Beast for Feast of Christmas Eve

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ORIGINAL POST: 

This was the fourth year that we hosted what I like to call "Feast of Christmas Eve". Feast of Christmas Eve is our big family celebration for the holiday. This year, we had 23 people, but in past years we have had as many as 27! It's chaos, but it's a great Christmas tradition that we have made.

Our past menu has been a roast beef in the oven (THE BEAST), and my grilled pork tenderloin. But seeing that we got so much snow early in December, I wasn't seeing it as grilling kind of Christmas (basically, we couldn't get to it under the 27" of snow that we had had so far). So, this year, I changed up the menu a bit and decided to keep the Beast, but Judi offered to make a lasanga as a counterpart, in addition to the red mashed potatoes and green beans I made.

Judi and I went to BJ's the week before Christmas Eve to try and figure out what I needed. With no one there, I went back myself the next day and decided to go with a "rib rib eye", which was a boneless slab of meat, with good marbeling, and not too much fat (what there was, I trimmed off).

I ended up buying an 18-pound rib rib eye beef. I kept it in a cooler, out in the garage until Friday (yes, it was that cold in our garage), and then on Friday, brought it inside, trimmed the bulk of the fat off bottom, and cut about a 5-pound piece off to save to have after the Feast, since we only needed about 12-13 pounds for the actual party.

To start the dry aging process, I lined the bottom of the cooler chest with paper towels and then placed the roasting rack that I would be using with my roasting pan on Monday. Technically, I could have done this all even a few days before, but due to too many other things going on, Friday was the earliest I could do it.

I put the roasting rack with the beef, bottom (fat) side down, in the cooler chest, and then loosely put a layer of paper towels over the top of the beef. This would help absorb any excess moisture on the outside of the beef.

Monday morning, I brought the Beast in around 6:45 a.m. and took it out of the cooler chest, and put the rack with the Beast in the roasting pan. I let it rest, to help bring it to room temperature, for about an hour. At about 7:45 a.m., I preheated the oven to 500 degrees.

Meanwhile, as the oven was preheating, I put a very small amount of olive oil (just enough to help the seasonings stick), and an ample amount of kosher salt and cracked black pepper all over the Beast.

By 8:00 a.m., the oven was preheated, and in went the Beast.

How I would cook the Beast for the future would be at 500 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees, for about 20 minutes per pound. This would put the Beast's estimated time of arrival to be 12:15 p.m.
(I was actually recommended to put it in at 350 instead of 325, for 20 minutes per pound, but it was done by 11:15 a.m... much too early, therefore, when I made the smaller piece yesterday, I used the above in bold as my guide)

I also used a meat thermometer to keep an eye on it, and took it out when it got to 145 degrees -- medium rare. I put aluminum foil around it and it continued to cook as it rested, while I made the pan gravy.
(when I cooked it on Friday, I actually took it out 140 degrees -- rare; I will use that as my guide in the future)

To make the pan gravy, I actually preferred the one I made with the smaller piece of beef, so that's what I will use here:

• Pan drippings
• Flour
• Beef Broth

On Christmas Eve, I also used water and red wine; but I actually thought it was more flavorful with just the above. I'm not sure how much flour and beef broth I ended up using. I added the maybe ¾ of a cup of flour to the pan drippings, and as I heated it on the stove, I used as whisk and added enough beef broth (maybe 1-1 ½ cups) to make it a just-barely-thick liquid. As the heat thickened the flour up, I continued to add a little more beef broth to make it the consistency I wanted.
That is the simple way I made our Beast for the Feast of Christmas Eve. It was really easy and made the house smell phenomenal (and again yesterday). I actually should try to do it again before next Christmas (especially since I have been told we will not be hosting Feast of Christmas Eve again)


UPDATE:  December 24, 2011

This year's Beast was a 9½  pounder rib-eye with half the bone that I bought at Shaw's, as they were having a sale for $5.99/pound.  After seeing it for $10/lb. at BJ's, I came close to just picking pork tenderloin or something else, especially since this has been such a mild year for weather (other than one early snow storm before Halloween, we haven't seen any snow since, and it's been in the 50°'s a lot).  But Beast is our tradition, so I was thankful to find it on sale.

Although there was only 10 of us this year (well, really only 7 of us eating the Beast), I cooked the whole thing.  Once cooked, and after trimming the fat and bone, we probably still probably had almost 3 lbs of leftovers.  Yay for us!

I cooked it the same as I did above, except this year, I brushed melted butter over the top, and then sprinkled a mixture of kosher salt, cracked black pepper and garlic powder over the top, with a splash of oil on top of that.

It was so good, and we can't wait to make leftover sandwiches with what's left!

UPDATE:  December 24, 2012

I had totally forgotten that I had bought last year's Beast at Shaw's.  I went to BJ's again about a week ago and got totally discouraged seeing the beef prices at about $8.99/pound.  I really didn't want to spend almost $100.  I was telling my friend, LaDawna, how I was on a mission to find a better price, and was ready to drive over to Wegman's to see what they were selling for there.  She was driving home the next day when she heard a commercial for Shaw's and their $5.88/pound sale on Semi-Boneless Rib Roasts.  SCORE!  For almost half the price, I got an amazing Roast Beast for this year's feast!  This year was just over 8.5 pounds of beef for 9 people, and thankfully, we still had enough for leftovers.

This year, we started similar to previous years.  I bought the Beast at Shaw's on Thursday and on Friday, we unwrapped it and put it on a rack in a plastic-wrap lined cooler.  Since it's been on the cooler side, we dry aged it, fat side DOWN, out in the garage with the cooler lid partially cracked open.  Jimmy brought the cooler in this morning about an hour before I wanted to get it in the oven, so that it could come to room temp as I started to prep it in the roasting pan.  With the Beast on the rack in the roaster pan, I splashed some olive oil around the entire piece of beef.  In a small bowl, I mixed together kosher salt and cracked black pepper and then slathered it all around the beef.  That's it... nothing else (although if I had read this post, I would have probably done it like last year, adding a little butter and garlic powder.  Oh well, maybe next year.  But honestly, everyone said it tasted fabulous, so I don't think anyone would have noticed the difference).

I preheated the oven to 500°, intending to cook the Beast for 15 minutes at the high temperature, with the fat side UP; however, I have to admit that I don't think I have ever cleaned my oven in the almost 9 years that we have lived here.  Let's just say that within 6 minutes of the oven being up that high the kitchen was getting a wee-bit smokey.  I was able to hold the smoke alarm at bay (door open and big fans turned on), but 11 minutes into it, I couldn't take it anymore and turned the temperature down despite there being 4 minutes to spare.  I knew it wouldn't hurt anything in the long-run.
(Note to file:  clean the oven this week!)

Again, not really having my brain on straight, I didn't read through my entire post and turned the temperature of the oven from 500° to 350°.  About half way through, I did read the post and realized I should have turned it to 325°, just so it wouldn't cook quite so fast, especially considering the family was running behind.  With the temp down to 325°, it cooked in perfect time to 140° (rare) when I took it out.  I left it on top of the stove, covered in aluminum foil, and it kept cooking to about 147° -- perfect, we wouldn't have wanted it any more done.

Like last year, we can't wait to have some roast beast sandwiches with the leftovers.  YUM!
  

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I got this recipe from bargirl76 on the Boston Board of the Nest, although I have heard people talking about this recipe for months now, so I figured I'd give it a try for Feast of Christmas Eve 2007. Everyone raved about it, as advertised. So, now I can pass this recipe on too!

• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded, diced or chopped
  or one large can/pouch of chicken
• ¾ cup Franks Hot Sauce
• (2) 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup blue cheese salad dressing
• 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 bunch celery, washed and cut into sticks

Directions
Cook the chicken (or use from a can), and break into chunks or shreds -- not too small, but not too big.
Open the two packages of cream cheese and place in a bowl.
Warm the cream cheese, in the microwave.
In a large bowl combine: chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese, dressing and ½ of the shredded cheese.
(Adjust the amounts of hot sauce and/or cream cheese to make the dip mild, medium or hot per your own taste.)
Pour mixture into a greased baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake at 350º F for 25 to 30 minutes.
Serve with Tostito Scoops and celery.

Make Ahead Breakfast Eggs

I got this recipe from my friend and long-time co-worker MJ. She made this for our 2006 staff holiday GTG, and it was absolutely delicious. She said she usually makes it for Christmas morning for her family. It has now become a favorite special breakfast for our family too.

• 1 dozen eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 4-6 oz. sour cream
• 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
  I pre-cut the slices and fried them in a saucepan
  
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
Beat eggs, stir in milk, salt and pepper.
In skillet, melt butter and pour in egg mixture.
Cook until set, but still moist.
Cool and stir in sour cream.
Put mixture in buttered 12x7 pan.
Top with bacon and cheese.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Chunky Chocolate Drop Cookies

We call these quadruple chocolate cookies. Catherine bought me a book all about cookies, and we've always just looked at the cookbook, like a picture book, but had never tried one. One day, a couple weeks ago, she talked me into making one of the recipes, and this was it. It's made me realize we need to try more recipes!

• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 oz. white chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
• ½ cup milk chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  
  Optional - 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 325 degrees
Grease two large baking sheets.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate chips and unsalted butter, stirring until smooth.Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until pale and creamy.
Add vanilla extract.
Gradually pour in the melted chocolate mixture, beating until well blended.

Beat in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until just blended.
Stir in chocolate chips, white and milk chocolate pieces, and nuts (if used).

Drop by the teaspoon (or tablespoon for larger cookies) on to the prepared baking sheets.
Bake 8-10 minutes, until the tops are shiny and cracked and the edges look crisp.
Do not overbake or the cookies will become fragile.

Remove the baking sheets to a wire rack to cool for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to the rack to cool.

Variation:
We did not have white chocolate when we made these, so we added 2 more ounces of the milk chocolate pieces, and 2 more ounces of semisweet chocolate chips.
We didn't use the nuts...

We also added powdered sugar to the tops of the cookies. Incredibly delicious!

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

Posted by ready2006 from the Nest.

Cheesecake:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup oats (not instant)
• ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 (8 oz.) packages light cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 oz.) can low fat or fat-free sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 3 eggs or ¾ cup egg beaters
• ½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

Apple Topping:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 medium all-purpose apples, cored and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate

Crumb Topping:

• ¼ cup softened butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In small bowl, beat ½ cup butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add flour, oats, walnuts and cinnamon; mix well.
Press firmly on bottom and partially up the sides of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake 10 minutes.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.
Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.
Add eggs and apple juice concentrate; mix well.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 30 minutes.
While cheesecake is baking, in large skillet, cook apples in remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. of apple juice concentrate until tender-crisp.
Allow to cool.
Combine crumb topping ingredients in similar manner to crust.
Remove cheesecake from oven, arrange apples on top of cheesecake.
Break up the crumb topping over the apples.
Place cheesecake back in oven for about 30 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles when pan is shaken.
Chill.
Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Macaroni and Cheese

Taken from recipezaar.com in our efforts to find a good macaroni and cheese to serve as a side dish on the day after Thanksgiving, to go with the ham we will be having. CC and I have tried 3 different recipes so far, and this one has gotten the top vote so far.

• 1 lb. macaroni
• 4 cups milk
• 1 ½ lbs cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 tsp. flour
• ½ cup butter
• ½ medium onion, diced small
• salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F
Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.
In a medium pot, heat butter and saute onions. Add milk, flour, salt and pepper. Bring to rolling boil. Slowly add cheddar cheese; stirring while adding. After cheddar cheese had dissolved, add the mozzarella cheese, stirring while adding.
Add macaroni directly to the cheese mixture in the pot. Pour into a large, greased lasagna pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is bubbly and golden brown.

Potato & Broccoli Soup

Another recipe taken from MrsErikaMay's cooking blog. It notes that this recipe was taken and modified from Cooking Light.

• ¼ cup flour
• 3 ½ cups (or 2 cans) chicken broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 broccoli "tree", chopped
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup half & half
• 1 ½ cup sharp cheddar, shredded (use fresh from a block of cheese for best melting results)

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and about ½ cup broth. This will be used later to thicken the soup.
In a large stockpot, saute the onion in a small amount of olive oil or butter until soft.
Add in remaining broth, potatoes, and broccoli. Bring to a nice simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
Pour in flour mixture and stir in. Continue to stir over medium-high heat until soup thickens.
Pour in milk and half & half, stirring to mix. Cook over medium heat to warm through.
Finally, just before serving, add in cheese and stir until melted. Serve hot.

Ziti, Chicken, & Broccoli with Cheddar Wine Sauce

February 10, 2011 -- I finally tried this for the family tonight. I have my go-to Chicken Ziti Broccoli recipe, but I remembered I had saved this, and in my efforts to make something from the "Can't Wait to Try" list so I could change it to "Tried and True", I thought this would be worth the try. I found this recipe when one of the girls from the Nest message board posted her blog -- taken from MrsErikaMay, who's blog is "beanbistro". She had tried this off someone's else's blog. Got to love recommendations...

• 1 box ziti
• 1 grilled breast of chicken
• 2 stalks of broccoli
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• ½ cup white wine
• ¼ cup dry vermouth
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
• Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Grill chicken (or use leftover grilled chicken)
   (I added a little oil to a skillet and cooked up the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces until cooked through)
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Melt butter in this pan. When butter is melted, add in garlic and cook until aromatic.
3. Stir in flour and mix until smooth and bubbly.
4. Pour in wine and vermouth and stir. When the liquid has reduced by about half, add in chicken stock.
5. Heat stock until boiling, stirring often so it will thicken.
6. Add in cheese and stir until melted. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.
7. Get a large pot of water boiling. Cook the ziti according to directions. Add broccoli florets when there is about 6 minutes remaining and continue cooking. Drain and set aside.
8. Pour in pasta, chicken, and broccoli one at a time, stirring to coat with the sauce each time. Serve hot.

Yields about 8 Servings
Nutritional Information
380.0 Calories, 23.2 Total Fat, 14.3 Saturated Fat, 31.9 Cholesterol, 479.9 Sodium, 60.9 Potassium,
22.9 Total Carbohydrates, 2.4 Dietary Fiber, 1.3 Sugar, 15.1 Protein

Basic Pizza Dough

Taken from Ready2006's post on the Nest.
Mix up a batch of this dough whenever you're in the mood for homemade pizza. Use it in the recipes here, create your own versions, or add mix-ins to customize the crust. Don't worry about rolling the dough into a perfect circle.

• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 package active dry yeast (about 2 ¼ tsp.)
• ¾ cup warm water (100° to 110°)
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces), divided
• ½ tsp. salt
• Cooking spray
• 2 Tbsp. stone-ground yellow cornmeal

Directions
Dissolve the honey and yeast in ¾ cup warm water in a large bowl.
Let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
Add 2 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes).
Add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top.
Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)
Roll dough into a 12-inch circle (about ¼-inch thick) on a lightly floured surface.
Place dough on a rimless baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.
Lightly spray surface of dough with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap.
Place the dough in refrigerator for up to 30 minutes.
Bake according to recipe directions.
Wheat Germ Dough: Replace ¼ cup all-purpose flour with ¼ cup toasted wheat germ.
Asian Dough: Add 2 teaspoons raw sesame seeds.
Herb Dough: Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (use a mix of herbs or just one, such as basil or oregano).
Nutty Dough: Add 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or pecans.
Cheese Dough: Add 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, fontina, or other cheese.
Pepper Dough: Add 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
Note: Nutritional analysis is for 1 (12-inch) pizza crust. -- Yield: 1 (12-inch) crust
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 1155(3% from fat); FAT 3.4g (sat 0.6g,mono 0.5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 33.8g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 49mg; SODIUM 1195mg; FIBER 10.8g; IRON 14.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 242.5g
To make calzones or pizza, we top with sauce (I use a can of tomato sauce simmered for ~20 minutes with spices), cheese, and then your toppings. We love turkey sausage--our favorite combo is ricotta, turkey sausage, and roasted red peppers. Yum!

Texas Potatoes

I received this from my SIL as an idea for the holidays. She got it from a friend, and I've heard they are delicious. I can't wait to try them!

• 1 large bag frozen Hash Browns (Ore Ida)
• 1/4 pound melted butter
• 2/3 pint sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup chopped onion

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a dish and then spread into a 9x11 baking pan
Crumble Ritz crackers (or corn flakes or whatever you have to make it crispy) on top and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Spinach Dip

I got this from my sister-in-law, Francesca. She got it off the back of some container of some sort... but I'll give her 100% credit for introducing me to it. It's become a holiday/party staple.

• 1 envelope Lipton Vegetable Soup and Dip Mix
• 1 8 oz. container sour cream
• 1 cup of Helmann’s mayonnaise
• 1 package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
• (2) bread bowls

Directions
Mix the soup mix, sour cream, mayonnaise, and spinach together in a bowl.
Refrigerate the dip -- the colder the better.
In the meantime, cut one bread bowl into dipping pieces.
Cut the lid off the second bread bowl and hollow it out.
Fill this bread bowl with the dip right before serving.

Bourbon Chicken

Taken from MA Girl in the OC's blog
(Source: RecipeZaar.com)

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¼ tsp. ginger
• ¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup apple juice
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.
Remove chicken.
Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved.
Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve over hot rice.

Modifications:-I only used 2 chicken breasts because that is all I had thawed. But I kept all the sauce ingredients the same as the original recipe so I would have plenty of sauce for my rice.
- I ended up using a slurry (cornstarch and water) to help thicken the sauce because I preferred it to be a thicker consistency.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy of Bruegger's Bagels. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin... but we were in line at Bruegger's Bagels while waiting to get T's hair cut next door at Snip-It's and they had this recipe out on display. It looked easy, and since CC loves to cook, I figured we could give it a whirl.

Here is the whole recipe. I halved it because I didn't feel the need to make TWO cheesecakes -- and I think the only reason why this is for two (besides a marketing ploy to buy four tubs of cream cheese) is because how do you halve five eggs? I did it... I cracked three eggs, whisked them all together (despite how the recipe said to add one at a time) and estimated how much a half an egg was and chucked the extra half egg.

By the way... from the girl who isn't all that in to pumpkin... it was DEEEE-LISH-OUS...

• (4) Bruegger's Pumpkin Cream Cheese containers
• (2) 9" prepared graham cracker crusts
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Mix cream cheese until softened in mixer for 1 minute.
Add sugar gradually while maintaining mixing.
Scrape down sides of bowl.
Add eggs one at a time, blending after each addition.
Add vanilla; mix thoroughly.
Pour batter into prepared graham cracker crusts.
Bake at 325° F for 30-35 minutes.
Cool completely, then refrigerate.

Serve with homemade whipped cream.

Crockpot Ideas (10/09/2007)

From Jenimac:
Put 2-3 pounds of cubed stew beef with 1 cup red wine, 1 cup water, and a packet of onion soup mix. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

From MrsSmailey:
A whole chicken rub with a packet of ranch dry mix dressing and pour 1cup to 1/2 cup chicken broth and cook on low of 8 hours..

From MrsParks23:
Basically I get stew beef, a can of beef broth, carrots and potatoes and cook them on low for 8 hours. I coat the beef in flour first so that the sauce gets thicker. Making a rue. Then I add peas at the end, frozen are ok and pour it over some kind of noodles. I like wide egg noodles - that's what my mom always bought for us.

Crockpot Garlic Chicken

I got this from Mrs.Smailey (Karyn) off the Nest. It sounds like it was made to ward off Count Dracula, and also sounds like something my mom would LOVE, and since I'm becoming a garlic fiend, I can't wait to try it. Karyn says that even though is sounds like a lots of garlic it is not overwhelming.

• (1) whole chicken
• Seasoning
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 40 cloves of garlic

Directions

Take a clean, whole chicken and rub with seasoning.
Place in crockpot.
Pour in the chicken borth and add the garlic cloves.
Cook on low for approximately 8 hours... the chicken will fall off the bone.

Monkey Bread

This recipe is too sinful and too addictive and came from our friend Julie. Since she passed this recipe to us, I have seen something similar using a Tupperware seasoning packet. But who wants to spend a lot of money for their vanilla and cinnamon packet, when we can just use this recipe from scratch?

• 4 packages (10) Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 1/3 sticks butter

Directions

Cut biscuits in quarters.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon together in a big bowl.
Put biscuits in with sugar mixture and coat well.
Put coated biscuits in a bundt pan.
Melt the butter and brown sugar on the stove.
Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the coated biscuits.
Take remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes then flip over slowly onto a plate.

Ice Box Cake

This was Nick's dad's favorite cake. Nick's mom would make this every February for his birthday. It was a yummy pudding cake with graham crackers, and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

• Graham crackers
• (2) boxes vanilla cook and serve pudding
• (2) boxes chocolate cook and serve pudding
• 8 cups milk
• Whipped cream

Directions
Line the bottom of a 9x13” glass pan with graham crackers.
Prepare vanilla pudding as directed.
When pudding is done, slowly pour on top of graham crackers.
Top with another layer of graham crackers.
Prepare chocolate pudding according to package directions.
Slowly pour over second layer of graham crackers.
Crumble 3 full rectangles of graham crackers and sprinkle on top.
Chill at least 1 hour.
Serve by cutting into squares and top with whipped cream.

Tequila Lime Chicken

I actually got this off of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. It's a lot of work, using fresh squeezed juices, but it's so good. I serve it with Near East's Spanish Rice Pilaf.

• ½ cup gold tequila
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5-6 limes)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. fresh jalapeno pepper, minced (1 pepper seeded)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh garlic, minced (3 cloves)
• 2 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast (or 6 split)

Directions

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Add the chicken breasts.
Refrigerate overnight.
Heat grill and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking.
Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade.
Sprinkle well with salt and pepper.
If using chicken with skin still on, grill them skin side down for about 5 minutes until browned.
Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through.
Remove from grill on to a plate.
Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes
Serve hot or at room temperature

Honey Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

Nick's dad used to grill this pork tenderloin at least once a month. It was melt-in-your-mouth good.

• 2 Tbsp. garlic
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup teriyaki sauce
• ½ cup honey

Directions
Combine above ingredients.
Marinate with pork tenderloin for 2-4 hours, shaking and turning the container.
Grill until internal temperature of 160°F.
Let rest about 5-10 minutes and slice.

Blueberry Pie

Nick's mom provided many of my favorite dessert recipes, and here is another one that is really easy to make. You only have to bake the pre-made frozen pie crust. The rest is done on the stovetop and then placed in the refrigerator to set. Absolutely delicious with freshly picked blueberries and served with some Brigham's vanilla.

• 4 cups blueberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. butter/margarine
• 1 cooked pie shell

Directions
Pre-cook pie shell according to directions
Allow to cool
Pour 2 cups of uncooked blueberries into cooked pie shell
In saucepan, combine 2 cups of blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, and butter
Cook on medium-high and then reduced to medium until berries pop (approximately 5-10 minutes)
Pour over uncooked berries in shell
Refrigerate

Apple Crisp

Another recipe from my stepmother, and this has to be my most favorite, MUST MAKE, Fall recipe. For some reason, the recipe is titled "Apple Crisp Pudding". I'm not sure what makes it a pudding, but boy-oh-boy is this good (oh yeah... it probably helps that I basically doubled the streusel topping. My husband thinks it's too much sugar and butter, but I think it's the absolute best. Add some Brigham's vanilla and I'm in heaven!)

• 8 medium apples
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water

Topping:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 14 Tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS

Pare and thinly slice apples
Line in baking pan
Mix sugar and water
Pour over apples
Mix topping and sprinkle over apples
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 1 hour

Apple Cake

I think this recipe came from Nick's mom, again. It was titled "Jewish Apple Cake", but I wasn't sure where she got it since she's not Jewish :-) Regardless, it's a great way to celebrate the Fall with fresh picked apples.

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 5 apples
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Combine sugar, oil, and eggs
Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla
Slice apples thin
Combine apples with 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Add to above
Bake in an ungreased pan at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bars

Another recipe from Mum, and another recipe where you can't just eat one.

• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 2 rolls Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Directions

Slice one roll of cookie dough, ¼-inch thick
Layer in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan, pinching the slices together to cover entire bottom of the pan.
Combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla
Beat until well blended
Pour over cookie dough
Layer second roll on top, leaving small gaps in between slices (it doesn't have to be perfect)
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes
Cool thoroughly before slicing

Fudge

Who doesn't love fudge. This is one of the easiest recipes ever, coming from Nick's mom.

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cups mini-marshmallows
• 1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Combine butter, milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan
Bring to a rolling boil
Stirring constantly, cook 4-5 minutes
Remove from heat
Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips, vanilla and nuts
Stir for 1 minute
Pour into 8" buttered pan
Chill and cut into squares

Key Lime Pie

My mom moved to Florida in 1995. On one of her first visits back, she brought a bottle of key lime juice (turns out, you can buy it in most grocery stores up here now). I tried this recipe off the back of the bottle and it was such a great dessert.

• (1) 9” graham cracker pie crust
• (1) 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ cup key lime juice (NOT lime juice)

Directions
Combine condensed milk, egg yolks, and key lime juice
Blend until smooth
Pour filling into pie crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
Allow to stand 10 minutes
Refrigerate
Top with homemade whipped cream and lime

Raspberry Squares

This recipe came from a co-worker of Nick's dad's, several years ago. She made it around the holidays as a gift, and it was such a hit that I begged him to get the recipe from her. So, this comes thanks to a woman names Sue N. You have to be careful with anyone allergic to nuts. The walnuts just make a nice crust to the squares, and you can't see that there are nuts in these. But they are so good, and so addictive.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ sticks butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 large egg
• ¼ tsp. salt
• (1) 10 oz. jar of raspberry jam
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Cream sugar and butter
Add egg, walnuts, flour, salt, and vanilla
Mix well
Press down one-half of the dough in greased 9-inch square pan
Spread jam over dough
Top with remaining dough
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Sand Art Brownies

This is a great idea that I have used as Christmas gifts several times. It's easy to make up a bunch of these at one time, and they are THE MOST decadent, rich, and delicious brownies you will ever have.

Put in 1 mason jar, in order:

• ½ cup flour, plus 2 Tbsp. flour

½ tsp. salt

½ cup cocoa

½ cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white sugar

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup butterscotch chips

 
Type up the below with the wet ingredients, baking instructions, and frosting recipe. I used green paper to print out and make the card and cut it into a Christmas tree shape, tying it to the lid with a string of raffia.I got a piece of holiday fabric, cut it with craft scissors, and tied it with the card and the raffia.


When ready to bake add:

• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup oil
• 3 eggs beaten
• Pour into greased 9x11” pan
• Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees
• Cool and frost

Chocolate Frosting:

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 1 bag large marshmallows
  
  Cook butter, sugar, and milk on stove top just until boiling
  Add chocolate chips and large marshmallows
  Mix until gloss wears off

Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

I got this recipe from Nick's mother. It's a fabulous single crust pie, with the batter creating almost a top crust. It's fabulous with fresh strawberries in the early summer.

• 9” pie shell
• 4 cups strawberries, halved and sliced
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• Sugar for top of pie

Directions
Place strawberries in uncooked pie shell
Sift together sugar, flour, and salt
Fold in sour cream and pour over strawberries
Sprinkle top with sugar
Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees
Lower oven to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until top is slightly browned

Special Notes:

You may want to put a foiled cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the oven to avoid the strawberry drippings on the floor of your oven.

Check the edges of the pie crust during baking. You may need to add foil around the edges of the crust to prevent overbrowning or burning.

Banana Bread

This recipe came from Nick's grandmother. I've used it to make it in bread loaves, as well as muffins (mini and regular size).

• 3 bananas, mashed
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup soft shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt

Directions
Mix first four ingredients in mixing bowl.
Sift last four ingredients and add to banana mixture
Mix well
Bake at 350 degrees in greased loaf pan until done – approximately 60 minutes

Whoopie Pies

Another recipe from my stepm that we made while growing up. We recently made batches and batches of these for CC's 5th Grade bake sale. They were delicious and just like I remembered growing up. It always surprised me that the filling isn't made with any type of whipping cream, but they taste like it.

Pies

• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ cup hot water
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 ¾ cups unsifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup buttermilk

Filling

• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• Dash of salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup shortening
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Mix cocoa and hot water
Cream shortening and sugar
Add eggs, milk, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla
Add cocoa mixture
Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet (I used a 1" scoop)
Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
Cook and set aside to coolFilling
In a medium bowl, combine flour, milk, and salt
In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening
Combine above mixtures
Beat until fluffy
Add vanilla
Spread between two pies


Alternate Filling Recipe
Jim wanted to try another alternative filling that didn't include shortening. I went to my go-to baking expert, Martha, who graciously shared her grandmother's recipe. It was a hit!

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 7 heaping Tbsp. marshmallow fluff
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together.

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

I found this recipe a long time ago in the Boston Herald. I would venture to guess that it was sometime around 1990. I suppose the recipe dates itself, in a way, since there is no longer such a store as Jordan Marsh. I was working for an environmental company in Cambridge. It was in the earlier days of working at this company. I remember that we were at the old location, and I was still an administrative assistant. It was summer... a lot of people were on vacation, and there was virtually nothing to do. Someone had brought in a Herald, which I thought was cool, since I grew up in a Boston Globe family. The Herald, to me at that age, had all of the entertainment gossip and fun stuff, like regular recipes (not fancy gourmet stuff). Me, being more of a baker at heart, thought this was so cool. I have been using this recipe ever since -- gosh, looking at the year, pretty darn close to 20 years. ACK!

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 ½ cups blueberries
• Sugar for tops of muffins

Directions
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy
Add eggs and mix until blended
Sift in dry ingredients
Mix in milk and vanilla
Mash in ½ cup of the blueberries and stir in
Add rest of the blueberries
Grease muffin tins
Spoon batter into muffin tins(Note: these muffins are large and tend to overflow; if you want smaller muffins, use two muffin pans)
Sprinkle tops with sugar
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes

Streusel Coffee Cake

This recipe came from my Mum. I have memories of making this all the time throughout my childhood, especially when we'd be going to visit my grandparents' cottage in Maine and special occasions. It's a delicious coffee cake.

Cake

• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Streusel

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2-4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped nuts (i.e., walnuts)
• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Cream butter, eggs, and sugar
Add sour cream
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
Add vanilla
Mix streusel ingredients

Grease a Bundt pan, and add one-half the batter
Sprinkle half the streusel
Pour remaining batter
Finish with remaining streuselBake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour