When there used to be white Christmases

I had saved all of my old Myspace blogs in my email, and digging them out slowly... of course this year there is absolutely NO snow whatsoever here in New Hampshire. We are taking Ryan, now 4 years old, back here to "The North Pole" this evening to meet Santa in his home, have some hot cocoa and cookies and enjoy the lights. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

~December 2008~

"I'm sure most of you have heard about our Northeast weather lately... we got an ice storm last week that knocked out hundreds of thousands of houses power..

Then got hit with a foot or so of snow the other day.. now getting another foot and 1/2 today and tonight! Got shovels?

 

Way out in the middle of nowhere in Cornish, New Hampshire, there is a "North Pole" We didn't know about it unil last year when a friend of ours showed us. This year we went on a Sat. night , while it was snowing like crazy..next time we will make sure we have snow tires.

The kids enjoyed it, all the lights, which "Mrs. Claus" starts setting up  in September. It takes her 2 moths to take it all down.. they serve coffee, cocoa, and cookies, pass out "snowman poop" (mini marshmallows in a bag).  pass out festive plastic trays, stockings for the kids, candy canes, and give you a baggie of " Magic Reindeer Food ( a mix of oatmeal and colored sprinkles you sprinkle on your lawn to attract the reindeer to your house Christmas Eve).

 

I wonder how much the power company charges Santa for his electric??

This is the kitchen.. it took me a minuite to realize there was actually a kitchen under all the decor!

Part of the living room, my pics came out blurry.. had to delete quite a few, but you get the idea, I hope.. 

 

My little "angels" ha

 

The backyard.. isn't it crazy! And this is only part of it!

The "smoke" is actually MY BREATH.. that's how cold it is up here..

 

 

Today is just laze around the house, take pics of whatever...the roads are dangerous, not going out anywhere.. 

Leaving you with pics of Ryan and a recipe for hot chocolate...

 

2 oz. semisweet chocolate (2 squares)

1/3 cup sugar

4 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

whipped cream or cool whip

Place chocolate, sugar, milk, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat, stirring, until chocolate melts and mixture is well blended.
Add vanilla; pour hot chocolate into cups. garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, cocoa powder..
Hot chocolate recipe serves 4. 

 

Thanks for reading, hope you got some enjoyment :)

Hugs and Merry Christmas!

oh, this is what it's like at 3:50 pm on Sunday... woo hoo!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

You know those people that are so far behind it looks like they are in front of the race? Well, that’s what I feel like. There are so many food ideas in my head, written on post-its, scribbled in my notepad. Bookmarks in magazines and cookbooks and we won’t even discuss the long list in my email and favorites.
Are you one of us? Do you have any pointers on time management? Have you pulled all of your hair out yet?
I guess I will just plug along, seemingly ever so slow and try to get what I can done without spazzing out…
Anyway, back to the original idea for this blog, sweet potatoes. I wanted to bake and stuff them. You can also make these in a small casserole dish instead of back in the shells. I think it adds an extra special touch. Also, toasting the pecans adds another extra special touch, and it only take a couple minutes.

4 sweet potatoes, try to get them the same size so they cook evenly
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup milk, half and half , or heavy cream
1 whole vanilla bean, scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ( optional)
3 Tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans
2 Tablespoons dried cherries
1 Tablespoon butter, for dabbing on top
Wash potatoes and prick with fork. Bake in a 375 oven for approx. 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of your potato.
Remove from oven and let cool. Cut in half and scoop out insides carefully with a small spoon. Place in medium bowl and add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and optional nutmeg. Mix well.
Place mixture back into potato skins. Sprinkle with pecans, cranberries and dot with tiny pieces of butter.
Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Tiramisu de Noel

I had never tried a Christmas “log” before, and i love tiramisu..
Aside from my little mishap with the buttercream. ( after 10 min of mixing it still looked a little separated) It turned out wonderful! The flavors are just right, not too strong, just the right amount of filling, ect.

6 each eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Part skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon Marsala wine (dry or sweet), or 2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon instant espresso or instant coffee
1 teaspoon very hot Water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted butter, at room tempature
1 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1 pinch unsweetened cocoa powder for garnishdirections:
1. Prepare cake. Place unbroken eggs in a bowl of hot water for 2 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350degreesF. Spray an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jellyroll pan with vegetable cooking spray. Line bottom only with waxed or parchment paper, spray again, and flour the paper and the sides of the pan.
2. Break eggs in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on high speed 4 minutes,or until pale and fluffy. Gradually add sugar with mixer running, beating another 2 to 3 minutes. Mixture should be pale yellow and thickened. With mixer running, add milk and beat another 30 seconds, making surethe volume of the eggs stays constant.
3. In a medium bowl, use a fork or whisk to combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder,and salt. Sprinkle half the flour mixture over the eggs and fold in gently by hand using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle in remaining flour mix and fold in gently; be sure to fold against the bottom of the bowl, as the flour will sink. Be careful not to mix too vigorously.
4. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading into all corners. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, or until the surface springs back when poked lightly with your finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. While the cake bakes, cover a cooling rack with a clean dish towel. Sift the cocoa powder over the surface of the towel.
6. When the cake is ready, run a knife along the edge and immediately turn the cake onto the prepared dish towel. Carefully remove the waxed or parchment paper. Roll up the cake in the towel starting with the long side closest to you. Cool to room temperature on the rack, 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Prepare filling. With a food processor or immersion blender, puree the ricotta cheese until very smooth and creamy, about 30 to 60seconds. Scrape down sides, then add Marsala or vanilla, sugar, and mascarpone. Process until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
8. Prepare buttercream. In a small bowl, dissolve instant espresso orcoffee in hot water. Stir in vanilla. In a large bowl, use a mixer onmedium speed to cream the butter until light. Add the dissolvedespresso and beat until well combined. Add confectioners’ sugarand cream and beat on high for 10 minutes. Mixture will first appearseparated, but will eventually come together. After 10 minutes,scrape the sides of the bowl, then continue beating another 2 to 5minutes, until light and fluffy.
9. Assemble the cake. Unroll the cake toward you. Spread the mascarpone mixture in an even layer over the cake, going right up to the edges on three sides ? the long side directly in front of you and the two short sides, leaving1 inch empty at the opposite long side. Gently roll the cake (without the dish towel), starting with the side closest to you, using your fingers to tuck the edge. It’s OK if some cracks appear, as they’ll be covered with the buttercream. Roll the cake completely, ending with the seam-side down. Use the dish towel to help press the cake into an even roll.
Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, November – December 2010