Bread Bowl Shapes

This is a fun item for a party. Rather than doing the round loaf of bread with spinach dip like everyone else does, you know I had to come up with something creative. This is easy and versatile. Create your own new concept!

Christmas Tree Bread Bites with Spinach Dip

2 pkgs. Pillsbury breadsticks*

Mix:
1/4 c. Parmesan
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder

In this case, I used a Christmas tree cake pan, but you can use any shape you prefer, depending upon what the occasion is for your party.

Place a 10-ounce custard cup upsidedown in your pan. The bottom of the pan will end up being the top when you invert it, so you want the bottom of the custard cup facing up right now.

Spray everything with non-stick cooking spray, especially the bottom of that custard cup.

(Sorry I do not have photos of the whole process, but we were getting ready for a holiday party and I just didn't pick up the camera!)

Cut the breadsticks into small pieces and dip them in the mixture of melted butter, Parmesan and garlic powder. Place the bits of breadstick dough in the pan, haphazardly, to cover the edges of the shape and to surround the custard cup.

Bake as per package instructions, keeping an eye on it so it browns to your liking.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter or cookie sheet. Remove the custard cup.

Place the container of spinach dip in the space where the custard cup was.

If you wanted to, you could also just scoop the dip into the center of the bread shape and not use the container.


*NOTE: you don't have to use Pillsbury Bread Sticks; you can substitute other store-bought biscuit dough, pizza crust dough, Rhodes rolls, your own bread dough, or even some Bisquick biscuit dough.
This is the same basic concept as a Monkey Bread, too, so using sweet dough, a butter-sugar glaze, and ice cream topping for dipping would probably work too, although I have not tried that....yet....

Good luck with your cooking adventures!!

Here are more photos from the holiday party (our anniversary in December)

Stuffed Mushrooms:


Goat Cheese Dip:


Brenda's Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips:



Not pictured:
Crab Rangoon Dip with Won Ton Crackers

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Thumper in the sunlight...




Just some cute photos to share, that's all.

Tiramisu

This is a favorite of many, and I took it to the Super Bowl party at Luke's grandparents house. There was very little left by the end of the night.

Tiramisu

2 Sara Lee frozen pound cakes, sliced and thawed*


Mix:
1 c. fresh-brewed espresso
1/3 c. coffee brandy or Kahlua
3 T. sugar


Mix:
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese
1 pkg. (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
2 T. sugar


1 c. heavy cream, whipped
1 or 2 T. cocoa (to sift over top)

1. Layer cake sliced in the bottom of a large, deep-sided casserole dish.


2. Spoon HALF of the coffee mixture over the cake slices, to moisten them, but not soak them completely.


3. Spread HALF of the creamy cheese mixture over the cake in an even layer.


4. Add another layer of cake.
5. Drizzle cake with coffee mixture.


6. Spread the remaining cheese mixture on top.


7. Sift cocoa over the top.



8. Allow to chill in fridge overnight, or 2 hours at the very least. Really, the longer it is allowed to set, the better it will be.



Here are my steps from making the creamy cheese mixture:
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and mascarpone.


Add sugar and vanilla; mix well.


Whip the heavy cream in a separate bowl.


Fold whipped cream into cheese mixture; be gentle!




Nom, nom, nom...





* I bought 2 of the "family-sized" cakes, but had a LOT of leftover cake. I think my original recipe called for two of the regular-sized cakes; you can get ONE of the "family-sized" cakes and that should be enough.

Gripe Of The Day

Note to self:
Not only will olive oil fail to prevent bread dough from sticking to a glass baking dish, it will actually encourage it. Grrrr....

Sweet Potato Bread with Honey Butter

I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker bread machine book, and I only tinkered with it slightly. It sounded really rich and wonderful. It was!

Sweet Potato Bread with Honey Butter

1 c. canned sweet potatoes (or yams), drained and mashed
1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. maple syrup
4 1/2 c. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t. salt
1 pkt. quick active dry yeast

NOTE: to make this in the bread machine, add all ingredients in the order that the manufacturer recommends. Use "sweet" or "basic/white" cycle.

By hand instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast packet and warm water with 1/2 cup of flour, allow it to rest.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the sweet potatoes, sour cream, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt.
3. Measure out the other 4 cups of flour into another bowl (so you don't lose count).
4. Blend the sweet potato mixture into the large mixing bowl with the yeast, then slowly add the flour in to form a dough.
5. Gather dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
6. Allow it to rise, covered, in a warm place for about 60 minutes.
7. Punch down dough and shape in preferred loaf pan. Cover and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
8. Bake at 350˚ for 30-45 minutes, until crust reaches desired color.

Honey Butter
(What you really need to remember is that it is a 2:1 ratio of butter to honey.)

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey

Blend well with mixer. Keep refrigerated.


NOTE: What you see above is *very* soft butter mixed with Blueberry honey, which tends to be a little grainy. Still tastes good, but it has a texture to it that regular clover honey won't produce. This was not necessarily intentional; it was just what I had on hand when I made the bread. We ate it without complaint!



OTHER OPTIONS:


Cranberry Honey Butter

1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1 c. whole cranberry sauce

In small mixer bowl at high speed, beat butter and honey until soft and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add cranberry sauce. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well blended, 2-3 minutes. Cover; store in fridge.


Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 stick butter
3 T. honey
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together with electric mixer. Store in fridge.

"Bananas Foster" protein shake

1 banana, frozen
1 c. 2 % milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 squirts caramel syrup

1. Always put your milk in the blender first, otherwise you'll get a lot of goop stuck to the sides.
2. Add a scoop of protein powder.
3. Add your frozen banana.
4. Add the caramel syrup...use as many "squirts" as you like; I prefer just two.
5. Mix in blender on high until you don't see chunks of frozen banana swirling around.
   

NOTE: When your bananas start getting too ripe and you don't have time to make banana bread, peel them and wrap them in plastic wrap, then store them in the freezer. They will keep for about 2 weeks, possibly longer.


Mmmmm...caramel syrup....

Tough Guy Shows Heart

Cam Barker (above left) in a recent hockey fight

Cam Barker Visits Shriners Children's Hospital

In his hospital bed, 15-year-old Luke Savoie rested uneasily in a morphine fog, barely aware of the visitor entering the room.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, and fellow Winnipeg native, Cam Barker carried with him an autographed jersey as a gift for Luke.

Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago had accepted Luke's difficult case to perform two stages of surgery to correct muscle and spinal defects, resulting from a severe case of scoliosis.

It is like a miracle to see his twisted spine now straight with two titanium rods surgically implanted, increasing his weight by several pounds and his height by close to 11 inches.

This young man, who also has cerebral palsy, loves hockey so much that he plays in his motorized wheelchair. And the opportunity to get a visit from Cam Barker was a joy beyond words. The gifts will always be cherished by Luke.

For a professional athlete to take the time out of a busy schedule to go see a kid in the hospital shows great character and compassion.

Cam Barker, you're all heart. Thank you so very, very much for your generosity. God bless you!


Luke Savoie


Luke, brother Christian, mom Nancy, and dad Joe.

Guacamole

I typically prefer to make my own tortilla chips just by baking cut up flour tortillas. That way, I know they are not loaded with fat and oils, and they taste much fresher. I will still buy bagged chips if I have a lot of things to do getting ready for a party, though!

Guacamole with baked tortilla chips

3 large ripe avocados
1/3 c. sour cream
2 T. taco sauce
6-8 flour tortillas

Cut each avocado in half; twist to separate the two halves.


Chop the knife into the pit so that the knife sticks...

...carefully turn the knife to loosen the pit...throw pit away.

(NOTE: Funny story from years ago: My friend Denise and I were supposed to be going to see a movie, and I was making a little snack beforehand so I'd be able to avoid popcorn at the cinema. Long story short: I cut my thumb while taking the pit out of an avocado. Sliced it a good one. With a serrated steak knife. Ow. Seriously—OW!
It wouldn't stop bleeding, so I called her, chuckling {because I couldn't believe I'd just cut myself}, and said that we'd have to wait to see the movie because I'd just Keyser Soze'd my thumb and was planning on going to the ER. She thought I was kidding at first, then she was mad that we weren't going to the movie! LOL! {she was pregnant and moody at the time!}
And ya know who has no sense of humor? The people who work in the emergency room. When they asked me what happened to my thumb, I jokingly said, "I got in a knife fight with an avocado." Nothing. No laughing; not even a smirk. They just looked at me like I was nuts. So, I clarified by saying, "kitchen accident.")

So, anyways...scoop out avocado with a spoon, or if you have an avocado slicer, you can use that:




Mash the avocado with a fork; make it as smooth or as lumpy as you like. Sometimes I like to leave some chunks in there for texture. Mix in the sour cream and the taco sauce. (Option: you can use salsa instead of taco sauce, if you prefer.)


Cut up the flour tortillas into triangles, place on a cookie sheet—NO OIL!—and bake at 350˚ for about 10-12 minutes or until they just begin to turn brown. Don't over bake them or else they'll taste burnt.


Some people prefer their guacamole cold, so you can put it in the fridge to chill, but if you do, be sure to place plastic wrap *right on top* of the guacamole in the bowl, or else the avocados will start to brown, sorta like apples do if you cut them and expose them to air. I've read that you can use the lemon juice trick to keep your guacamole from turning brown, but I don't want to add the lemon flavor.

Serve with chips and enjoy!

Deviled Eggs

Why are deviled eggs so good?! These didn't last very long.

Deviled Eggs

1 dozen hard boiled eggs
1 to 2 T. mayo
1 t. yellow mustard
salt
paprika for garnish

1. Slice eggs in half.
   
2. Scoop yolks out into a small mixing bowl; mash with a fork.
   
3. Add mayo, mustard and salt to yolks; blend well with fork. Adjust components to your own personal taste preference.
   
4. Spoon yolk filling back into egg white halves.
   
5. Sprinkle with paprika as a garnish.
   
6. Eat and enjoy!

Options:

• Add sweet pickle relish to your yolk mixture.
• Add dried dill seasoning to your yolk mixture.
• Use a pastry bag to pipe the filling into the eggs for a more elegant appearance.
  
• Garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs.
  
• Add tiny shrimp to your yolk mixture.
  
• Instead of the egg yolk mixture, stuff with crab meat and cream cheese. (I've seen Giada do this!)
  
• Garnish with bacon bits.
  

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*sigh* I'm so easily amused...




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(Yeah, good luck with that, Bur...)

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LOL...