So, you didn’t exactly get your Christmas shopping done
early this year. In fact, it’s Christmas Eve, and you haven’t started yet. Well,
you’re in luck, because there’s such a thing as this homemade instant hot chocolate
mix. We really shouldn’t be rewarding you for procrastinating, but that’s
exactly what we are doing here.
Not only is this stuff way better tasting, and contains no “how
do you pronounce that?” ingredients, but it also takes just seconds to make,
and you may already have everything you need in the pantry. Just make sure one
of those things is a very high quality cocoa powder.
I’m linking to the same exact Dutch-processed “cocoa rouge" that I used here, so that you can get all the particulars, and hopefully find
something very similar. The better the cocoa, the better the hot chocolate. Or
is it hot cocoa? Either way.
By the way, this will be the last video of the year, and we’ll be taking
a little break until the New Year. Whether it includes homemade hot chocolate or not, I
want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! And, as
always, enjoy!
I’ve never been a big eggnog person, and that’s putting it
kindly. It’s too thick, too sweet, and way too artificially nutmegy. I even did
an anti-nog tweet recently, just for a few cheap, seasonal laughs, but
then I realized I was being unfair to this iconic Christmas drink.
I was basing most of my hating on the stuff in the carton
from the supermarket, which features no booze, and a nutrition label you seriously
don’t want to read. The homemade stuff I’ve had was significantly better, and
so I decided to film this rather easy process, since I get so many requests
this time of year.
This recipe does feature raw egg whites, so there’s a very,
very tiny chance of a foodborne illness. If you’re concerned, please feel free
to use pasteurized eggs, or Google, “how to safely use raw eggs,” or just make
something else.
Freshness is the key here. The freshest eggs, milk, and
cream you can get, and don’t even think about using pre-ground nutmeg. Maybe
this recipe will be the one that finally has you going out to buy that jar of
whole nutmeg and grater, but it really is the key. I hope you give this
luscious liquid custard a try soon. Enjoy!
What these sausage cheese balls lack in sophistication, they
more than make up for with their taste, simplicity, and proven track record for
making party-goers happy. No one goes to a holiday party thinking, “I hope they
serve sausage cheese balls,” but they all leave very grateful you did.
I’m not sure how these evolved into a Christmas snack, but
I bet it has something to do with the fact you can stretch a few pounds
of meat and cheese into enough finger food for a large crowd. They can also be
made ahead, which helps in the old holiday time management department.
This is a recipe where everyone uses the same basic
ingredients, but in wildly different proportions. Look online, and you’ll see
versions with half the amount of biscuit mix, as well as ones with three times
as much. It all depends on how bready verses cheesy/meaty you want your balls
to be.
The bad news is, the only way to figure out your ideal formula
is to test multiple versions. This is also the good news. Speaking of formulas,
this originally calls for biscuit mix (like Bisquick), but I prefer to use
self-rising flour. Besides some added fat, that’s all biscuit mix is, and
a little extra cheese more than makes up for any missing shortening.
If you have some biscuit mix in the cupboard, by all means
use it, but otherwise I see no need to go out and buy a box. If you don’t have
self-rising flour, I’ve given instructions below for how to make your own. I
really hope you give these sausage cheese balls a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes about 48 sausage cheese balls:
1 1/4 pounds raw hot Italian pork sausage meat (just remove the casing from uncooked, link-style sausages)
One of the most common mistakes people make when serving
cheese, is not letting it come to room temperature first, so that all the
flavors can be fully realized. This beautiful, baked stuffed brie takes that principle
to the next level.
I went with a festive, and seasonally appropriate filling of
cranberries and walnuts, but I’ve done this with at least a dozen different
fillings, so don't be afraid to play around.
Believe it or not, Michele and I once had a frozen stuffed
brie business for a brief time, and supplied them to some of San Francisco’s
finest shops. The business was called, “A Better Brie,” and while we moved
on to bigger and better things, we had a lot of fun doing them, and they were
very well received. Candied pecan was our best seller, with caramelized
mushrooms coming in a close second.
What you seen here is exactly how we used to put them
together, so if you weren’t around these parts in the early 90’s, here’s your
chance to taste what you missed. I really hope you give this baked stuffed brie
a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 small wheel of brie (about 6 to 8 inches is perfect)
handful of dried cranberries, chopped
handful of chopped walnuts
enough puff pastry to cover (1/8-inch thick), plus extra for
design
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
-- Freeze for 1 hour, bake at 425F. for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is browned, and the brie is soft.
*By the way, do not skip the freezing for one hour step. The crust
needs to bake to a golden brown before the brie starts pouring out, so it must
be partially frozen when it goes in the oven. If you happen to make it ahead of
time, and put it in the oven frozen solid, then I’d lower the temp to 400, and
give it an extra 10 minutes or so, or until the cheese is runny.
As the old joke goes, these Russian tea cakes might not be
Russian, but at least they’re not cakes. No one knows exactly how these came to
be known as Russian tea cakes, but nevertheless, they are quite delicious, very
simple to make, and visually ideal for holiday entertaining.
And when I say “easy,” I mean really easy. You dump
everything in a bowl, and mix it with your hands until combined. Professional
pastry chefs will lose their minds, since we’re forgoing their precious “cream
the butter and sugar” step, but the final product is identical, no matter which
technique you use.
The only tricky thing here is the baking time, since there
are so many variables. Things like the size of the dough balls, whether you use
a silpat or parchment, how light or dark the sheet pan is, etc., can all effect
the final time significantly.
I think this cookie tends to get under-cooked, and some
recipes call for as little as 12 minutes at 350 F. I like these fairly golden,
so I get that nice brown-butter flavor, and that took me about 20 minutes or
so, which is why I gave such a wide range. Start checking at 15 minutes, and
proceed from there.
Thanks to their snowy appearance, these “cakes” would be
perfect for your holiday dessert spread, don’t feel like you have to wait for a
wedding, or for some Russians to come over for tea. I really hope you give
these a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes about 28 to 32 Russian Tea Cakes:
1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature unsalted butter
1/3 packed cup powdered sugar (plus much more to coat
finished cookies)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (very lightly toast nuts in dry
pan first for best results)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Roll into just slightly larger than 1-inch balls, bake at 350
F. for 15 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden
Crepinettes are probably my favorite type of sausage, both
to make and eat, and that’s all thanks to caul fat; one of the culinary worlds
most interesting and useful ingredients. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the
most bizarre looking ingredients, and that does scare some people off, which is
nothing short of tragic.
The food Gods always reward bravery, and here your prize
will be a very moist, and extremely flavorful sausage patty, surrounded by a
casing that literally melts into the meat.By
the way, things like meatloaf, or even whole roasts, can also benefit greatly by
being wrapped up in this magical membrane.
As I recommended in the video, be sure to get coarse ground
pork from your butcher. The stuff in the meat case is ground too fine, and also
probably too lean. I would say a fat content of about 25 to 30% would be ideal
here. And yes, of course other ground meats will work using this same technique.
The same butcher you get the pork from should also be able to
hook you up with caul fat, but if for whatever reason they can’t, it’s easy to
find online. I think it’s well worth the effort, as anyone who has enjoyed these can attest. I really do hope you give this
a try soon.Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Crepinettes:
1 1/2 pound coarse ground pork (about 25% fat)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup chopped pistachio
2 tablespoons diced dried apricot
1 rounded teaspoon very finely sliced fresh sage leaves
1/2 pound caul fat (this will be enough for probably 8 crepinettes,
with extra to spare)
