rudolph the red-nosed reincookies

not only super easy and festive, these are also the cutest little cookies you'll ever see.

but first:  my apologies.  the dreaded coral bowl is back with a vengeance.

start with some butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar
cream until light and smooth, about 2 min on medium speed.

add egg and vanilla, beat well (forgot to photograph that step!)
 add flour, baking soda, and salt

mix until combined well.  it will be a sort of crumbly dough

roll into 1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.  bake for 8-10 min

in the meantime, get your red m&m's, mini chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces ready

as soon as the cookies come out, stick the pretzels in the tops for antlers

red m&ms in the center for noses ("m" side down, of course)

and mini chocolate chips for eyes.  i find it easiest to put them in pointed
 side down so they stick in the dough better, but that's up to you

and there you have it, rudolph the red-nosed reincookie.

wasn't that easy?

rudolph the red-nosed reincookie.

ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

~30 red m&ms

~60 mini chocolate chips

~60 thin pretzels, broken into 1-inch pieces

method

preheat oven to 375

grease 2 cookie sheets (i use floured baking spray)

in large mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium speed until light, about 2 min

add vanilla and egg, beat well.

mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until a crumbly dough forms

roll into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart

bake 1 sheet at a time for 8-10 min.  cookies should be set and bottoms golden

immediately place 2 pretzels on top for antlers, 1 m&m in center for nose, and 2 chocolate chips for eyes.

giggle and enjoy.

things that taste good thursday

stadium nachos.

however, a redskins victory would have tasted much better

i'm gonna bake you a love cake

you can't eat paintings

a recent gchat conversation with my smart and witty friend greta

Greta: how was the steak and mushrooms? :)me: yummyyyyy

  Greta: also i want to say, i'd like to thank you and chau for inspiring me to cook

  it's actually a lot of fun

 me: aw yay! that just made me all warm and fuzzy

  Greta: and i feel so accomplished afterwards

 me: yes! cooking is fun dot com dot org!

  

 Greta: hahahahaha

 me: it's like an art

  you are making this thing

  and it's delicious and gratifying

 Greta: exactly!

  you can't eat paintings!!

things that taste good thursday

swedish fish.

the best thing to come out of sweden since IKEA

green bean casserole (even though i loathe green beans)

another thanksgiving recipe that easily transitions to the christmas dinner table.  i wanted to try making this without using any canned products (except the fried onions, of course), so i found a few recipes to guide me and kind of did my own thing.  another great success with barely any leftovers.

start by boiling 2lbs green beans in a large pot of chicken broth for 10 min,
then drain and set aside

then slice 1lb assorted mushrooms and 2 shallots

melt 2tbs butter and 2tbs olive oil in a large sautee pan

add mushrooms and shallots

sautee until mushrooms have released all moisture (10-15 min)

at this point i added a few tablespoons of sherry to deglaze the pan, and then poured in 2 cups heavy cream

stir it and add some herbs ( i happened to have fresh sage, and some dried chives)

stir and bring to a light boil

add green beans to the dish

stir to coat (this was difficult for me because my pan wasn't quite large enough!)

add to a casserole dish (this was too deep so i moved it to a shallower one)

bake for 30 min at 375.  add french's fried onions to the top and return to oven for 5-10 more minutes

the green beans will be cooked and the onions will have started to brown.

despite my hatred for green beans, i must say this casserole was rather delightful.  i've already been enlisted to make it again for christmas!

green bean casserole

ingredients
2lbs green beans
~2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth
1lb assorted mushrooms (I used 8oz button, and 8oz baby bellas)
2 shallots
2 tbs dry sherry or white wine
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs herbs ( i used 1tbs fresh sage, 1tsp dried chives)
1 (2.8 oz) can French's French Fried Onions

directions
preheat oven to 375
boil chicken broth in large pot and add green beans.
boil for 10 min.  drain and set aside
slice mushrooms and shallots
melt butter and olive oil in large sauté pan
add mushrooms and shallots and cook until mushrooms have released moisture, 10-15 min
add sherry to deglaze pan - scrape up any browned pieces that are sticking to the bottom (but do not discard - these are full of flavor!)
add cream and herbs, stir, bring to a light boil
add green beans to dish and stir to coat
transfer to a 9x13 casserole dish, bake for 20 min
slide oven rack out and top casserole with fried onions.  continue baking for 5-10 more minutes.  liquid will be hot and bubbling, green beans will be cooked, and onions will be lightly browned

satisfaction guaranteed.

things that taste good thursday

dove sugar free chocolates

peanut butter creme is my jam, but the corny messages about love have got to go