Epicurean Style

Christmas is coming...

...the goose is getting fat....we'll I don't know if the goose is getting fat, but I sure have been watching my jeans get a little tighter and stomach a little pudgier, but heck, it's Christmas I am not sure of another time of year I am surrounded by so many great treats, opportunities to eat out, and cold snowy-no-way-to-possibly-get-exercise weather (don't tell me I could find a DVD exercise and do it on t.v...I'll just admit it, I am too lazy. ha.). 

Well, amongst all the fun and family around I hope you are all finding to time relax and have wound up your Christmas shopping.  If you find yourself wishing you could do one last special thing for your kids, here is a great website...Portable North Pole.  

My sister-in-law, introduced me to it and I thought I would pass it along.  I just shared it with Jackson and he loved it.  It is a website where you enter in information about your child and then they hear/see Santa say things about them/to them.  I love how personal you can make it for each child.  So if you are looking for a little more santa fun, check it out. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Season!  And because no post is really complete without a picture, here is a picture of Jackson with his "Christmas Scary face" as he calls it.  :) Jackson doctored up this picture on Marc's iphone. 

Shortbread

Okay, so I made some really easy and very edible shortbread cookies this morning and thought I would share.  Jackson had a school party and we were in charge of bringing a treat.  I found a shortbread recipe, but changed it slightly, so we could fit the Christmas theme.

 

 

Shortbread

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Gradually stir in flour. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pat into a 1/3-in.-thick rectangle measuring 11 in. x 8 in.
• Cut into 2-in. x 1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork.
• Bake at 300° for 25 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. 

****We made ours slightly different by rolling them into small little cookies and then rolling them in red and green sprinkles.  They still tasted good, but the baking time changed a little.

Duck! Rabbit!

I know our minds are in full-steam-ahead christmas mode, but I was having a little book party (Definition of a book party: we pull out ALL the books on our bookshelf, pop popcorn, and drink "spicy juice" aka soda.  P.S. We LOVE book parties!) with Jackson today and was reminded how much I like this book, so I thought I would share. Plus, maybe you are looking for a last minute christmas gift idea and honestly who can't use another children's book (I'll be honest I am a sucker for a good children's book).    

 

 Amy Krouse has written a lot of books, but this has got to be one of my favorites.  The book is illustrated very simply so children are able to quickly see the optical-illusion.  The dialog gets a laugh out of Jackson EVERY TIME we read it and I enjoy reading it!  Thats huge to me...we have some children's books that make me want to gag when Jackson pulls them off the shelf for me to read. 

 

 

A few weeks ago Marc discovered Jackson had the whole book memorized.  Marc started reading it to him at bedtime and Jackson quickly stopped him and said,"I say that part."  So they went on and Marc read all the lines for the Duck and Jackson read all the line for the rabbit.  I'll see if I can upload a video of him "reading" it.  It's hilarious.

I think the book would appeal to a broad age range.  

You can purchase the book here and watch a short video of the book (without spoiling the ending).   

The book is called, Duck! Rabbit! by: Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtnheld.  

Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine

Love it.  

We got this great little machine about a month ago and have had Ice cream, once if not twice or three times a week since.

Yes, my pants probably aren't quite fitting, but wow, has it been good. 

This might seem like an odd-time to get an ice cream machine, but seriously, are you kidding me...listen to these ice cream flavors...gingerbread, egg nog, peppermint (woot! woot!), cinnamon, white chocolate, yes, those are just a few that we found.    

We have definitely stumbled upon some great recipes---I will share. So make sure you make it to the bottom of this post so you can get the great recipes.  

Lets get to it...

This little baby makes a good batch of ice cream.  Super simple to use and easy-peasy (as Jackson would say) to clean.  A definite plus for me.  

It makes a consistant 1.5 quarts of ice cream.  

You assemble the machine---three parts put onto the base (no biggie), flip a switch (to turn it on), and pour all the ingredients in through a large opening on the top of the machine and about 20 minutes later you have ice cream.  Fresh homemade ice cream!  Oh, and you didn't have to crank a handle on the top...did I make it clear it was an electric machine aka plug it in and walk away.  Just making sure that was clear.  We had one of those hand crank machines when I was kid and after a few cranks all of us kids had lost interest, which left my Dad to crank it for how ever long, until it was done.  

You can get this ice cream maker for a very fair $50.00 (or less).  

You do have to know ahead that you want to have ice cream because you have to freeze the inside bowl for at least 10 hours before using (we now just wash and keep it in the freezer for easy pull out, but this was a surprise to me when I opened to box and promised Jackson we would have ice cream right then...oops.).  I think freezing the inside bowl is something you have to do with most ice cream makers that are under $100.00, I could be wrong, but it seems all the models I can find are that way.  So it's a "You-get-what-you-pay-for" situation and I actually think it is a really darn good deal.  

And by putting up with the pre-freeze bowl, you don't have to deal with rock-salt and ice.

It is also a bit noisy.  We have ours on the kitchen counter top while it mixes and it can cause the noise level to go up quite a bit. 

Well, we LOVE ours and I thought it was definitely something I should share with all of you.

I picked up my machine here. 

Here are some of the great recipes we have found.....

Peppermint Ice Cream

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ice Cream Maker Time: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups  heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup crushed hard peppermint candies 
1/2 cup chocolate chunks (optional)

Directions:

Mix milk and sugar together until the sugar dissolves completely.  Add heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and peppermint extract and stir until completely blended.

Pour this mixture into your ice cream maker.

Add crushed hard peppermint candy to churning mixture.

Peppermint Ice Cream (Custard)

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ice Cream Machine: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2/3 cup crushed hard peppermint candies
1/2 cup dark chocolate sticks (optional)

Directions:

Beat eggs and sugar in a small bowl.  In a saucepan, heat milk until it starts to bubble. Pour hot milk over egg mixture and stir well.  Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes thick and sticks to the back of your spoon. Let chill overnight.

Next day stir in cream, vanilla, and peppermint extract.  Then pour the whole mixture into the ice cream machine.

During the last 5-10 minutes pour in your crushed peppermint candies. 

Gingerbread Ice Cream 

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ice Cream Machine: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts

Directions:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups whipping cream

Directions:

Whisk milk and sugar together to completely dissolve the sugar.  Stir in molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Add heavy whipping cream and blend well.  Pour into your ice cream maker.

Hint: If you want a hint of gingerbread flavor, rather than a full flavor, reduce the amount of spices.

Gingerbread Ice Cream (Custard)

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ice Cream Machine: 25-30 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups whipping cream

Directions:

Place eggs in a small bowl and beat well. Set aside.  In a saucepan, mix milk, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Heat until it just starts to bubble. Pour hot milk mixture over beaten egg mixture. Stir well.  Pour this mixture back into saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes thick and sticks to the back of a spoon.

Chill overnight. After mixture is chilled, stir in heavy whipping cream. Pour into your ice cream machine.

If you are interested in any of the other seasonal flavors that I mentioned feel free to email me and I will pass them along.  :)

Time just keeps ticking.

Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time for a moment.  Yes, many days I spend wishing for the next one to come, for the day that I won't live in a tiny apartment anymore or the day when Jackson and Bennett will truly be able to play together (and I will not have to spend hours pushing cars across our carpet), but for today I just want to freeze time.  It's been one of those mornings where most things have gone right, where Jackson has been wearing a crown all day long (talking being the king of Mars and wanting Alien food for lunch....somebody help me know what that is?!) and Bennett has been far too happy and snuggly.  I thought I may have kissed his chubby checks off, but then when he woke up from his nap I found they were still in abundance.  :) 

  

  Yes, today is a good day.