The Perfect Christmas serves others
By Robin Pleasants
By Robin Pleasants
Helpful Tip: Make the Upside Down Apple French Toast the night before your brunch. The Mini Sausage and Egg Casserole can be made even earlier and frozen. Simply thaw the casseroles safely in the refrigerator overnight and bake according to the recipe.
Upside down Apple French Toast
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 T water
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced
Cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 loaf French bread, sliced
1 1/2 cups milk
6 eggs
1 t vanilla
nutmeg to taste
whipped cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350, spray 9 x 13' pan with Pam
2. Combine butter, sugar and water in saucepan. Cook, stirring until bubbling. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool 20-30 minutes.
3. Place apples rows on top of butter mixture, sprinkle with cinnamon and raisins. Place bread slices on top of apples.
4. Mix eggs, milk & vanilla together. Pour over bread. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
5. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
6. Bake for 1 hr. Cut and place on a plate upside down, drizzle sauce on top and top with whipped cream.
Baked Asparagus Roll-ups
12 canned asparagus spears, drained and patted dry
12 slices white bread, with crust removed
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 T mayonnaise
2 T butter, melted
paprika
parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Flatten bread with a rolling pin. Mix blue cheese and mayonnaise (add more mayo if needed) together. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and place an asparagus spear on one end. Starting with the spear end, roll up the bread and place seam side down on sprayed cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. Makes 12 roll-ups.
* feta cheese may be substituted for blue cheese
Citrus Blush Sunrise
To decorate glasses:
lime juice
colored sugar
1 (15 1/4 oz) can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 cups orange juice
3 cups lemonade
4 tsp. grenadine syrup
Garnish: fresh mint springs
Directions
Coat rims of glasses with lime juice. Dip in colored sugar.
Spoon 2 T pineapple into each 12 oz glass; fill glasses
with ice cubes. Stir together orange juice and lemonade; pour 3/4 cup
mixture into each glass. Slowly add 1/2 tsp. grenadine, forming a pink layer
in bottom of glass. Do not stir. Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.
Yields: 8 servings
Mini Sausage-and-Egg Casseroles
12 oz sourdough bread, sliced and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 (12 oz) package fully cooked pork sausage patties, chopped or 1 (12 oz) package pork sausage, cooked and crumbled
2 1/2 cups milk
4 large eggs
1 T Dijon mustard
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 (10 3/4oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray insides of 10 oven proof coffee mugs with Pam. Divide bread cubes evenly among mugs. Top each mug with sausage. Whisk together milk, eggs, and Dijon mustard. Pour evenly over bread and sausage.
2. Whisk together buttermilk and cream of mushroom soup. Spoon over bread mixture. Sprinkle each mug with cheddar cheese. Place coffee mugs on baking sheet.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until casseroles are set and puffed. Serve immediately.
* Unbaked mugs of casserole can be covered with plastic wrap, then foil and frozen up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake as directed
* You may omit the mugs and use 9x13 dish or ramekins. For 9x13 dish, increase bake time to 1 hour or until casserole is set.
* Add Tobasco or use hot sausage to make a little spicier.
Tip: Make you own buttermilk - 1 T white vinegar to 1 cup milk. Let sit 15 minutes, do not stir.
Fresh Citrus-Mint Fruit Salad
1 (8oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
1 cup coarsely chopped cantaloupe
1 cup coarsely chopped honeydew
1 cup coarsely chopped mango
3 kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
3 T chopped fresh mint
2 T fresh lime juice
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill before serving
Yields: 3 1/2 cups
* You may also substitute any fruit you would like, starfruit and pomegranates are a great Christmas fruit.
Gifts of Love from the Kitchen
By Dianne Dougharty
Christmastime is a wonderful occasion to express your love to those around you. Homemade baked goodies like these taste best when delivered in the brightest of wrappings and given from a heart of love. Whether it is a Dark Chocolate Cake in a festive box, Chai Tea mix in an old jelly jar wrapped in ribbon, or an assortment of miniature Strawberry cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Icing along with Cheesecake Truffle Balls, everyone is sure to enjoy!
Christmastime is a wonderful occasion to express your love to those around you. Homemade baked goodies like these taste best when delivered in the brightest of wrappings and given from a heart of love. Whether it is a Dark Chocolate Cake in a festive box, Chai Tea mix in an old jelly jar wrapped in ribbon, or an assortment of miniature Strawberry cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Icing along with Cheesecake Truffle Balls, everyone is sure to enjoy!
Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Icing
Cake: Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter- softened ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips- melted and cooled
2 cups sugar 1T. Pure vanilla
3 eggs- room temperature ¾ cup cocoa powder, measured and sifted
1T. pure vanilla 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup half and half
¾ cup cocoa powder ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature
2-1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1t. salt
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup sour cream
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and coat with flour. In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla till blended. In separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet and mix well. Slowly add buttermilk and sour cream.
Blend on low speed 3-4 minutes, scraping sides till all ingredients are incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake on middle rack for 35-40 minutes, till caked barely spring back when gently pressed. Let cool in pan.
Icing: In mixer bowl set on low speed, blend melted chocolate chips and butter, till light. Add vanilla, cocoa and half of the confectioners’ sugar. Add remaining confectioner’s sugar and mix slowly with whisk attachment. Once sugar is blended, add a little half-and-half at a time to get light fluffy consistency. Always rewhip if not using right away.
To frost: semi-freeze layers first, 30-45 minutes. Turn flatter side of one layer down. Ice top of that layer and place second layer on top, with bottom of cake facing down. Press down lightly and proceed to icing the remainder of the cake, tops and sides. Add chocolate curls or shavings, if desired.
Cake: Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter- softened ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips- melted and cooled
2 cups sugar 1T. Pure vanilla
3 eggs- room temperature ¾ cup cocoa powder, measured and sifted
1T. pure vanilla 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup half and half
¾ cup cocoa powder ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature
2-1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1t. salt
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup sour cream
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and coat with flour. In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla till blended. In separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet and mix well. Slowly add buttermilk and sour cream.
Blend on low speed 3-4 minutes, scraping sides till all ingredients are incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake on middle rack for 35-40 minutes, till caked barely spring back when gently pressed. Let cool in pan.
Icing: In mixer bowl set on low speed, blend melted chocolate chips and butter, till light. Add vanilla, cocoa and half of the confectioners’ sugar. Add remaining confectioner’s sugar and mix slowly with whisk attachment. Once sugar is blended, add a little half-and-half at a time to get light fluffy consistency. Always rewhip if not using right away.
To frost: semi-freeze layers first, 30-45 minutes. Turn flatter side of one layer down. Ice top of that layer and place second layer on top, with bottom of cake facing down. Press down lightly and proceed to icing the remainder of the cake, tops and sides. Add chocolate curls or shavings, if desired.
Chai Tea Mix
2-1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ tsp. ground cloves
¾ ground cardamom (optional)
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea or decaffeinated tea
1-1/2 cups- 2 cups sugar
1 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla-flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
Combine spices and tea in a food processor or blender. Blend 1-2 minutes or until mixture becomes fine powder. Pour into large bowl. Add sugar to food processor until super-fine. Add sugar to bowl of spices. Stir in milk powder and creamers; blend well. Spoon mixture into gift
jars, decorate with ribbon. To serve: Stir 2 heaping Tbsp. Chai Tea Mix into a mug of hot milk or boiling water. Yields: 5 cups mix.
Chocolate Chai Mix: Add ½ cup unsweetened cocoa along with dry milk powder to the blend above.
Chai Shake: Blend ¼ cup Chai Tea Mix, 1 cup milk, and 3-1/2 cups vanilla ice cream in a blender.
Strawberry Cupcakes
2-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour- not self-rising
1 t. salt
1 cup unsalted butter- softened to room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar
2 t. pure vanilla
3 large eggs- at room temperature plus 1 egg white
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries
10 strawberries for garnish
Strawberry Meringue Buttercream Icing
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
With mixer on medium, cream butter, sugar and vanilla till fluffy. Add whole eggs and the white, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture into batch, alternating with milk, and beat till well combined. Fold in sour cream and then strawberries by hand.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins half-way through, until golden brown, approximately 25-30 minutes. Cool tins on wire racks for 15 minutes. Turn cupcakes out onto rack and cool.
Spread cupcake with icing, if desired fill pastry bag fitted with large open-star tip with strawberry buttercream. Pipe strawberry buttercream onto each cupcake and form peak. Just before serving top with thinly sliced strawberries.
Strawberry Buttercream Meringue Icing
1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped, pureed in blender
4 large eggs whites- room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups butter- cut into tablespoons, room temperature
Puree strawberries in blender or food processor. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk continually till sugar is melted and completely dissolved. The mixture should feel smooth when touched.
Attach the bowl to the mixer, using the whisk attachment beat at low gradually increasing the speed to medium-high, till stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool, about 10 minutes.
With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mix well after each addition. Once the butter has been all added, scrape sides of bowl; continue beating till all the air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Add strawberries and blend well. Keep strawberry buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, transfer to air-tight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze for a month. Before using, bring to room temperature and rewhip, about 5 minutes.
