Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel part 2

Regina inspired me.  Yesterday we baked with  Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel. We made chocolate thumbprint cookies and filled them with the caramel and chopped up M&M's.  They were easy, look festive and taste great. 

Christmas Dinner

We will be hosting a smaller Christmas Day dinner at our house. I'm thinking of doing a Ham and SCALLOPED POTATOES WITH THREE CHEESES (regina's recipe). I am also thinking of Aunt Carole Morrrow's baked fruit but maybe a wintery recipe, I saw one in a magazine. I need other ideas to go with it. We will have Grandma's Christmas Candy and maybe ice cream for desert but I need some veggie and starters.

Christmas Bread

It must be a hold over to growing up but I love making bread for teachers for christmas. Usually I do pumpkin. I did make a chocolate muffin this fall and am thinking of turning that it to a loaf.

I happen today to have a lot of leftover chopped up apples so was thinking of make an apple bread. I found this and thought I'd try Apple-cranberry bread

I also have a lot of bananas and thought I'd do Bridget's chocolate chip banana bread. My question - The apple recipe talks about making the batter and freezing until ready to bake. That would be great! Would it also work for the banana bread? Can I freeze in the aluminum loaf pans I got?

Christmas Taffy

Last weekend my mother-in-law made christmas taffy with 6 grandchildren ages 5 to 10. The kids had a wonderful time. Mine were very excited about getting to rub butter on their hand, something they had never done before. Here is the recipe they used. They made lemon/line and cherry, the red and green colors were great. She divided the candy in half and then put a half of package of koolaide in in each one. Worked great so they could have Christmas colors. I no longer have a picture of the taffy, or the taffy. As Maeve just reminded me it doesn't have to be Christmas Taffy.

Christmas cookies

I'm putting together my list of cookies I'll be baking for Christmas so I can shop for the necessary ingredients and bake them slowly over the next few weeks. So far I'm hoping to make: gingersnaps, chai spice girls, pecan bars, bourbon balls, date and nut balls, peanut butter temptations, creme de menthe brownies and fudge. I was wondering do you have any creative ideas for packaging them to give as gifts.

Simple gifts

It’s nice to make personal gifts for your friends and family, but it’s not so nice being stressed out the week before Christmas and feeling like you have to make personal gifts. So, start now, early, and take your time. Make gifts that will mean something to the recipient, and make them now, while you have the time. They don’t have to be elaborate gifts, or time-instensive preparations, just simple, heartfelt, and just right. Do you and a friend always test and rate the cosmos at the restaurants you visit? Why not make her some cranberry liqueur so you can get together and make your own holiday cosmos on a stressful day?

The vibrant red color of this liqueur is perfect for the holidays. Present it in a decorative glass bottle with your favorite cosmopolitan recipe attached.

Cranberry liqueur

2 c sugar
1 c water
1 12-oz package fresh cranberries
3 c vodka

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and cool completely.

Place cranberries in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until finely chopped. Combine sugar mixture and cranberries in a large bowl; stir in vodka.

Pour the vodka mixture into a large, clean jar; secure with lid. Let stand 3 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking every other day.

Strain the cranberry mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl, and discard solids. Carefully pour liqueur into clean, decorative bottles.

Note: Liqueur can be stored refrigerated or at room temperature for up to a year.

If you don’t have a favorite cosmo recipe, try this one out.

Cosmopolitans

2 parts Cranberry liqueur
1 part Cointreau
½ part lime juice

Mix with 1 cup crushed ice; strain into martini glass. Garnish with a lemon or lime twist.

Appetizer - Proscuitto & Pear

With the holidays coming up, and a couple of events I am hosting or co-hosting, I was looking for some fun, new appetizers. I just came across this deliciously simple looking appetizer. Plus, it looks beautiful! I will be trying this sometime this month and will report back.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/crispy-prosciutto-cups-with-pear?backto=true

Christmas Menu

We are having Christmas with Kate (and fam), Bridge (and fam) and my parents at our house in New Hope. That will be 8 adults and 10 kids, ranging from 16 (that day, Happy Birthday, Will!) - 17 months.  We thought we'd do our menu planning here, so we'd love to hear what everyone else is making and you can weigh in on what we are thinking about. Let the planning begin!