merry x-mas eats!

christmas could not have been more perfect and mellow. the food came out delicious and the family and friends ate it up. littlefoodie got the best gift ever...a marble race track that he has not stopped playing since he ripped open the box...the best part is its totally fun for the parents too..whee! i've been meaning to hop in here and post pics and recipes but big foodiedaddy and i were hit with the holiday pukefest..10 hours of x-rated, toilet hugging wretching. lucky for us littlefoodie is that one weird kid that never gets sick and has some sort of x-men-ish ability to ward off germs.
so we are recovering and hoping to be back in the game for new years so i can make my famous timapno and creme brulee. for now i'll leave you with photos of our x-mas brunch spread...the recipes will have to come later since i am only working with half a mind today.

enjoy!

ginger doughnuts (the hit of the brunch)



overnight cofeecake


maple, mustard and rosemary sausages


ham, leek and three cheese quiche (best quiche recipe, hands down!)


sugared cranberries


roasted garlic broccoli and home fries

x-mas brunch will be our bounty

this year i am hosting brunch with half of my family. with a million neices and nephews, families scattered here and there for various reasons we'll be opening our doors for some of the littlefoodie brood..as well as some good friends. i am slowly going crazy trying to figure out how i will be doing it all. the menu was created, i already shopped and now i am fine tuning my attack. the morning of x-mas there are way way way too many presents to open, family to greet and a littlefoodie all beside himself with santa enthusiasm...how will it all get done? i worry and then it turns out...always! i'll be posting recipes and pics soon as the holidays are done kicking my butt. and since the kitchen is overflowing and the cookies are coming out of my ears i will leave you with one fluffy, happy, hairy and festive x-mas brunch menu. sound good to you?

enjoy!

pomegranate-ginger champagne cocktail (the crown jewel of the meal...at least for me!)
apple cider
egg nog
coffee
orange juice
overnight cinnamon/walnut coffeecake
ham, leek and three cheese quiche
sugared cranberries (easy to make and sooooo delicious!)
spicy, sweet almonds
spicy mustard and rosemary breakfast sausages (so much better than pre-made)
home fries with peppers
homemade ginger donuts (i am way too excited to make these babies!)
roasted broccoli with gremolata
beautiful grapes from the farmers market

the best gingerbread cookies ever!

a couple weeks ago littlefoodie took a trip to the coolest children's museum in town. the discovery science center in santa ana, california (click on the header for direct link to recipe) is a fun place for littleones of all ages. they are featuring an exhibit called the science of gingerbread. truth be told the exhibit was seriously lacking in luster but the recipe that we took away from will last forever! i can say this is the best gingerbread recipe i have encountered. using the usual unbleached flour (white whole wheat unbleached is what we used), pure cane organic sugar, unsulphured organic molasses it made them even better using pure, real ingredients. the pictures doesn't do our bounty justice but sadly we ate them all up before those fiesty gingerbread ran away as fast as they could. littlefoodie is now a pro at dough rolling and cutting out...makes me proud! give these a try and you won't be let down...just make sur eto eat them up quick before they dash for the door!!!





Ingredients:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2/3 Cup Molasses
2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature)
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside. In the bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (an electric mixer works best). Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With a spatula, lift the cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Confectioners Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors (if desired)

chocolate peppermint cake with choco-peppermint icing

this is another one of those amazing martha stewart recipes. like the marshmallows i posted the link in the header to take you right to the recipe...i am too lazy to type it all out! this was like a dense fudgy brownie type cake and the ganache icing...delicious! a perfect holiday elegant dessert. i know everyone who ate it up had good things to say! i did use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet as well...the results were amazing! give it a try!

enjoy!

homemade candy cane marshmallows

straight from martha stewarts archives these little treats are way too yummy and cute for little hands not to get all sticky from. littlefoodie just about fell over when he saw was mama was making. unfortunatley, this is one project he couldn't "assist" me in. i think he was happy in the end though...skipped out the hard work and went straight for the goods! the marshmallows are also very tasty dropped in a steaming cup of coffee!

this holiday has been the most fun so far...littlefoodie foodie is all wrapped up in santa and presents and decorations and snowmen and baking..the older he gets the more i see that x-mas magic gleaming in his eyes and it makes gaining ten pounds and almost wanting to jump off a bridge from holiday stress bearable....this is one of those times when having a little one at home makes life so much more exciting.

try these marshmallows and you will be bound for addiction!

enjoy!

red flannel hash with ham

i haven't had red flannel hash in ages. i remember eating it with canned beets and canned corned beef..thats not how things roll in this house. roasted beets are beyond easy and much better than sweet beets packed in a aluminum can. throw ome cleaned beets in foil and glugg a little bit of olive oil over. roast on 450F for an hour or until soft when a knife slids thru them. perfection! you could also use bacon in place of ham or some leftover roast if on hand too! either way its always delicous!

(stay tuned for chocolate peppermint cake, homemade peppermint marshmallows and gingerbread cookies!)
enjoy!


1 lb small red potatoes, diced
2 cups ham, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 roasted or boiled beets, diced
2 tbl dijon mustard
1/2 cup milk
dash of paprika
2 tbl chopped parsley
salt and pepper
4 eggs, fried

boil potatoes until tender. drain.

heat oil in pan and saute onions and garlic. add ham and cook until browned on med heat. toss in beets and cook 10 min.
stir mustard into milk and season with salt and pepper and paprika. add to potato and beet mixture. cook until heated through. season if needed. top with fried eggs.

oompa toys is where its at!

if you are looking for great natural, wooden and imaginative toys look no further. i fell in love with this online store the minute i stumbled upon them while searching for that right kitchen for littlefoodie. they carry Haba toys and if you haven't heard of them i suggest you check them out...the cutest safe, wooden toys i have ever seen...littlefoodie is getting a handful of haba toy food for x-mas.
they have an great little rewards program and you get points for items you purchase. obviously the larger the amount the more the points but you get money off for your next purchases and when you get addicted like i have you will love that little money off deal! their toys are safe and foster imaginative play..what more can a parent want especially if you are like us and staying away from the plastic lumpy bells and whistle toys.



we ordered this educo kitchen for littlefoodie from santa. it came quick and is cute. the hard part is going to be storing it away and not giving in sooner. so if you want to feel good about your x-mas and find things that are fun, imaginative and safe for your little ones this place is perfect and none of those characters that are constantly forced down our throats.

enjoy!

soapy snowman craft

while definitley not food this little craft will have busy and dirty little fingers busy for some time. littlefoodie just started asking to do more crafts and i admit i am not the craftiest....making food yes but making things out of pipe cleaners, glue and glitter...not so much. this was adorable and fun. we used rosemary for the arms instead of twigs cause it was way too cold outside to grab some. we couldn't find the suggested laundry soap so we used a different kind that has baking soda in it. also, we ended up using way more water than the "recipe" calls for...it dries out quickly and with a 3 yr old it took about 10 hours to make one little snowman. as you can see one of ours resembles the elephant man a bit while the others look like they may be melting a bit early this year. all in all a fun craft.

enjoy!

homemade cranberry liqueur for the lush on your list

when it comes to booze i am all over vodka. my number uno choice is grey goose straight up...no muss no fuss. occasionally i will switch to some ketel one which is pretty good itself. trying to come up with x-mas gifts for certain family members is a mind bending task but when the one thing i know they love to do is drink i am all ready to support their inner lush. according to cookinglight.com this little homemade cranberry liqueur treat is pretty sweel dressed up as a little cosmo...a little girly of a drink for me but after making this i think i can bend to my fruity drink side...if i have one. so here it is. you can use your fav vodka and i think even the absolut might transform itself into something palatable with some cranberries and sugar! my plan is to find some nice decanters to fill up with this nectar of the gods and what a beautiful present it will be!

(stay tuned for homemade limoncello and peppermint marshmallows!)

enjoy!

2 cups organic cane sugar
1 cup water
1 pkg fresh cranberries
3 cups vodka

combine sugar and water and cook over med heat until sugar dissolves. remove from heat and cool.

process cranberries in food processor until finely chopped and blended. combine cranberries with sugar in a large bowl and stir in vodka.

pour vodka mixture into clean jars and put on lids. let sit in a cool, dark place for 3 weeks. shake every other day.

when ready strain cranberry mixture thru a cheesecloth lined strainer into a bowl. toss out solids and fill that sweet juice into clean bottles or jars.

spianch, ham and butternut lasagna

this was heavenly and a perfect comfort food. somehow we are always in abundance of goat cheese and i am always and forever adding to everything we eat these days. the ham was leftover from sunday...a great little quarter ham i picked up at trader joes before thanksgiving and froze. the ham really went well with the sweetness of the squash and the tang of the goat cheese. i also always use the no boil noodles...the last thing i have time for these days is pre boiling noodles and dirtying another pan...just another step to step!

(stay tuned for homemade cranberry vodka! best homemade x-mas present for the lush in your life!)

enjoy!




3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup unbleached ap flour
pinch of nutmeg
3 tbl unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, minced
salt and pepper
6-8 cups peeled and small diced butternut squash
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlci cloves, minced
2 cups diced ham
pinch of red pepper
1 bag organic frozen chopped spinach
1 pkg organic whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 cup or 1 log of goat cheese
1 cup parm/regg cheese, grated

toss butternut squash with salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and rosemary. roast at 425 for 30 min. remove and set aside. turn oven to 350F.

heat milk until almost boiling. remove and keep warm.

saute onion in butter until soft over med heat. whisk in flour and cook 5 min until a little cooked and lightly golden. add a few tbls of milk to flour mixture and whisk constantly. slowly add milk until gone and add in nutmeg, red pepper and salt and pepper. whisk until thickened and combined. set aside.

saute garlic and ham in olive oil. add spinach and salt and pepper. cook until spinach is warmed and soft.

ladle a little of milk mixture in bottom of baking dish. layer noodles, them butternut squash, spiinach/ham mixture. crumble some goat cheese and parm on top and finally ladle more milk mixture on top. repeat with noodles, squash, etc. when done sprinkle with a final layer of parm and bake 30-40 until done.

this is what it looks like when the cutest 3 yr old meets santa....

shameless photo brag but ain't he cute...

carrot chocolate almond muffins

1 lb organic carrots, shredded
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
6 tbl organic flaxseed oil or you can use veg oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 lg eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp organic almond extract
1 cup whole wheat
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup organic cocoa powder
2 tsp aluminum-free baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
sliced raw almonds

preheat oven to 350F.

combine carrots thru eggs in a large bowl.

combine flour thru salt in small bowl.

stir flour into carrot mixture. fold in chocolate chips. pour into muffins tins, sprinkles with almonds and bake 22 min.