The holiday hoopla is coming to an end and the inevitable is creeping in on us. New Years. That time of year when we try to figure out how we are going to make ourselves a better person.

If you read this blog you know I am not one for New Years Resolutions. And though I am all for making myself a better person, I am equally in favor of celebrating all that I already am. I have my flaws, that is for sure, but I certainly have some good points too. And so do you!

And so once again, for the New Year, I will be focusing on the little things in life. That’s resolution #1.

The other day I put on my wedding dress. For no other reason than it makes me feel happy. It was far too costly of a gown not to wear more than once and so I like to drag it out from time to time and put it on. I walked up and down the hallways listening to the silk swish back and forth. I twirled around in it as the dog and my husband looked at me like I was insane. And maybe I am a little. But that’s okay. A little insane goes a long way. And me prancing around in my wedding gown isn’t hurting anyone, and it makes me smile. I sure hope readers, that this year you can find something as simple to make you smile too.

Resolution #2 is to celebrate my flaws.

At my age I have to start learning to appreciate all that I am and all that I have. Yes my belly jiggles, well lots of things on my body do. But my body gets me to where I need to go. Oh sure, I like to try and destroy it by being the less than graceful person that I am, but it keeps bouncing back. It lets me play hockey and stand for hours cutting out cookies and making bread. I encourage you to appreciate your flaws as well.

Speaking of flaws, this bread. Well, not this bread, the picture of the bread. I didn’t like one picture I took of the bread. So I wasn’t going to post it. But you know what? It’s good bread so I have chosen not to waste it just because I think the picture is flawed. I made this with candied pineapple. I have no idea how it would turn out with fresh or canned pineapple, my guess is too soggy. I just had lots of candied pineapple leftover from fruitcake making.

Hope you all have a wonderful and slightly flawed New Year!

Candied Pineapple-Coconut Bread

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup melted unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup candied pineapple

Combine the first 6 ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat ingredients on medium speed for 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Starting with the flour mixture alternate flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk and flour…in that order.

Mix until just combined, like you would if you were making muffins.

Fold in coconut and candied pineapple.

Pour into two loaf pans or 8 mini loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350F for 1 hours(minis take only about 10 minutes less).

Remove from oven and place on rack to dry. While cakes are still warm, poke several holes in the top of the cake with a wooden skewers. Drizzle Pineapple-Coconut Glaze(recipe follows) into the holes. Finish glazing cake by taking a pastry brush and brushing on remaining glaze(as much or as little as you would like).

Pineapple-Coconut Glaze

1 cup sugar
½ cup pineapple juice
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 tsp coconut extract

Place ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about a minute. Turn heat off but leave saucepan on burner. Glaze cake as instructed above.

All the Who’s down in Whoville are ready for Christmas, but this Who is not!

If I didn’t love Christmas so much, I like the Grinch, would want to stop Christmas from coming. So really, I would just like to postpone it a week or so. Who’s with me?

Slacker Peabody is not sending out Christmas cards for the first time in like forever. I didn’t even send one to my parents. Of course, they are coming here this year, so I can just hand them one. The funny thing is, I have the cards. I just have no time to address them and take them to the post office. I can’t just buy stamps because smart me bought irregular sized cards that don’t take regular stamps. Awesome. Go me.

This tart was what I brought to one of the holiday potlucks I attended. It’s an adaptation of one I made years ago, but this time I made it with a gingersnap crust to make it more holiday festive. It’s super easy, and can be made days ahead. So that alone makes it a winner…and it’s chocolate.

I hope everyone out in blog land has a wonderful Christmas (for those who celebrate it). Be safe and eat lots of Christmas cookies.

Peabody

Semisweet Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust

Gingersnap Crust

8 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 TBSP brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in processor (yielding 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups). Add melted butter, sugar, and salt; process until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.
Chocolate Filling

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1/4 cup boiling water

Combine chocolate, vanilla, and butter in medium metal bowl. Place bowl in skillet of barely simmering water set over low heat. Stir just until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.
Remove bowl from water. Place fine strainer over bowl with melted chocolate. Keep skillet with water set over low heat.

Whisk egg yolk in small metal bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup boiling water.
Place bowl in skillet of hot water; stir constantly with heatproof rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl to prevent egg from cooking, until instant-read thermometer inserted into egg mixture registers 160°F, about 3 minutes. Immediately pour egg mixture into strainer set over bowl of chocolate. Stir just until egg is incorporated into chocolate and mixture is smooth.

Pour chocolate filling into crust; tilt slightly to spread evenly (crust will not be completely filled). Cover and chill overnight or up to 2 days. Before serving, let tart soften slightly at room temperature.

Remove pan sides. Place tart on platter. Using pastry bag fitted with star tip, pipe gingered whipped cream rosettes around edge of tart.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Both recipes adapted from Bon Appetit.com

Dear Santa,

Let’s face the hard cold facts. I haven’t really been all that nice this year. I haven’t really been nice most years for that matter. But, I’m materialistic and still want stuff. So please, give me some stuff (preferably from Anthropolgie). If you do, you can have one of these cookies.

Love,
Peabody

 P.S. My parents are coming for Christmas this year and it will make them suspicious if you don’t leave anything under the tree for me. I would like for them to be under the illusion that I am nice and not naughty.

 
These were this years contribution to the cookie exchange I go to yearly. I also gave some to my physical therapy place. Yes, that’s right kids, I’m back in physical therapy. Shocking. They were a big hit at PT and seemed to be a crowd pleaser at cookie exchange as well. The original cookies have a caramel center, but again, I pulled the lazy card because they idea of unwrapping caramels and melting them was a bit much for me. They also originally had white chocolate drizzled on them. I would have done that, had I had white chocolate. But that involved a trip to the store…so again with the lazy card.

This is definitely a keeper cookie.

Dulce de Leche- Cashew Thumbprints

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose
1 egg white
1 tsp water
1 ½ cups salted cashews, chopped

1 ½-2 cups dulce de leche (depending on how much you fill)

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add egg, vanilla extract, and salt to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until fully combined.

Add in flour, beat on low until fully combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a fork, beat together egg white and water in a small bowl. Place cashews in a separate bowl.

Remove dough from fridge and shape into 1-inch balls. Dip balls in egg white, allowing excess to drip off. Roll dough balls in cashews to coat.

Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart. Using a 1-tsp measure, or your thumb, make an indentation in each cookie.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set, 12-13 minutes. I like to at this time repress my thumb or tsp measure to make the indentation really big in the cookie when the cookies come out of the oven. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

When cookies are cool, pipe dulce de leche into the indentations.

Leave out for Santa and hope for the best!

Adapted from Cuisine at Home Magazine Special Production: Holiday Baking

When I married a man from Alabama, I threw myself into the world of Southern Cooking. I researched, bought cookbooks, begged for Southern Family recipes and so on. Irony of course is that I love Southern food more than my husband. In fact, he really only seems to eat fried chicken….of course.

In all of my research one thing I came to notice, especially in the Junior League and church based cookbooks, was that to most people in the South, salad means either being in a Jello mold or something with mayonnaise. Of course my salads that I grew up with of iceberg lettuce and drowned in Ranch dressing, probably wasn’t any better for you.

So when Cath of A Blithe Palate asked me if I wanted to get a copy of The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern, I must admit that it peaked my interest. She told me she had the idea of doing a pot luck, which I am always up for a pot luck, and said bring it on (she’s calling it The Complete Meal).

So I was excited, that was until of course, I was told dessert was taken. Hmmm. So I decided I would take the next thing I eat the most of next to dessert…salad. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be picking from a myriad of mayo covered veggies. So when the book arrived I was quite happily surprised. Now, there were a few recipes with mayo in there but those were mostly few and far between (I mean, potato salad kind of needs mayonnaise)…but I did not a Jello mold (though there is nothing wrong with a Jello mold).

I had many options. I thought about the Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts. The Field Pea Salad with Gingered Beets and Lemon sounded lovely as well. But the minute I saw the Snow Pea and Carrot Salad with Ginger Dressing, I knew that would be the one.

For one thing, I can eat this on a daily basis…since I eat those weird fruits and veggies on a regular basis. And second, I was in awe of the dressing. It’s made with fresh ginger juice and cucumber. I have never in my life made dressing with cucumber in it. What is fantastic about the dressing is that after you put it in the blender and give it a spin it comes out creamy. So you think you are getting a creamy bad for you dressing, when really you are not. The original recipe uses iceberg lettuce, the next time I make this will be with butter lettuce. I am just not an iceberg girl, but I went with it for the first time making this. Sadly, I can’t give the recipe due to copyright stuff.

I must say that this is definitely one to ask for to put under the tree. You may be eating the goodies now, but we all know that when January rolls around you will be reaching for the fresher foods. Which this book has, but also still is nice and keeps bacon fat in some of the recipes….just not buckets of it. (though nothing wrong with buckets of bacon fat).

To see what our first course of the potluck was, head over to Phe/MOM/enon and see the what was made.