Category Archives: Holiday

Julie’s Honey Cake with Whiskey – Holiday Recipe

Posted on September 14, 2012 | 1 comment

DSCN4319Firstly, thanks so much Julie for taking the time out of your busy baking to send me these wonderful recipes and allowing me to post them on my site. Julie bakes and sells her products in the Aspen area and will ship anywhere, the name of her company is Aspen Jewels Bakery.  Julie also said to inform all of us who live at high altitude that this is strictly a “sea level” cake, if cooked at high altitude it will sink and will be raw inside. This is unfortunate, but there are lots of other cakes to bake.  High Altitude baking is treacherous. You will need a tube pan for this cake.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

3 eggs ( room temp)

1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil which Julie recommends

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Whiskey

1 cup Honey

1 1/2 cups coffee (just leave it in a cup from the morning coffee)

1/4 cup orange juice from a fresh orange ( you will need the zest anyway)

1 Tablespoon orange zest

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a tube pan with flour spray. Beat honey, sugars, eggs and oil. Add zest. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Add coffee and juice alternating with dry ingredients. Fold in nuts. Bake for 70 – 90 minutes until tester comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Or you can make a chocolate glaze to put on top . Once the cake cools down.

Chocolate Glaze:

this is perfect to drizzle over cakes of any kind, it is my recipe for chocolate glaze. You may have to play with the consistency. Add the powdered sugar slowly till you achieve the texture you want. You can always add a little more warm water to thin it out.

3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 cup powdered sugar ( confectioners)

3 Tbsp. warm water (could use milk but not necessary)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter, add all ingredients , ( go slowly with sugar), Stir until well mixed and smooth. You may need to play around with icing to get the consistency you want. Drizzle on cooled down cake.

1 Comment

Posted in Baked Goods, Cake, Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Tagged , , ,

A Noodle Pudding from Julie – Apricot Apple Noodle Kugel

Posted on September 12, 2012 | 2 comments

DSCN4319Firstly I want to say thank you to Julie for your support and your wonderful recipes , it’s so great to be able to share new and different recipes especially for the same old same old. This one sounds amazing, and I am excited to try it. According to Julie it’s been published in several papers in Detroit. So we have a noodle pudding from Michigan. Thanks Julie. I am going to be making this one this year.

Ingredients:

1 lb . medium egg noodles

1 cups butter, melted

1 1/2 cup sgar

1 1/2 pints sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs, beaten

1 1lb. crushed pineapple, drained

1 lb. dried apricots, chopped

1 lb. dried apples, chopped

3/4 cup applesauce

brown sugar and cinnamon * for the top of the pudding ( about 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon) just enough to sprinkle over the entire top of casserole. You will have to eyeball this.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain.   Pour melted butter over noodles. Combine sugar, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, pineapple, applesauce and apricots. Combine fruit mixture with noodles.

Line a 9 x 13 or larger pan with cooking spray and place dried apples in the bottom of the pan. Pour noodle mixture into the pan and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. ( you may not need 1/2 cup of brown sugar, just sprinkle entire top )

Bake for 45 minutes or until set and serve immediately. Cut while warm, this freezes beautifully. Julie suggests cutting it before freezing.

2 Comments

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Tagged , , , ,

Rosh Hashana Menu

Posted on September 9, 2012 | 1 comment

My menu could change at any moment, but I will give you a listing of recipes that I posted last year and a few new ones. I will write the titles of the recipes and all you have to do is put that into the search box on my blog or Holiday Recipes should work.  I am going to post a few new recipes , and I will reblog some of the old ones as well. In the event that you’re planning your menu and starting to shop for the holiday, here is a list of some oldies but goodies that may work out well for you. Remember to look for the new recipes as well, I will be posting them throughout this week.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe so you get my emails as I post them. ( It’s free and fun)

Happy New Year Brisket, Chicken Marbella, Applesauce and Raisin Cake, Don’t let the Apples go Bad Cake, Mushroom Barley, Grandma Millie’s Cauliflower, Another Noodle Pudding from Marcy ( Parve), Noodle Pudding with Apricot Nectar, Homemade Chicken soup with Not-so-homemade Matzo Balls, Happy New Year Brisket and Happy New Year Chicken.

*if you type in Holiday/ Holiday Recipes you should also be able to find the recipes . Most are categorized, in fact almost all of them are.

1 Comment

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Tagged

My Farewell to Nora Ephron: her Tzimmes

Posted on September 8, 2012 | 2 comments

Nora Ephron was a wonderful writer and filmmaker. When she died,  her recipes were passed around  at her memorial service. This one was printed in the NY Times and I held on to it so I would be able to pay some small homage to her. Since Rosh Hashanah is almost here, I thought it appropriate to post this recipe, which is a traditional Jewish dish of stewed fruits and vegetables. The funny part about this recipe is that, in it, Nora states that it is “delicious with a pork roast”. You have to laugh at her delicious sense of humor. I will miss her work and so this is my homage to her–the woman and the artist. I will think of her with fondness when I prepare this dish.

Ingredients:

5 carrots cut in various shapes

3 peeled yams cut into pieces

2 cups butternut squash cut up

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup pitted prunes

1/4 cup raisins

2 cups beef stock

3 tbsp. butter or margarine

1/3 cup brown or white sugar or marmalade

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:

In a small pot bring the beef stock to a boil with the butter.

Add the carrots and boil for about 5 minutes till tender but not overcooked. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add 3 peeled yams, and boil for about 5 – 7 minutes till tender but not overcooked. Remove to bowl with carrots. Add butternut squash and boil until tender but not overcooked. Remove to bowl. Add a cup of dried apricots and cook 5 minutes, remove, and then do the same with the prunes. Add some raisins for a minute or two. Then boil down the broth that’s left, adding about 1/3 cup sugar, white or brown; or if you prefer 1/3 cup marmalade. When mixture is reduced by about half, remove about 1/2 cup to a measuring cup. Whisk 1 tbsp. cornstarch into it, then add broth to the pot, and whisk until thickened. Put all the vegetables and fruit into a large, pretty casserole dish, and pour the broth over it. Before serving, reheat at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

* I printed this directly off of her recipe from the NY Times

 

2 Comments

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Rosh Hashana is almost here! how can that be?????

Posted on September 7, 2012 | 2 comments

How can this be? It’s still warm , I’m still out in Colorado and I’m not ready to let go of the last breath of summer. I am returning to NY next week and need to get myself in some sort of gear for this holiday.  Have to switch my bike helmet for my chef’s hat.  I only cook for 12 the first night, so it’s not too too scary. I will re-blog some of my beloved holiday recipes, and as always please feel free to contact me and contribute any recipes that have worked well for you over the years. Have a sweet , happy and healthy New Year to all of you.

2 Comments

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Don’t Let the Apples Go Bad Cake

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 1 comment

Apples are the kind of fruit we eat all year round. They are always in the fridge and if they don’t get eaten, I  feel guilty that they’re just sitting there and going to go bad.  I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and decided since we were leaving for Colorado and I was not ditching perfectly good apples, I would make it and freeze it for when we come back.  (The cake would freeze well…the apples, not so much.) You’ll need a tube pan. You don’t need an electric mixer, so it’s pretty easy on the special equipment. Use those leftover apples–dont’ let them go bad. No butter in this recipe, lots of sugar though.  My house smelled divine.

I also love this recipe for the Jewish Holidays which are just around the corner…..just saying. I’m not ready to start posting for the Holidays yet but this makes a lovely dessert.

*you can see in photos that I use a melon baller to get the pits out of the middle of the apple. I prefer this technique over the corer thingys which never really work. The melon baller works perfectly: first cut apple in half, then scoop out just the pits.

www.smittenkitchen

Ingredients:

6 apples (I used what I had in the house: a combo of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp. Good old Macintosh will work, too.)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange juice (try to use fresh but if not, Tropicana will do)

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup walnuts, chopped (this is optional; I didn’t use them this time out)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core, and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside (I sprayed with a baking spray. There’s no need to add any butter here.)

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. This mixture will be rather thick.  Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to get it all out of the bowl.

Pour 1/2 the batter into prepared tube pan. Spread 1/2 the apples over this. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Use your eye to halve  batter and apples (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly halved.) Bake for about 90 minutes, or until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean. I would check cake after 1 hour 20 minutes. I baked for the full 90 minutes; it’s a rather thick cake.

1 Comment

Posted in dessert, Holiday, Holiday Recipes

Tagged , ,

Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes (gotta have ’em)

Posted on November 17, 2011 | 1 comment

1/2 eaten Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

1/2 eaten Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

pre marshmallow topping

We always have to have a sweet potato dish with those darn marshmallows! This has a little twist which makes it a bit more interesting. It’s easy, tasty and unique, because I make it with both marshmallows and pecan halves on top. There are probably a million different recipes for mashed sweet potatoes, but this one goes on my table this year.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks. Cook Sweet Potatoes (If you want to cheat with the canned ones, I won’t tell anyone, and what’s more is no one will know with all the other stuff in it.) Just drain them well.

1/2 cup whole milk (no skim please)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (when I double I just add 2 tblsp. butter no need to add 8)

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

20 big marshmallows or mini marshmallows ( as many as you can fit on top)

*40 pecan halves to cover top (you can use only marshmallows if you want)

Directions:

Cover sweet potatoes with cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are knife tender. Drain and return to pot. Mash potatoes with a masher, then stir in milk, butter, pineapple, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

Transfer mixture to a 2 1/2 quart oval casserole dish, smooth out on top. If you want to make a checkerboard top, start at the top left, and alternate one marshmallow with 2 pecan halves until the entire casserole is covered. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until marshmallows are browned and puffed. If you don’t feel like doing the checkerboard, you can also sprinkle mini marshmallows on top, or some large ones. Whatever you like. This is pretty loose, but you gotta have marshmallows!

*this recipe serves about 8 – 10 as a side

1 Comment

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, vegetarian

Tagged , , ,

Pumpkin Walnut Bread (no butter)

Posted on November 10, 2011 | 5 comments

I just love pumpkin and I can’t stop posting about it. Pumpkin Season is here.  I love baking this bread because the smell in the house is beyond. I usually serve pumpkin bread and a banana bread in my bread basket on Thanksgiving. It’s hard to believe that there is no butter in this moist, delicious bread. I make both of these way ahead of time, because they freeze so well. You can even double the recipe if you have two loaf pans, and eat one now and tuck one away for another day like Thanksgiving. It’s a nice thing to bring to someone’s house as a gift as well if you’re so inspired. Also, this bread is loaded with spices, speaking of Spices and Penzey’s Spice Market (see post.)  This recipe will make one perfect loaf.

*this bread freezes beautifully for up to 8 weeks. Double wrap it in plastic and put in a resealable plastic freezer bag, and put the date on it. Defrost, still wrapped in the plastic to avoid condensation on the bread, at least 2 hours before serving. I take out of freezer the night before I’ll be using it.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (I sift)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts (obviously this is optional)

You will need a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, parchment paper, large bowl, medium bowl, whisk, silicone or rubber spatula.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position oven rack in the center of oven.

Lightly coat the loaf pan with melted butter and dust with flour, or spray with Pam. I line my loaf with a piece of parchment paper that extends one inch beyond the edge of the pan (this makes it easy to life the bread out. It is optional , just make sure you grease pan in one way or another first. If you’re not comfortable working with parchment paper, skip it. I like it but it can be tricky in a loaf pan. Just grease well, or give it a good spray.)

In a large bowl, sift the flour. Then, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and salt until thoroughly blended. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the water. Add the sugar and blend well. Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and blend well. Add the pumpkin moisture to the dry ingredients and whisk until well blended and smooth. Add the walnuts and stir until they are well distributed. Use a spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 55 – 65 minutes, until the bread is firm to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean from the center of loaf.  I let it cool for about 10 minutes, then I turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. I don’t freeze it until it is completely cool.

5 Comments

Posted in breads/cakes, Holiday, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, vegetarian

Tagged , , ,

Thanksgiving Corn Bread Pudding

Posted on November 8, 2011 | 1 comment

My friend Audrey gave this to me many years ago, and it has become a staple on our thanksgiving table ever since. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it. It is a favorite in the Kolen household. Can be doubled easily.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (unsalted) 1 stick

8 oz. sour cream (lite ok but not fat-free)

8 oz.  can sweet corn (drained)

8 oz. can creamed corn

8 oz. pkg. corn muffin mix

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter, mix in beaten eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Pour into glass baking dish (Pyrex is good and I spray it first.) 9 x 12 works fine, it’s not a very deep pudding.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

1 Comment

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

Tagged

Two Soups for Thanksgiving

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

One of these two soups will be on my Thanksgiving table this year. They are both deserving of a spot, and they are both perfect for the season. Pumpkin Lentil and my Butternut Squash (no cream). Butternut usually wins because it is lighter, and if I serve a salad (which I usually do,) it’s the better choice. The Pumpkin Lentil is delicious and worthwhile though. It’s a tough choice but may the better soup win. I will make my decision after I finalize the rest of my menu. Look for the Pumpkin Lentil Soup Post, which is new. The Butternut Squash is already on the blog under Soups. The Pumpkin Lentil is so inviting–try it this weekend. Stock up on some canned pumpkin so you can make it all through the winter.  You will be able to find both recipes under the Soups category.

Leave a comment

Posted in Holiday, Holiday Recipes, Holiday/ Thanksgiving Recipes

Tagged