No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake

For Evonik's Holiday Luncheon Dessert Potluck, I searched for a Christmas-themed icebox cake. Of the many ideas that I saw on the Internet, the No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake was the one I chose to make (I had recently bought some store brand eggnog for Tom, and he hated it, so I thought I could use up some of it this way).

No Bake Eggnog Icebox Cake

Ingredients:
EGGNOG MOUSSE

• ¾ cup eggnog
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 0.25 oz bag powdered gelatin
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¾ tsp nutmeg
• 1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup powdered sugar

WHIPPED CREAM

• 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• 6 tbsp eggnog
• 6 tbsp milk
• 2 ½ packages (5.3 oz) of Walkers Shortbread

Directions:

1. Add eggnog and cornstarch to a sauce pan and heat on medium-high until eggnog is hot and just starting to simmer around the edges. Do not boil.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over eggnog and turn heat to low. Whisk gelatin into eggnog until smooth, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. (I put it into another bowl and then in the fridge to speed cooling – about 4-5 minutes)
3. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and nutmeg until smooth.
4. Add eggnog mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix until well combined.
5. In another bowl, whip heavy whipping cream for mousse until it starts to thicken.
6. Add powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
7. Carefully fold whipped cream into eggnog mixture.
8. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the sides with parchment paper that sticks about an inch above the sides of the pan.
9. In a small bowl, combine additional eggnog and milk.
10. Make a single layer of shortbread in the bottom of the pan. As you add the shortbread to the pan, dip each cookie into the eggnog and milk mixture and hold it there for 3-4 seconds.
11. Top the shortbread with half of the eggnog mixture.
12. Repeat steps 10 and 11, then make whipped cream for the top. Whip heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken.
13. Add powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
14. Set about 1/3 cup of whipped cream aside for piping on the edges of the cake, then spread the rest into an even layer on top of the cake.
15. Place cake in the fridge for 5-6 hours to firm, or set in the freezer. I prefer to freeze it first to make it easier to remove from the pan, then leave it in the fridge.
16. Once cake has been removed from the pan, pipe remaining whipped cream around the edges.
17. Store cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Now, I don't mind eggnog - I don't yearn to drink it in the holiday season, like Tom does - so I felt like this recipe was not bad. If this was a recipe that I would make again, I would leave the shortbread (I couldn't find Walkers Shortbread, so I used Lorna Doones) in the eggnog/milk mixture longer - they were too hard to have the cake-like texture I expect from an icebox cake. I think that I'll try this recipe next year, it looks simpler, and a pizelle is something I associate with the holiday season.

Potato Chip Cookies

For Evonik's Cookie Day this year, I decided to make Potato Chip Cookies. I'd first tried them at a cookie exchange at the Tidewater, and loved them, but never thought to make them until now. After searching the Internet, I decided on Paula Deen's recipe:

Potato Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups coarsely crushed potato chips
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Slowly blend in flour and vanilla. Add crushed potato chips and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoon, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Using a fork, flatten each cookie slightly. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until light brown around the edges. Remove to wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
3. Notes From the Paula Deen Test Kitchen: When using a fork to press cookies on baking sheet, dip the fork in flour first and the batter will not stick to the fork. These cookies were sinfully delicious and disappeared as fast as we could bake them.

I really liked them, Tom didn't. He said he would probably like them better if he didn't know that there were potato chips in them. People at work said they liked them, and I brought a container to the Tidewater that evening, and they liked them, too. What does Tom know, anyway?

Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake

I made two dishes for Evonik's annual Holiday Breakfast today, and one of them was a Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake.

Sheet Pan Breakfast Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated hash brown potatoes
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 slices bacon
• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
2. Place hashbrowns in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Stir in butter, olive oil, thyme, basil, oregano and garlic powder and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. Place into oven and bake until the edges begin to brown, about 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and create 6 wells. Add bacon slices and eggs, gently cracking the eggs throughout and keeping the yolk intact.
5. Sprinkle eggs with Parmesan; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Place into oven and bake until the egg whites have set and bacon is cooked through, an additional 10-12 minutes.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.

This dish was generally well received. I used sharp cheddar cheese, and if I were to make it again, I would probably use mild.

Spinach Artichoke Egg Casserole

For Evonik's annual Holiday Breakfast I made two dishes, one of which was a Spinach Artichoke Egg Casserole.

Spinach Artichoke Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups fresh packed spinach
• 1 ½ cups chopped jarred artichoke hearts, packed in water and drained
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 8 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Chopped basil for garnish, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chopped artichoke hearts. Add dried oregano, fresh basil, and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese over the mixture.
3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs and milk. Whisk well. Pour eggs over veggies and cheese. Top with remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle additional chopped basil over the top, if desired.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are set and slightly golden around the edges. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

This dish was good, but not great. I used marinated artichoke hearts, and had hoped that there would be more of the artichoke flavor. The dish still got a lot of compliments, so I'm pleased with that.

HdG Christmas Parade

My workplace was asked to participate in the city's annual Christmas parade, and I answered the call to volunteer. We decided to use a dragster that another employee had built, and put the Grinch in it. My job was to coordinate the Grinch costume, and it went fairly well. The employees that walked in the parade alongside the car wore antler headbands and/or light up Christmas bulb necklaces, and distributed candy to onlookers.

You can see videos of the parade at this link.

Baked Apples

Tom and I were watching Hallmark channel all day today, and one of the movies, "Love, of Course," made me want to look up some of the recipes that were in it. So, I looked up Baked Apples on Pinterest, and after reading an Epicurious article, I realized that it had to be super simple, and decided to give it a try.

Baked Apples

1. Use a paring knife to start coring an apple. Use a melon baller or sharp spoon to complete making a hollow in the apple. Leave the bottom in the apple.
2. Fill the apple with 1 T sweetener (like brown sugar), a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt, and ½ T butter.
3. Put the apple in a baking dish with 2 inch high sides. Pour a few inches of water into the dish. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
4. Check on the apple periodically, and add water if it has all evaporated.
5. Remove from oven and let cool.

The filling stayed liquid, even after cooling, and we weren't sure how to eat the apples, but we cut up the apples and let the buttery, sweet spices drizzle over the warm apple. It was delicious, and if we had any, I would have put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Today, Tom requested spaghetti for dinner. Halfway through the day, I realized that I didn't have any spaghetti sauce in the house, so, as usual, instead of heading to the store, I checked the Internet for a clone recipe for Ragu spaghetti sauce. I found two that were similar, and ended up splitting the difference, plus made a change to accommodate what I had in the house.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cans tomato soup [½ qt tomato sauce]
• 1 pound fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 2½ t sugar
• 1½ t olive oil
• 1 T parmesan cheese
• ½ t dried basil
• ¼ t dried parsley
• ¾ t minced garlic
• 1 pinch black pepper
• [1 bay leaf]

Directions:

1. Put everything in a pot and warm over low heat until the sauce has thickened to the desired consistency.

I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I used condensed tomato soup and I forgot to add the bay leaf. Tom thought the sauce was good, but commented on the sweetness. I thought the sauce was just okay, and was too sweet. Since we both had a comment about the overall sweetness of the sauce, I will follow the second recipe and use 1½ t sugar instead of the 2½ t sugar from the first recipe.

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

Tonight, I was looking to cook pot roast in my new fangled pressure cooker, and after researching several recipes on the internet, I combined a couple and came up with this recipe:

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 3 pound chuck roast
• Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
• 1½ T canola oil
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t dried thyme
• ¼ t dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2½ T corn starch

Directions:

1. Season chuck roast with Kosher salt, fresh black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Using the "Sauté" setting on the pressure cooker, brown the seasoned chuck roast in the canola oil.
2. Remove the chuck roast from the pressure cooker, add the beef broth to the pot and cook for a few minutes, scraping up the brown bits remaining in the pot.
3. Return the chuck roast to the pot and add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Close up the pressure cooker and start the machine using the "Meat" and "High" setting (on my machine, it was 45 minutes).
4. When the pressure cooker has completed the cooking cycle, release the pressure with the switch at the top of the machine. Wait a few minutes, then remove the lid.
5. Remove the chuck roast from the pressure cooker and place on a serving platter. Meanwhile, add the corn starch to the liquid remaining in the pressure cooker and cook on the "Sauté" setting until the liquid has thickened into a gravy.

Now, I would do something differently when (and I will) make this again. This time, I used the "Meat" and "Manual" setting to cook the meat, so ended up cooking it for 60 minutes. The recipe I was trying to emulate recommended "Manual" for 50 minutes, but I couldn't figure out how to change to time. The meat was a little dry by itself, so I'm thinking that cooking it just a little less will help. Adding the gravy helped moisten it a lot, and it added a lot of flavor. I'm also thinking about adding the herbs and Worcestershire sauce to the broth before placing the meat in the pot. When I made it this time, the herbs ended up on top of the meat, which may have kept the flavors from infusing into the meat.
These are just a couple of changes that may or may not make a difference. If it makes a difference, I'll edit this post.

Nutmeg

My sweet, little Nutmeg. She put up with so much and will be dearly missed.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Last night, while the Fall Off the Bone Ribs were cooking, I worked on some Baked Eggplant Parmesan.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients:

• 3 eggplant sliced 1/4" thick (you'll need 12 slices)
• salt
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 (8 ounce) box Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
• 1 (26 ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1 (16 ounce) package fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• cooking spray

Directions:

1. Sprinkle some salt on both sides of each slice of eggplant. Layer the slices in a colander and place the colander in your sink. Place a heavy dish or pan over the top to press them down. Allow to sweat for 30 to 45 minutes. Rinse well with cold water to remove salt and blot dry with paper towels.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet generously with cooking spray. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs down with fingers if needed to cover evenly. Place in a single layer on oiled baking sheet and lightly spray tops of breaded eggplant with cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes then carefully flip each slice and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread just enough marinara to cover bottom of dish. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Cover each slice with a spoon full of marinara, a slice or two of mozzarella, and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Repeat with one more layer. Pour any leftover marinara and around edges of eggplant slices and top with any cheese that is left. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes

Well, except for my really old breadcrumbs, which were the only things that kept the dish from tasting wonderful, this recipe worked out really well. I only needed one eggplant, which, when sliced 1/4" thick, gave me stacks of eggplant 4-5 slices high, I used 4 cups of shredded mozzarella (I love cheese) and probably only half of the required parmesan. This was easy to fix and very tasty.

Fall Off the Bone Ribs

Tonight, I made Fall Off the Bone Ribs again. I made them once before, but they turned out to be way too spicy, definitely for Tom and even for me!

Fall Off the Bone Ribs
Ingredients

• 1 rack baby back ribs, membrane removed
• Dry Rub:
  • 2 Tbs paprika
  • 1 Tbs black pepper
  • 3 Tbs brown sugar
  • 2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• BBQ Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar bbq sauce
  • 2-3 Tbs honey
• Parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Lay your ribs on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.
3. Mix together your dry rub ingredients and rub onto both sides of your ribs and wrap up tightly and place on large baking sheet.
4. Bake in oven for 3 hours.
5. Remove from oven and unwrap.
6. Mix together your bbq sauce and honey and brush on ribs.
7. Place back in oven on lowest rack and broil for about 3-5 minutes, remove from oven and brush with more bbq sauce.
8. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Both times I've made this, I used Sweet Baby Rays Barbeque Sauce, but this time I only used half of the rub. This worked out really well for Tom, but I think I need a little bit more rub.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Today, after some yard work, I was able to prepare a delicious meal which culminated in an unexpected Easter egg hunt for Tom. I made a Baked Ham with Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze, Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow & Pecan Streusel and Southern Style Green Beans. I enjoyed everything that I prepared, and Tom did, too! The ham wasn't too sweet, the sweet potato casserole had a good flavor, due to the addition of cinnamon and cloves, and the green beans were tender and delicious. I recommend giving those recipes a try.

Ottoman

Tom and I spent the weekend working on re-covering an ottoman, and I must say that I am happy with how it turned out.

Before

After

We got the fabric when we got the recliner and Tom and I disassembled the ottoman and took measurements yesterday, and today we cut and sewed the fabric and reassembled the ottoman. Despite my nervousness, it was relatively easy. There are some ripples where we weren't fast enough smoothing the fabric before the spray adhesive started to work, but we'll put that side closest to the chair.

Life Changing?

So, the other day, Tom and I went to Denny's for dinner. When it came time for dessert, there was an item on the milkshake menu that looked intriguing - Horchata. Our server couldn't explain what it was, so I decided to take a chance and order it. It was delicious. Tom ordered his usual vanilla ice cream, but I convinced him to try the extra milkshake that gets left behind. He loved it and finished what he started. He loved it so much, he went back a few days later to get some more. Then, while at the grocery store a few nights ago, we saw that Weis had a limited edition Cinnamon ice cream, so Tom bought two quarts.
If you're thinking about trying it, I recommend it. It isn't too sweet, but it is really rich. I don't think I'd be able to eat it every day, but not because I wouldn't want to!