Shortbread Cookies, Christmas-fied

Yes, I am using more crushed up candy cane in my cookies, and no, I will not apologize; it is DELICIOUS!

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup icing sugar

Several candy canes, crushed

1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk the flour and salt together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2 or 3 minutes on medium to high speed with your electric mixer. Add the flour/salt mixture and beat at medium speed until combined.

Empty the dough into a small pan - I'm not sure of the dimensions in the one I used, but it can be seen in the picture below! A 8x8 or 9x9 works. If you double the recipe, you can use a cookie sheet. Press the dough into the pan, and use a fork to poke several holes in it. Place pan in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.

While your shortbread is baking, crush several candy canes. You want the pieces small enough that people aren't breaking their teeth on the cookies (see an example of size in the picture below). I had the candy canes in a plastic zipper bag and used the flat side of a meat tenderizer. I remember Mom banging a heavy cast iron frying pan down on the counter to crush them! Whatever works best for you or lets the most stress out!

When the shortbread is done and the edges are turning a lovely golden brown, sprinkle the 1/2 cup or so of chocolate chips evenly over the cookies (or cookie, at this point).

Put the pan back in the oven for a bit, just until the chocolate starts to melt. Using the flat side of a teaspoon (or a spatula), spread the chocolate over the shortbread. Sprinkle the candy cane on top of the melted chocolate. While the shortbread is still warm, cut into cookies. I got about 2 dozen out of this recipe.

My mom used to make some like this every Christmas, and when I asked my little brother (26 - not that little), who won't be able to make it home for Christmas :'(, what cookies he wanted me to send up to him, these are the ones he requested. I hope they make him feel a little more cozy and full of Christmas spirit while he's away from his family this year!

Candy Cane Icebox Cookies

I used the basic vanilla icebox cookie recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, but I made several edits to suit the holiday season!
 

Ingredients

 2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/3 cup peppermint chocolate chips, chopped
1/4 cup crushed candy cane
 

Directions

Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla, and peppermint extract until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. If you're using a Kitchen Aid mixer, reduce speed to 'Stir', and blend in the peppermint chocolate chips and candy cane. If not, ask for one for Christmas, and use a wooden spoon to stir manually.
 
Divide the dough in half, and roll each portion into a log approximately 8-10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Cover in saran wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
 

 

 

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the log of cookie dough as well as you can, but don't worry if it isn't shaped perfectly. Slice the dough into cookies 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (decide on a thickness, and try to keep it consistent - you want the cookies to bake evenly). Shape the cookies into a round-ish shape, and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, and bake for around 12 minutes; the edges should just be starting to turn brown.

After you take the cookies out of the oven, leave them on the sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy, and try not to eat them all yourself!!

Crispy Oven Fries

These fries are spectacular. Enough said.

Time: Approx. 30 minutes.

Ingredients

2-4 potatoes
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pick out 2-4 potatoes (depending on the size - I used 4 last night, but they were pretty tiny), wash, and slice them into wedges. The widest part of the skin-edge should be about 1 cm wide, to ensure maximum crispiness!

In a medium sized bowl, add wedges and vinegar. Fill with very hot tap water, and soak for 5-10 minutes. This softens them a little before they go into the oven, and the vinegar helps with the crispiness.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread vegetable oil, salt and pepper over a cookie sheet so that these ingredients are evenly distributed.

After the fries have finished soaking, pour out the water, and dry the wedges off using paper towel.

Arrange the wedges on the prepared cookie sheet, and put in the oven for 10 minutes.

  

 

Flip the fries over, and put back in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Put fries in a bowl with paper towel, shake around to remove excess oil, and they are ready to eat! If you're cooking for a family, you might want to double the recipe, they won't last long!

Marinated Grilled Salmon

This dandy recipe comes from my trusty, go-to site, Allrecipes.com. I stuck to the recipe for the most part, with just a few changes.

Ingredients

• 20 oz. salmon fillet
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

DirectionsAdd peanut oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, green onion, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, and salt together in a medium bowl and whisk.

Place salmon in a glass dish and pour marinade over it.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Preheat a large grill frying pan at medium heat and add vegetable oil. When pan is heated, add the salmon and some of the marinade. Cook for approximately 5-10 minutes per side (depending on your stove), or until it has reached 63 degrees Fahrenheit. Fish will flake when tested with a fork.

Be careful not to overcook! Even if you have your fish in the pan with the heat off, it will continue to cook and lose it's juiciness! If you are waiting on side dishes to finish, remove from the pan as soon as it is cooked, lay on a cutting board and cover with tin foil.

This recipe makes delicious/flavourful salmon! It goes nicely with Carrot Basmati Rice, which can also be found on my blog.

Carrot Basmati Rice

This rice is so delicious; it would pair well with stir fry or any type of Asian inspired dish! I really like the roasted peanuts in it - adds a nice crunch :) I first served it with Grilled Marinated Salmon (the ginger and sesame oil of the salmon compliment it nicely), and then we used the leftovers to make egg fried rice to go with our stir fry last night! My husband  and I LOVED it!



Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 roasted peanuts (I just chopped regular peanuts up and browned them in a hot, dry pan)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 carrot, grated
• salt to taste
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• chopped fresh cilantro (I just used a tiny bit)

Directions

Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes.

While rice is cooking, chop the peanuts, and brown in frying pan. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned golden brown about 10 minutes. Stir in ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Simple! I love it.. One of my favourite rice recipes so far.. Thanks again to Allrecipes.com :)

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels - A great Christmas cookie!

These cookies, while time consuming, are 100% worth the effort.  If you're like me, you'll enjoy all the steps required to make them, and the final product is incredible.

I got this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (15th edition), but it can also be found on their website (http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/peppermint-pinwheels/).

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg (works best at room temperature - take it out when you take your butter out to soften)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled (I melt this in the microwave after the butter has softened and I am ready to start baking)
• 1 cup layered chocolate-mint candy, finely chopped (I use a full package of Andes Mints, however I couldn't find any before I started baking, so I substituted Mint Aero - still tasty, but not as good as Andes Mints! The higher sugar content of the Mint Aero made them burn a little on the bottom.)
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, or if you like shortcuts like me, put the mixer on the "Stir" setting, and add the entire amount.

Divide dough in half. Stir melted chocolate into one dough portion, and Andes Mints and peppermint extract into remaining dough portion. I used my mixer for this as well - good ole trusty Kitchen Aid!

Divide each dough portion in half (see the picture below). Cover dough and chill for around 1 hour.

 

Roll one of the peppermint dough portions into an approximate 9.5x6 inch rectangle on a piece of waxed paper. Roll a chocolate dough portion into the same dimensions on another sheet of waxed paper. Use waxed paper to flip the chocolate dough rectangle on top of the peppermint dough rectangle; remove the top layer of waxed paper. Roll up dough starting from a long side. Pinch edges to seal. Wrap dough roll in plastic wrap.

Repeat this process with the remaining peppermint and chocolate dough portions (you can even use the same sheets of wax paper). 

Chill dough rolls in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours or until very firm.

After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a cookie sheet. Unwrap dough rolls, and if they have become flattened on the bottom from sitting in the fridge, reshape.

Cut dough rolls into 1/4 inch slices.

 

Place slices about 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for just a minute so they can become a little firmer; they need to survive the trip from the sheet to the wire rack. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.

And voila! You end up with 5 or 6 dozen of these beauties!

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Marsala Sauce (it's as yummy as it sounds)

This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com, one of my favourite places for exploring (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-tenderloin-with-dijon-marsala-sauce/detail.aspx).

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 shallots, minced (or a clove of garlic and a small onion, if you don't have any around)
• 1 cup Marsala wine (or chicken stock)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 cup heavy cream

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Coat pork tenderloins generously with mustard. I didn't measure out 4 tbsp of mustard, I just gave each tenderloin a nice thick layer! 

Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (I used my cast-iron frying pan - excellent for giving even heat). Place tenderloins in pan, and brown the meat for approximately 5 minutes. Turn to brown evenly. Transfer meat to prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn the pan around in the oven, and flip the tenderloins over. Continue cooking for 10-20 minutes depending on your oven and desired doneness. In my opinion, pork cooked to 71 degrees Celsius is at it's best! People used to cook their pork until it was completely white through, but now a bit of pinkness is known to be safe, and it is much juicier.

In the meantime, melt butter over medium heat in the same pan that you used to cook the pork. Add the minced shallots, and cook until soft. I've substituted shallots with an onion and a clove of garlic in the past, and that tastes great as well.

Stir in Marsala (or chicken stock, or some other white wine), Dijon mustard, and heavy cream. Heavy cream must have at least 36% milk fat - whipping cream falls into this category.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until volume of liquid is reduced by half. I had the sauce simmering until the pork was cooked. 

Slice pork, spoon sauce over meat, and serve. 

This is one of my favourite pork tenderloin recipes I've tried so far!! So juicy, and the flavour from the shallots and wine, and the creaminess from the heavy cream, makes it taste like it came from a fine-dining restaurant. Thanks Allrecipes.com for another great recipe :)

Mudder's Moose (or Beef) Soup

One of the nice things about living in Newfoundland is that at least once a year, a friend of a friend heads out in the woods for days on end, drives around on their ATV until they run out of gas, and finally (if they're lucky) snags the mother of all Newfoundland creatures, the Moose. After a victory lap around town with the head of the moose tied onto the front of the truck, he or she will see fit to divvy up the moose and share with friends and family, or in our case, clergy (thank goodness my father-in-law falls into that category!). We got our hands on two roasts this year - I made stew with one, and soup with the other. My recipe for the soup can be found below.

My Mom has been making soup almost every Saturday for as long as I can remember - she passed on her soup knowledge to me, and I've added my own spin to her recipe, and been trying to keep the tradition alive.

As the title alludes to, this soup recipe works just as well for beef!

Ingredients:

• Roast moose or beef (just a small one)
• Salt meat (if you have access to it.. if not, use extra salt when seasoning)
• Onion
• Celery
• Carrot
• 3 cups or so of beef broth (there are no firm measurements when making soup - I just use most of a box of it)
• Large can of diced tomatoes
• Turnip
• Parsnip
• Rice
• Pepper (and Salt, if you aren't using Salt Meat)

First, put the roast moose/beef into a large pot, along with the salt meat (it may have to be soaked for a few hours before using if is extra salty) if using. Pour in beef broth and enough water so that the roast is mostly submerged. Cut 1 onion, 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrots into large pieces and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium low to simmer for at least an hour.

While the pot is simmering, cut 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, a small turnip, and 1 parsnip into small pieces.

After an hour (or more), strain the soup into a large bowl or another pot (I always have to get my husband to help with this!), put the broth back on the stove and keep the other bits (the roast, salt meat, large pieces of veggies) in the colander or in a bowl.

Add the can of diced tomatoes, a couple handfuls of rice (1/2 cup maybe), pepper (and salt, if you didn't use salt meat) and the veggies you just cut up, and return the pot to a simmer.

While the pot is simmering cut the roast into tiny pieces (even smaller than bite-sized - I usually slice the roast, and then use two forks to pull it apart into strands). You can also cut up the salt meat to add if the broth isn't too salty - you should taste the broth to make sure before you add it (I made this mistake last time)!

Mash the remaining chunks of vegetables to add for extra flavour.

Simmer the soup for at least another hour. If the soup seems too thick, feel free to add more beef broth.

And that's about it!! I put the soup into Mason Jars while it is still hot, and it lasts for ages.

THE BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

So I've tried many different types of Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they have all fallen short somehow.. They would have an odd aftertaste (the baking soda maybe?), be too dry, not have enough choco chips, too many choco chips, and the list goes on. I didn't even consider myself a chocolate chip cookie fan until THIS recipe crossed my path! I got it from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (15th edition, I believe). Here is my adaptation of it! Enjoy.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs (room temp - these can be taken out at the same time as the butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces (I use Bakers Semi-Sweet Chips)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl beat vegetable oil and butter with an electric mixer (I use a Kitchen Aid - I fell even more in love with my husband for this Christmas gift!) on low to medium speed until mostly combined (the speed needs to stay lower to keep the vegetable oil from flopping out everywhere.

Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat on medium to high speed until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.

Beat in half of the flour at medium speed. Reduce mixer speed to low (or 'Stir' on the Kitchen Aid) and add remaining flour.

Add chocolate chips, and incorporate using the lowest speed of the mixer.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 1-2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for just a minute, and then transfer to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.