Peppermint Ice Cream Cake/Holiday Food Decorating

Food is the most beautiful art for me. I love filling jars full of beans, dried chilies, wild rice, etc.  . . and displaying them in my kitchen. I use different sizes and shapes to make it more interesting. Lucky for me, some of my containers are antique Ball jars that belonged to Doug’s grandmother. One of the little jars has the word “vinegar” written on it, in his grandmother’s handwriting. I think she would love it that I’m using her jars in my kitchen. I hope one day Anna and Katelyn will use these same jars from their great-grandmother’s kitchen.

Fresh herbs are also a natural, so to speak, for decorating a kitchen. Take a small pitcher and fix washed culinary herbs in an arrangement. When you need an herb,  just snip what you need. Pretty and practical. Rosemary trees are very popular this time of year, and can be found at places like Lowes or Home Depot. I bought a rosemary tree one year, but after collecting more ornaments I graduated to a larger Christmas tree for my kitchen and adorned it with food-themed ornaments. Some of my ornaments are Department 56, including a head of garlic, a radish, and corn. I’ve also found a tiny set of measuring spoons as an ornament, and a miniature sifter and colander.

I was looking through a Food Network Christmas magazine and they also had cute ideas for food-themed Christmas wreaths. I love the marshmallow wreath the best, but I don’t know how practical that is for the outside of the door. My cousin Jenny and I like to stick cloves into oranges in different patterns for a table centerpiece. You can tuck jingle bells and pine cones in between and around the oranges too. Martha Stewart has a really cute root vegetable arrangement idea that I will for sure do, but not this year.

One year Anna was really into candy canes, so I made that our theme for the holidays. I made candy cane trees, filled tall glass containers with peppermints, and our Christmas cake was a peppermint ice cream cake. I am posting the recipe, but only because I want you to know the technique. The cake in this recipe is dry, and low-fat ice cream should not be used in ice cream cakes because it melts really fast. Make your own cake, or buy a box cake, and use the full-fat ice cream. A peppermint ice cream cake makes a fun Christmas dessert and I just might do it again this year. It’s very easy.

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Cooking Light

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3/4  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 3/4  cup  boiling water
• 6  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 1  cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  egg substitute
• 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 3  cups  low-fat peppermint ice cream (such as Edy’s/Dreyer’s Slow-Churned Light), softened
• 3  cups  frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• 1/8  teaspoon  peppermint extract
• 8  peppermint candies, crushed

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of each pan with wax paper.

Combine cocoa, water, and butter, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cool.

Combine sugars in a large bowl, stirring well until blended. Add egg substitute; beat 2 minutes or until light and creamy. Add cocoa mixture, and beat for 1 minute.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to bowl; beat for 1 minute or until blended. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 2 hours or until slightly frozen.

Spread ice cream in an 8-inch round cake pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm.

To assemble cake, place one cake layer, bottom side up, on a cake pedestal. Remove ice cream layer from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Place ice cream layer, bottom side up, on top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer.

Combine whipped topping and peppermint extract, and stir until blended. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Freeze until ready to serve. Let cake stand at room temperature 10 minutes before slicing.

Festive Pecan Holiday Appetizers

Spiced Pecans

My friend Jennifer is always bringing me something. A few weeks ago she brought me sunflowers when I was feeling blue.  Every time I looked at them it literally perked my spirits. Then she brought me some Halloween decorations and even some medicine when my girls had a cough. So thoughtful. She also recently brought me a very special treat – - really fresh pecans. Her family is from Georgia and they have their own pecan trees. These pecans taste more pecaney (I just made up a new word here) than any I’ve ever tasted. Sublime.

I usually get my pecans at Costco since they are at least half, if not more, of the price in the grocery store. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a fresh-off-the-tree pecan connection, you should check your local warehouse store for a good deal. If you pay regular grocery store prices for pecans you are, well, nuts.

These two recipes will knock your socks off.

Pecans with a Punch

Oh My Stars, Recipes That Shine, Roanoke Valley Junior League

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 sour mash whiskey
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cups pecan halves

Combine sugar, whiskey, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and boil gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add pecans, stirring to coat well. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with buttered foil. Bake at 250 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until toasted and glazed. Let stand until cool.

(Note from Laura here – - I always find the nuts are still a little sticky after they are done, so I break them apart and put them on a clean foil-lined pan and bake them a little longer.)

Mill Mountain Cheese Spread

Oh My Stars, Recipes That Shine, Roanoke Valley Junior League

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 TBSP grated onion
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine cream cheese, garlic and onion in a bowl and mix with a fork. Shape into a 6-inch circle with a raised rim on a serving plate. Chill, covered in the refrigerator.

Combine butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pecans in a saucepan and cook until butter melts, stirring to mix well. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator. Let return to room temperature and serve with crackers.

Cranberry Time

Sugared Cranberries

 

Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider

Welcome Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday, surprise, surprise. I love going by myself to the store and buying food treasures for the holidays. One of the most fun things to buy are bags of cranberries. Oh how I love cranberries, and I love making cranberry sauce. A few years ago I made my own for the first time. I guess I never did before because I really do like that jellied stuff in the can, but the recipe in this post has more texture because of the bits of berries, and it’s sweeter too. And it’s so fun to make, watching the cranberries pop and the mixture congeal. I get so excited, like I’m watching a movie waiting for the plot to thicken, except I’m watching my cranberry mixture thicken.  Alright, I’m easily amused, but I promise it’s fun to watch.

Then there are sugared cranberries. Oh, you are going to love me for sharing this one with you. First of all, they are beautiful, like little Christmas ornaments. With its encrusted shell of sugar, the outside sparkles like twinkling lights. When you bite into the cranberry you taste the sweet, crispy outside, then on then POP!  The inside gives a tangy bite  — they work perfectly together to make a absolutely addicting combination. Anna has helped me make these the past few years, and this year Katelyn (my two-year-old) gets to help. So, while expect my usually perfect sugared cranberries to have some clumping going on because of Katelyn, (you should see what she does to green beans while snapping — yikes) I think it will be fun to share making these with both my daughters this year.

I am really excited to share these Cooking Light cranberry recipes with you! I’ll be posting more fun holiday recipes as the days go on. Hurray for Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider

Cooking Light

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. Chill.

Sugared Cranberries

Cooking Light

• 2  cups  granulated sugar
• 2  cups  water
• 2  cups  fresh cranberries
• 3/4  cup  superfine sugar

Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Stir in cranberries; pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl, reserving steeping liquid, if desired. Place superfine sugar in a shallow dish. Add the cranberries, rolling to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.

Note: The steeping liquid clings to the berries and helps the sugar adhere. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.