Santa and Jingle Balls

Today we visited Santa! We made our third annual trek to the downtown Nordstrom to see the jolly old man and Blake couldn't wait. Blake kept telling us that he would ask Santa for a train and that baby sister wanted a train too (uh, huh. Sure...). We saw quite a few friends on our way to and from Santa too, which made the trip even more fun.

And what better way to celebrate the holiday season?  Making some yummy holiday treats!

Jingle Balls
3 c. creamy peanut butter

7-8 c. powdered sugar
2 c. softened butter
4 tsp vanilla
3 packages (12 oz) chocolate chips
6 Tbsp parawax

Mix peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Melt chocolate chips with parawax on stove over low heat. Roll peanut butter mix into balls about the size of a quarter. Tip - work with a small amount of mix at a time while keeping rest of mix in fridge - otherwise it gets sticky. Put balls in fridge until you are ready to dip in chocolate so they stay firm.

Using toothpicks or small forks, dip the balls into the chocolate. Set on wax paper and refrigerate.

Warning: This recipe makes about 120 chocolate covered balls! A great recipe when you want to make goodies for friends. Otherwise, cut recipe in half!

Bourbon Balls

While the boys went to the last Husky football game of the season, I tried to enjoy the fact that I wasn't in a cold stadium worrying about a newborn.  But, of course I wished I could have been there!  Oh well. 

During the quiet time at my house I made 9 dozen cookies for Piper's cookie and platter exchange party. Each attendee will go home with 9 dozen cookies - one dozen of each kind! I made bourbon balls and sampled quite a bit in the creating process. Yum!

Bourbon (or Rum) Balls
2 1/2 c. crushed Nabisco Nilla Wafers
1 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 c. finely chopped walnuts
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 c. (or to taste) Rum or Bourbon

Mix everything together in a medium sized bowl.  Roll into little balls and then roll in additional powdered sugar and place on a cookie sheet.  Refrigerate and serve.

Thanksgiving 2009

"Prudence" the pitcher - she always makes an appearance at my mom's Thanksgiving dinner table. We're not sure if she is judging the amount of food on our plates or the fact that a turkey is hiding under her skirt!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday aside from Christmas. Maybe its the fact that Thanksgiving day seems to kick off the holiday season. Wake up, watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and see Santa at the end of the parade. Stuff ourselves with fantastic homemade food... brined turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, stuffing, salad, and of course the amazing gravy and orange-cranberry sauce. YUM!

And of course this year we had many things to be thankful for. Baby Charlotte's safe arrival, our hilarious little Blakely, and my grandma's home potentially selling after being on the market for only a week!  And last but not least... PIE!  Here is one of my grandma's pecan pie recipes. Enjoy!

Charlotte's Pecan Pie

3 slightly beaten eggs

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 c. pecans

1 1/4 c. melted butter

Combine eggs, sugar and syrup, vanilla, salt. Put nuts in unbaked shell and add filling. Bake at 400 for 10 min and at 345 for 40min.

*Interpreted from hard to read recipe card!

Fresh From the Oven

Look what just arrived!  Baby girl Charlotte Tangen!  5lbs 15oz, 19" long and a light dusting of dark hair.

And you thought this post wouldn't mention any sort of food?  Wrong!  Just a sampling of the post delivery food order... I was hungry!

Sweet Potato Souffle and Honeycrisp Sangria

Two items that are a must for this year's Thanksgiving.  My favorite sweet potato souffle and a newly discovered drink, honeycrisp sangria.

I found this sweet potato recipe years ago, and every time I make it, we all go back for second or third helpings.  If you enjoy sweet potatoes, and also love marshmallows, you need to try this! (recipe below)

The finished product... Served alongside a mini Thanksgiving meal I made tonight.  Roast chicken, stuffing, salad and my beloved sweet potato dish.  I did learn to not put the marshmallows so close to the edge of the dish.  They melted over the side! 

The honeycrisp sangria was a risk.  I've never liked red wine based sangria (the only type I've tried), but because I love honeycrisp apples and chardonnay, I thought this would be a fun try.  The only challenge was finding some 'unoaked' chardonnay.  With the help of my local market's wine steward, I found a nice and inexpensive bottle to experiment with. 

My test batch was just half a recipe.  I feared I would ruin an entire bottle of wine if I didn't like this drink.  I combined the wine, fruit, schnapps and spices in a tight sealing tupperware and placed in the fridge overnight. (I did not use pisco as called for in the recipe)

Today I anxiously awaited the sangria taste test.  I garnished the wine glasses with sugar and cinnamon. Such a beautiful color.

The finished product?  A crisp, refreshing and perfectly fall flavored cocktail.   It was so good my husband was asking for more and I knew this would be a great drink to start off our Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's.  Now back to the store for more unoaked chardonnay!



Sweet Potato Souffle

3 large sweet potatoes cooked and whipped

1 c. sugar – try less sugar and brown
2 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
1/2 c. evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag marshmallows
1/2 c. chopped pecans, optional

Peel and cook potatoes until tender. Drain potatoes and whip. Add sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix well and put in a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes. Place marshmallows and pecans on top and return to oven for about 5 minutes or until brown on top.

Honeycrisp Sangria, adapted from Adam Seger & Food and Wine Magazine

2 Honeycrisp apples
One 750-milliliter bottle unoaked Chardonnay
1/3c peach Schnapps
1/4c pisco (I excluded)
1/4c honey
2 oranges- 1 quartered
1 lemon – quartered
1 lime – quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
2 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger
3 whole cloves
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Ice
Club soda
Mint sprigs – for garnish (I excluded)

Peel, core and chop one of the apples. In a bowl, combine the Chardonnay, Schnapps, pisco and honey. Add the quartered orange, the lemon, lime, cinnamon sticks, the chopped apple, ginger and cloves and refrigerate at least 4 hours. (I let mine sit overnight)

Strain the sangria into a pitcher. Peel, core and finely chop the remaining apple. Peel, section and chop the remaining orange. Mix the apple and orange in a bowl.

On a small plate, blend the sugar and cinnamon. Moisten the rims of wine glasses and dip in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Fill the glasses with ice. Pour in the sangria until three-quarters full. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a spoonful of the chopped apple and orange and a mint sprig.

Rainy Day Project - Bird Feeder

Today Blake made a very simple bird feeder. One that I remember making when I was little! He had a blast - especially the spreading of gooey peanut butter and shaking a container of seeds!

You only need a couple things... a pine cone, peanut butter (I'm sure soy nut butter, or similar, would work if you have allergies), seeds (sesame, bird seed, whatever), and some sort of twine to hang pine cone from tree.

Spread the peanut butter all over the pine cone. We used a plastic spoon. Then, sprinkle seeds all over the peanut butter. Let dry out for a day or two, though that is probably pointless with our current wet weather and hungry birds! Then tie twine or your choice of hanging apparatus around pine cone and hang in a tree where your child can watch the birds snack away! (Squirrels may like this too, so watch out...)

Happy Halloween!

I love carving pumpkins!  Enough said.