Best of 2008...

I debated whether or not I should do this and in the end decided that I wanted to show case my top 10 favorite recipes from the past year! These are my favorites. Not necessarily the most popular ones but ones that I really loved and have made over and over again and have become family favorites. It was also really fun to look back and see how my blog has evolved in the year and half (411 posts) that I have been blogging.

Hope you enjoy...

Souvlaki

I found this perfect recipe for Souvlaki on my good friend Peter's blog Kalofagas-Greek Food and Beyond. Not only is this an incredible recipe but through the year Peter has become a very good friend of mine. When I was on vacation over the summer Peter very graciously took me and my family on a whirl wind tour of my hometown through his eyes. Great person, great friend and incredible blog!!!

Lemon Chicken Scaloppini

This has become one of my families favorite meals. Served with rice the sauce is perfect for it. It is a perfect balance of sour and savory. Love this dish! Thanks The Food Channel!

Greek Stuffed Peppers

This was another recipe of Peter's from Kalofagas-Greek Food and Beyond. I was very hesitant to try this one as it has mint and dill in it. 2 things T. hates but I went ahead and everyone loved it!!! Even my tomato hater!

Pomegranate Lemon Bars

These came to be with a pomegranate that had been tagged for something else that I never got around to making. Oldest daughter was home sick and I thought this would make for a nice treat for her. Turned out wonderful and can't wait to make these again! I also needed to make something for some pics that I needed taken for an interview that I did with the fine folks at Capessa.com. Jo from the Adventures of Kitchen Girl has the links embedded in a great post she wrote about me!!! Thanks again Jo!

Pasta with Squash and Prawns

This is an incredible recipe that is nothing like you wold expect it to be. It is made with butternut squash as the sauce! We eat this quite regularly as it is one of my favorite ways to eat squash!!!

Sunshine Citrus Marinade

This is a very, quick and flavorful marinade to help you jazz up that mid week grilled or broiled chicken. It is one of my most searched recipes and is one that I keep coming back to again and again.

Homemade Fig Preserves over Brie

This was a surprise hit. I had been to Whole Foods and had sampled their version of Fig Preserves over Brie. I figured I could make it myself. Guess what? I did and it was really, really good!!!

Beer Battered Squash Blossoms

I had never had squash blossoms so this was a huge treat for me. I loved them. These a zucchini blossoms which are the easiest to get. All you do it clean them up and whip up this real simple beer batter and fry them gently and munch away! We all love these!

Split Pea Soup (vegetarian)

My family is filled with pretty hard core omnivores with meat playing a very strong role in the diet. Over the past year this has changed...a lot! One of the ways that I did this was to make the vegetables the main attraction of the meal. I have also incorporated many vegetarian dishes into our meals. This one for Split Pea Soup is one of our favorites and most requested from all of them! I found this on Heidi Swanson's Blog - 101 Cookbooks

And last but not least...

Homemade HOT Sauce


I made this for T. for his Christmas gift this year. I had no idea when I made it what a huge success it would be. He loved it and I loved the fact that I could play around with the recipe of he didn't like it. Adjust the vinegar to make is less so, add more or less heat. Possibilities are endless. I go this recipe from Caron's blog To Market, To Market with San Diego Foodstuff and was so happy with it!!!

Honorable Mentions:

Grass Fed Arm Roast, Cooked Slow and Low

Oven Roasted Beets

Pico de Gallo

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Peanut Butter Bars

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Hope you enjoyed this roundup of my favorite Top Ten recipes from 2008!

I have loved my first full year of blogging. And it was made all the more wonderful by the incredible food bloggers that I have had the chance to meet and get to know. I would be hard pressed to believe that there was another group of people out there that are more supportive, friendlier and more helpful than food bloggers. Special thanks goes out to:

Kelly
Annie
Ben
Jerry
Peter
Jenn
Val
Jo
Jill
Sandy
Andrea
Elle
Nikki
Courtney
Lori

If I missed anyone I am incredibly sorry...

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Cilantro Pesto

Look at that beautiful, vibrant green color! Can't you just imagine it on a big plate of black beans and rice???

It is nearing the end of my CSA box week. Because of the holidays I have been picking up on Tuesdays. I looked in my fridge today and panicked. One of my friends is out of town and has gifted me her box. That means I have double the food coming and with New Years and all coming not too many veggies get eaten. I planned dinner to get rid of the bulk of it. I have salad greens and peppers left but I had some cilantro that I had no idea what to do with.

I started searching through my cookbooks and hit the Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and I found exactly what I was looking for. Cilantro Pesto. Let me tell you about this stuff. It is incredible. If you love cilantro like I do there is nothing better except for pico de gallo heavy on the cilantro. It was strong and filled with all the flavor that I love. Green and fresh. The garlic gave it a nice bite and I can just imagine this drizzled on tacos or nachos or topping some black beans and rice!!!

I made a double batch so that I didn't waste any of my cilantro and plan on freezing it. T. came home and tasted it for me and immediately got out the tortilla chips and started eating it by the chip load!

Cilantro Pesto - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro
salt
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed (I used canola and it was great)
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions:

Combine the cilantro with a pinch of salt, the garlic, and the oil in a food processor or blender. Process and scrape down the sides of the container if necessary.

Add the lime juice and blend for a second; add of little water if necessary to thin the mixture, then puree.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days or freeze for future use.

To freeze this I place it in a ziploc freezer bag and press flat. Make sure all of the air is out of the bag to prevent freezer burn. Freezing it flat makes it easier for you to break off chunks as you need or want it!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Homemade Hot Sauce

See those little seeds of fire??? He really, really liked it!

About a week before Christmas I saw this recipe on To Market, To Market with San Diego Foodstuff. I immediately decided that this was what I was going to make for T. for his Christmas gift. We had decided not to exchange presents this year but this didn't really count...

I searched all over town for the correct pepper's. I was suppose to have Chili Arbols but I could not find them anywhere so I decided that I would just make this with some dried habaneros that I was able to find. Now get this...on the day I was planning to make them I got a wonderful gift box in the mail from my friend Jerry over at Cooking...by the seat of my Pants. It was filled with all sorts of wonderful things and imagine my surprise to find a small bag filled with about 1.5 ounces of dried chili arbols!!!! Sorry Jerry, the salsa recipe sounded great but I NEEDED these!

The only change I did make to this was to add 1/2 ounce of dried habaneros. T. likes REALLY, REALLY hot stuff.

He tasted it Christmas morning and deemed it better than any of the 20 or so bottles that we have on hand. He said that the balance was perfect and he wouldn't change a thing! I have to take his word for as there was no way I was tasting it after almost being overcome by the fumes!!! LOL!!!

Consuelo’s Hot Sauce (taken from Caron's Blog at To Market, To Market...)

1 2oz.-pkg of chiles de arbol

3-5 cloves of garlic

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¾ cup distilled white vinegar

Water (I would save the water that the chili's were rehydrated in next time)

1. Remove stems from chiles and place the chiles in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until the chiles are very soft.

2. Remove the chiles from saucepan and place in blender or food processor. Let them cool.

3. Add garlic, salt, pepper and about ¼ cup of water and puree.

4. Add vinegar and blend.

I will be making this again and if you like hot sauce at all this is a good recipe. I may try and make on that is a little less spicy for myself!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Homemade Doggy Treats

I had to include the puppies in my homemade Christmas this year. I burnt my hand while I was posting this. Sorry it's so short. Dogs stared and wanted their treats!

I was inspired to do this by my friend Jenn The Leftover Queen who made these for her puppy Peperoncino! Thanks Jenn!

Little hands can help!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk powder (we actually had this in our hurricane stash!)
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBS butter
1 egg
1 cup water
3 tsp wheat bran
3 TBS Peanut Butter

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put butter and egg in food processor and process until smooth. In a bowl mix the flour, milk powder, salt and wheat bran together. Add flour mixture, PB and water alternately to butter and egg mixture and pulse processor until the dough has come together into a nice ball (you may not need to use all the water).

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to about 1/2 inch thickness. If you have a cookie cutter, cut the shapes out (I did have cutouts!). If not, you can use the Roberto method. Cut small (about 2 inch long) rectangles in the dough with a knife.

Fold piece in half lengthwise. Squish the middle of each end towards the center to make the 2 rounded knobs at each end. Flip over to smooth side and place on a cookie sheet (don’t worry about spacing, they aren’t going to grow).

Bake for about 15 minutes, flip and then bake another 3-4 minutes. Place on cookie racks to cool and keep out overnight to harden.

Makes about 60-70 cookies.

These were simple and I'm sure the dogs will love their gifts!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Dinner Rolls

This recipe is one that I made for Thanksgiving and didn't get a chance to post because I was deep in the heart of the 12 Days of Cookies right after Thanksgiving. I thought with Christmas Day being just 2 days away I had better get the recipes that I am going to be using in one place.

I made these to go with the Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls that I was going to be serving. I wanted something that would be a bit more child friendly and these definitely fit the bill. The kids were snacking on these before dinner while we were eating the Brie with Fig Preserve Appetizer!

This is a simple straight forward recipe that made some delicious little rolls.

Dinner Rolls (Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book)

Ingredients:

• 4-1/4 to 4-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 beaten eggs

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).

3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, depending on what shape of roll you wish to make, lightly grease baking sheets or muffin cups.

4. Shape the dough into desired rolls and place on prepared baking sheets or in muffin cups. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes).

5. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove rolls from pans. Cool on wire racks. Makes 24 to 36 rolls.

Butterhorns: On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of the dough into a 12-inch circle. Brush with melted butter or margarine. Cut each circle into 12 wedges using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. To shape, begin at the wide end of a wedge and loosely roll toward the point. Place point side down, 2 to 3 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets.

Rosettes: Divide each dough portion into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 12-inch-long rope. Tie in a loose knot, leaving 2 long ends. Tuck top end under roll. Bring bottom end up and tuck into center of roll. Place 2 to 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Parker House Rolls: On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2-1/2-inch-round cutter. Brush with melted butter or margarine. Using the dull edge of a table knife, make an off-center crease in each round. Fold each round along crease with large half on top. Press folded edge firmly. Place rolls 2 to 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Cloverleaf Rolls: Divide each portion of dough into 36 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, pulling edges under to make a smooth top. Place 3 balls in each muffin cup, smooth sides up.

Make-Ahead Tip: Cover shaped rolls loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Chill 2 to 24 hours. Uncover; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake.

I made these into butterhorns and it seems I need a bit more practice with this. LOL!!!

They were a nice, light, fluffy dinner roll that went well with everything!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies

I always make these for my Christmas cookie tins. Why? They looks festive with the colored sugar, they freeze well, I can make a huge batch, and I like them!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens-New Cook Book)

Makes about 6 dozen cookies that are perfect for freezing! You can 1/2 this recipe for a normal batch of 36.

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• colored granulated sugar

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4. Beat in as much as the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.
5. Shape dough into 2 inch balls.
   
6. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
   
7. Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned.
8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

The sugar sticks perfectly to the cookies even when frozen. T. has been stealing them all week so I know they are good!

I am sending this along to Susan at Food Blogga for her yearly Eat Christmas Cookies Roundup! Head over here to check it out and enter your favorite cookie!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Homemade Fig Preserves over Brie

This was a delicious appetizer served with some crispy whole wheat Carr's crackers!!!

A couple of months ago I was in Whole Food's and they were sampling Thanksgiving food. Loved the chestnuts dressing and a couple of other things but the one that really stood out was the brie that they were serving with fig preserves!

There was no way I was going to spend whatever it was they wanted on something that I thought I could really easily make. So I tasted it and tried really hard to remember what the flavor was like.

I thought I would go to the grocery store and get some figs and make it myself. They had no figs so I had to come up with another plan.

I had some dried figs so after scouting around and checking a bunch of different recipes here is what I came up with!

Dried Fig Preserves

• 2 cups dried figs (chopped)
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 water
• Juice of one lemon
  
• 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

Directions:

• Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved add the lemon juice and simmer for about 1 minute.
• Add the figs and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring often.
• Once it has thickened and will coat the back of a spoon remove from heat and stir in the chopped walnuts.
• At this point you can put it in a jar for canning but I knew I was going to be using it soon so I put it in a plastic container for storage in my fridge.

To serve all I did was bring the brie to rooms temperature as well as the fig preserve and then poured the figs over top and served with some crispy whole wheat crackers. This made for an elegant and simple appetizer for Thanksgiving and will be served again for Christmas!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Christmas Brownie Bites

See how festive they look?

You know you want to make these. They are just to cute! I decided on Jill's, from Simple Daily Recipe's, suggestion to make these for my girl's class parties for Friday. Seeing as today is going to be all taken up with Dr's appt. and school things the only time I had to make these was Wednesday.

I looked for a recipe for brownies that was going to be simple and cheap to make. Come on now, this is for a bunch of little kids that really don't know too much better...luckily they tasted pretty good anyway!

The first 3 pans weren't so good. Some were too big, broke on removal from pan and the M&M's sunk right in! Along with the fact that I only found one of my mini muffin pans so I was making them 12 at a time, they truly took me all day long! Once I got the timing, the M&M and the cooling figured out I was in business.

I truly loved these for the kids class and am excited to bring them to the parties they are having on Friday! Wouldn't you be?

Brownies (Easy Method) adapted from Cooks.com

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup flour
2 eggs
red and green M & M's

Preheat oven to 325°F degrees.

Melt butter and mix it with 3/4 cup of cocoa powder. Then add 2 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2/3 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix to combine.

Grease mini muffin tin. Drop 1 tsp full of batter into holes and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and gently press an M&M into the top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and gently remove form pan to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before serving.

The girls were pretty happy with these as well. They got to eat all of the ones that didn't turn out!!!

On another note take a minute and go and visit my friend Jo's blog and read about all of the wonderful things she wrote about me!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

See how festive they look with the little tinge of red in the sugar? These are perfect for Christmas cookies!!!

I know...you would expect me to be done with cookies by now. All of the cookies that I did for the 12 Days of Cookies Extravaganza went to parties that I was going to. I still needed cookies to give as gifts! I have teachers, coaches, and family friends that count on my cookies!!! Time to get started again!

I was hunting around for some new ones and went to my friend The Recipe Girl's site. I knew she was making cookies and I was sure to find a recipe there! I was not mistaken. I decided on her Cinnamon Bun Cookies. Because I was going to be freezing these to go in tins at the end of the week, I opted to not ice them but that will be done at some later date!!!

These are the perfect cookies. Almost like those little pie cookies that Mom used to make with the leftover pie dough and sorta like crispy cinnamon buns! Yummmm!

The only change that I made to the recipe was to substitute some of the sugar for the roll with some red sugar to add a bit more festive touch to these!

This recipe can be found HERE!


As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Something a little lighter...

This was my test salad from lunch. For dinner we tossed the salad and added blue cheese and cut up fried chicken!

As anyone who follows my blog regularly knows I have been deep in the heart of cookie baking season! Back to some regular posts for a bit here and maybe some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes that can be used for Christmas Dinner!!!

My local CSA has started up but that sure didn't fit in with the 12 days of cookies now did it? But at least we have been forced to eat really healthy when I wasn't elbow deep in cookie dough!

Near the end of one of the weeks I had a head of baby bok choy, arugula and some mizuna. Now I could have done a stir fry or a salad and something else but I decided to chop them all up together! Am I ever glad that I did. I found the most incredible dressing that went so well with the bitterness from the greens. We chopped up some leftover fried chicken to top it and it was one memorable dinner!!!

Cranberry Vinaigrette (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water

• Mizuna
• Arugula
• Baby Bok Choy
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts
• Crumbled blue cheese
  

Directions:

Pulse all ingredients but the pine nuts in your food processor and serve over your choice of greens with blue cheese crumbles and the pine nuts.

This was a delicious dinner for us. I also topped my salad with dried cranberries. Any nut can be used. Almonds is what the recipe called for but I couldn't find mine so made do with pine nuts!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Round up of my 12 Days of Cookies, A Gourmet cookies extravaganza!!!

As of now anyone who has looked at my blog knows that I spent 12 days starting on the 1st of December and posted a new cookie everyday for 12 days. This event was called the 12 Days of Cookies, A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. I was invited to participate in this little event and jumped at the chance of doing it with some of my favorite bloggers (be sure to check them out!!!).

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

The event was coordinated by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. The idea behind it was that for each of the 12 days at the beginning of December we were to choose a cookie from Gourmet's online magazine and bake and post one for each day! Gourmet had decided that instead of doing a feature cookie recipe they were going to feature their best and favorite from all of the years leading up to 2008! The recipes started at the conception of the magazine in 1941 and went all the way through to 2008. The big thing was that we weren't suppose to tell each other what ones we were doing and to make the post a surprise. Some day's we posted the same cookies but this was all part of the fun!

I wanted to have one place on my blog that had all of these cookies so that if I was interested in revisiting one of them I would be able to find it easily and you wold be to!! I will be including some personal notes following each recipe!

Without further ado her is my 12 Days of Cookies!

Day 1: Lemon Thin (read my full post here!)

Lemon Thin was first published in Gourmet Magazine April 1976

My Verdict: These cookies were delicious and were everything I thought they would be. Light, crispy and full of flavor! I had some problem trying to get the size and the timing right. After my first batch I was on the right track.

Will I make these again? I most definitely will. They would be a great snack for a hot summer day around the pool!


Day 2: Jelly Centers (read my full post here!)


Jelly Centers - Gourmet Magazine June 1948

My Verdict: I loved the flavor of these cookies. Not too sweet. If I made these again I would definately fill them with a homemade jam or jelly. I think that would really add to these. For me though they were a little fussy to make and I found some of the (very short) directions a little confusing. There wasn't even a bake time in the original recipe.

Would I make these again? Probably not as they were a little fussy for me but they did look really elegant and I could see how they could have been a really popular cookie back in 1948!


Day 3: Cranberry Turtle Bars (read my full post here!)


Cranberry Turtle Bars - Gourmet Magazine November 2001

My Verdict: I love these bars. I love the tartness of the fresh cranberries mixed with the pecans. Just a wonderful flavor explosion. They also look so festive and seasonal.

Will I make these again? Oh yes without a doubt and I don't think I would change a thing! They are both tasty and pretty! These ones are being frozen and given as Christmas gifts!


Day 4: Mocha Cookies The Bakery (read my full post here!)

Mocha Cookies The Bakery - Gourmet Magazine October 1990

My Verdict: I did not like these cookies. I had more trouble with these than I have with any cookie recipe ever. Was it the way it was written or was it user error? Not sure. They never puffed up for me and I also waited for the top to become shiny and crack. As you can see that didn't happen for me. I think I ruined one of my favorite baking sheets as the batter oozed under the parchment and baked on tight! Oh well...

Will I make these again? No way! I didn't even finish baking these ones. Hope the rest of you faired better if you tried them!


Day 5: Mocha Toffee Bars (read my full post here!)

Mocha Toffee Bars - Gourmet Magazine December 1987

My Verdict: Mmmmm! These were really good! They taste very adult like with the espresso flavor coming through just enough to enhance the chocolate and the nuts...oh the nuts, the nice salty nuts with all that rich sweet chocolate!!! I am really liking the bar cookies of this series. Not only are they a bit less time consuming but I haven't really had too much trouble with them!

Would I make these again? Not sure. I liked them but there are a million more cookies that I want to try. I like these flavors together but maybe a cookie with all of them mixed together or a brownie?


Day 6: Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits) (read my full post here!)

Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits) - Gourmet Magazine November 1955

My Verdict: I LOVE these...now I'm not sure if it was them or the fact that I was sooooooo tired of mocha and coffee and chocolate! No really. I LOVED these. They are so Italian cookie tasting. I wanted to just drown it in an espresso but alas I only had hazelnut coffee!

They are sweet and cake like and covered with wonderful toasted sesame seeds and on top of all of that they are so easy to make. I made the dough the day before and then in the morning used the 450° oven to warm my kitchen and bake these little bits of goodness!

Would I make these again? OMG yes and maybe next week...


Day 7: Coconut Bars (read my full post here!)

Coconut Bars - Gourmet Magazine October 1953

My Verdict: Even once I got this all pressed into the pan and it was cooking, the timing was way off. I think I only cooked it about 15 minutes. Poured the topping on and cooked for another 15.

I only just now realized that I could have made my life easier by lining the pan with parchment and it says in the italics part of the description. What is with these recipes????

Cutting it was next to impossible. I had to wait until T. got home to cut it. He finally just lifted the whole thing out of the pan and cut it with the huge knife!!!

Would I make this again? Maybe. I think there are a lot of things that could be done better but overall everyone liked these. There was a yummy gooey layer between the crust and the top that was wonderful. Nice and sweet. my oldest daughter thought it was honey! Even T. who "hates" coconut was munching away on them!


Day 8: Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies) (read my full post here!)


Kourambiedes (Greek Butter Cookies) - Gourmet Magazine April 1974

My Verdict: I hated this recipe. I almost quit baking cookies with this one. I swear I have never had a recipe for cookies (sugar people!!!!) turn out this bad. If not for the fact that I am incredibly stubborn and determined I would be hanging up my hat and baking no more of Gourmet's top pick of cookie recipes in the history of their magazine! WTH Gourmet- do you need recipe testers??? I'm pretty good at it by now!

Anyway, these turned out dry and incredibly flavorless. I am going to save then and try and make a tart crust with them or something. I took them with me and I met one of my girlfriend's and asked her to taste it. I thought she was going to gag. It was almost to dry to swallow!

Would I make these again? No way in Hell would I ever do this again! Feeling pretty strongly about this one. There are no redeeming qualities to these cookies. Please don't make them!!!!!

Day 9: Rugelach (read my full post here!)


Rugelach - Gourmet Magazine May 2004

My Verdict: I really liked these cookies. Their flavor reminded me of something from my childhood. It reminds me of our Christmas dinners at my Grandma's house but I can't quite put my finger on what it was. I don't think it was these exact cookies but...

They called for golden raisins and for some reason I could not find them so I used regular raisins. They probably are a bit stronger flavored but they were still delicious. T. does not like raisins so I made one log with just the nuts and the sugar. Those were good too.

Would I make these again? Probably but only for someone really special. Not that they were hard or anything but they seem really special for some reason. Could that just be the memory attached to it? Not sure.

Day 10: Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies (read my full post here!)


Dutch Caramel Cashew Cookies - Gourmet Magazine March 1972

My Verdict: I really liked this cookie. The only thing that I was very sad about was that it only made about 18 cookies!!! Not nearly enough of a good thing!

Would I make these again? Oh yes and next time I would double or triple this to give me more!!! See how nice and gooey the praline is? This was after it was baked. Before it was just crisp and delicious! I LOVED these cookies!

Day 11: Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies (read my full post here!)


Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies - Gourmet Magazine March 1983

My Verdict: I truly love these cookies. They were my test to see if I could succeed at making a butter cookie after this disaster! Well I can and very well too! I wanted to dress them up a little so I sprinkled some red and green sprinkles on them and I think it made them look very festive. I wasn't going to try piping them as I was already a little gun shy after my last ones so they did get balled and flattened. I loved the way these tasted and so have the girl's. They love being able to take a different type of cookie to school with them each and every day!

Would I make these again? Most definitely. I think with the sprinkles they will be very good in cookies tins for gifts. These will be made again next week!

Day 12: Chocolate Wafers (read my full post here!)



Chocolate Wafers - Gourmet Magazine February 1950

My Verdict: My family made me make these! They wanted chocolate after all of the others that I have posted! I really liked these but mine are nothing like what the ones Gourmet magazine made. Somehow missed the part about the chilling time???? So I made my cookies and wanted to roll them out. The stuff was like glue and I knew this wasn't going to work for me. I rolled it into a log and set it in the freezer. I was short on time (can you tell). Pulled the log out and sliced it. Could I get it thin enough? No way, my dough was still too soft but I needed to get these in the oven! I rolled the edges in sugar and plopped them in. I knew my timing was going to off but I sure didn't mean to burn them!!!

I am really kind of sad that this event is coming to an end. At a crazy time of the year I didn't even have to think about what I was going to post on any given day and I got to bond with some wonderful people over our trials and tribulations of these recipes!!! Do I wish this last cookie had of turned out better? Oh yes, I would love to be going out with a blaze of glory but my timing was off and these are what I ended with!

Would I make these again? Probably not. Too many other great cookies out there that have decent directions attached to them!


I can't wait for next years cookie event!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 12 of the 12 Days of Cookies features Chocolate Wafers!

n the 1950s, Gourmet was quite smitten with wafer cookies, and these are the ideal chocolate version—thin and deeply chocolaty. To make for easy rolling, chill the dough until quite firm (overnight is best).-Gourmet

Chocolate Wafers - February 1950 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

3/4 cup of butter
1-1/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp Rum Extract
1 egg
1-1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup breakfast cocoa (???)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

• Cream butter, add gradually the sugar. Cream them together until light and fluffy.
• Add run extract and egg to the butter/sugar mixture and beat thoroughly.
  
• Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt
• Add the dry ingredients gradually, mixing well after each addition to make a light dough.
• Roll the dough out to 1/8 " in thickness on a lightly floured board and cut with a floured cookie cutter into round about 2-1/2 " in diameter.
• Place the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 8 mins. in a 400 degree oven.
• makes 6 dozen cookies.

Crappy picture but it shows how some of them are burnt!

My family made me make these! They wanted chocolate after all of the others that I have posted! I really liked these but mine are nothing like what the ones Gourmet magazine made. Somehow missed the part about the chilling time???? So I made my cookies and wanted to roll them out. The stuff was like glue and I knew this wasn't going to work for me. I rolled it into a log and set it in the freezer. I was short on time (can you tell). Pulled the log out and sliced it. Could I get it thin enough? No way, my dough was still too soft but I needed to get these in the oven! I rolled the edges in sugar and plopped them in. I knew my timing was going to off but I sure didn't mean to burn them!!!

I am really kind of sad that this event is coming to an end. At a crazy time of the year I didn't even have to think about what I was going to post on any given day and I got to bond with some wonderful people over our trials and tribulations of these recipes!!! Do I wish this last cookie had of turned out better? Oh yes, I would love to be going out with a blaze of glory but my timing was off and these are what I ended with!

Would I make these again? Probably not. Too many other great cookies out there that have decent directions attached to them!

All in all I am so glad that I was invited to do this. I couldn't have been with a better group of people:

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

But...I am really disappointed in Gourmet Magazine and the cookie recipes that they published on Gourmet.com. Some of these recipes were terrible and others could be salvaged. Maybe one or two turned out great. I think I am going to do a round up of my cookies over the weekend so I can see and have a clearer mind about my 12 Days of Cookies!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 11 of the 12 Days of Cookies features Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies!

Simple, classic, and very buttery, these Norwegian cookies are typically made with a cookie press. But we like them just as much when they are baked in rounds or piped into little S’s (using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip).- Gourmet

Spritz or Norwegian Butter Cookies - March 1983 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl cream the butter, beat in the sugar, a little at a time, the vanilla, and the almond extract, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
  
• Add the egg and combine the mixture well.
  
• Add the flour mixture and combine the dough well.
  
• Form the dough into walnut-size balls and arrange the balls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using a fork flatten the balls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using a fork flatten the balls to form cookies 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, making a crosshatch design.
  
• Bake the cookies in a preheated moderate oven (350° F.) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden around the edges, and transfer them with a spatula to racks to cool. Store the cookies in airtight containers. Makes about 70 cookies.

Can you see how flaky and buttery they look? I have eaten way too many of these ones!

I truly love these cookies. They were my test to see if I could succeed at making a butter cookie after this disaster! Well I can and very well too! I wanted to dress them up a little so I sprinkled some red and green sprinkles on them and I think it made them look very festive. I wasn't going to try piping them as I was already a little gun shy after my last ones so they did get balled and flattened. I loved the way these tasted and so have the girl's. They love being able to take a different type of cookie to school with them each and every day!

Would I make these again? Most definitely. I think with the sprinkles they will be very good in cookies tins for gifts. These will be made again next week!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com