What's Cookin': Holiday Treats

Here is where I am about to publish a super secret family recipe (it's not really secret, I'm pretty sure it's just that no one has ever asked). Every Christmas my family makes chocolate covered cherries. These are not your gross, goopy boxed cherry cordials from Rite-Aid. And they are not the maraschino cherries just dipped in melted chocolate some lazy people like to pass off as chocolate covered cherries (I mean, I guess those ARE technically chocolate covered cherries too, they're just not really worth putting in your mouth after you've had these). These are the real deal. They are out of this world, and probably 3000 calories just for one little bite, but that's how every good holiday treat should be, right?

Chocolate Covered Cherries

2 16 oz. jars of maraschino cherries with stems

For the filling:
1/3 c. butter, softened
7 1/2 oz. jar of Marshmallow Fluff
3 - 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

For the chocolate coating:
2 - 3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 T. shortening

Cream the butter in an electric mixer. Add in Fluff and beat until combined. Gradually add in powdered sugar until the dough is stiff and sticky. You may have to hand knead it to get all the sugar integrated into the dough. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Drain cherries. I set up two cookie sheets covered with wax paper to put the cherries on after they are covered. Break off small balls of dough, flatten with fingers and wrap around cherry. You may want to dip your fingers in powdered sugar between cherries if the dough starts to get too sticky to work with.

Once I've filled a cookie sheet I'll pop it in the fridge to keep the dough stiff. If it gets too warm it will fall right off the cherries when you go to dip them in the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate and shortening in a double boiler over simmering water. Coat cherries in chocolate. I use a big spoon, take a scoop of melted chocolate, then roll the cherry around in it and repeat. (I couldn't get a picture of this because it takes two hands and Jeff was at work).

Pop back in the refrigerator until the chocolate is hardened. Then blow co-workers and neighbors away with your talent in the kitchen. (Keep refrigerated).


Secondly: Spinach Artichoke Dip or The Best Damn Dip in All the Land. Seriously, this dip is crack. My family asks me to make it for every occasion. Lord, I can't even express how good it is.

The recipe is here. It is from Cooking Light, but I doubt it is really all that light. I mean, there are 2 bricks of cream cheese in it. I don't care if one of them is 1/3 less fat, that can't be good for you. The only modifications I make are that I use the whole package of spinach, not half, mainly because I didn't catch that part the first time I made it and dumped the whole thing in, and it worked, so I just do that every time. And I mix all the cheese in with the dip. I don't save any to sprinkle on top, because I found that it just makes an impenetrable layer on top that breaks your chips and crackers. No one wants that.

I also did some baking this week. I made this Eggnog Pound Cake, which was easy and good and used up the rest of a quart of egg nog I had tempting me from the fridge.

Then I made these Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies which I thought would be a party in my mouth, but they were a bit bitter, even for me, someone who loves dark chocolate. If I were going to make them again I would still use the bittersweet melted chocolate in the dough, but I think I'd use semi-sweet chips for that extra 1/2 c. that gets added at the end.

What's Cookin': Chicken Souvlaki Salad

This a recipe loosely based on one from Cooking Light. Very loosely based. Maybe "inspired by" would be more appropriate. It's a good one to make when Jeff is working late because it's good cold, so I don't have to reheat anything when he gets home, and the leftovers are good too.

The original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
• 1-2 cubed peeled cucumbers
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
  
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dill
• 1 package whole wheat pita
  

Preparation

• Combine first 7 ingredients (garlic through chicken breast) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Allow to marinate for a few hours.
  
• Remove chicken from the bag, saute in a pan on medium-high heat until opaque.
• Add onion to the pan and cook until chicken is done.
  
• Combine chicken and onions, cubed cucumber, feta and tomatoes in a large bowl.
  
• Combine yogurt and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over chicken mixture; toss well.
• Cut pitas in half and fill with salad.
  

  

What's Cookin'

Jeff and I have been trying out some vegetarian dinners lately. I've always liked vegetarian food. I think it's more flavorful, it's cheaper and it's obviously healthier. Not that I don't enjoy a burger now and then, but I've never loved the flavor of meat. I've also been looking for good quinoa recipes. I wish I had tried quinoa years ago when a friend educated me on it, but I thought it sounded too healthy to be good. Now I'm hooked. So, when I saw this on pinterest I had to try it.

Quinoa Stuffed Red Bell Peppers. So, so good. The only modifications I made were omitting the celery - I just don't really like the texture of celery hidden in things - and I used chicken broth I had leftover from another recipe instead of water (I know, I know, this was no longer a vegetarian recipe).

This recipe will definitely go into the rotation in our house, and next time I'll try it with vegetable broth instead of chicken to make it a true vegetarian meal.

I've also been baking some.

First, I tried this Pumpkin Coffee Cake to bring to a party. It was so good I kind of didn't want to bring it to the party. I wanted to be alone with it and savor every crumb.

Then I read somewhere about making pumpkin muffins using just a can of puréed pumpkin and a spice cake mix. Meh. Maybe if I had added walnuts or chocolate chips or something they would have been better, but they were kind of spongy and definitely not very pretty. I don't think I'd make these again.