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♪ ♫ ♪ A Symphony In The Kitchen ♪ ♫ ♪

♪ ♫ ♪ A Symphony In The Kitchen ♪ ♫ ♪

Monthly Archives: December 2012

Plan and Organize

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Christine in Techniques & Tips, Uncategorized

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It always seems everyone gets so overwhelmed during the holiday season.  There always seems like so much that needs to be done.

I love this season!  From October through the end of the year – it is my most favorite time of year!  I love the cooler weather; Rob and I celebrate our anniversary; we host our Annual Christmas Decorating Party and Holiday Open House; and we get to enjoy numerous gatherings with family and friends.

So how does one find the time to get everything done for the holidays with so much activity going on??  Plan, plan, plan!!!  It’s as simple as that!  I want to enjoy the holiday season as much as possible without having to worry about cooking all season long!  People often think I’m crazy, but I actually start planning for Christmas over the summer!  Many of the foods I make for the holidays can easily be prepared in advance and frozen for when I need them.  In August/September of this year I prepared meatballs, lasagna, sausage and peppers, tomato sauce, soup, and crab cakes, among some other dishes and froze them for the holidays.  They will freeze just fine for a few months!!!  So why stress?

I spent a handful of weekends making and preparing dishes for our holiday events and dinners.  I put them all in the freezer and pulled out what I needed in advance.   I pulled out my frozen dishes for our holiday dinner over the course of a week and they defrosted perfectly in time for Christmas.

I also love to bake throughout the holidays.  A great trick is to pre-measure all of your dry ingredients in advance.  I write out the measurements for my wet ingredients on the outside of Ziploc bag with a Sharpie marker and then pre-measure my dry ingredients and put everything in the bag.  Be sure to read your recipe and pre-measure everything out correctly.  For example, if the recipe says to cream your butter and sugar, I would suggest pre-measuring your sugar in a smaller bag and putting it inside the larger bag so you have everything you need.  Doing this makes my life so much easier!  It doesn’t seem like measuring out ingredients takes a lot of time, but you would actually be surprised how much quicker it goes having so much already done!

Another great trick is a basic culinary technique called mise en place (mees-on-plas).  It is a French term meaning “everything in its place.”  When you are preparing a meal, read the recipe thoroughly from start to finish and measure out all of the ingredients you will need to make the dish.  Then when it comes time to add that ingredient, all you have to do is add it.  You don’t have worry about burning what’s on the stove while you stop to measure!  Mise en place is especially great when you are making soup.  Homemade soups often call for numerous vegetables and having everything peeled and diced in advance makes things so much easier!

While I realize you can’t prepare everything in advance, I try to do as much as possible even a night or two before.  Our Christmas Brunch menu this year will include deviled eggs and some homemade orange cranberry scones.  I’ll be making the scones over the weekend as well as hard-boiling and de-shelling the eggs for deviled eggs.  Once they’re cooled enough, I will half them and put the egg white halves in a Ziploc bag, then remove the yolks and make the filling and put that in a Ziploc bag.  When I’m ready to serve, I just cut a small hole in the tip of the bag and pipe my filling into the empty egg white halves.  Voila!  Deviled eggs and I don’t have to do any work the day of!

Many hosts/hostesses serve a vegetable tray for their guests.  Save money by cutting up the veggies yourself!  Cut your veggies a couple of days ahead of time.  Layer your vegetables with paper towels in a Ziploc bag to absorb the excess moisture and you’ll still have fresh, crisp vegetables for your event without having to spend so much time cutting them up the day of your party – or spending a lot of money on pre-cut vegetable trays.

I also have numerous recipes – on paper, on index cards, in cookbooks, in recipe boxes – you name it!  Last year my husband bought me an iPad for Christmas and I found a fabulous app called “Pepperplate.”  I have used it to organize all of my recipes and to create a digital kitchen for myself!  It is very versatile as well.  You can import recipes by just copying and pasting website addresses (provided the website is supported – but they have dozens that they do support such as foodnetwork.com, allrecipes.com, and Martha Stewart).  You can also manually enter your own recipes as well.  What I really love about it is that automatically links to its own website.  When you log in using your ID and password it automatically updates the recipes you entered whether you entered them on your iPad or on your computer!  I absolutely love this app!!  It has really helped me get my recipes well organized.  If you have an iPad, you won’t regret downloading this app for a little added help in the kitchen!  Now I don’t have to worry about losing a recipe card or piece of paper – all of my recipes are in one central location!  It’s also great because I can set my iPad next to my workspace in the kitchen and have the recipe I need right in front of me – complete with ingredients,  instructions, and a built-in timer!  I highly recommend Pepperplate.

So, while I haven’t shared a recipe with you on this blog post, I certainly hope that I’ve given you some great tips and tricks to making your holidays – and entertaining in general – a bit less stressful!!

I hope each of you and your families had a very Merry & Blessed Christmas and wishing you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!!

Peppermint Bark

18 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by Christine in Candy/Confections

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Tags

peppermint, Peppermint bark, white chocolate

While I am not a big fan of peppermint, Rob absolutely loves it.  He loves Peppermint Patties, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and especially this time of year – peppermint hot chocolate and my homemade peppermint bark.  It is perfect for the Christmas season and makes a great gift as well!!!!

Just in time for Christmas, enjoy this delicious combination of creamy white chocolate and crushed candy canes!!

Wishing each of you and your families a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!!!

image4

Peppermint Bark

24 oz. white chocolate chips
12 candy canes, crushed
1 tsp. Peppermint extract

1)  Using a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips until smooth.

2)  Add crushed candy canes and peppermint extract. Mix well.

3)  Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and pour chocolate mixture onto prepared sheet. Refrigerate until set (about 15-20) minutes.  Break up into pieces and store in an air-tight container or Ziploc bag.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Christine in Appetizers

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Tags

Italian sausage, mushrooms, stuffed mushrooms

I have always loved hosting gatherings at our home and serving up tons of delicious food!! We frequently have people over and I find myself making the same things over and over again.  I wanted to do a stuffed mushroom appetizer, but most of the recipes I’ve found were stuffed with spinach or crab.  Rob is not a big fan of spinach and he’s allergic to shellfish.  So what to make?

I happened to be watching Barefoot Contessa – Ina Garten on Food Network and she was making stuffed mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage.  Hmmm – something a little different!!  I was salivating by the time she was done making them and knew I had to try them!!  I gave them a whirl and they were a tremendous hit!!!  They are never around very long at any of our parties and Rob loves that he can enjoy another delicious appetizer on the menu!!’

The Japanese style (Panko) bread crumbs give it a nice texture and the mascarpone cheese make it deliciously creamy.    Paired with a sweet Italian sausage, it is a rich and delicious combination that is perfect for a Fall or Winter gathering!

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

16 extra large white mushrooms (stuffer mushrooms)
5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp. Marsala wine
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage (ground or removed from casings)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup Japanese style bread crumbs (Panko)
5 oz. Mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder to taste

1)  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2)  Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely.  Set aside.  Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.
3)  Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté about 4-6 minutes.  Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it’s completely browned.  Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes.
4)  Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients.
5)  Turn off heat and swirl in the mascarpone.  Continue stirring until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy.  Add the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste.
6)  Allow mixture to cool slightly so you can handle it.
7)  Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture.  Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 45-50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty and mushrooms are cooked through.

Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

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