Dipped Pretzels

I get no credit for these little pretties, they were made by my neighbor Gaylene. I do take full credit for eating them all this week :)

Casino Coffee

Irish cream liqueur and coffee topped with whipped cream. A nice warm up during winter weather. Cheers! This also reminds me that the latest issue of Saveur magazine has a note about salted coffee. I have questions. Has anyone tried this? Is it available in Boise? Can I make my own?

Pizza with Red Peppers

It had been awhile since I played the house pizza chef, since it's a hat my husband usually wears. Two pizzas were on the list. "Regular" pepperoni for the kid, and pepperoni with thinly sliced red bell peppers for the grown-ups. The pizza crust recipe we use - makes two pizzas.

1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of flour (maybe a bit more)
cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Whisk in oil and sugar. Use a stand mixer with the dough hook and add the flour and then sprinkle in the salt. You want a satiny dough that sticks a little to the bottom of the bowl. Divide in half and roll out thin on a floured surface. Transfer to a peel (paddle) that's been sprinkled with cornmeal (so the pizza will slide off the peel and onto the pizza stone, and come off the stone easily). Heat pizza stone in a 450 degree oven. Top pizza with goodies of your choice. Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake to your "done preference." Repeat with reserved dough.

Cookies for Santa

Santa gets cookies with extra icing this year :) Below are the freshly-baked sugar cookies, and the recipe.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups of softened butter

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

5 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle in baking powder and gradually add flour and salt. Refrigerate dough an hour or so. Bake at 375 until color just shows on the edges (6-10 minutes).

Wonton Soup

One of my kiddos favorites: wonton soup. And don't add any fancy stuff, just wontons and chicken broth for her. We're fortunate to have friends who own several Chinese restaurants who keep us supplied with handmade wontons. They freeze well.

Gingerbread House Time

My daughter had a friend over to make gingerbread houses. They used kits, along with extra candies and goodies. It was a sticky good time.

Biggest Lasagna in Our Kitchen History

I had this giant pan out for Thanksgiving cooking and we joked, "Wow, this would be a good lasagna pan." Um, it's really big and we have a lot of leftover lasagna now. Most of it went into the freezer. Italian sausage browned with onion and garlic, simmered in tomato sauce with oregano, salt and pepper for the red sauce. Ricotta mixed with oregano for layering, along with mozzarella and Parmesan. Lasagna noodles slightly under-cooked - and they really could have another minute in boiling water. Baked until brown and bubbly.

Tortelloni in Pink Sauce

Playing around with some refrigerator and pantry items for this dish. The sauce is a chopped red onion, and minced garlic sauteed in butter. One can of diced tomatoes with the juice. About 1 cup of heavy cream, Salt, pepper and oregano to taste. Summer until thickened and toss with fresh cheese tortelloni, cooked al dente, and topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Husband Cookery: Coffee Cake

A melt-in-your mouth coffee cake made with sour cream. It's a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, so I won't post it here because it's copyrighted. But you can easily find it at the Food Network website :)

Has This Ever Happened to You?

A little "mouse" nibbled on the apple fritter. These were the treats from Pastry Perfection yesterday.

Pot Roast Season

This was a cheater pot roast, one that was frozen and already marinated. I cooked in a covered pot in the oven for about two hours and then added some Mediterranean mix veggies for about 20 minutes. Turned out very good and filled the house with the warm aroma.

Childhood Winter Treat Memory

When I was a kiddo, a bowl of snow drizzled with maple syrup was a treat. I shared the memory, and dish, with my kiddo last weekend.