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In 1975 the day of Dec. 14 occurred on a Sunday. I remember it well because that was the day that we welcomed our daughter Katherine Susan into the world and into our family. Forgive me now if I utter those oft spoken and heard words “Where have the years gone?” My thoughts will naturally center on her today and she’ll join with us tomorrow because she likes to spend her natal day (or a day very close to it) in the kitchen with her dad and I preparing holiday treats that she can then give out to her family and friends.
Kate has already let me know that she plans to make the Ultimate Chocolate Sauce recipe that appeared in the Dec. 7 column and I’ve assured her that I have the jars ready for her to use. I’ve also shared with her this column’s recipe for Praline Snack Mix so that she can decide whether this will also be part of our preparation. The original name of this recipe was Fritos Sweet Snack Mix but after I tested this recipe, I concluded that small pretzel rounds or sticks (broken into halves or thirds) would probably be a better salty substitute than the Fritos which have a distinctive rather than blending flavor.
I’ve made a Sweet Cherry Cheese Log for Kate to test-taste when she’s here and I feel so confident that she’ll be eager to make some to share with her friends that I even have the supplies on hand and ready for her. One recipe will make two gift-size logs, perfect for serving with Ritz crackers.
And for her friends — and mine — who own bread machines we’ll be making up Bread Machine Onion Bread Mix in a Jar. It is especially important to use flour for bread (rather than all-purpose flour), a fresh jar of dehydrated onion flakes and a packet of yeast that has not passed it’s expiration date when preparing this — a lesson that I learned the hard way — and that resulted in a very dense loaf of bread. However this “disaster” smelled so wonderful as it “baked” that I made a second loaf (using the above mentioned ingredients) to make sure that this recipe could be deemed column-worthy. You won’t be disappointed!
Praline Snack Mix
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup clear Karo syrup
1 box Rice Chex
1 bag small pretzel circles or sticks (about 1/2 of a 16-ounce) bag
1 can salted peanuts
1 bag original flavored milk-chocolate M&M's
In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients (minus the M&M's!). (I used my large soup pot because of the volume.) Bring sugar, butter and syrup to a boil in a large heavy saucepan. Pour caramel mixture over the cereal mix and stir to mix. Spread in two 9x13 cake pans. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes; stir and bake another 8 minutes. Pour onto a brown paper bag (or onto layers of paper towels) to cool, mixing every so often to keep from clumping together. Once totally cool, add M&M's and store in an air-tight container.
In 1975 the day of Dec. 14 occurred on a Sunday. I remember it well because that was the day that we welcomed our daughter Katherine Susan into the world and into our family. Forgive me now if I utter those oft spoken and heard words “Where have the years gone?” My thoughts will naturally center on her today and she’ll join with us tomorrow because she likes to spend her natal day (or a day very close to it) in the kitchen with her dad and I preparing holiday treats that she can then give out to her family and friends.
Kate has already let me know that she plans to make the Ultimate Chocolate Sauce recipe that appeared in the Dec. 7 column and I’ve assured her that I have the jars ready for her to use. I’ve also shared with her this column’s recipe for Praline Snack Mix so that she can decide whether this will also be part of our preparation. The original name of this recipe was Fritos Sweet Snack Mix but after I tested this recipe, I concluded that small pretzel rounds or sticks (broken into halves or thirds) would probably be a better salty substitute than the Fritos which have a distinctive rather than blending flavor.
I’ve made a Sweet Cherry Cheese Log for Kate to test-taste when she’s here and I feel so confident that she’ll be eager to make some to share with her friends that I even have the supplies on hand and ready for her. One recipe will make two gift-size logs, perfect for serving with Ritz crackers.
And for her friends — and mine — who own bread machines we’ll be making up Bread Machine Onion Bread Mix in a Jar. It is especially important to use flour for bread (rather than all-purpose flour), a fresh jar of dehydrated onion flakes and a packet of yeast that has not passed it’s expiration date when preparing this — a lesson that I learned the hard way — and that resulted in a very dense loaf of bread. However this “disaster” smelled so wonderful as it “baked” that I made a second loaf (using the above mentioned ingredients) to make sure that this recipe could be deemed column-worthy. You won’t be disappointed!
Praline Snack Mix
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup clear Karo syrup
1 box Rice Chex
1 bag small pretzel circles or sticks (about 1/2 of a 16-ounce) bag
1 can salted peanuts
1 bag original flavored milk-chocolate M&M's
In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients (minus the M&M's!). (I used my large soup pot because of the volume.) Bring sugar, butter and syrup to a boil in a large heavy saucepan. Pour caramel mixture over the cereal mix and stir to mix. Spread in two 9x13 cake pans. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes; stir and bake another 8 minutes. Pour onto a brown paper bag (or onto layers of paper towels) to cool, mixing every so often to keep from clumping together. Once totally cool, add M&M's and store in an air-tight container.
Sweet Cherry Cheese Ball
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, softened (low-fat is okay too!)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
8 maraschino cherries, drained then chopped
3/4 cup chopped pecans
In a medium bowl combine cream cheese with confectioners sugar and blend well. Stir or beat in coconut and chopped cherries. Place bowl in refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes to firm up so that it will shape better. Place a portion of the chopped nuts onto waxed paper and spoon out the chilled cheese mixture in a log-like length about 1 1/2- to 2-inches in diameter. Roll and shape, sprinkling with remaining chopped nuts as you go. Wrap tightly and refrigerate. Can be cut into 2 logs. Serve with Ritz-type crackers.
Bread Machine Onion Bread Mix in a Jar
(recipe found on www.mixesinajar.com)
1/4 cup dehydrated onion flakes
1 envelope Rapid-Rise dry yeast
3 1/3 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon powdered milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 envelope Rapid-Rise dry yeast
Place onion flakes in a small zip-lock baggie and set aside. Set aside packet of dry yeast. Mix and place the remaining ingredients into a quart-sized jar, tapping jar gently on counter so as to remove extra air space. Lay baggie of onion flakes and packet of yeast on top of flour mixture and place lid on jar. Attach the following directions to the jar:
You will need 1 1/8 cups warm water and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to make this 1 1/2 pound loaf of bread. Place wet ingredients into the bread pan in the order recommended by your bread maker manufacturer. Add contents of this jar, contents of packet of onion flakes and contents of the packet of yeast. Insert bread pan into the bread maker and select settings for White bread, desired crust color and baking cycle for a 1 1/2-pound loaf of bread. (Mark jar with a use-by date of 4 months after you prepare this mix.)
