It's Christmas in July here in the kitchen this week

We're having a triple play in the kitchen today.  Every year my grandmother would make these traditional cookies for Christmas but I happen to think they make awesome summer cookies too.  So today in the kitchen we are going to celebrate Christmas in July with some Kolacky, Thumbprint Cookies and Nut Roll!

The great thing about today's recipes is one dough does it all.  So get your Santa hats on and let's head into the kitchen for some yum!


The Dough:
6 oz. cream cheese
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour

The Kolacky & Thumb Prints:
1/2 cup preserves(various flavors) (NOTE: I like to use apricot & raspberry but you can also use some additional cream cheese sweetened with honey or sugar or apple butter is tasty in these too...whatever preserves you like will taste great)

The Nut Log:
1/2 pound ground walnuts
1/2 stick margarine softened (Note from the kitchen: yes I know I said margarine and not butter, for whatever reason I do prefer margarine in this)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp maple extract 
1/8 cup warm milk (i just leave my milk out while I'm working on everything else and don't actually warm it)

For everything:
1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

For the dough:
Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
Slowly add flour  until well blended. 
Shape into a 2 balls and chill overnight.

OK let's do this!
Preheat oven to 350.
Roll both dough balls out to 1/8" thick on a surface dusted with powdered sugar (you can use flour if you like but the powdered sugar makes it taste better) and square off.  

Roll any of the cast off from squaring the dough into 1" balls.

Cut one of the dough portions into 2" squares and place 1/2 tsp of preserves on an angle down the center. 
Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. 
Place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. 
Let cool. 
Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Place any 1" balls on cookie sheet and place a thumb print in each to flatten
Fill each thumb print with preserves

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. 
Let cool

Last but not least the nut log:
Mix together all ingredients as above and place in the center of the last portion of dough.
Slightly overlap the two sides and the flip the whole thing seam side down onto an ungreased pan.
Cut small slits in the top in a pattern so that your nut log is pretty ( I like to cut on an angle every 1/4 inch)

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. 
Let cool. 
Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

And there you have it my lovelies...Merry Christmas in July!

Special smooches to Sister Cid for once again inspiring my blog this week!!! 

But I want you to make it for me...

This is my bff, my sister from another mister, and the person I share a brain with...My darling sister Cid.  She is going to hit me with a pan the next time she sees me for using this picture but that's ok because I know she loves me even if I do put bad pictures of her on my blog.  A while back she had posted pictures of some chicken pot pies she made on her FB page and I wanted to fly down just to have a taste (yes they looked good enough to get me on a plane).  Today she is our guest in the kitchen sharing her secret.

Sister Cid's Easy Peasy Chicken Pot Pie  

What you need:

4 refrigerated pie crusts (9-inch)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup 

1 16 oz package frozen mixed vegetables

12 oz pre cooked chicken breasts chicken (cubed in ½ pieces)

What to Do:

Heat oven to 425°F. 

Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pans.

In a bowl mix soup, frozen veggies and chicken. 

Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pans. 

Top with uncooked second crust; seal edge and flute. 

Cut slits in several places in top crust.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. 

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

So a little thanks to my sister for always being there for me even through the horrible fashions of the 80's....

Much love and kisses... thanks for playing guest chef today!

P.S.  I still want you to make it for me 'cause ya know everything tastes better when you didn't have to cook it yourself!

When life gives you lemons...

 

I love lemons...they are awesome in main course dishes, side dishes, drinks, as a garnish, you name it.  Today in the kitchen we are going to sample some of my favorite ways to infuse lemon into your life.  So pucker up buttercup...off we go to explore the wonderful world of lemons.

  

First lets start with a simple drink.  Lemon Drops are one of my favorite shots...

not to mention they make a great body shot if you're interested in that sort of thing {{{wink}}}.

Let's start with some good quality vodka, I prefer Absolut but it's your choice.  I do not recommend drinking cheap vodka.  Next you need some lemon wedges and sugar (sugar packets are perfect for this).

Pour a shot of straight vodka into a shot glass, open a packet of sugar and pour on lemon wedge.  Take the shot, suck the lemon.   Yum!!!

For side dishes such as veggies we can create a wonderful Lemon Butter Sauce. Today we are going to make my favorite, 

Roasted Asparagus With Lemon Butter Sauce 

1 bunch of Asparagus

2 Garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 stick of Butter

Juice of 1 Fresh Lemon

1 tsp Pink Peppercorns crushed (see note below)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lemon Zest for Garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

On a baking sheet, lay down Asparagus and coat with Olive Oil. 

Sprinkle the minced garlic on top. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until garlic turns a slightly light brown color. 

In a separate bowl, melt butter, and add lemon juice and pink peppercorns.

(A nerd girl note on Pink Peppercorns – although called peppercorns they are not true peppercorns and should be crushed gently in a mortar and pestle not in a peppercorn mill)

Pour butter sauce over Asparagus just prior to serving. 

Finish with lemon zest as well as some salt to taste.

For a main course dish I would like to share a 
recipe I came across from a magazine years ago 
and have always enjoyed 
Honey Lemon Grilled Chicken

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Preheat a grill for medium heat.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. 
Add the garlic, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. 
Whisk in honey and lemon juice. 
Reserve half for basting, and brush the other half onto the breasts.
Lightly oil the grill grate, and place chicken on the grill. 
Cook for 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning frequently. 
Baste often during the last 5 minutes. 
Chicken is done when the meat is firm, and juices run clear.

Serve with lemon slices from the other half of the lemon and some fresh rosemary as a garnish if ya feel fancy.

And now for the most important course...desert of course! 

Today we are going to make easy as pie
Mini Lemon Tarts



There are many versions of this recipe on the internet 
but this is by far my favorite. You can find this on relish.com. 
First let me say that I cheat when I make these...
I do not make my own tart shells anymore...
you can purchase them in your local grocery store and 
it is well worth the cost to not have to bake your own...
but if you insist you can find many 
wonderful recipes on the internet.  
Today I'm going to assume you took my advice and bought pre made
shells so we will skip directly to the 
yummy lemon filling...

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (3 - 4 lemons)
24 packaged sweet ready-to-eat mini tart shells

With a whisk, beat cream cheese, milk and lemon juice until smooth.

Place spoonfuls into tart shells.

Refrigerate.

And the you have it my lovelies...many wonderful recipes to get you in the mood for the lemony goodness of the crops this summer.

A dedication to the wing man

Today's blog is dedicated to Russ (the meat man)...you will always live on in our hearts!!!

About ten years ago my friend Russ invited me over to hang out and have a cookout...that day changed the way I cook drastically.   Many of you who follow my blog or have come to my super bowl parties have had the experience of enjoying my Franks Red Hot Sauce obsession.  Russ is the man who started it all.  He swore up and down about this Franks Red Hot Sauce stuff... I was a TABASCO® brand Original Red Sauce fanatic.  Russ grilled up some hot wings in this Franks stuff and I was forever changed for the better!  

Recently the world lost Russ, so today as a dedication to him I am posting one of my most requested recipes...the recipe for my hot wings...this is a modification from the original recipe Russ taught me and I hope that it is a fitting tribute to his memory.  So with tears in my eyes but a smile in my heart I bring to you...

Val's Hot Wings

What you need:

2 pounds of chicken wings sectioned (at least 2 lbs...after you try this you'll know why you may want to make more next time!) 

Frank's Red Hot Sauce (How much depends on how hot you want them,,,I usually use a whole bottle and then some)

     

Butter usually about 1/2 stick (sometimes more if I have a partial stick sitting in the fridge I just use that too)

garlic powder (enough to lightly season all the little wings)

What to do:

Soak wings in franks sauce over night (I use enough to cover wings). 

Next day pull wings out of sauce and set sauce aside for later.

Pre-heat oven to 400 or you can fire up the grill

Put wings on a cookie sheet lined with foil (They stick like crazy so I recommend using non stick foil or if grilling make sure your rack is well seasoned or you will have a lot of tribute to the grill gods.)

Sprinkle with garlic powder and place in the oven or on the grill

Take sauce and butter and cook to boiling in a small sauce pan (really important to do this so you cook away any bacteria and nasty things from the raw chicken).

Once boiling starts turn heat to medium and keep cooking and stirring until mixture thickens to a consistency similar to BBQ sauce (about 10 minutes but you can go longer if ya want...thicker is hotter).

Baste chicken with sauce every 10 - 15 minutes and turn chicken each time you baste.

Chicken needs to cook at least 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on your oven or grill and how much you cook. 

I like to serve these with ranch dressing or the traditional Blue Cheese as well as some additional Franks on the side.

So there you have it...enjoy!!!