want to give something yummy to a GF friend.  :-)  I like to bake the pumpkin bread in mini loaf pans for the holidays.  They look extra pretty if you sprinkle some pumpkin seeds and turbinado sugar on top before baking.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

2 cups canned pumpkin

3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

1 cup coconut oil

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon cloves

Heat oven to 350.

In KitchenAid, combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil and eggs.

Beat until well mixed.

Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves into mixer.  Beat until combined.

Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans or 1 9 x 5 loaf pan and 3-4 mini loaf pans.

Evenly divide the batter between the pans.

Bake for 60-70 minutes (40 min. for mini loaves) or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pans by inverting onto a rack and tapping the bottoms.

Gluten & Dairy Free Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup organic palm shortening (Sprouts)
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups gluten-free oats
1 cup Pamela’s gluten-free artisan flour blend (Sprouts)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup raisins, dried cranberries or dairy free chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375.  Cream sugars with shortening.  Add egg, water, and vanilla.  Add oats, flour, salt, and soda.  Stir in raisins or chocolate chips.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Happy Holiday Season to you!