Nephew's "First Birthday" Present

Our #1 (and only) nephew turned one year old on December 10. For his birthday present we kidnapped, I mean... babysat, him one Sunday afternoon. After Mr. Tote took a good 15 minutes figuring out how to put the car seat in properly, we were off to my favorite pottery studio, Art Unlimited. There, we made the plate you see above, using little Calvin's hands and foot to form a reindeer. Mr. Tote painted all of the writing while I did the outside border, using a reverse stenciling technique and some "snowfall" paint that puffs and bubbles when fired.

Calvin screamed his way through the painting and pressing of his hands and foot, but was otherwise a very happy baby and even took his turn painting the back of the plate.

His mommy and daddy loved the plate. I was especially proud that I didn't spill the beans before his birthday party. I was just so excited to give it to them!! Here he is at his party, enjoying his Elmo cupcake. Such a ham, he is!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

While biscotti is quite a process to produce, I assure you... the results are sooo worth it! This treat has been going perfectly with a cup of coffee in the morning!

I found this recipe on the Joy of Baking website, originally from the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series - Cookies & Biscotti.

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-processed
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup hazelnuts (toasted and coarsely chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To toast the hazelnuts: spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and the skins begin to flake. Remove from the oven and place nuts in a dish towel. Roll up the towel and let the nuts 'steam' for 5 minutes and then briskly rub the towel (with nuts inside) to remove the skins from the nuts. Cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside while you prepare the dough.

Reduce temperature of oven to 300 degree F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the coarsely chopped chocolate and brown sugar and process until the chocolate is very fine; set aside.

Sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract and beat to blend, about 30 seconds. On low speed mix in the chocolate/sugar and flour mixtures until a stiff dough forms, adding the hazelnuts about half way through mixing.

On a floured surface divide the dough in half. Form each half into a log 12 inches long. Do this by rolling the dough back and forth into a cylinder shape with floured hands. Transfer the logs to the baking sheet, spacing them well apart (width-wise on the pan), and pat to even the shapes. Bake until almost firm to the touch, about 35 - 40 minutes (logs will spread during baking). Remove from the oven, place on wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes. Using a long spatula transfer the logs to a cutting board.

Using a serrated knife cut the dough into slices 3/4 inch thick on the diagonal. Arrange the slices cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake until crisp and dry, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

To make the white chocolate drizzle, microwave about a half cup of white chocolate morsels with just a PINCH of vegetable oil. The oil helps to thin the chocolate, making it easier to drizzle. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Drizzle over the biscotti.

Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut Oil

Despite all the hype that surrounds roasted cauliflower, I've never attempted to make it. THIS WILL CHANGE STARTING TODAY!!! Oh my gosh, this stuff is soooo good. It's like candy!! I've roasted many veggies before and will now add cauliflower to my repertoire. The nuttiness from the hazelnut oil really adds depth to this dish. I can't WAIT to make this crack, I mean...healthy side dish, again.

10 C raw cauliflower (or about 1 1/2-2 heads)
3 Tbsp toasted hazelnut oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp salt, or to taste

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Roughly chop the cauliflower. Toss in a large bowl with the oil, garlic and salt. Spread out on a very large baking sheet.

Bake for 30-40 minutes on the middle rack, turning over occasionally. Serve hot.

I also think this dish would be awesome with truffle oil. But at $10/bottle for just a few ounces, I'm not sure I could part with that much of one of favorite ingredients in one dish! The toasted hazelnut oil was a gift from a friend whose husband is a chef at a resort and ordered it at wholesale price. :-)

WW Points per Serving: 1 pt per cup!

Spritz!

I remember my mom making these with her cookie press when we were little and I love that I can still make these in my own kitchen. I love using my Goodwill-find, unused Wilton Cookie Press for $2 (score!!) and a photocopied page from Betty Crocker's 1963 Cooky Book. See, my mother won't give me her Cooky Book, just make copies of the pages I need for any given project (*ack! Christmas gift! cegchhhhh ack!*).
This was the first time I used my new Wilton cookie press and I absolutely love it! Unlike my mom's, this one is just like a caulk gun and dispenses the perfect amount of dough with each squeeze. My mom's press may be metal as opposed to my plastic version, but it also requires a precise quarter to one half turn per cookie to dispense the dough. I had issues getting approximately the same amount of dough to dispense for each cookie using her press, so (no offense, mom) I am glad I have one that is friendly for the baking-challenged.

I will now transcribe what Ms. Betty Crocker herself describes as "How to Make Perfect Pressed Cookies."

Mix dough as directed - doughs for pressed cookies are high in shortening. Dough must be pliable. If very warm, chill for a short time. (If too cold, it crumbles.) Using 1/4 at a time, place dough in cooky press. Force dough through cooky press, following manufacturers' directions, on ungreased baking sheet. If baking sheet is too warm, fat in the dough will melt and cookies will pull away from sheet when press is lifted. Bake until set. Perfect pressed cookies have:

• well-defined pattern and shape
• tender, yet crisp eating quality
• rich, buttery flavor

1 C butter or margarine
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp flavoring (almond or vanilla)
2 1/4 C flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix butter, sugar, egg, salt and flavoring thoroughly.

Work in flour. Using small amounts of dough at a time, force through the cooky press onto an ungreased baking sheet in desired shapes.

Bake 6-9 minutes, or until set but not brown.

I'm linking to The DIY Showoff's Show & Tell Holiday Food Edition.

Shortbread

NEWS FLASH! These little morsels are so small they contain absolutely no fat or calories!! Thrilling to know, isn't it?? I kid, I kid. However, I do feel that shortbread *can* be eaten in moderation while still savoring it's flaky, buttery goodness.

1 C butter, room temperature (2 sticks, folks)
2 1/2 C flour
3/4 C powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients using a stand or hand mixer. The dough will be crumbly.

Pour the dough into an ungreased 9x9" baking dish. Pat down the dough, working it into the corners of the dish. Pierce the dough many times with a fork before baking for 30-35 minutes.

Cut the dough into pieces while still warm. Otherwise, it flakes apart and breaks if you try to cut it when it's fully cooled.

No-Sew Santa Table Runner

I saw this fun table runner at Hobby Lobby. Not wanting to pay the full price tag, I figured I could easily make a similar runner myself.

Materials needed:

1 ft. of 72" long red felt
5 yards 1" white fur
2 ft black velvet ribbon
2 squares gold fabric - I scoured JoAnn's home fabrics and "borrowed" two of their sample pieces of fabric

Folding your 72" red felt in half, cut a "V" shape in the fabric. Using tacky glue, adhere the strips of black velvet ribbon to the v-shaped ends. Using the gold squares folded in half, cut out a square square with a smaller square to make Santa's belt buckle. Adhere with tacky glue.Run your 1"fur down the length of the runner using tacky glue to adhere it to the felt.

And there you have it, dear readers...

A finished Santa table runner! Super easy. With my 40% off JoAnn's coupon, this project cost around $8 to make. So cute!

And now, some cute pet pics. Here's Ozzy, with his "bite me" t-shirt from Target that cost me a whopping $2.50. These two are best friends...Ozzy, trying to kiss his best friend, Athena. She looks like she's about to b*tch slap him, hahaha!!

I'm linking to The DIY Show Off's Holiday Highlights Party.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

First, let me say thank you to my brother in law. Without Calvin, I wouldn't have pounds upon pounds of venison to use in my cooking. Sausage, brats, ground venison, steaks. You name it. He shares it. So, thanks Cal! Keep it coming!

I like my spaghetti sauce light on the meat and FULL of veggies. I threw this recipe together using Joelen’s recipe for guidance.

1 lb venison sausage
4-5 lbs brandywine tomatoes (6-8 large ones)
1 zucchini
8 oz. mushrooms
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 C packed fresh basil
1 C fresh packed spinach
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs

Brown the sausage and set aside, draining any excess liquid.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, but only fill the pot half way full. Blanch the tomatoes, two at a time, by cutting an “X” in the bottom of the tomatoes and then cooking them in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds. Set them aside to cool on a cutting board. When cool enough to the touch, peel the skin from the tomatoes and discard.

Quarter the tomatoes and place them in batches into a blender. Puree until most of the chunks are broken up. Feel free to leave it chunkier or less chunky, depending on your preference.

In a sautee pan, add a little olive oil and sautee the onions and garlic together. Ready your sauce pot(s). I needed two because this sauce produced over 10 cups of finished product.

To the pureed tomatoes, add the venison sausage and sautéed garlic and onions. Chop up the bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms. Finely slice the basil. Add all of these, plus the spinach and dried herbs to the pot.

Simmer for at least three hours or until the sauce reduces and thickens.

Serve however you’d like! I froze this in two heaping ladle increments, which produced 6 freezer bags worth of sauce.