And Now, it is Christmas

 It seems like we went from Thanksgiving to Christmas in a very short time! I've always enjoyed these seasons for the times with family and friends. And the food, of course, the food. Many of the Thanksgiving favorites are also Christmas favorites, so if you didn't get enough of some or missed trying some new recipes, there is still time. 

Our Thanksgiving turkey was prepared by my daughter, and she spatchcocked it. This drastically reduced the amount of time it took to roast the turkey and it was tender and moist. This method basically butterflies the bird. It disposes of the backbone so the bird can be flattened and cooked skin side up. More surface is available for even browning and with a high cooking temperature that means crackly, crispy skin. She also inserted butter and herbs under the skin making it very moist and flavorful. That might be something you want to try for Christmas dinner. 

A 'nibble tray/cheese board/charcuterie board keep us munching before the meal was ready and while we waited for the youngest grand to wake up from her nap. Nuts, dried fruit, grapes, crackers, and cheese curds (from Alma Cheese - made in Kansas!) made a colorful selection. 



We actually had 3 Thanksgiving dinners and I took the same dish to each! Luckily everyone liked Creamed Corn and it was easy to transport in a slow cooker. Do you know that some newer vehicles even have an electrical outlet - you can cook and drive at the same time! 






No Thanksgiving (or Christmas dinner) is complete without something topped with cream cheese frosting. I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for one dinner. The recipe made enough frosting after covering the dozen cupcakes that I saved it for a shared supper when I took Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Icing.


PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients: 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ cup canola oil

2 large eggs

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. 

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl. Set aside. 

Whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a mixer or shisk untiul completely combined. Batter will be thick. 

Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, filling only 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 

3 cups powdered sugar + an extra ¼ cup if needed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

In a large bowl using a mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and cream. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add extra sugar if needed to make frosting a little thicker. 

GINGERBREAD BARS WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

¾ cup butter                                

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cups molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 ¼ teaspoons ginger

¾ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

3 ¾ cups flour

1 ½ cups hot water

Instructions:

In mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar; beat in eggs; mix in molasses.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves. 

Mix flour mixture into the creamed mixture until well combined.

Slowly mix in hot water. 

Spread batter into a large cookie sheet with high sides, bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and cake has slightly pulled away from the edges of the pan. 

When cool, spread with cream cheese icing. 

I hope you're as excited for Christmas as I am - for the family and friend times, but also for the food. What new recipes have you tried? 

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

I have a confession to make. This Thanksgiving I did not make a pumpkin pie. Not. One. Even with 3 Thanksgiving family dinners. Pumpkin is a favorite flavor with our family and we have many ways of serving it. But this year instead of the pumpkin pie, I did this Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake - ohh, way better! 
A cheese cake is such an indulgent dessert that it is usually saved for special occasions. Not only is it rich in fat and calories, but also requires more care and steps to make than many desserts. There are some tips that I've gathered for a successful cheesecake:
* Use full-fat cream cheese. I usually try to cut the calories by getting the lower fat versions, and for many things that works. But for cheesecake, you want the regular full-fat. 
* The crumb crust is best mixed in a food processor. I like to use the processor for making the crumbs and then for combining the crust ingredients. Press into the springform pan with a custard cup using the straight sides and flat bottom for form a smooth crust. 
* Mix the cream cheese and sugar well, they should become very creamy and add some air for volume. But after the eggs are added just mix enough to incorporate the ingredients, overbeating can make the cheesecake tough. 
* Having all ingredients at room temperature before beginning makes them combine more quickly and evenly, so you're less likely to overmix or have lumps. 
* Baking with a water bath, either a pan of hot water that the springform pan sits in or a pan of hot water on the rack below the cheesecake will make the cheesecake a more moist product and be less likely to crack. 
* For food safety, check the internal temperature with a food thermometer at the end of baking. The cheesecake is done when the internal temperature is 150 degrees. 

I think you'll enjoy this cheesecake, it will work for a Christmas as well as Thanksgiving dessert. 

PUMPKIN SWIRL CHEESECAKE

Gingersnap Cookie Crust Ingredients:

1 ½ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

¼ teaspoon each: ground ginger and ground cinnamon

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup granulated sugar

Cheesecake Ingredients: 

Four 8-ounce blocks full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Make the Crust: With a food processor, pulse the gingersnap cookies into crumbs. Measure 1 ½ cups crumbs and add back to food processor and pulse with ginger, cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter until combined. The mixture will resemble sand. Press firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan. (the pan doesn’t need to be greased). Prebake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly as you prepare the filling. 

Make the Filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on the medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract, then beat until fully combined. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. Avoid over mixing. 

Scoop out 2 cups of batter and place in a medium mixing bowl. Stir the pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice into this until combined. Begin adding spoonsfuls of each batter, the plain and the pumpkin, on top of the crust. Alternate until all the batter is used and pan is filled. Using a toothpick or knife, swirl the batters together by dragging the toothpick from top to bottom, then left to right. 

Bake in a simple water bath by placing the foil wrapped springform pan in a large roasting pan with about 1 inch of boiling water in it. Or place the pan of water on the rack beneath the rack the cheesecake will sit on. 

Bake the cheesecake for 55-70 minutes or until the center is almost set. If it seems to be browning too quickly, tent the top with foil. The cheesecake is done when the internal temperature measured with a food thermometer is 150 degrees. The center will slightly wobble if you gently shake the pan. Turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 1 hour as it cools. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. Use a knife to loosen the chilled cheesecake from the rim of the springform pan, then remove the rim. Using a clean sharp knife, cut into slices for serving. For neat slices, wipe the knife clean and dip into warm water between each slice. Cover and store leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator. 

The spoonfuls of batter are added...

and swirled. 

Cranberry Salad

Some like it sweet and creamy. Some like it crisp and tart. Every family has a favorite way to make Cranberry Salad. Ours is semi-sweet and crunchy with chopped cranberries and pecans. The holiday time ofThanksgiving and Christmas meals is a perfect time for Cranberry Salad, however you like it.

CRANBERRY SALAD

1 bag (12-16 oz) cranberries, ground

1 cup sugar

1 package strawberry or raspberry jello

1 (6-oz) can crushed pineapple

½  cup chopped pecans

Mix cranberries and sugar together, set aside. Prepare jello as directed on package with 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup cold water, using juice from crushed pineapple as part of the liquid. When jello starts to congeal, add the cranberry mixture, crushed pineapple and pecans. Let set until completely gelled.

It's simple, but good.  

Sweet Potato casserole that's not dessert!

Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be right without the Sweet Potato Casserole, usually loaded with marshmallows and brown sugar. This turns out more like a dessert, sweeter than the pumpkin pie that is really the dessert. This year we changed that a bit, this recipe still has a sweet flavor, but is lower in calories and guilt. It was good with the turkey and traditional meal and would be good for any fall dinner. For a less festive dish and to reduce calories more, you could reduce or omit the pecans and marshmallows.

Often we confuse sweet potatoes and yams. But they are different plants completely! Sweet potatoes are from the morning glory family and yams are a tropical vine. Sweet potatoes aren't even related to potatoes. Sweet potatoes are engorged storage roots, even the decorative sweet potato vine will produce an enlarged root area resembling the favorite vegetable. 
We know sweet potatoes by their bright orange color, but they may also be pinkish or coppery or white. Some even have purple flesh. Orange color indicates the presence of carotene which our bodies convert to vitamin A. 
Sweet potatoes are often labeled as yams at the produce counter. Unless what you're buying is canned and says 'yams', or is a big, big chunk of root cut off of a bigger root and wrapped in plastic, then what you're buying is a sweet potato. They are about the size of potatoes and shaped similar to a potato but with tapered ends instead of rounded. 

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾ –inch cubes

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 tsp. cinnamon

a pinch of nutmeg

a pinch of salt

brown sugar (optional)

4 large egg whites or 2 large whole eggs, lightly beaten

¾ cup chopped pecans

½ cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly grease or spray a 2.5 quart casserole dish.

2.     Put the sweet potatoes in a medium sauce pan with enough water to just cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until fork-tender, 5-7 minutes. Drain.

3.     Return the sweet potatoes to the pot and use an egg beater, mixer, or potato masher to mash them up.

4.     Add the yogurt, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix it in. Taste, add brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time to the sweetness you want.

5.     Once you’re satisfied with the taste, add the eggs and beat them in, Transfer the mixture to the lightly greased casserole dish.

6.     Bake for 30 minutes. Top evenly with pecans and marshmallows and continue to bake until marshmallows are puffed and lightly browned, 10-15 more minutes.