Joy in the Kitchen!

We're trying out some fun new dishes for our New Years Eve festivities!  I just finished making this one and it is SO good!  I saw a recipe idea online and changed it for what's in season and my own tastes.  The Cinnamon Crisp recipe can be found in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  This salsa is so fresh and bright, it brings a taste of summer to these bleak winter days.  What a great way to ring in a new year, serving something so bright and hopeful!   I hope you enjoy it as much as we are enjoying it! Fresh Fruit Salsa 3-4 kiwi 2 golden delicious apples 1 C. raspberries or strawberries (I used frozen) 1 pear, Bosc, Bartlett, whichever you prefer or is in season 1 T. lemon juice 1/4 C. strawberry or raspberry jam (I used my homemade freezer jam for a good color) 2 T. brown sugar 1 T. honey 1 T. sugar In a small bowl, mix jam, sugars, and honey.  Set aside to let the sugar start to dissolve.   Peel, core, and finely dice pear and apples, place in small bowl and sprin

Here is a terrific appetizer for New Years Eve!   Simple to make, and I haven't met a person yet who doesn't absolutely love it.  Kara Age is pronounced sort of like Kahdah Ahgay you have to sort of roll the "hd" like you roll an R in spanish but not quite as hard. (my own phonetic spelling there... take it for what it's worth!)  My husband spent 2 years in Japan on a church mission. He loved so much of the food. Oddly, this wasn't one of the dishes he tried there!  However, when we were first married, and had our first internet connection, we searched for Japanese food recipes and this one came up.  It has been a favorite for years. This requires deep frying, but I just use a 2 quart pan and about 3 inches of oil.  You marinate this for a few minutes prior to frying, so be sure to start this about 1/2 an hour ahead of time.  As a time saver, you COULD mix up the marinade early and cube the chicken, but you don't want to mix them together too soon

These little mini tarts are eye-catching and tasty!  With cherries on top, they make a festive holiday dessert.   In the summer, fresh blueberries or strawberries are a nice way to add flavor and color.  If you choose to use boughten pie crust dough, this project would take about 1/2 an hour from start to finish.   It is helpful to have a few "tools".  A few years ago, my niece was selling Demarle at Home products.  I purchased my tartlet sheet and cutter from her. You can see it here .  You can use a mini muffin tin instead - and a 3 inch cutter is about right.  I'm not sure where I got my mini tart shaper from Pampered Chef.    Hunt through what you have on hand - I'll bet you have tools that will do the job. Cherry Cream Cheese Mini-Tarts 1 recipe of pie crust dough (found HERE ) OR a box of rolled pie crust dough... enough for 1 double crust pie Filling: 3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened 2 1/4 C. powdered sugar 1 T. vanilla flavoring 1 can cherry

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can... you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"  Oh!  That was one of my favorite childhood stories!  Suspense, tender moments....  :)     Somehow though, Gingerbread Men seem to signify a traditional Christmas cookie to me and Christmas time is the only time I make them.  They're not hard to make, and even easier to eat.  LOL This recipe will make approximately 3 dozen 2-3 inch little men.  A heavy duty mixer is easiest to mix it in as the dough is a little stiffer than sugar cookie dough.  If you don't have a heavy duty mixer, mix it using what you  have, adding the flour a little at a time until you can hear your mixer start to bog down.  Knead the rest of the flour in by hand.   The dough is great for gingerbread houses as well.  Just line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil, roll the dough out on that and cut out your house pieces.  Remove the scrap dough from around the pieces and then bake!   Gingerb

I had never heard of Biscotti until a few years ago.  I saw beautiful, tall containers of it in stores right around Christmas time.  I hunted around looking at recipes and ended up combining a few to get the result I wanted.  I looked on Wikipedia for some history on Biscotti.  I found that in North America, Biscotti are twice-baked cookies.  Wikipedia gives quite a bit of information do you know that biscotti is the plural form?  If you're referring to only ONE cookie, you have a biscotto.  Who knew?!?... if you'd like you can check that out here. Biscotti is very dry and crisp and is often served with a beverage to dip it in.  We dip ours in Hot Chocolate and LOVE the chocolate variety. You can make a vanilla biscotti by omiting the cocoa. Chocolate Biscotti 1 C. sugar 1/4 C. butter 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 2 C. flour 1/4 C. baking cocoa 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/3 C. sliced almonds if desired Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Crea

I'm pretty sure the most common name for these tasty little cookies is a Mexican Wedding Cookie.  I've also heard them called Sandies - or Pecan Sandies if you use pecans instead of walnuts.  WE call them Snowballs cookies because we mainly make them at Christmastime.  This cookie freezes well. Come to think of it, I suppose ALL cookies freeze well... it's the taste and texture AFTERWARDS that is the issue. :)  Snowballs maintain their taste and texture wonderfully after thawing.  I'm doing up a bunch right now to use for Christmas in a few weeks.   Snowballs or Wedding Cookies 1 C. butter (not margarine!) 1/2 C. sugar 2 tsp. water 2 tsp. vanilla 2 C. flour 1 C. nuts, finely chopped (walnuts unless you want pecan sandies - your preference) Blend the sugar, butter, water and vanilla.  Add 2 C. flour and the nuts and mix well.  Cover and chill for a few hours.  Roll in balls about the size of a walnut.  Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 d