homemade almond joys

i grew up making chocolates every Christmas with my mom and sometimes grandma.  i have carried on this tradition in my own home since i started my own family.  i love this holiday tradition so much.  yet occasionally it gets a little stressful.  sometimes the candy gets overcooked or undercooked and successive batches are scrapped and much time is lost....or sometimes the chocolate turns white and the resulting chocolates look less than appealing and therefore unworthy of gifting.

that's why i love this recipe so much.  it's mostly foolproof (i'll get to that later), it's delicious and you can seem really fancy when really what you did was super easy.

i got this recipe from my exceptionally talented friend, liz, who has been making absolutely beautiful chocolates and scrumptious fudge for years.

ingredients

1/4 t salt
1/2 C light corn syrup
12 large marshmallows (or 1 and 2/3 C mini marshmallows)
1/2 t vanilla
1 3/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut (available at whole foods or like stores)
1 lb dipping chocolate (i prefer dark for this so i got a 70% cacao guittard, but a good quality milk would work well, too)
whole toasted almonds

directions

heat syrup, marshmallows and salt until melted.  add vanilla and pour over coconut.  stir well.  let stand and cool until able to handle.  roll into balls (it helps to grease your hands).  push an almond into each ball and form some of the coconut mixture around the nut to hold it in place.  dip.

the "mostly" foolproof part comes in the dipping.  if you're using high-quality chocolate, it will be really sensitive to heat, so make sure you melt it slowly.  melting it on low power in a microwave at very short intervals will usually work fine, but you do have to be careful.  then if it's your first time dipping it will take some practice to get them to look nice, but they will certainly taste amazing regardless of what they look like.

fish cakes

some friends of ours gave us a whole bunch of pollock and i've been looking for ways to use it.  the whole family liked this one.

from simplyrecipes.com

ingredients

• 1 lb of cod fillets (or other mild, white-fleshed fish)
• 2 medium-sized russett potatoes
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Grapeseed oil, or other high smoke point oil such as canola oil, for frying--i just sprayed them with cooking spray and fried them on my electric skillet

directions

Boil and mash the potatoes, set them aside.

Boil the codfish until it flakes easkly. Drain and flake the fish with a fork. Be sure to remove all bones.

Mix the flaked fish, the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients together well by hand. If the mixture is too crumbly, add another egg. If too sticky, add some more bread crumbs.

Form the mixture into cakes and fry them on medium high heat in a skillet coated with oil, until nice browned on one side, then flip them over and continue to cook until well browned on the other side.

stuffed acorn squash

i think you really have to love both squash and mushrooms to like this recipe and i really do.

from everyday food magazine.

ingredients

• 2 acorn squash (1 pound each), halved crosswise, seeded, and bottoms trimmed to lie flat, if necessary
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 pound cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and diced small
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, season cut sides of squash with salt and pepper, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and turn cut sides down. Cover sheet tightly with foil and roast until tender, about 35 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a medium straight-sided skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Saute until mushrooms are golden, 8 minutes. Add rice and broth and bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 20 minutes.
   
3. Remove squash from oven and heat broiler. Carefully scoop out 2 to 3 tablespoons flesh from each squash half and stir into rice; season with salt and pepper. Divide rice mixture among squash halves, sprinkle with Parmesan, and broil until melted, 2 minutes.
   

sweet-potato sausage soup

trying new recipes is a risky business.  either you create something fabulous or something fabulously revolting.  i was a little nervous when i started making this for dinner because i thought there was a really good chance it could swing either way.  lucky for me, this time it was fabulous.

i adapted it from everyday food magazine.

ingredients

1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced large
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 large spicy chicken sausage links, casings removed
2 yams (1 lb), peeled and diced medium
4 C chicken broth
2 C water
3/4 C small pasta shells
1 1/2 C roughly chopped swiss chard
parmesan shavings

directions

in a large pot, heat oil over med-high.  add onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened, about 6 min; season with salt and pepper.  add sausage and cook until browned, about 5 min.  add yams, broth and water and bring to a boil.  add pasta and cook 3 minutes less than package directions.  reduced to a simmer, add swiss chard and cook til pasta is tender and chard wilted, about 4 min.  top with parmesan shavings and serve.

sausage, pear and brie calzones

my kids love "pizza pockets." i normally fill them with the typical ricotta, mozzarella, meat and marinara, but this week i was just yearning for something out of the ordinary.  this was absolutely delicious.  just a perfect blend of flavors and textures.  and the fact that i cheated and used a ready-made pizza dough--thus cutting the prep time in half--made the meal all the more enjoyable.  done in less than 25 minutes!

from everyday food magazine.

ingredients

1 pillsbury thin crust pizza dough--i will always make it using this instead of making my own dough.  there's no way i could replicate the light, airy...almost flakiness of this crust.  it was perfect.
4 chicken sausage links, casings removed, sliced and sauteed til brown
1 pear, thinly sliced
6 oz brie, torn off into chunks

directions

unroll dough and cut in half (now you have two smaller rectangles).  on the bottom half of each rectangle arrange the sausage, then pear slices, then brie.  fold top half onto the bottom.  pinch and roll over to seal.  bake @ 400 for 15 minutes.

everyday food magazine adds a few suggestions for other calzone concoctions that might be worth a try.  here they are (i also tried the ham and broccoli version and really liked that as well):

1) mushrooms, artichoke hearts and fontina; 2) ham, broccoli and sharp cheddar; 3) ricotta, spinach and fresh mozzarella; and 4) 3/4 ricotta, 3 tablespoons powered sugar, 3 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 C chopped nuts of choice.

spiced pumpkin bran muffins

a muffin makes the cut at our house if it's delicious, healthy and still moist two days after baking.  these definitely made the cut.  i'll add a titch more ginger next time.

from chefinyou.com

ingredients

• 1 can pumpkin puree (no pumpkin? try sweet potato puree instead)
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat yogurt/fat free buttermilk work too--i used non-fat greek yogurt)
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup raisins--i used golden

directions

bake @ 400 for 20 min.

rolled omelet

i just loved this concept of being able to make a huge omelet all at once and not stand at the stove for an hour, making individualized omelets for each family member.  this way, the adults can have their half with veggies and herbs and "nasty" cheese and the kids can have theirs the boring way.  from everyday food magazine.

ingredients

• Olive oil, for pan
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 flour
• 8 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• add-ins
• cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly-roll pan with oil. Line bottom of pan with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the two shorter sides. Brush parchment with oil.
2. In a bowl, whisk together milk and flour. Add eggs, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper; whisk to combine. Pour into pan. Sprinkle spinach over top in an even layer.
3. Bake until edges of omelet are set, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar; bake until cheese has melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Beginning at one shorter end, lift parchment, and roll up omelet tightly, peeling back parchment as you go. Slice and serve.