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USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

But the <a href="http://momof6.com/celebrations-and-family-traditions/christmas-tree-meringue-cookies-i-pinned-it-and-i-tried-it/">meringue trees</a> are so cute! and I have egg whites to use! and it's good piping practice!

You could make a hipster omlette.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

New cookies I tried this year...
<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-christmas-canes">Cranberry Christmas Canes</a> - festive looking, but not my favorite
<a href="http://www.bumbleberryjam.com/2013/03/car-co-doodles.html">Car-co-doodles</a>(chocolate chunk snickerdoodles) - a little boring, and very flat - broke easily. won't repeat unless I alter them to be puffier
<a href="http://tastingspoons.com/archives/9558">Maple Pecan Slice-and-Bake</a> - much better than I thought they'd be - like a buttery maple shortbread
<a href="http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/patrick-s-chocolate-raspberry-rugelach/article_415add4a-0d05-559e-92bd-5addd0e428b2.html">Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach</a> - very tasty and fun to make, will definitely repeat
<a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/316787/gingersnap-palmiers">Gingersnap Palmiers</a> - disaster... very fussy
<a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/blueberry-walnut-twirls/">Blueberry pecan twirls</a> - tasty and easy to make and store - will repeat
<a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/biscotti/GingerbreadBiscotti.html">Gingerbread biscotti</a> - just OK - will try a different biscotti recipe next time or go with mandelbrot
<a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cranberry-bliss-cookies/">Cranberry Bliss cookies</a> - very tasty, but frosted and a pain to donate (and the frosting is essential)
<a href="http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/recipes/recipe/2011/11/grasshopper-cookies/573657/1">Grasshopper cookies</a> - good and festive-looking, but had to wrap in waxed paper because of the icing
<a href="http://foodfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-new-cookbook-and-new-cookie.html">Cranberry Apricot Oatmeal</a> - pretty good, but boring - won't repeat
<a href="http://www.roxanashomebaking.com/chocolate-rum-snowballs-recipe-25recipestoxmas/">Chocolate Rum snowballs</a> - good and easy to make - probably will repeat
Triple Mint Chocolate (from the back of the Andes bag - added dark and white chips) - was just using up mint pieces, but good and easy

Still left to make:
<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/features/recipes/234284961.html">Brandy Bites</a> (no-bake - new) - using kirsch plus regular brandy
Brandy Snaps
<a href="http://stephenandnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/salted-caramel-hot-cocoa-cookies.html">Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Cookies</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-buttercrunch-recipe">Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch</a>
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cranberry-nut-chocolate-bark-recipe">Cranberry Nut Bark</a>
Peppermint Bark (with Andes and Thin Mints)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-ginger-bark-recipe">Dark Chocolate Ginger Bark</a> (new)
<a href="http://momof6.com/celebrations-and-family-traditions/christmas-tree-meringue-cookies-i-pinned-it-and-i-tried-it/">Meringue Trees</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/296264/mini-peppermint-meringue-cups-with-ganac">Mini Peppermint Meringues with Ganache</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/features/recipes/234288651.html">Fudgy Gingerbread Bars with Hot Buttered Rum Glaze</a>

Old standbys:
<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/peanut-butter-maple-cookies">Peanut Butter Maple</a> (the most glorious cookie in the history of mankind)
<a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/white-chocolate-raspberry-thumbprints">White Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints</a>
<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-peppermint-pinwheel-cookies-recipe2/index.html">Chocolate Peppermint pinwheels</a>
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Accomplished this past weekend...

Still left to make:
<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/features/recipes/234284961.html">Brandy Bites</a> (no-bake - new) - using kirsch plus regular brandy
<a href="http://stephenandnat.blogspot.com/2013/12/salted-caramel-hot-cocoa-cookies.html">Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Cookies</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-buttercrunch-recipe">Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch</a>
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cranberry-nut-chocolate-bark-recipe">Cranberry Nut Bark</a>
Peppermint Bark (with Andes and Thin Mints)
<a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-ginger-bark-recipe">Dark Chocolate Ginger Bark</a> (new)
<a href="http://momof6.com/celebrations-and-family-traditions/christmas-tree-meringue-cookies-i-pinned-it-and-i-tried-it/">Meringue Trees</a> (new)
<a href="http://www.jsonline.com/features/recipes/234288651.html">Fudgy Gingerbread Bars with Hot Buttered Rum Glaze</a>

If you would like to get drunk off a cookie, I recommend the brandy bites. Holy cow. Maybe I made them really strong, but wow. And they're no-bake, so the booze is still boozy.

Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Cookies were delicious and very cute.

I made all the barks in Christmas silicone pans - it worked pretty well using a candy funnel for the parts that didn't have add-ins. Used a tablespoon for the parts that had nuts, etc, added, since it didn't fit through the funnel.

I piped all my meringue trees a little off center, but they turned out pretty well.

Still making brandy snaps and peppermint meringues. Also doing <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/monster-hot-chocolate-mix-recipe">hot cocoa mix</a> for gifts with homemade marshmallows. Christmas dessert will be various mini-bundlettes (our theme is mini desserts). Strawberry, chocolate peppermint, snickerdoodle and Irish cream.

Has anyone made marshmallows before? How long do they last? I'm using a recipe without eggs (it uses gelatin). I'm thinking I'll just do a very small amount for effect.

I have been rescued from making the vegetarian entree by my sister-in-law, so all I have to bring is dessert and maple glazed carrots. And, um, cookies. :D
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

We did "make your own baked potatoes" -- big hit. I think anytime people get to assembly line their own plate (like make your own tacos, make your own pizzas) everybody's happy.
We set out butter, sour cream, grated cheddar, grated parmesan, bacon, bbq sauce, chopped herbs, sauteed garlic spinach, Cholula sauce, frozen peas . . . probably a couple of other things, too. It's kind of a blur. :o
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

So my mother told me I can pick our Christmas dinner menu. It will just be my parents and I for Christmas night, we'll see my brother and his family a few days later. After I joked about a roasted suckling pig, I requested the following:

Spinach salad
Beef tenderloin with creamy horseradish sauce
Roasted root vegetables
Pecan pie

I don't know if she'll go for it, even with me offering to do the cooking. Usually our Christmas dinner is ham and cheesy potatoes, broccoli casserole, and pumpkin pie.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

My mom started a new "tradition" of a pre-Christmas dinner, since now my sister and I won't always be at our family Christmas, since every-other year we'll be at our fiances' family's.

The meal is homemade prime rib with homemade au jus, garlic mashed potatos, and a veggie (this year I requested maple glazed carrots).
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

This year, I will be going to wT's, and then bbdl's for Christmas (I'll bring the cookies :p)

We always have lasagna, pepperoni salad, and a few veggie sides. I like the tradition... but your dinners sound better. :)
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

This year, I will be going to wT's, and then bbdl's for Christmas (I'll bring the cookies :p)

We always have lasagna, pepperoni salad, and a few veggie sides. I like the tradition... but your dinners sound better. :)

My house will be empty, I'll be at the parents'.

Growing up our neighbors/my brother's best friends had lasagna for Christmas and Thanksgiving. My brother and his friend would trade a plate of dinner each holiday.


Tried out a couple of different cashew brittle recipes last night. One didn't have me get to a high enough temperature, and is more like cashew crumble. The other recipe was amazing though. Slightly more complicated, but still easy. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy making candy.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

So my mother told me I can pick our Christmas dinner menu. It will just be my parents and I for Christmas night, we'll see my brother and his family a few days later. After I joked about a roasted suckling pig, I requested the following:

Spinach salad
Beef tenderloin with creamy horseradish sauce
Roasted root vegetables
Pecan pie

I don't know if she'll go for it, even with me offering to do the cooking. Usually our Christmas dinner is ham and cheesy potatoes, broccoli casserole, and pumpkin pie.

Sounds delicious. And not a hard menu to cook either!
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I'm about to try to make a gigantic batch of pel'meni (russian dumplings... awesome), and I'm having a moment of uncertainty on the dough.

I can't for the life of me remember when or why you should mix dry ingredients first compared to wet ingredients first or if it would even matter for something as simple as the dumpling dough I'm making:

9 c AP flour
3 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 1/4 c water
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

So I'm going to be grilling Fillets this year for Christmas dinner.... Any good suggestions for a red wine / mushroom sauce to top them off with?
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I am going to try smoking some turkey tenderloins and thighs for Christmas day. We have a Honeybaked ham as well (gift from a rep).
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

So yesterday Mrs goldy was making a pumpkin roll (first she roasted the pumpkin to get the basic material) and was struggling with the cake part not coming off the pan cleanly. The result was the roll wasn't perfect due to cracks. The upside was she kept that one for us at home (yummy!) and made another one to take in to the party at her client's today. The other upside is I found another gift to get for her as I will stop on the way home tonight to get a new pan that comes highly recommended (Nordicware Half Sheet Natural Aluminium).
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

I am done baking. Finished up the brandy snaps last night. Total count was just over 1,000 and 25 kinds. I'm cutting down next year (I say that every year, then never do).

The cookies I have gotten the most compliments on so far - grasshoppers, surprisingly. Very simple cookie - but apparently quite tasty.

So yesterday Mrs goldy was making a pumpkin roll (first she roasted the pumpkin to get the basic material) and was struggling with the cake part not coming off the pan cleanly. The result was the roll wasn't perfect due to cracks. The upside was she kept that one for us at home (yummy!) and made another one to take in to the party at her client's today. The other upside is I found another gift to get for her as I will stop on the way home tonight to get a new pan that comes highly recommended (Nordicware Half Sheet Natural Aluminium).

frosting covers ALMOST all sins (unfortunately, not the outside of a cake roll, though). :) (and parchment releases all cakes.) Nordicware makes great pans.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

frosting covers ALMOST all sins (unfortunately, not the outside of a cake roll, though). :) (and parchment releases all cakes.) Nordicware makes great pans.

I don't know why she didn't use parchment, she has it in the drawer. The Nordicware outlet store is near our house and on one of my possible routes home.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

My dinner of ham in cola, mashed sweet potatoes in coconut milk, and cauliflower was a success. Nothing burned or got dropped on the floor.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Also, the cola dripped out of the pan and onto the stove. Now it's really burned on there and I'm struggling to get it off. Any suggestions?
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.

Also, the cola dripped out of the pan and onto the stove. Now it's really burned on there and I'm struggling to get it off. Any suggestions?
Depends on the type of stove. Put a towel on the area and pour some boiling water on it- enough to get the towel wet but not drool over everything. Most spills will release if you get them hot enough.
 
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