Saturday, December 25, 2010

Just Desserts

I've been so busy in the kitchen that I've neglected posting my projects.  Here's a peek at what I've been up to, starting with Thanksgiving:

Maw-Maw's Cherry-O-Cream Pie















Granny Rae's Cranberry Sauce















(it's kinda messy)















Pumpkin Fudge
(After three years, I finally got it to work--cooking it longer was the key!)



After Thanksgiving, it was time for the Christmas baking to begin! 
Here's a treat for my people at work:




















Some cute little mint brownie guys I took to a party, complete with a mini peppermint pattie button in the center of each one:

  


Christmas Eve and Christmas day brought plenty of time in the kitchen, too.  At the request of my dad, I tackled the Yule Log that I used to make when people came to visit us in Louisiana.  I had always made it with ice cream, but this time I used my homemade almond icing and made a chocolate ganache for the top (which I could eat by itself):











While it's not a dessert, I made my first ham this year.  It was studded with cloves and had a pineapple/brown sugar/honey glaze.  The great thing about ham is that it's already cooked, so the risk of undercooking is pretty much nonexistent.  Adam helped me by handling the cutting (I trust him more than myself with the sharp tools):
















I'll focus on the crafts in my next post.  In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas!

-Adi

2 comments:

  1. Want to share your pumpkin fudge recipe? I want to give it another go even though I appear to be fudge-challenged. I could give you the lemon fudge recipe and see if you have better luck with it...

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  2. Sure! I got it off allrecipes.com, and I'm adding some tips below it:

    Pumpkin Fudge
    2 tablespoons butter
    2 1/2 cups white sugar
    2/3 cup evaporated milk
    1 cup white chocolate chips
    7 ounces marshmallow creme
    3/4 cup canned pumpkin
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1) Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil and set aside.
    2) In a 3 quart saucepan, heat milk and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
    3) Mix in pumpkin puree and cinnamon; bring back to a boil. Stir in marshmallow creme and butter. Bring to a rolling boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 18 minutes.
    4) Remove from heat, and add white chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until creamy and all chips are melted. Pour into prepared pan. Cool, remove from pan, and cut into squares. Store in a cool, dry place.

    *Suggestions*
    *Add in some pumpkin pie spice. The fudge tastes more like sugar than pumpkin, and one baker told me the spice is more important. I haven't tried it yet so you'll have to play with the amount.
    *This recipe does a great job with solidifying. The picture with the recipes suggests you can use cookie cutters to make fall-themed shapes. The key to getting it to set up is cooking it longer (18 minutes in this recipe compared to the 4 minutes the chocolate fudge recipe on the marshmallow creme jar calls for).

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