Getting Ready for Xmas

Living in Australia, I'm learning to take joy in the small traditions I can claim as my own during the Christmas season. You see, this Chicago native is having a very hard time adjusting to Christmas in the sun. Last year on Boxing Day, I closed the curtains, put on Christmas movies, and pretended it wasn't warm out. Christmas eve and day had just about killed my holiday spirit, so it was time to get back to basics. This year, on top of the Wassail and Rum cake I made last year, I'm going to make a few of the meals my family traditionally makes for Chrissie. Xmas eve we'll be having homemade pizzas.

"Red" pizza
Spread some pizza sauce on crust (jar or can from the store)
Add pepperoni slices and any other ingredients you desire
Top with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella and some romano cheese
Bake according to directions on pizza dough

"White" pizza
Spread crust with olive oil
Spread diced garlic on top
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, perhaps a little oregano
Top with mozzarella (not as thick as you do on the red pizza; more like a sprinkling)
Bake according to directions on pizza dough

On Boxing Day, pasta!

Baked Ziti
1 pound of ziti
1 cup grated Romano (or Parmesan if that's what you like, or half and half)
2 cups grated mozzarella
16 oz fresh ricotta (if you can't get this use a 15 oz container from supermarket)
1/4 cup fresh or 1 TBS dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
egg
salt and pepper

Put all the above in a bowl and mix it up - except for the pasta. Cook pasta very al dente - almost to the point of being hard as it will cook more when you bake it. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pan, add a bunch of sauce to it and mix it up. Then add cheese, spice, and egg mixture and mix it all up.

In the bottom of a lasagna pan, or other large pan (13x9) pour 2 ladels of sauce, or as much as it takes to liberally coat the bottom of the pan. Then add more sauce to the pasta mixture so it's really moist because after it's baked the sauce will soak into the pasta, making it dry, mix it up and put it inot the pan you coated with sauce. Pour more sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese (mozzarella or romano or parmesan - whatever you have) cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes at 350F. When you serve it you can always add more sauce and cheese.

Chocolate Stout Cake w/Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

I found just the thing to make for St. Paddy's Day, although I changed it up with Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (very lovely in it's own right) in place of the Guiness. And since I doubt I will be able to find shamrock sprinkles here in Oz without ordering them from USA Foods, some green food colouring made it's way into the frosting.

1 c unsalted butter
1 c stout
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c all purpose flour (or self-raising flour and no baking soda or salt)
2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c sour cream

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, remove from heat and let cool a bit. Mix in the stout and cocoa powder. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. Mix the stout mixture into the egg mixture. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour the batter into one or two greased and parchment lined circular cake pan(s). Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean; about 20-30 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 c confectioners sugar
3 tbspn Bailey’s Irish cream (or other brand, or some vanilla if you don't want to use Bailey's)
green food colouring or sprinkles to top!

Mix everything together. Frost cake when cooled.

Passionfruit Cake

Steve brought home 7 passionfruits from work Friday, so I decided to make something with them, especially as they wouldn't last long in this heat. I did a quick on-line search and found this recipe for passionfruit cake. It's really amazing, so I may need to try more from Amanda.

Cake:
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c passionfruit pulp (about 3 fruits)

Icing:
1/3 c butter (75 grams)
2 c icing sugar
4 passionfruit

Cake:
Separate eggs. Beat yolks and sugar together, gradually add flour and passionfruit pulp.The mix will be very dry. Beat egg whites stiff with a clean beater. Gently fold into the mixture (will be moist now). Bake 40 mins at about 160C.

Icing:
Beat butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add icing sugar and passionfruit pulp.

Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories

I recently did a review on Patty Pinner's other book, Sweety Pies. If you like that one, you will also love Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories. It's just as good but rather than only containing pie recipes it also has recipes for cakes, puddings and the like. The stories that come along with all of the recipes are delightful, and make the sweets seem that much more appealing.

Christmas at Our House

I'm stealing other people's recipes for Christmas eve and Boxing Day, and eating at the in-laws on the day, aside from brekkie.

Christmas Eve
Wassail in the Crockpot, from A Year of CrockPotting
Lamb Rogan Josh, from Boozy Susie

Mary's Rum Cake:
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
glace cherries (my optional addition to the recipe)
1 18 1/2 oz. pkg yellow cake mix (or make your own!)
1 3 3/4 oz. pkg Jell-o vanilla instant pudding/pie filling
4 eggs
1/2 c cold water
1/2 c oil
1/2 c dark rum

Glaze:
1/4 lb. butter
1/4 c water
1 c sugar
1/2 c dark rum

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease & flour 10" tube or Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts & glace cherries over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Bake 1 hour. Invert on serving plate after cooling on wire rack. For glaze, melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Prick top of inverted cake with toothpicks and drizzle and smooth glaze over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze and repeat until glaze is used up.

Christmas Day
Shrimp & Blue Cheese Oysters for brekkie, the latter from Intercourses, an Aphrodisiac Cookbook

Blue Cheese Oysters:
1/2 c cumbled blue cheese
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 c seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tbsp butter, softened
8 shucked oysters, on the half shell

Mix blue cheese, garlic, breadcrumbs and butter. Arrange oysters on a baking tray and top with mix. Bake at 350F for about 10-12 minutes.

Boxing Day
A cheese, pate and olive platter
Paula's Ribs
Homemade Cole Slaw, from Closet Cooking

Grandma's Sunshine Cake

I don't actually remember my Grandma making this, but I know she'd love the internet, so I'm going to post a few of her recipes in remembrance. She got a word processor in her 80s and would have had a computer mastered if she was still living. Anyway, Grandma's recipes were fairly basic, and I remember her buying toaster strudel for me everytime I went to visit, but what she did cook was good.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can madarin oranges w/juice
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
Icing
1 can crushed pineapple
1 container Cool Whip (If anyone knows where I can get this in Australia please advise!)
1 package instant vanilla pudding

Beat all together cake ingredients together until light and fluffy. Bake at 350/180 in 13x9x2in pan for 25 minutes or until brown. Cool before icing. Mix icing ingredients together until well mixed. Ice cake and keep in fridge, especially during the Adelaide heat waves!

Pineapple Cake

Made this the other day and everyone loved it! Soooo easy!!

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 large can crushed or chunk pineapple with juice(do not drain)sweetened or not.
2 cups nuts

Mix first 5 ingredients in large mixing bowl. Stir very well with a spoon. Do not use a mixer! Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees in oven for 35-40 mins. Let cool in pan 10-15 mins. Remove from pan if desired. Frost when cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg Cream Cheese
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg powdered sugar
milk

Let cream cheese and butter soften at room temp. Add vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. (Don't think I used a whole pkg.) Add enough milk for desired consistency (usually 1 to 2 TBS). Frost cooled cake.

How about a nice healthy Carrot Cake???

1 1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup undrained pineapple
2 cups grated peeled carrots
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flaked coconut

Cream eggs, sugar and add oil; add the flour alternately with the pineapple, carrots, vanilla, soda, cinnamon and salt and beat until well blended. Add the nuts and coconut. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Make sure you test it with a toothpick first because I find that it usually takes me closer to 60 minutes for this cake to cook.

Frosting:
1 stick butter (margarine doesn't taste as good)
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat well until blended. Spread over cooled carrot cake and sprinkle with more chopped nuts.