Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you all are having a wonderful day with family or friends (or both!) My family is gathered in the North Country of the Adirondacks snuggled down in the house, with a fire roaring and gift wrappings everywhere. The cat and the dog are passed out on the couch, having both endured an all-morning photo shoot after Santa brought me a fancy-pants new camera! (Thanks, Santa!) Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone and in the spirit, here are some Merry Berries!

Note: start this recipe the night before, as the first step involves soaking overnight!

Merry Berries (makes 6-8 cups, adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
2 packages Fresh Cranberries
2 cups Sugar
More sugar for rolling

Pick over the cranberries and remove any that are mushy or have soft or brown spots. Discard and put the remaining cranberries in a large bowl.

Make a simple syrup by boiling two cups of water and whisking in the 2 cups of sugar. Return to a boil briefly then remove from heat and let cool almost completely. When the simple syrup is cooled, pour over the cranberries in the bowl, stir, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, stir the cranberries again, then drain and spread out into a single layer on plates or a cookie sheet or two. Sprinkle sugar over top until berries are covered:

Allow two dry for another hour or two (longer is better). Stir and sprinkle sugar over the top. Continue the drying, stirring, and sprinkling of sugar until there are no more visible sticky/wet spots on the berries, and all are covered with sugar! Leave out to finish drying, then serve with a cheese plate or in champagne… or any time you feel like a tart snack!

I can’t wait to tell you about this recipe from Joy of Joy The Baker. It’s sweet, salty, and perfect for giving away this Christmas season, or keeping all to yourself! But first, I have some housekeeping to do…

I’ve been so busy with shopping and wrapping and shoveling and baking and cooking and etc etc etc that I’m afraid I haven’t had too much time to post this month! Well now I have a stockpile of recipes to show you and I will work on getting as many up as possible ASAP! But first, a big THANK YOU to Bridget over at Yellaphant for a lovely little blog award! I promise I’ll pass it along to some worthy bloggers

Now, on to the Nuts!

Roasted Nuts with Cocoa and Salt (fills 5 one-quart mason jars, feel free to adjust amounts, from Joythebaker.com)
8 cups Mixed Nuts (I used walnuts, pecans, and macadamias)
2 1/2 sticks of Butter, salted, sliced
5 large Eggs, whites only
2 1/3 cups Sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Cocoa
3 Tsp Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 325. Spread the nuts out on a good quality cookie pan (half sheet if you have it) — you may need more than one depending on the quantity you’re making. I used two half sheets. Toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Set aside. Scatter butter slices on the pan and return to the oven to melt, which should only take a minute or two, then remove pan from the oven and set aside.

Whip the egg whites with a hand beater (or if you have it, a stand mixer) until they just begin to form peaks. Continue to whip on medium, while adding in the sugar. Whisk for another minute or two, then sprinkle the cocoa on top and fold that in until well incorporated:

Pour over the toasted nuts, and stir to coat evenly.

Scoop the nuts onto the butter-covered sheet. Try to spread a little if you can, but not all the butter will be covered and that’s OK. It will get incorporated over the course of cooking and stiring the nuts. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and stir the nuts, incorporating more of the butter and breaking up the meringue. Back to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove and stir the nuts again. At this point the meringue should be drying out a bit, and most of the butter should be incorporated. Sprinkle the sea salt over the nuts, generously! Salt is yummy. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

After the final bake, leave the nuts to cool and dry out completely, 30 minutes or so. Then munch away! Or seal in an air-tight container to give away! They should last a week or so.

So. I might have mentioned that I grew up with non-traditional kid food. I didn’t eat macaroni and cheese until college. (Why? I don’t know. Everyone in the house loved pasta. And cheese. But anyway…) And I also mentioned that I didn’t really start eating mushrooms until like, yesterday. But now, I love macaroni and cheese – not the neon orange kind, of course, but the kind where you start with a good brown butter roux with garlic, and add milk or cream, then melt goat cheese or gruyere or salty cheddar and parmesan. Then you top it with something crisp, and bake it. That’s the kind I’m talkin’ about. And now, I’m starting to come around about those slimy little brown fungi from the woods (or, you know… elsewhere). So, I figured, why not mushroom mac ‘n cheese? Why not, indeed. This stuff was yummy and although I had a “still aquiring the taste” helping, Chris happily gobbled a few servings down.

Mushroom Mac ‘n Cheese (serves 6, from The Mushroom Channel)
3/4 box Pasta, any shape
Olive Oil
1 lb Mixed Mushrooms, sliced – I used Portabella and Button
4 Tbsp Butter, salted
1 Clove Garlic, smashed and diced
1/4 cup Flour
2 cups Milk (whatever % you like!)
5 oz Goat Cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella
S&P

Cook the pasta as directed on the box, then drain and set aside. How friggin cute are these spirals??

Heat some oil in a skillet until nice and hot, and saute the mushrooms, about 5 minutes, until browned but not overly cooked/soggy. Set aside.

Preheat to 350. In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. When hot add the garlic and stir 1-2 minutes until garlic is soft and butter is slightly browned. With a whisk, mix in the flour, constantly stirring until the mixture is even in consistency, about 30-45 seconds. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously until all of it is added. Stir frequently until milk begins to boil/foam up. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir while the sauce thickens. When the sauce is thicker, take off the heat and stir in the goat cheese until well melted, then add the mozzarella. When the cheese sauce is nice and thick and gooey, add it to the pasta in a glass baking dish. Stir in the mushrooms and season generously with S&P. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling around the edges. Serve and enjoy!

Today, in Boston, it is grey and rainy and generally dreary. Which is, if you ask me, a perfect example of how I feel about going back to work after the Thanksgiving holiday. All of the planning, the cooking, the eating, seeing family and friends, traveling, and relaxing is over, and we’re back to work… with no less than 25 shopping days until Christmas. How did that happen? Where did November go? I do believe it flew right by. On a rainy yucky day like this there is no better way to mourn the end of the Turkey Day break than with lemony, smooth, leftover turkey soup. If you’re like my family, there aren’t many leftovers by the Sunday after Thanksgiving (that’s 2 dinners and 3 lunches later…) but if you do have some Turkey, and you are looking for a quick meal that will give you a break from the uber Thanksgiving flavors of potatoes and cranberries, then you’ve found it here. Most of the ingredients you probably already have, and you can probably whip this up in half an hour or so. It’s relatively light, but full of protein and quite satisfying.

Leftover Turkey Lemon Soup (serves 4, inspired by this recipe in Food Network magazine)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
S & P
2 Lemons (juice from both and zest from half of one)
2 cups Chicken Broth/Stock
4 cups Water
3/4 cup Pastina (“Little Pasta” often a star shape)
4 Eggs
1 1/2 – 2 cups leftover Turkey, shredded, as in photo
2-3 cups Baby Spinach
Parmesan Cheese for topping

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and salt and pepper and saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the juice from one lemon, the lemon zest, the stock, and the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the pastina and reduce to medium. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Side note: how freakin’ cute are these little Pastina pastas? adorable.)

Next, remove the soup from the heat while you whisk together the juice from the other lemon, two whole eggs, and two egg yolks. I used a hand mixer to get it extra frothy and smooth. Plus, it’s fun! Scoop out about 1/2 – 2/3 cup of the hot/warm broth and slowly add it to the egg mixture while whisking (or beating). This brings the eggs up to temperature without cooking them into one lump of eggs. You can add more if you feel like the egg mixture doesn’t warm up enough.

When the egg mixture is warm, slowly stir it into the soup pot and return the soup to low heat. Microwave the turkey so it’s not cold when it goes into the soup, and then add it to the pot. When the soup is back up to serving temperature, stir in the spinach greens and serve before they lose their nice bright green color! Top with parmesan for a little added salty/savory kick.

These little guys don’t look too threatening. But then you realize that over the course of one episode of Gossip Girl you’ve eaten approx. 57 of them. Then you remember the 1/2 cup of dough that you ate before they were even baked, and on top of that you had to eat at least 5 or 6 that crumbled as you transferred them to the cooling rack. That’s when you realize these little guys completely snuck up on you and pulled the wool over your eyes. Because dang, they’re really, really, really good. Even two days later they’re still that good (if you have any left, that is). I saw these on Shannalee’s site, Food Loves Writing, a couple weeks ago and made a mental note to try them. I modified a tiny bit (read: was too lazy to go get the correct ingredients and subbed what I did have), and here’s what I got.

Unassuming Chocolate Cookies (makes approx 48 small cookies)
2 cups Flour
1 cup Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/4 cup Butter (2 1/2 sticks) – room temp
2 cups Sugar, plus 1 cup for coating
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla

Mix together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the butter, 2 cups sugar, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and fluffy. Mix the two together – dough will be sticky but should absorb everything.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or so. When cold, preheat oven to 350, and portion out the leftover sugar for rolling the balls of dough in. Drop dough by the rounded teaspoons into the sugar, and roll around to coat.

Place an inch and a half apart on a silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie tray. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Cool on the tray, then on a rack. Devour.

On our first Valentine’s together, Chris and I attempted to make stuffed flank steak with sun dried tomatoes and cheese, with a fancy fondue for dessert. The steak roll was so salty it was inedible and I totally messed up the rice that was supposed to go with it… I don’t think we even made it to the fondue. We may have gotten China Panda instead, I don’t even remember. Anyway, a lot has changed since then, and this stuffed flank steak was not only edible, but pretty darn good. Creamy, cheesy spinach is a steakhouse staple, so I figured why not cook the two together and save some hassle.

Steak and Spinach Pinwheels (serves 2-3)
1 lb – 1 1/4 lb Flank Steak
3 cups Spinach leaves, stems trimmed
1 clove Garlic
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 – 2 cups Parmesan/Ricotta Cheese Mix
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)

Preheat to 425. Start by butterflying the steak–slice it in half, with the grain, but don’t go so far as to detach the halves. It should open into a rectangle that can be rolled up–see the photo. Next, make yourself into a human food processor (or, you know, use an actual food processor) and dice up the spinach, garlic, and onion really really reaaaalllyyy fine. To that, add the cheese and egg, and season with salt and pepper.

Unfold the steak and layer the spinach stuffing on top, leaving about half an inch on each side. Roll up in the same direction as the cut (so the grain of the meat goes from end to end), and secure with kitchen string. Heat an oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat with a couple Tbsp of olive oil. Sear the steak roll on all sides until brown, 6-8 minutes. Smother the steak with BBQ sauce. Place the pan with the steak in it, in the oven and continue to cook 10 minutes, then turn the steak, and cook for 10 more, or until 125 degrees for medium-rare. Let rest for 10 minutes so the juices absorb, then slice into the roll to produce pinwheel medallions!

I wanted to share this recipe up because it’s so easy to make (a lot easier than taking a good food photo when it’s dark out!), and really good. Salmon and capers have always been linked in my mind; my mom always made them together when I was younger, and so many delicious recipes use the combo. (Mom’s is a recipe for another day!) The salty, pickled taste of those little guys goes perfectly with the creamy salmon, and especially well with this recipe’s roasted vegetables. All in under 25 minutes!

Salmon with Caper Vinaigrette (serves 3-4, adapted from Real Simple, October 2009)
1 cup Rice, uncooked
1 bulb of Fennel (aka Anise), thinly sliced
1-2 Red Peppers, thinly sliced
S&P
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 – 1 1/4 lb Salmon Filet (with or without skin)
For the Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup Capers, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar (apple cider or red wine vinegar works best)

Preheat to 400. Cook rice according to package. Place the peppers and fennel in a roasting pan and toss with 2 Tbsp Olive Oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper, and nestle it in among the veggies in the roasting pan. Continue to cook another 14-16 minutes until salmon is opaque throughout. Serve over rice, and mix the vinaigrette together and spoon over everything.

Warning: these cookies could cause you to gain like, 10 pounds, overnight. Just a head’s up. They’re the size of a baseball pre-cooked, an inch+ think out of the oven, and chock full of walnuts and chocolate chips. Just the way a cookie should be. Last winter, I had the pleasure of visiting Levain Bakery on New York’s Upper West Side, to sample some of their cookies. The first thing you’ll notice if you go there, is the line out the door. The next? Vats and vats of cookie dough behind the counter, and last but not least? The enormous, 6 oz, two-hands-needed, golden brown, soft, chewy, delicious cookies. At something like $4.50 a pop, it’s practically a meal. It took about 4 hours to eat mine, nibbling pieces a little at a time as we walked through Central Park, and did some serious shopping. (It was the perfect energy bar, if you ask me.) So, logically, once I was home, I had to try and make my own. It’s harder than it seems! You can’t just throw a huge gob of traditional cookie dough on a cookie sheet and expect it to stay thick. You just get very large/wide cookies that way. After a few tries, though, I think I got down. So now I’ll share with you. The secret, in my opinion? Lots of extra flour, and cold cold dough.

Fat & Chewy Favorite Cookies (makes 10)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted Butter – cold
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 medium-large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/3 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
1 cup Walnuts, chopped or crushed
3 – 3 1/2 cups Flour (yup, you read that right)

Preheat to 350. Start by cutting the butter into cubes with a knife, to help you get started on mixing it in (make sure it’s cold, right out of the fridge). Using a pastry cutter or a hand mixer, work the butter into the two sugars. Beat until well combined and on the way to fluffy – but not past the point where the butter starts to warm up. Add in the eggs, straight from the fridge so they’re cold, and vanilla, and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Add the baking powder and salt and make sure they get well incorporated. Now add your chocolate chips and walnuts (yes, before the flour!). Once everything is incorporated, start adding the flour, one cup or so at a time. Some days I can get the dough to take all 3 1/2 cups, some days it only wants 3 cups before it starts to get crumbly. You don’t want crumbly dough, so stop adding flour when the dough is stiff and not sticky, but still holding together. Adding the chocolate chips and walnuts before the flour helps to make sure they get incorporated. Adding them after the flour can cause the dough to come apart, or can cause some of the toppings to get left behind at the bottom of your mixing bowl. Divide into 10 sections, try not to use your hands too much (it will warm the dough and smooth the surface, which doesn’t lend well to the final look of the cookie). Each dough ball should be just slightly smaller than a baseball (these are big cookies here, kids!).

Pop ‘em on a cookie sheet (be sure to use parchment paper or a silpat – no greasing the pan!! This helps the cookies to stay together and not spread.) Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. The insides should still be gooey – they’ll firm up as the cookies cool. If you like the tops to be slightly more brown, turn on the broiler for just a minute or two (stand nearby and watch so they don’t burn). Cool on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a rack, or dig in! Look out, though, you might not be able to eat a whole one at once Keep dough that’s waiting to be used in the fridge to stay cold. You can even freeze the dough balls and bake later, up to two weeks!

My my. I know there have been a higher than normal number of orange-colored soups appearing here as of late (like this and this). But bear with me just one more time because this one is a keeper. For real. Keeper! Yum! This butternut squash soup is so low in calories, and so rich with sweet, tangy flavor – what’s not to love? The pureed squash itself makes this dish smooth and creamy, and the apple cider and sage leaves give it dimension. We’ll be eating this again!

Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Sage (serves 4-6, from Food Network Magazine, October 2009)
1 Butternut Squash
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3/4 cup Shallots, diced
3 1/2 cups Chicken Stock (or veggie)
1 1/2 cup Apple Cider
1/2 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
S&P
2 Tbsp Butter
8-10 Sage Leaves

Peel the skin off the squash and cut into cubes, discarding seeds and pulp. Set the cubes to steam (10-15 min) or roast at 400 degrees (45 min). Meanwhile, heat up the oil in a large stock pot. Add the shallots and saute until tender. When tender, pour in the stock and cider, and bring to a boil. When the squash is tender, add it to the pot, along with the nutmeg and salt and pepper. Continue to heat over a medium flame. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When hot, place the sage leaves, soft side up, in the butter and fry until fragrant (about 45 seconds). Add 5-6 of the leaves to the soup pot, and reserve the rest for serving. Use a standard blender to puree the squash chunks (remove them from the soup a few at a time, and return to the soup when pureed.) Or use an immersion blender and get it all over with at once. (Hey Santa, I could use an immersion blender ) Serve hot with the remaining sage and crusty bread and optional creme fraiche or sour cream to stir in!

When I was younger, I didn’t want much to do with any kind of cookie that wasn’t chocolate chip. Lucky for my Mom. She got these cookies all to herself until around my senior year of high school, when I decided to try one. And then proceeded to eat the rest. For some reason, dried cranberries were as bad as raisins, in my book, back then. Welp, that changed! These taste nothing like oatmeal raisin cookies – trust me! I hate that kind! There is nothing worse than biting into what you think is an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie to find flavors of cinnamon and raisin. Now, I’m OK with cinnamon raisin bread, but don’t you go putting raisins in my oatmeal cookies. Yuck. This recipe sticks to chocolate chips, walnuts, and craisins. MUCH better! I love these, Mom loves these, Chris loves these, friends love these, and the co-workers love these. Good sign, right? You will too!

Mom’s Christmas Cookies (makes about 3 dozen)
2 sticks of Salted Butter, room temp
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 – 2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 cup Oatmeal
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup Walnuts, smashed
1 cup Craisins

Preheat to 375. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until combined. Stir in the vanilla, then add the flour and baking soda, and the oatmeal. Dough should be not too sticky. Add in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and craisins. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, or a silpat.

Bake 7-11 minutes (check often after 7 minutes) or until tops have puffed up and are golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool completely. Transfer to cookie jar and hide in a really good spot where no one but you can find them!