Merry Christmas!

Winter Wonderland and Christmas Candy

It snowed this morning. We got about 2 inches of the heavy wet stuff. It looked really pretty as I let the dogs out this morning to go the woods.
This afternoon Michael and I made our annual Christmas Candy.
We made Peppermint bark: Mint supremes (which I sprinkled with nonpareils too late and they didn't stick. D'Oh!): turtles: mint chocolate candies:marshmallows:
and cherry snowballs:
(will post pics when they are completed!)

Krokaners and accidental art

An annual tradition in my husband's family are an old Scandinavian cookie recipe called Krokaners. They're commonly called, "Bracelet cookies". They're a rich yet delicate sugar cookie and always disappear quickly.
It looks as though I'll soon be adopting this annual tradition. The last 2 Christmases, I've been apprenticing. I'll post a recipe as soon as I remember to write it down.
...At least we don't have to learn lefse.

I was making pear-cranberry chutney the other day and as I was dumping the last of the ingredients into the pressure cooker, I looked down and saw a lovely kaleidescope of colors. The chutney turned out excellent. I may now be brave enough to try my own mango chutney, so we can rid ourselves of our dependence on the store-bought stuff, because goodness knows, it's a panic if we're ever out of the stuff.

Corned beef and Cabbage and a little handspeak

Having grown up on the east coast, I've always had a habit of talking with my arms waving about, gesturing and for emphasis. Some may call this, "Talking Italian", but it's been in my non-Italian family for generations with some of my uncles being experts. (Sometimes, I think this is a strategy for ensuring "personal space", because you don't want to get too close to them or walk up behind when they're telling a story, you might get bopped.) I used to get teased for it when I first left the safety bubble of Bradford County. Yesterday it came to my aid. I was walking into Target, reading my shopping list and determining if my items would fit in a hand basket or if I needed a cart. Once I decided I needed a cart, I walked up to the employee who had just brought carts in from the cold and was lining them up tightly into rows. There were none free, so I had to wait until he was finished and I asked him politely, in my usual half words, half gestures way if I could have a cart. He had a blank look about him and then quietly wheeled a cart towards me. I smiled and said "Thank You" and walked away. About 10 seconds later (my normal brain processing time) I remembered that I had met that employee in a checkout line before. He was behind me in line buying his lunch and the checkout girl was chatting at him rather oddly. She was using plain words and speaking slowly about his recent knee injury. His arms were full with text books and he dropped a soda, so I turned around and picked it up and put it back on the belt for him. He gave me that same plain look again and the check out girl said, "He says, 'Thank You'."
Ahh, now it all fit. He was deaf.
Good thing I talk Italian.

Dinner last night was a pre-seasoned corned beef brisket we picked up at Sam's Club. I simmered it for 2.5 hours and then added cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onions. Very yummy and the long simmer helped the tough cut turn out tender.

Spinach Salad with warm bacon dressing

I love this salad. It's got everything. Bacon, ...and...umm... bacon...
Well, what else do you need?
But really, the balance of sweet and salty and warmth of the dressing along with the crunch of the spinach and the smoothness of the eggs, makes this such a fun dinner salad.

Other than cooking, we've been getting ready for Christmas and just taking care of dogs. Spinner is back to his old self, including being a little snippy with the other dogs. I guess his complacent nature was enhanced by the pain he was in with his broken tooth. He got his first time-out when he snapped at Blayze. She was trying to steal some of the cuddling he was getting last night and he was a little too intense in telling her, "No!".

Doggy bath time and Martini fountain

Can't you just hear her say, "C'mon! Don't take my picture, I'm naked!"?
Miranda needs a bath more frequently than the other three dogs. We have no idea if it's due to her doggy genealogy or how she gets affected by stress, but she can put out a stink that'll make your eyes water. She gets bad B.O.
Here she is drying off with her super hero cape:
The wedding went well. Michael's cousin was married in Minneapolis. The reception was held at a very nice banquet facility above a jazz bar.
I have to say, this is the most ingenious way of utilizing an ice sculpture I have ever seen. Here my SIL is getting her Appletini chilled as it is poured through the ice sculpture.
The whole event was held indoors. I was frightened for a moment that they were going to have us throw birdseed outside the church. Considering it was all of 8 degrees, that would have been insane. Instead they opted for a receiving line after the ceremony. *phew*

Swedish meatballs

It's so tempting to eat hearty and rich foods on such bitter cold winter nights, and we've been having some bitter cold winter nights lately. We've had high temperatures in the low 20's. Even the dogs don't like going out and playing in the snow when it's this cold.
So I thought a nice warm dinner or Swedish meatballs would hit the spot. They're not that tough to make and I substituted venison for beef. I didn't follow the direction for making the sauce, because I had some of MIL's famous gravy in the freezer. I found the recipe here.

Borscht at last

At long last, I found just the recipe for Borscht that I was looking for. I followed the recipe to a "T". This was fantastic. It was a real effort to stop with only one bowlful. It took all day to prepare, but the wait was well worth it. It was a rich, hearty soup full of flavor. I think I'll need to start pursuing more Russian recipes.

In other news, yesterday Spinner and Blayze went to the vet to have their teeth cleaned. This is something they have to have done periodically because they collect tartar like crazy. Spinner actually had a broken tooth that needed to be removed as well. I dropped them off at 8am and picked them up at 4pm. Blayze was still in a daze from the sedative. She was wobbly on her feet. Spinner seemed to bounce back very quickly. We put water on his dry food and them put it through the blender so he wouldn't have any discomfort eating dinner. He wolfed that down with more enthusiasm than I had ever seen him eat with. This morning they both ate their breakfasts without any problems. Spinner seems to be a little perkier than I've seen him in a long time. I guess that tooth was hurting him more than he let on.
Here they both are recovering.

Blayze just wanted to sleep it off.
They're both back to 100% right now.

Well, we're off to wedding this afternoon. The temperature has climbed up to 1F. It was -5F when I woke up this morning. I hope the whole ceremony is indoors.

Fruit Loop Muffins

I was trolling through some food blogs the other day when I came across a unique and colorful recipe for Fruit Loop Muffins. I liked the write up and took the plunge. I didn't get so fancy as to buy actual Fruit Loops, I used the Target brand cereal instead.
In all, I really liked them. They're moist and chewy. The cereal bits turned a little "rubbery" but maybe next time I'll break them up rather than leave them whole. The crushed cereal topping wins big points for presentation. They're not sweet like a cupcake, rather, they're a light fun breakfast muffin.
Something about these muffins really grabbed the attention of the dogs. Maybe it's all the melted butter, maybe they all have a secret fetish for breakfast cereal. Whatever the case, there was always a nose sniffing about 2 inches away from my mixing bowl at any given moment while I was making these.

Nothing like a curry to warm you up

Indian food is so much fun to cook. It's warm, spicy and exotic. I love the way the spices make the house smell like potpourri.
Yesterday I tried to whip up a lentil soup. I'd provide you with the recipe, if I had enjoyed the soup and feel it was worth sharing. As is, it was good for a pretty picture! You'll notice I have three different sizes of garlic cloves on the cutting board. The 2 larger ones are from the farmer's market. The itty-bitty one is from the grocery store. I'll have to get to the St. Paul farmer's market soon and restock my garlic. This stuff is gorgeous and so much better than store bought. I'm running out fast.
I think I prefer a dal, which is more like a spicy lentil stew. This was bland and a little watery. Then again, maybe it was something I did. I have been on a really bad streak lately.
I burned a beef stew, I ruined a turkey frame soup (not my fault, the burner died, It has since been replaced) and we under cooked a chicken. Luckily we haven't gotten sick with all these kitchen mishaps. Maybe it's time to call in a pizza.

Dog park, snow and red velvet cupcakes

Now that December is officially here and there's a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, it's time to hunker down and sip hot cocoa and relax and bake. Nothing like sitting in your kitchen, watching the snow fall and smelling cupcakes in the oven.

After watching a recent episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" on Food Network, we decided to copy the challenger's recipe and see just how awesome cupcakes can be. The batter was stunning and the cupcakes looked decadent. You can find the recipe on Food Network's website, here.
Our take on the recipe: not all that great. She relies on a lot of vegetable oil to keep the cupcake moist. I think this produces a bland, oily cupcake. As you can see, the outer cupcake liner is soaked with oil. If we were to try this recipe again, we'd either substitute shortening, or use 1/3 of the oil called for in her recipe. They also need more cocoa powder, as was mentioned in the TV episode. Overall- Yuck.
My husband is never one to stay indoors when there's snow out. After shoveling the driveway and sidewalk, he wanted to go to the dog park. I guess I should be happy that he's not going out on his snowmobile like everyone else in the neighborhood. I decided to join him and I bundled up, Minnesota style. (After learning how to properly wear the right layers, I can now go out and play in the snow for hours and never get cold. Awesome!)
The dogs loved the dog park. They bounded around in the snow and acted like idiots. We took them on a few trails through the cat-tails. The swamp was frozen over so we had access to areas we normally cannot get to.
The dogs are currently sleeping soundly, scattered about on the rug.

Hand made Advent Calender and Tree selection

Sometimes I take on really big projects that all started with one little idea. I wanted to make my SIL an advent calender with photos I had taken of her family over the last year. The project then grew into a wall hanging with 24 felt stockings and in order to not make the whole thing as big as a bedspread, I had to overlap the stockings which took some creative sewing so I wouldn't stitch up the opening for the photo. This took about 30 man hours over ten days. But it's cute!

Today we went for our annual Christmas tree adventure with my SIL and her family. As you can see it's already snowing pretty heavily here in Minnesota. I took this picture an hour ago. We've had 1/2 inch more snow fall since then. We're expecting another 8 inches tonight.