A Decadent Dessert, Perfect for Christmas Eve Dinner

Wow, what a night. Last night was my last class of the year at Rolling Pin, Make Ahead Christmas Eve Dinner and it was packed. I usually sell out at 18, but somehow 5 extra students were added at the last moment, and no one remembered to let me know! It all worked out wonderfully, but I must admit, I am exhausted today. Quick post and them I am off for a nap!! Hopefully after a 20 minute power nap, I will be refreshed and ready to start preparing for all the Christmas festivities (and the catered breakfast I have for 30 on Tuesday)

The menu I prepared last night, is my traditional Christmas Eve Dinner

Kris Kringle Soup
Beef Wellington
Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts w/Buttered Pecans
Individual Chocolate Cranberry Cakes with Bourbon Whipped Cream

Before class began, I made a large batch of Duxelle, our filling for the Wellingtons, which is nothing more than sauteed shallots, garlic and mushrooms. I then seared all but a couple of the fillets, cooled them on rack and popped them in the fridge. The beef and the duxelle need to be cooled before you begin assembling the Wellingtons, it makes the puffed pastry much easier to handle! I buttered 23 tartlet pans, leaving one to do as a demo for class and combined the dried cranberries with the Bourbon for dessert. By then all the students began arriving, EARLY. Actually, one student arrived an hour early, but we convinced her that she had plenty of shopping to do in the store!

I began the class by preparing Kris Kringle Soup. It is a secret family recipe, and only those close to our family know the recipe....and the 20 that attended my class last night. Only joking, the recipe is oh so easy, but makes a wonderful start to a very rich meal! While the soup was heating, I made small batch of duxelle, seared a couple extra fillets, and popped them in the fridge to cool. We then served the soup and I moved on to preparing the Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes and the Brussel Sprouts. Potatoes went into the oven as we starting assembling the Wellingtons. We rolled out the puffed pastry slightly and cut each sheet into fourths. We placed a tablespoon or so of duxelle, topped that with a fillet, then wrapped it all up like a little package, sealing the edges with an egg wash. At this point, we had to bake the wellingtons, but they are much better refrigerated for at least one hour or up to a day (the make ahead part) It is very challenging to prepare a make ahead dinner in 2 hours:-)

When everything was baked to perfection, we plated the Wellingtons with the potatoes and the brussel sprouts. As our students enjoyed their dinner, I moved on to making my favorite part of dinner, DESSERT!


I began by prepping our tartlet pan. I needed to cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pans, easy enough, I just remove the bottom, traced it, and cut it out, perfect fit! Then, I demostrated how to coat the interiors of the tartlet pans. I brushed the inside completely with some melted butter, placed the parchment circle in and coated with butter again. I refrigerated the pan until the butter was cold and set, about 5 minutes. I brushed a second coating of butter over the interiors of the pan, chilled 5 minutes more and then lightly dusted it with flour.

While I was preparing the pan, I simmered the cranberries until all the liquid was absorbed, and moved them to a bowl to cool.

I melted the chocolate and remaining stick butter in a small saucepan over low heat, and moved to another bowl to cool.

I pulsed the pecans with some flour in the food processor until finely ground.
In to the mixer bowl went the eggs yolks and brown sugar and I blended them at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. I added chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. I then transferred the batter to a larger bowl and stirred in the pecan mixture and cranberries.

After one of the assistants washed the mixer bowl, I whipped the whites with a pinch of salt until they just held stiff peaks. I folded one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then folded in remaining whites gently, but thoroughly.

At this point, my assistants helped me divide the batter among molds that we had placed on cookies sheets. Makes getting them in and out of the oven so much easier! We baked them for about 25 minutes. Ideally, the cakes need to cool in their pans for about 30 minutes, but we were running out of time and the smell of the chocolate had our students salivating. So we decided to serve them more like a molten cake. I quickly whipped up some heavy cream with some confectioners sugar and bourbon then carefully removed the cakes from each mold, I slid each cake from removeable bottom onto a dessert plate, making sure I removed the parchment paper. We lightly dusted each cake with confectioners sugar and served with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream. They were licking their plates and asking for more, but is was time to go home and we still had a ton of dishes to do. The best part of this menu, everything can be made ahead and all the prep dishes and pans washed and put away before you sit down to dinner!
What an evening. Nap time. Oh yeah, one more thing, I am going to start guest writing for floridafoodies.net. If you get time, check my introduction from Claudia McCants.


Individual Chocolate Cranberry Cakes with Bourbon Whipped Cream

10 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons bourbon
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao if marked) -- chopped
1/4 cup pecans -- toasted and cooled
3 large eggs -- separated
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut out 4 rounds of parchment paper to fit just inside bottom of each mold, then set rounds aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, and brush the molds with some of it. Line bottom of each mold with a round of parchment and brush parchment with some melted butter. Chill molds 5 minutes (to set butter), then brush parchment and side of each mold with more melted butter. Chill molds 5 minutes more. Dust molds with flour, knocking out excess, and set aside.
Simmer cranberries and 1/4 cup bourbon in a small saucepan over low heat until cranberries are tender and bourbon is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Melt chocolate and remaining stick butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
Pulse pecans with flour (2 tablespoons) in a food processor until finely ground, being careful not to process to a paste.
Beat together yolks and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and beat until just combined, then stir in pecan mixture and cranberries.
Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl using cleaned beaters until they just hold stiff peaks. Fold one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Divide batter among molds (they will be very full), then put molds in a shallow baking pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a cake comes out with tip wet and remainder of pick dry, about 25 minutes. (Batter will rise above rims but will not spill over.) Transfer cakes to a rack and cool in molds 30 minutes. (Cakes will continue to set as they cool.)
Beat cream with confectioners sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons bourbon in a small bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks.
Remove side from each mold, then slide each cake from bottom onto a dessert plate, discarding parchment. Lightly dust each cake with confectioners sugar and serve with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream.

Tea for Two? Or Tea for 25!

Today was our monthly Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin and, in my opinion, it was a HUGE success. Of course, my opinion is based on the fact the scones baked perfectly, we had enough filling for all the tea sandwiches, the desserts turned out and all of this was completed in less than 3 hours. Thanks to my assistants today, Brenda, Wendy and Denis, you guys were incredible! With 25 students, it was a VERY busy afternoon!

The tea today was a "Nutcracker Tea" and the menu was

Gingerbread Scones
Roast Beef and Horseradish Tea Sandwiches
Tomato Watercress with Chive Butter Tea Sandwiches
Festive Chicken Tea Sandwiches
Chocolate Pecan Bars
Snowballs

The Scones were very similar to my gingerbread recipe, except I delete the sugar since our desserts were so decadent. We served the scones with Devonshire Cream that is sold at Rolling Pin. I made Tomato Watercress with Chive Butter Tea Sandwiches and
Festive Chicken Tea Sandwiches because I thought the colors were very festive, red and green and when I think of Christmas, I always think of roast beef with creamy horseradish sauce! The dessert recipes are below. The best part of the snowballs are they only take minutes to make and you don't have to bake them. It is a great recipe to do with the kids!


Everyone went home with a small keepsake from me, a Nutcracker!

My next Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin will be January 6 "A Snowflake Afternoon Tea"

Chocolate Pecan Bars

For the crust :
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold butter -- cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg -- beaten slightly
For Filling:
1 stick butter -- softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecans -- chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Make the crust:
In a food processor blend together the flour, the sugar, the butter, and the salt, pulsing the motor, until the mixture resembles coarse meal, add the egg, and blend the mixture until it forms a dough. Press the dough evenly with floured hands into the bottom of a buttered 13- by 9-inch baking dish and bake it in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is golden.

Make the filling while the crust is baking:
In a bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the flour, the vanilla, and the salt and stir in the pecans and the chocolate chips.

Spread the filling over the crust and bake the confection in the middle of the 350°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let the confection cool completely in the dish on a rack and cut it into 24 bars. The bars may be made 2days in advance and kept in an airtight container.

Snowballs

2 1/4 cups cream filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
1 cup pecans -- toasted and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar -- divided
1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup strawberry preserves

Stir together cookie crumbs, pecans, 3/4 cup powdered sugar and coconut in a bowl. Stir in corn syrup and preserves. At this point, it is best just to dig in with your hands to thoroughly combine everything. You want a pretty sticky dough so the powered sugar "sticks" to the balls, but if the dough is too sticky to shape, just add more cookie crumbs.

Shape mixture into balls using 1 level tablespoon of mixture for each. Roll balls in remaining 3/4 cup of powered sugar; roll again to coat well.

Store in airtight container up to 4 days.

Make Ahead Christmas Brunch

My class last Tuesday at Rolling Pin in Brandon was "Make Ahead Christmas Brunch". We had 8 students in attendance and a lot of fun! We started the morning off with Pomegranate Mimosa. A wonderful blend of 2 cups Pomegranate juice, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup triple sec and a bottle of Cava or demi sec Champagne. It is best when everything but the Champagne is combined the night before and chilled, then when you are ready to serve, fill each glass half way with Champagne, when the bubbles subside pour in the pomegranate blend. While they were enjoying their drinks, I prepared a Fruit Salad with Cranberry Dressing, Baked Ham and Broccoli Strata and Cherry Stuffed French Toast with Cherry, Orange, Maple Syrup. The best part of this menu is everything can be made the night before. Then Christmas morning, all you have to do is pop it all in the oven. Oh so easy! The Strata can even be prepared with leftover ham.

Baked Ham and Broccoli Strata

(click here for printable recipe)

2 10 ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli -- thawed and drained
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham -- cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups Swiss cheese -- shredded
1 8 ounce loaf French bread -- cut in 1 inch slices
6 eggs -- lightly beaten
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons dried minced onions
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Combine broccoli, ham and cheese; spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Arrange bread slices on top. Cover with remaining broccoli mixture. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, onion, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Pour over broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Fruit Salad with Cranberry Dressing
(click here for printable recipe)
2 cups cranberries
1/3 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
bibb lettuce
2 large oranges -- peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 large pears -- cored and sliced
2 kiwifruit -- peeled and sliced lengthwise into wedges

For dressing, in a medium saucepan combine cranberries and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 4 to 5 minutes or until berries just begin to pop. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sugar and orange juice. When cool, press mixture through a sieve. Discard cranberry skins. Cover and chill the dressing about 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. (The dressing will thicken slightly as it chills.)

To serve, line 6 small bowls or plates with lettuce leaves. Arrange fruit on lettuce leaves. Drizzle with dressing.

As requested, here are more pictures of my santa collection....or is it an addiction?

Childhood Memories....Christmas Bread and French Toast

As the Christmas Holidays get closer and closer (I swear every year, they come quicker and quicker) I start to reminisce about "the old days". Growing up, Christmas in our home was always magical. To say my parents love Christmas is putting it mildly. There is not a mantle, or table or shelf, or stair, or...you get the gist that is not decorated. They have a Santa collection, a nutcracker collection, a snowman collection.... Christmas is everywhere and of course, has continued into our home. I have all the above, except a nutcracker collection (and no, I do not want to start one!) Last count, I had over 300 Santas, anywhere from a tiny 3 inch Santa to a life sized 6 foot+ Santa. Most of my Santa hold some special memory, a gift from a dear friend, handmade ones from friends and family or a wild shopping spree the day after Christmas.

There are memories all over our home, but some of the best memories are the ones in my heart. My mom finishing my Christmas outfit in the car on the way to midnight mass, Christmas morning waking up and all the lights magically on in the house (did Sana do that), magic snow from the North Pole that did not melt and one memory that still brings back the aroma of my grandmom's kitchen. Christmas Bread. Not a holiday has gone by, that we have not had Christmas Bread. First my grandmother, then my mom made it and now I am making it. It is one of those no fail recipes that I have been making for years. I must admit though, I now cheat and use my KitchenAid Mixer to do 4 minutes of the kneading, then I just knead it by hand for about one minute. Interested in winning a KitchenAid Mixer, visit Amanda's Cookin'. It is so loved in our family, that while my brother was at West Point, one of his Christmas wishes was to have 2 loaves of bread all to his self, so he could take it back with him to NY. Then as our family grew, my children and my nephews would always remind their grandmother to make extra, so everyone could have as much as they wanted. Our traditional Christmas Dinner has always been on Christmas Eve, and it was not unusual for both loaves of the bread to disappear that evening and my mom would be back in the kitchen the next morning making more.
Not too long ago, I decided to try something different with the bread. Unbelievably we had a whole loaf left one Christmas morning, French Toast came to mind, stuffed French Toast to be exact. It is so yummy and so easy to do and can even be done the night before! I take 2 slices of bread, spread one with softened cream cheese and the other with any type of preserves, raspberry or cherry are great for Christmas, but this summer I may experiment with peach or pineapple. Then sandwich the two together. I whisk a couple of eggs with some milk and vanilla extract, heat some butter in a skillet, dip the bread in the egg mixture, making sure I coat all sides, then fry them up in the pan. It is delicious served with powdered sugar or any type of syrup! And it is decedent served with a Cherry-Orange Maple Syrup. The recipe below for the bread is from my grandmother, known to all as Baba. The recipe for the French Toast is a make ahead version.

Christmas Bread (click here for printable recipe)

2 packages dry yeast
6 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs -- beaten
1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
11 teaspoons salt

Mix well 2 cups flour with dry yeast. Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt till warm. Mix with yeast, beat. Add beaten eggs, beat. Add remaining flour. Mix till smooth. Knead for 5 minutes. Place in well greased bowl, turning over to grease top, cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to raise about 1 1/2 hours. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into thirds. Make 2 braids, place each on a well greased baking sheet, cover with a clean dish towel and raise for about 1 1/2 hours. Bake 350for about 20 minutes, or until lightly brown. I always bake both loaves at the same time. To keep them evenly browned, top and bottom, I switch the loaves on the oven racks about 1/2 way through.


Christmas Morning Stuffed French Toast with Cherry, Orange, Maple Syrup
(click here for printable recipe)
French Toast
butter -- for greasing the pan
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons fresh grated orange zest
4 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1 jar cherry preserves
8 slices Christmas Braided Bread or Challah Bread

Cherry-Orange Sauce:
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries -- pitted and halved
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease a large 13×9-inch baking pan with a generous layer of butter.

Whisk together the eggs in a medium bowl with the milk, vanilla and orange zest until well blended. Pour into the baking pan and set aside.

Spread 4 slices of bread with cream cheese and 4 slices with cherry preserves. Sandwich together.

Place the "sandwiches" in the egg mixture. Let stand on each side for 5 minutes to absorb the egg mixture, and sprinkle the almonds over one side. At this point you can bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn over the slices to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Or you can cover the baking pan with foil and refridgerate overnight. In the morning, while the oven is preheating, remove the french toast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

To make the cherry-orange sauce, bring the orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the cherries and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup, cornstarch and cinnamon, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens. Reduce to a simmer until the French Toast is baked.

Serve the French Toast warm covered with hot cherry-orange sauce.

Go Gators!

Last year, we began a new tradition in our home: the Annual Gator Golf Game, followed by the Annual UF/FSU Football Game Party. For those of you who don't follow Florida college football (yes Brie, people who don't watch Gator football do exist), The Florida – Florida State rivalry, sometimes called the "Sunshine Showdown", has been played since 1958 and is traditionally the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For us, the day begins with all those who wish to golf braving the cold temperature to tee off at 10:30 (it was VERY chilly this year, 60's with a light breeze, they had to start off in jackets)
While the golfers are out hacking away, some of us stay home and create. We create decorations, a cake and of course, orange and blue drinks. I create dinner the day before, because the more Orange and Blue beverages we create, the less motivated I am to cook. This year, we had Swamp Caviar, Crab Meltaways, Orange and Rosemary Chicken Legs, BBQ Beef Brisket, Marianted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Potato Salad and Pasta Salad. All I would have to do when our weary golfers came home was put out some appetizers, then just before half time, heat the chicken legs ham sandwiches and the brisket. Too easy!
Another tradition that started last year was our FL Swamp Stadium Cake! A couple of years ago for my birthday, our son presented me with a Nordicware Stadium Cake Pan. I love it. We baked the cake the day before and learned some things from the last year's mishaps. First, since the pan has so much detail inside, you really have to spray it well, everywhere! We used Baker's Joy, going around the pan twice. Last year, a portion of the stadium stayed in the pan and we had to "glue" it back with icing, this year it came out perfectly. Years ago, I took a cake decorating class and the instructor said that the best cake for decorating is a blend of two cake mixes, a pound cake and a regular cake mix. I am not one for mixes, but I must admit, I have been doing this blend for over 15 years and have never had a cake fall. I blended both mixes with all the ingredients listed on each box for about 2 minutes with my KitchenAid. Another lesson from last year, we did not fill the pan enough. It says 2/3 of the way full, but that is very hard to judge. This year, I filled the pan to the bottom on the "field". I knew the cake would raise out of the pan, so I put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath just in case. After about 40 minutes, the cake tested done, so we removed it and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then took a serrated knife and trimmed off the excess so it would sit level. Last year, after we flipped the pan on the foil lined board, we realized that there was no field in the middle. So Brie quickly designed one on the computer and we printed it out. We decided to cover it with plastic wrap to keep the icing off while we were decorating. We had to lift the cake to get the field underneath, and broke the cake in two, a little icing and the crack was repaired. This year, we centered the field on the board, holding it in place with clear tape, we placed the board on top of the pan, lined it up from underneath, then holding it tightly, flipped it. To our amazement, the cake was centered and it released perfectly from the pan. Another addition this year, was to glaze the cake with my Southern Comfort Glaze. We decided to do it for two reason. First, even though the cake blend is good, without a lot of icing on it, it tends to be a little boring. Second, we figured with a glaze it would make the stadium look shinier and would help keep the crumbs to minimum. We were right on both counts. We poured half the glaze over the cake just after removing it from the pan, then poured the rest over the cake after it cooled. We covered the cake tightly with foil, all ready to be decorated the next day.
We made orange, blue and white dots for the gator fans. FYI, this is not a realist rendering of a home game in the swamp, the games are ALWAYS sold out! We did have to add a losers section, not everyone that comes to our party is a diehard Gator fan, I know that is VERY hard to believe.
This year, Brie decided to add a score board. She took some of the trimmings of the cake, cut them into into regtangles, glazed them and decorated them, it really added to the cake this year.


Another thing we added were the palm trees in the front. So easy using toothpicks that have the green frilled tops. We hot glued the toothpicks to the board, then decorated them with green icing. Everyone was warned not to eat them!
Maybe next year we will add a press box and jumbotrons:-)
Just a quick note on the cake batter, because we used 2 cake mixes, we had plenty left. I used the additional batter to bake a cake in my Wilton Christmas Cake Pan. After the cake cooled, I wrapped it in heavy duty foil and popped it in the freezer. I plan to use it during the holidays or chunk it up for a trifle. This cake freezes wonderfully!

We had so much fun doing this cake, don't they look proud?