Mashed Potatoes

 

Ingredients 

4 pounds russet potatoes

1 Tbsp salt

4 Tbsp butter + more for serving

1 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk)

freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

Peel the potatoes, rinse them and cut them into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Add to a large pot and add enough water to cover all of the potatoes. Heavily salt the water. I use about 1 tablespoon salt.

Place pot on your stove and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil and boil for 5–10 minutes, until potatoes easily break apart with a fork or a butter knife. Turn off heat.

Drain potatoes and return pot to the hot burner (that’s turned off). Leave the pot on the stove for at least 10 minutes, uncovered.

Add butter and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula so the butter is evenly distributed. Mash the potatoes to desired consistency. Add sour cream and mix together. Add heavy cream or milk and mix together. Add more if you like creamier potatoes. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. Add an extra pat of butter on top before serving. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator and reheat to serve.

Christmas Advent Book & Activity - Day 17

Advent Day 17: The Christmas Hat and white chocolate & peppermint spoons

Book: The Christmas Hat by A.J. Wood and
illustrated by Maggie Kneen
Activity: White Chocolate & Peppermint Spoons

A little white owl is hard to see in the snowy winter time so his
mother makes him a bright red hat to wear. Now he's easy to
find in the snow, and the fox thinks so too! Beautiful illustrations
and embossed pages make this book especially pretty and the plot
is humorous and charming; there will be smiles all around after
reading this story. This book is a great jumping off place to
discuss how animals use camouflage to protect themselves.
Click here for arctic animals printouts and here for animals all
around the world and how they use camouflage.


White Chocolate & Peppermint Hot Chocolate Spoons

Supplies:
• white chocolate candy melts or white chocolate chips
• candy canes or peppermints
• plastic spoons
• wax paper
• for packaging: cellophane bags and ribbon



Step 1: Lay out the wax paper.

Step 2: Put peppermint candy in a baggy and crush with the back
of a spoon or rolling pin into nice little sprinkling size, then
put in a dish to use later.

Step 3: Melt chocolate according to directions on the package.

Step 4: Dip spoons into melted chocolate being sure to fill
the bowl of the spoon then place on the wax paper.


Step 5: Sprinkle bits of the crushed peppermint on
the bowl of the spoon.

Step 6: Place spoons in refrigerator until hard.

Step 7: Use clear cellophane bags to wrap the spoons
and tie with a ribbon.

Step 8: To use, heat 6 - 8 ozs. of milk in a mug then stir with
your chocolate spoon until all the chocolate is melted.

via Bella Dia

Christmas Advent Book & Activity - Day 6

Advent Day 6: The Baker's Dozen and time in the kitchen

Book: The Baker's Dozen retold by Aaron Shepard
Activity: Time in the Kitchen

Aaron Shepard retells this legend from Dutch colonial New York
about an honest baker that learns what true generosity really is and
begins the tradition of giving thirteen cookies as a dozen - a "baker's
dozen." Unfortunately the book is out of print but you can buy it used,
read the whole story online here or check to see if they have it at your
library. For today's activity get out your favorite holiday recipes
and start baking with the kids!

My sister and I love this spice tea that's super easy to make and
is also a great gift bottled in a pretty jar with a ribbon. I usually
make mini loaves of my banana bread and wrap them in parchment
with baker's twine. While you are getting things prepped, the kids
can watch Aaron Shepard read another of his books, King o' the Cats.

Need more time? Listen to Liam Neeson
read The Polar Express or go here and listen to Dylan Thomas
read his book, A Child's Christmas in Wales - a real treat! I'd love to
know your family's favorite thing to bake for the holidays and if
you have a link to the recipe put that in your comment too!

vua Bella Dia

S'mores Dip (No Campfire Needed)

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2. 8 large marshmallows; cut in half
3. Graham crackers for dipping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. In a small cast iron skillet, put chocolate chips in an even layer.
3. Arrange the marshmallows on top of the chocolate.
4. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until marshmallows are lightly browned.
5. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
6. Serve with graham crackers for dipping.

Notes

1. Skillet will be hot!
2. You may use mini marshmallows as an alternative.

Tasty Ways to Change Up Your S'mores

Key Lime S'more

graham + key lime curd or pie filling + marshmallow

And while your at it, try this incredible S'more 

maker from Rome at your next campfire!!

Buy one or more at Amazon.

Summer Sand Pudding

1 pkg vanilla wafers
3 or 4 Oreo cookies

 8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 small packages French vanilla pudding mix
2 3/4 cups milk
12 oz Cool Whip

Crush Oreo cookies and vanilla wafers in a food processor until it is the consistency of sand. In a separate bowl, cream together softened 8 oz cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. In another bowl, mix pudding with milk. Add to cream cheese mixture. Fold in cool whip. In small buckets, layer the the pudding and sand finishing with a layer of sand. Serve with a bucket shovel.

Tuesday Tips & Tricks

 

Have you earned a reputation for medium-rare holiday turkey or blackened pumpkin pie? Maybe it's the fault of your oven, not your cooking. Often the thermostat in the oven misreads the temperature inside the cooking space. Check the true temperature with a stand-alone oven thermometer, then recalibrate the oven's thermostat following the instructions in the owner's manual. (If it's missing you can usually find the manual online.

Tuesday Tips and Tricks

Hard "Baked" Eggs for Easter 

Place eggs on their side (so the yolks stay in the middle) in a mini muffin pan (so they don't roll all over. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Remove with Chef's Tongs and place in an ice bath immediately.

This is by far the best way to make eggs! You can do one egg or 24 eggs... time and temp are the same! When you do a lot of eggs, just fill the sink with ice water and place them right in there. Eggs are SO EASY to peel, no sticking!

How Fresh Are Your Eggs, Anyway?

To test the freshness of your refrigerated eggs, place each raw egg in a pot of water. If the egg floats, it's rotten. If it stands on its pointy end, it's 10 to 14 days old. If the egg tilts, it's about 3 or 4 days old. You want and egg to sink and lie on its side. That means it's fresh – any fresher, and a live chicken will be walking out of your kitchen.

Barbecued

Homer Simpson's Best 6 Grilling Tips...

1) To make grilled food taste terrific, my secret ingredient is beer: Add 72 ounces to stomach, then cook. I also find that a half pound of meat really wakes up a veggie burger.

2) To keep the bugs from biting, I move everything indoors and barbecue in the house. It also makes the kids nice and sleepy.

3) I keep kabob skewers handy for unwanted guests, like my annoying neighbor Ned Flanders. And I don’t use them for the kabobs.

4) Grill up some vegetables for the vegetarians in your life, like my daughter, Lisa. It’s easy. But remember, no matter how you do it, veggies taste bad.

5) Give your backyard get-together a theme. The guests will love it. My favorites have been the “Quadruple Bypass Anniversary Party” and “The Great Flanders Smoke-Out.”

6) What’s the best thing to do with leftovers? Leftovers? I never heard of them.

illustration by Julius Preite/via parade.com

Book Signing

The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond,
will be in Salt Lake City on Wednesday,
November 24, 2009, 7:00 p.m. at
The King's English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500 E.)
to sign her new cookbook...

Hot Corn on the Cob

I have cooked fresh corn every way imaginable: boiled it; grilled it; soaked it, then cooked it in the campfire and the microwave; etc. , but the best and fastest way is one I developed out of necessity. This is what you need...

Put the opened steamer in the bottom of the pot. Put enough water in the pot to come just below the steamer (water should not touch the corn). Put as many husked cobs in the pot as you need (you can do just one or as many as the pot will hold), and put the lid on the pot. Put the pot on a burner set to High. It usually takes only about 5 minutes for the corn to be hot and ready to go...

Just Peachy

Hop on over to Big Red Kitchen and
learn how to make these little peach cakes...

Say Chicken

If you've never tried "soda" can chicken, you should. It is the most moist and delicious chicken I have ever had.

It's a man thing, so it is usually cooked on the grill...

but can also be done in the oven.
Just make sure you put it on a pan to catch the drippings.

You'll need one of these little racks to hold the soda can and the chicken. You can get one locally at Lowes in the barbecue section for $4.00 or online for a bit more.

Just put a can of soda in the center of the rack - we always use Vernor's ginger ale - but you can use whatever you like. Rub the outside of a whole chicken with your favorite spices and put it on the rack. Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 175º...

You're Out

Don"t you just hate it when you are right in the middle of cooking outside on the grill and the propane tank runs out of fuel...

If you don't have one of these, there is an easy way to check the fuel level in your tank:

Boil a cup or more of water in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. Pour the hot water down the side of the tank and then feel the metal with your hand. Where the water has succeeded in warming the tank it is empty. Where the tank is cool to the touch there is still fuel in the tank...

Happy Barbecuing...

Baker's Dream

Melissa introduced me to Silpat. Leslie gave me my first demonstration, and Tiffany gave me my first one for Christmas...

A Silpat can turn any cooking sheet into a non-stick surface by placing it in the pan before putting on the cookie dough or rolls to cook. No greasing is required...

A larger Silpat can be used for rolling out pie crusts or bread dough, and they won't stick. You can use any size Silpat for other sticky materials such as batter, caramel, or taffy.

Save yourself time, money, and calories by getting one or more Silpats at Bed Bath and Beyond, or other stores that sell baking goods. You'll be glad you did...