Beer Cheese – only 4 ingredients; quick to make & DELICIOUS!

Beer Cheese  – ready to go to a New Year’s Eve party! But this would be good for game day . . . or anytime. Serve with pretzels or pretzel chips.
Thank you Kathy Coup for the recipe.


Beer Cheese (Dip)
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (1 oz.) pkg. Ranch dressing mix (equivalent to about 3 tablespoons)
8 oz. Cheddar cheese (2 cups)+, grated – I used sharp Cheddar
½ cup+ beer


1.  With an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, Ranch mix; add cheese.

2.   Add ½ cup beer. If it’s too thick, add more.
3.  Refrigerate until ready to use. It does set up as it chills so remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe without photos . . .
Beer Dip
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (1 oz.) pkg. Ranch dressing mix (equivalent to about 3 tablespoons)
8 oz. Cheddar cheese (2 cups)+, grated – I used sharp Cheddar
½ cup+ beer 

1. With an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, Ranch mix; add cheese.
2.  Add ½ cup beer. If it’s too thick, add more.
3.  Taste and add more Ranch mix or cheese if desired. Add seasoned salt if desired.
4.  Refrigerate until ready to use. It does set up as it chills so remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.

Peppermint Vodka – just in time for the holiday


A fun recipe for the holidays and here's some ways to use Peppermint Vodka:
·    * Peppermint Vodka Shots
·    * Mix up an adult version of Hot Cocoa by adding a tablespoon or two to your hot beverage
·     * Create a drinkable holiday dessert -- Mocha Peppermint Martini

Peppermint Vodka
About ½ to 3/4 of a large peppermint stick
1 quart jar of vodka

1.  Break up peppermint stick; add to food processor and crush.

2.  Add crushed peppermint to quart jar of vodka and stir. Let set a couple of days, stirring occasionally (the peppermint will not all dissolve and will settle to the bottom of the jar).
3.  When ready to use, strain (I lined a mesh strainer with a paper towel) and return to jar or add to other gift jars.

For our other flavored vodka recipes, go to Vodka Tasting: 5 Infused Vodka Recipes

I’ll drink dessert – Mocha Peppermint Martini

Okay, this is just a martini of sorts . . . no shaking, just simply adding two ingredients to a peppermint rimmed martini glass!




Mocha Peppermint Martini
Crushed peppermint candy
About 3 ounces Hot Cocoa, chilled (make extra and chill the leftovers)
1 to 2 tablespoon Peppermint Vodka
Candy cane for stirring, if desired

1.  Immerse lip of vodka glass in water and then rim in crushed peppermint.
2.  Pout chilled cocoa in a martini glass and add vodka.
3.  Stir and enjoy!

Quiche Lorraine -- it’s traditional, it’s yummy & it’s perfect for a holiday brunch!

It’s traditional, it’s yummy, it’s a recipe from Linda Strandberg, and it’s perfect for a holiday brunch with Melissa and Mike . . . or anytime.

Quiche Lorraine  
8 or 9” deep dish pie crust, unbaked
½ lb. bacon fried and drained then crumbled
Melissa with her homemade pie crust.
1½ cups grated Swiss cheese  (6 to 8 oz.)
3 eggs
1½ cups light cream (half & half)
¾ teaspoon salt
Dash nutmeg
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash black pepper

1.  Heat over to 375°. Prepare pie crust in a deep dish pie pan/plate.
2.  Fry bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels and crumble into bits; sprinkle over bottom of pie shell.
3.  Sprinkle grated cheese over bacon.
4.  In medium bowl, with rotary beater or whisk, beat eggs with cream, salt, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and black pepper until mixture is well combined, but not frothy.
5.  Place pie shell on middle shelf in oven. Pour egg mixture into pie shell.
6.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden and center is firm when it is gently pressed with a fingertip.
7.  Let cool on wire rack 10 minutes before serving.

Melissa and Mike, home for the holidays, joined us in our kitchen as we prepared this recipe along with others . . . and then enjoyed the fruits of our labors. Sharing time with friends is what makes the holidays so much fun!
Mike, Melissa and Barry with our yummy holiday brunch.

Florentine Lace Cookies from "Cook’s Illustrated" magazine

   
 After receiving a complimentary copy of "Cook’s Illustrated" magazine and an offer for a discounted subscription price, Barry urged me to send a check. I did.
     When the November & December 2013 issue arrived, this recipe immediately caught my eye. I have made lace cookies before but never any that rivals this recipe! These cookies are outstanding . . . and the instructions and explanations are helpful.
     I took photos as I went but there’s also a video on Cook’s Illustrated website.
     We highly recommend this magazine, and these cookies! And, they will now be an annual additional to our holiday cookie trays.

Florentine Lace Cookies   Recipe states a yield of 24 cookies; I followed exact instructions and my yield was 34 cookies
2 
cups slivered almonds
¾ cup heavy cream
4 
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
½ cup (3½ oz.) granulated sugar
¼  cup orange marmalade
3 
tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 
teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon grated orange zest
¼ teaspoon salt
4 
ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

1.  Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  Process almonds in food processor until they resemble coarse sand, about 30 seconds.


3.  Bring cream, butter, and sugar to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to thicken, 5 to 6 minutes.

4.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to brown at edges and is thick enough to leave trail that doesn’t immediately fill in when spatula is scraped along pan bottom, 1 to 2 minutes longer (it’s OK if some darker speckles appear in mixture).
Hard to capture in a photo . . . but if you look carefully you
can see the trail where I ran the spoon across the bottom of the saucepan.
5.  Remove pan from heat and stir in almonds, marmalade, flour, vanilla, orange zest, and salt until combined.


The resulting mixture is thick and dough like.
6.  Drop 6 level tablespoons dough at least 3½ inches apart on each prepared sheet. When cool enough to handle, use damp fingers to press each portion into 2 1/2-inch circle.


7.  Bake until deep brown from edge to edge, 15 to 17 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer cookies, still on parchment, to wire racks and let cool. Let baking sheets cool for 10 minutes, line with fresh parchment, and repeat portioning and baking remaining dough.


8.  Microwave 3 ounces chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring frequently, until about two-thirds melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave, add remaining 1 ounce chocolate, and stir until melted, returning to microwave for no more than 5 seconds at a time to complete melting if necessary. Transfer chocolate to small zipper-lock bag and snip off corner, making hole no larger than 1/16 inch.

6. Transfer cooled cookies directly to wire racks. Pipe zigzag of chocolate over each cookie, distributing chocolate evenly among all cookies. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes, before serving.
Chocolate is chopped.
Instead of melting 3 ounces of  chocolate in the microwave, I melted in over boiling water (in a make-shift double boiler consisting of a saucepan topped with a stainless steel mixing bowl).
When the chocolate was almost 2/3 melted, I removed the bowl from the heat and added the remaining one ounce of chopped chocolate. This process is referred to as "tempering" and helps avoid the white bloom that sometimes appears after melted chocolate has cooled.
I set the chocolate back over the hot water just long enough to stir and let the rest of the chocolate melt (just a minute or two at the most).
So that I could easily fill the plastic bag, I positioned it in a drinking glass and turned down the edge.
Wax paper arranged underneath the cooling rack of cookies allows for easy clean up later. 
"Cook's Illustrated"says these cookies can be stored at cool room temperature for up 4 days, but I put them in a covered container and kept them for at least a week (it was hard though as I wanted to immediately eat each and every one).

Recipe without photos . . .
Florentine Lace Cookies   Recipe states a yield of 24 cookies; I followed exact instructions and my yield was 34 cookies
2 
cups slivered almonds
¾ cup heavy cream
4 
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
½ cup (3½ oz.) granulated sugar
¼  cup orange marmalade
3 
tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 
teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon grated orange zest
¼ teaspoon salt
4 
ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

1.  Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  Process almonds in food processor until they resemble coarse sand, about 30 seconds.


3.  Bring cream, butter, and sugar to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to thicken, 5 to 6 minutes.
4.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to brown at edges and is thick enough to leave trail that doesn’t immediately fill in when spatula is scraped along pan bottom, 1 to 2 minutes longer (it’s OK if some darker speckles appear in mixture).
5.  Remove pan from heat and stir in almonds, marmalade, flour, vanilla, orange zest, and salt until combined.


6.  Drop 6 level tablespoons dough at least 3½ inches apart on each prepared sheet. When cool enough to handle, use damp fingers to press each portion into 2 1/2-inch circle.


7.  Bake until deep brown from edge to edge, 15 to 17 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer cookies, still on parchment, to wire racks and let cool. Let baking sheets cool for 10 minutes, line with fresh parchment, and repeat portioning and baking remaining dough.


8.  Microwave 3 ounces chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring frequently, until about two-thirds melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave, add remaining 1 ounce chocolate, and stir until melted, returning to microwave for no more than 5 seconds at a time to complete melting if necessary. Transfer chocolate to small zipper-lock bag and snip off corner, making hole no larger than 1/16 inch.

6. Transfer cooled cookies directly to wire racks. Pipe zigzag of chocolate over each cookie, distributing chocolate evenly among all cookies. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes, before serving.
"Cook's Illustrated"says these cookies can be stored at cool room temperature for up 4 days, but I put them in a covered container and kept them for at least a week (it was hard though as I wanted to immediately eat each and every one).