12 for me, none for you!

And so it begins. The holiday that's full of eggs, matzo, and more eggs. Yes, folks, it's Passover time again. The first seder was last night and full of fantastic traditional foods - the brisket, the fried matzo, the charoset, etc. I had hoped to try out a new recipe involving berries, chocolate sponge cake and marscapone (yum!) but a few hours before I re-read the recipe and noticed it said make 24 hrs in advance (oops!) So there was matzo crack :D and a passover apricot bar. Today was a chance to try something new...flourless fudgy chocolate walnut cookies, totally Passover friendly. And they are suuuuper delish. This is going to be a year round favorite, I can tell.

This recipe from food&wine.com is perfection as is. I usually feel a need to tamper with a recipe but I really enjoyed this from the get go. I might be uber decadent and throw in some chocolate bits next time. This is a perfect chewy browniesque dessert bite, enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups walnut halves (9 ounces)
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

• Spread the walnut halves on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and finely chop them.

• In a large bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in the chopped walnuts. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (be careful not to overbeat or it will stiffen). Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds.

• Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are glossy and lightly cracked and feel firm to the touch; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.

• Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks to cool completely before serving.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

ICM's Winter Wonderland

Ice cream in the snow? Yes, please. This past week was eggnog ice cream at Goldie's in Prairie City, Iowa. You can see my previous post about Goldie's here. The eggnog was phenomenal. The fuzzi-'rents and I stopped there last week on they way to pick up Lucky from doggy daycare in Runnells. It was so good I finished the whole thing (hence the less than gorgeous photo of the above ice cream phone).

In fact, it was sooooo good that we went back for a full 1/2 gallon of it the next day. I had gotten a holiday thank you from Goldie's for being on their mailing list and used it towards the half gallon. I was wondering if the soft serve would lose something in translation when frozen solid. But by dog! It was just as good. There's still most of it left...but not for long. Mwhahahaha!

Gobble Gobble Hey!*

Many families have passed down Thanksgiving traditions, my family's tradition is a recent one. I've started a new tradition, we use the holiday as a chance to try out new recipes on my captive audience...I mean, family. ;) Sometimes they're great, sometimes not so great. Then there are the few recipes great enough to hold on to year after year. Like Rachel-pi. Here's a list of the Thanksgiving 2010 recipes.

Rosa made a lovely Norwegian Mountain Bread. Oatmeal, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds? Yum. I simply had to try the recipe. You can find her recipe for this hearty loaf here. I also made a HUUUUGE pot of maple butternut squash soup with chef/friend John's recipe.


One of my favorite Thanksgiving recipe finds is this whole cranberry sauce (we also always make the Ocean Spray cranberry relish as well). This sauce is spiced, hearty and complex with bold fruit flavors. You can also make this recipe your own by varying the ingredients.

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 c. dried fruit chopped
1 c. pecans, chopped
1 cap rum
1 orange, peel - process
1 apple, peel - dice
1 pear, peel - dice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Boil sugar and water til sugar dissolves. Reduce to simmer, add all ingredients. Cover and simmer for approx. 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, let cool to room temp. and serve.


Here's a keeper! Super delicious and super easy. Two of our favorite 'supers'. ;) Everyone loved this recipe, I hope you do too.

Herb Bubble Bread (Taste of Home Mag. - Oct/Nov 2010)

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/8 tsp. each dried thyme, basil, and rosemary - crushed
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 loaf (1 lb.) frozen bread dough, thawed

In a small bowl, combine cheese and seasonings. In another bowl, combine butter and garlic, set aside.

Divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll into balls. Coat balls in butter mixture, then dip in cheese mixture. Place in a greased 9"x 5" loaf pan.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. Bake at 350F for 22-26 min or until golden brown. (cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly). Cool for 10 min. before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.


Lucky waits for me to take my eye off of the turkey for just a quick minute.


This year we tried something new with the bird...baking it breast down. Juiciest white meat ever!
Read the complete how-to article here.

There was stuffing, two kinds of cranberry sauce, sauteed green beans with carrots, mashed potatoes with chives, cilantro lime rice (recipe to come...one of these days), and turkey (of course!) with gravy. I'm saddened by my gravy attempts. I'd really love to find a great recipe. Any suggestions? Dinner was great....but let's not forget dessert!

We tried this cheesecake recipe a year or two ago and it was one of the ones good enough to hold on to. This holiday is not only about giving thanks but sharing. So, from my kitchen to yours...

Cheesecake Factory Style Cheesecake (this is two blended recipes...I can't recall which at this time)

crust
1 1/2 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. pecans, processed
1/2 c. packed golden brown sugar
about 4 1/2 Tbsp salted melted butter (or more)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 1/2" springform pan. Bake about 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

filling
1 c. sugar
3 (8oz.) pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can (15oz.) canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Beat until smooth and creamy. Pour filling into pie crust and bake 60 minutes until top darkens but is still slightly jiggly. Remove from oven, allow to cool to room temp., then refrigerate. Serve w/ whipped cream.

*My apologies to the Ramones. ;)