Hot Buttered Rum on a cold winter's night

Hot Buttered Rum's and Ginger Cookies

I thought I might as well chime in on the "hot" drinks that everyone is blogging about. I've seen recipes for mocha's and hot chocolates, but one of my favorite holiday drinks are Hot Buttered Rums. I make the batter around Thanksgiving and if I'm lucky it will last until the middle of January. It's a very sweet drink, so you can't drink more than one in a sitting. Usually. I guess there are always exceptions to the rule. But they are really, really sweet.

Christmas time, when I was young, would be spent between my maternal and paternal grandparents homes. They lived one block from each other. My paternal grandparents would make Tom and Jerry's during the holidays, my maternal grandparents would have Hot Buttered Rums. Honestly, I've never made the Tom and Jerry's. I guess because I just love the HBR's so much.

They are best on a snowy day, of course. And with a good homemade cookie.
An old movie, or a good book, don't' hurt much either. If it can all come together at the same time, it's heaven!

Hot Buttered Rum

1 lb real butter
1 lb brown sugar
1 lb white sugar
1/2 gallon real vanilla ice-cream

melt together over slow heat. Store in a jar or Tupperware container in the fridge for a few days, then freeze and use when you need it.

I like mine with hot milk, but most people like their's made with just hot water. With milk, it's like a warm butterscotch treat. Mmmmm.

Use 2 Tbls of the batter
1 oz light rum
mix together in a coffee mug and add boiling water or hot milk.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

The cookie you should make?

Spicy and Soft Gingersnaps.(a combination of 3 recipes) (if it sounds similar to your recipe, it probably is...thanks. I give you credit. I just can't remember exactly who I borrowed this combination from. but they are really REALLY good)

1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
2 cups flour, plus 2 tblsp
cinnamon and sugar for rolling

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream together the oil, sour cream, sugar and molasses. Stir in the egg. Add pepper, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Stir in flour. The dough will be soft and sticky. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in cinnamon/sugar and place on cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are spread and looking crackly. for softer cookies, under bake slightly, for crispy ones, let them go a minute longer. Let cool on cookie sheets for two minutes. Transfer to rack .
Mmmmm.....good.

My Back yard Birds in last week. They are right outside my kitchen window. One thing I love about my kitchen. I could bake and watch the snow fall all day!

Happy New Year Resolutions

Resolutions.

So, a few weeks before Christmas, I am in the mall, searching for a gift for my mom. She wanted a nightgown. She is kind of hard to please in the nightgown department. she wants silky, but not sexy, sleeveless, but not spaghetti straps. She wants it to be floor length, but not to cling to any part of her body. There I am, in the nightwear section of JCPenney's searching thru the tons of cute pajamas for that nightgown. All of the sudden, another shopper, a very nice woman, said to me.. "they sure don't make cute ones for us, do they?" I quickly looked behind me to see who she could be talking to. And then my head swung back to her... The very nice lady, looking in the nightgown section, who just called me FAT.
Okay, she didn't actually call me fat, and she wasn't "fat" either, she was just a little on the plump side. BUT SHE WAS TALKING TO ME LIKE I WAS A COMRADE. One of the gang. In her club.
I was defeated. I hung my head and slunk away. (is slunk actually a word? Well, whatever-- I did it. I slunked away) But first, I snagged the perfect nightgown for my mom... everything she always wanted in a nightgown-even--PURPLE. Hooray for me.

Fast forward a week or so, and I get a box in the mail from my mom. She used it to send our Christmas gifts. All was fine, we were excited to open it and place our gifts under the tree. That is until....UNTIL I noticed the box.



She had sent our gifts in an Optifast box. Optifast!! The liquid diet that both my dad and Oprah lost some weight on a few years back. Of course, they have both gained back, but the point is not that. The point is....could this be a hint from on high? My mother? God? Should I be dieting? Should I be exercising? Hitting the gym?
But I like to cook. I like things with cream, and with butter. I like cookies!!
And, I just took a picture of and counted every cookbook I own...planning on making a resolution to cook one recipe from everyone of them in 2009. I was planning on a lot of cooking. Which leads to a lot of eating. Darn.

So, to counter that, I will also make a resolution to get back into walking. Every. Single. Day. If I am going to cook and eat, I have to walk. That's all there is too it.
I am an early riser anyway.... and I used to do it. I just need to get back in the habit. I like walking. It's good for a number of things. Physical health, mental health and the environment.

So there you have it. My new year's resolutions.
to cook one recipe from every cookbook I own this year.
to walk every day this year. (or 5 times a week)
and my old stand-by....send everyone's birthday cards to them on time. (big family, lots of birthdays)

And now my cookbooks (after seeing these in photos, maybe I'll add, organize to my resolution list)
Everyone always says "I have a cookbook obsession" or "I have more cookbooks than anyone person should be allowed to own". Well, I've always known....I've known that I have more, but it seemed like I was bragging or trying to jump on someone else's bandwagon, and I didn't want to do that. After actually counting them this morning, I don't think it's bragging....I think it's a sickness. I am sick. I really am obsessed.
I'm embarrassed.

Let's just jump in.....


I have 78 cookbooks on this shelf in my kitchen. 78. and 4 random little cooking magazines shoved in there.



I have 35 cookbooks on this wicker shelf and 30 assorted cooking magazines. My husband repeatedly tells me this shelf is about ready to fall over. I know that.



I have 46 cookbooks on this shelf. And 38 assorted cooking magazines.


and on this one? I have 47 cookbooks.


Among all the cookbooks, I have these notebooks---6 of them. They hold my collected recipes from 30 years of marriage, and from friends and family. They are all separated and in groups.

I have this file cabinet in my dining room....and the top drawer has a file with recipes torn out of magazines and printed off various blogs, that I have wanted to try. Also, 8 cookbooks that are new and 11 magazines that I need to go thru.

The magazines? Once a year, I go thru them and tear out recipes I want to try and then put them in the file and then if they are keepers, they go in my notebooks.
I am sick, I told you.

This brings us to....OH WAIT A MINUTE. In my pantry (right beside the lime-green tuppeware jello mold that I have used once in the last 15 years ) I have a basket of random cooking magazines. Those little ones you get by the check out counter.
I didn't count those.

Not counting those, this brings us to:
214 cookbooks
6 huge notebooks with hundreds of recipes from friends, family and Internet
83 assorted cooking magazines. (which I will throw away as soon as I go thru them one last time and pull out a few recipes from each)

And I have to make a recipe from every single one? I mean, I will make a recipe from every single one.
But the cook book of all cookbooks?

This one titled "How to Cook without a book" (and please notice my brand new--Christmas gift---cookbook holder. It's unique! I love it. Thank you my friend Robbie)

**

Rum Cake...better late than never

Even tho my computer was down and I wasn't worried about taking pictures for posts that I wasn't going to be able to make, my husband did snap this one of me making my rum cake...so,why not?

We love rum cake. My friend Theda gave me my first rum cake a few years ago. I can't believe that I had lived so long without tasting rum cake.

Rum cake is good. Heavenly. Tasty. Yummy.

Theda still mails me a rum cake every holiday season, but I just couldn't wait for that "one" a year, so I found a recipe that I'm sure is a duplicate of hers (shhhh.....don't tell. I wouldn't want her to stop sending me a rum cake each year. I just make a few more to give as my gifts. And I send one to my son in Arizona.)

Theda is a great cook, a great baker....her Rum cake is the BEST!

(she's the best! We've been friends since jr. high and we're both grandma's now)

Holiday Rum Cake

---Cake---

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 18oz yellow cake mix

1 1-3/4 oz (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup dark Barcardi rum

--Glaze--

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark Barcardi rum

-preperation-preheat oven to 325 degrees f.

Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of the pan.

Combine all cake ingredients.

Beat for 2 minutes on high with an electric mixer.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes, invert on a plate, pour 1/4 of the glaze in the bundt pan and carefully, place semi-cooled cake back in the bundt pan to soak up that good glaze. Spoon 1/4 of the glaze onto the top of cake in the pan.

Set for 10 minutes.

Invert cake onto a serving platter. Prick with fork and drizzle the rest of the glaze over top of cake. Use a brush or spoon to put extra glaze back on the cake.

For the glaze, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum, trying not to scortch your eyebrows and lashes!
This cake freezes wonderfully. Travels good. Stays moist for days and is just plain good.

The cake that Theda sent me....

I'm back with the best Christmas gift ever...and, some chocolate cookies

Chocolate Crinkles.... we'll get to them in a minute.

Hello friends! I do have a new computer. Yay! What a great Christmas gift from Mr. Husband! He was good to me. I got a really cool recipe program, where I can make my own family cookbook, a new food processor and some other really nice "foodie" gifts.
I also got my dream present this year, which completely overrides any recipe program or new computer. It was one I had been imagining for quite some time, but I didn't think it would come true this year. I imagined it many times in my mind. But it's so much better when it really happens.

This is how it went.....
my son Mark and his wife Sadie handed us small package on Christmas Eve. They had made a poem....and adaptation of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". One line was.... "in October Sadie felt a little fatter, they ran to the doctor to see what was the matter."

Yes my blogging friends... A BABY! And to what to my wandering eyes did appear, but a picture of TWINS!! Two babies!!!

I was crying and laughing and shaking all at the same time. They have been wanting this for a while and I am soooo happy for them. I got my Christmas dream.... in doubles. 2x!

The bad part of this Christmas season, is that I didn't get to blog all my Christmas treats, goodies and feasts as did everyone else. I searched and surfed all my food blogging friends every day tho, and got great ideas for myself. So, I enjoyed your holidays, all your blog posts, your treasured recipes and traditions, even tho I was unable to participate.

My day yesterday was spent, (not cleaning, as it looks like a Christmas bomb went off in my house) but cooking for game night.
I made (but took no pictures) sloppy joes, macaroni and cheese, and potato cheese soup....so that everyone could have their pick of what they wanted. We still had a side table full of cookies and snack mix and fudge. It was a great day. Surrounded by my kids and cooking.
GAME NIGHT!! We played some new games and some old games with family and friends, while it still snowed outside and we had a fire in the fireplace.

We had a foot of snow!! oh.....perhaps only 11 inches.

That is Mr. Husband. His best side? naw........ (although I do happen to think this is a very fine side of his )

Now on to the cookies...

I did get a quick pic or two of one of my Christmas cookies.... better late than never.
If you like brownies, you'll like these... My grandmother and my mother made them every Christmas. I bake them all up and then I freeze a lot of them, and am still pulling them out a few at a time in January and February. It makes quite a bit.

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Mix together oil, melted chocolate, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix well. Chill 2 hours.
Form dough into small balls, the size of a walnut and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Or use parchment paper or silpats.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
10 minutes for chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crispy cookies.
*****

The dough freezes well also. To make it really easy on you, make into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet (before rolling in powdered sugar of course) and then store in Ziploc freezer bag. To bake, remove as many balls as you need from the freezer and let thaw for 30 minutes, then roll in sugar and bake.

Very good and chocolaty and chewy.

and I will leave you with this.... because I have young adult sons, who think they are funny.

no computer

I have no computer at home (I'm at work for a moment today), and it's driving me crazy!!
BUT, I have been cooking/baking up a storm.
Stay tuned.... I'll post blogs 2x a day next week.
I MISS YOU.
BUT, I've been able to accomplish things.

do you think.....could I....mabye... be addicted to blogging and reading blogs?

Poor Man's pastie, pigs in a blanket, or strange foods you ate as a kid.

A Poor Man's Pastie.

Pigs in a blanket. When I say it, do you think of pancakes and sausages? Or do you think of little cocktail smokies wrapped in a crescent roll dough, eaten with mustard at a party?
This has been the question of the ages for me. Because when I say it, it brings to mind something a bit different for everyone.

Yesterday day I made the little ones for an open house we attended in the afternoon.
And I am not too proud to admit that I love pancakes with sausages and syrup for breakfast!

But yesterday, when making the cocktail ones, all of the sudden, I was hit with a memory of my mom making what she called Pigs in a Blanket.
I remembered feeling a sense of comfort and family and safety. And since it was a snowy, cold Sunday afternoon, I decided to make this old family recipe.

After of course, we ventured out in freezing temperatures to go to the Holiday Open House at the Church Parsonage.

Fast forward to back home.... me reminiscing about my mom making this quick supper for us. It had to be towards the end of the month, close to the next pay day, when money was running out, she'd throw together her "Pigs in a Blanket".

And let me just state right here...we all have those strange meals from our childhood that we would never actually admit to, right? Meals that we were just sure no one else on earth ever had because they were so different?
My mom took pear halves out of a can and put a dollop of mayo in the center and sprinkled some cheddar cheese and called it our salad. It was in 1960's for heaven's sake.
The 1960's when I was growing up was not known for home-based gourmet cooks. TV dinners were in fashion, and it was way cool, to peel back some foil and Wa-LAH, there was your friend chicken and mashed potatoes and peas and carrots. But that was probably a bit pricey for the end of the month, so my mom would whip together this......



and so I made them last night.
Pigs in a blanket.
Hot dogs ( Rich picked them up for me. I would have preferred a heartier-sausager type of weenie, but it's okay)
onion
sharp cheddar cheese
and homemade biscuit dough.

It's like a very poor man's Cornish Pastie.

But you know what? It was warm. And it was good. And it reminded me of my mom. And growing up.
And I can't believe I'm posting about it.....

and there really is no recipe. I made biscuit dough from my Bright Orange Betty Crocker cookbook, that I have had for 30 some years.

sliced a hot dog
added chopped onion

and cheese

rolled it up

Baked it for about 20 minutes.


mmmmm.......mmmmmmm. (okay, it's not for everybody. LOL )

Silly old Bassett Hound, Monroe checking out which cookbook I'll use next!




To redeem myself, I also made some caramel corn last night. I will send it to my sons in Connecticut and Arizona today.

Caramel Corn

3-4 bags of microwaved popcorn-popped
3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
3/4 cups light corn syrup
1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the popped corn in a large roaster.
melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Be sure not to scorch.
Remove from heat and add the baking soda and the vanilla. Stir to mix.
Pour over the popped corn and stir well.

Put the roaster in a 250degree oven and cook for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Pour onto waxed paper and let cool.
Break apart and eat.
*****

I use microwave popcorn--and try to pick out all the "old-maids" before covering it with the caramel sauce.


Melting everything


Ready to pop in the oven

Ready to cool --all laid out on the waxed paper.

Cool enough

Ready to eat!

Small town Holiday Parades and me

Last night was our annual "Christmas Parade of Lights".

We live in a small town, so this is no Macy's Parade or Rose parade, but it is ours. We love it. Hundreds of people brave the cold, wrap up in thermal underwear, blankets and bring thermoses of hot chocolate or hot toddies, to sit along the parade route to await the parade which begins at 5:30 p.m. when it gets good and dark.

The parade lasts approximately one hour depending on how many floats we have.
We usually have anywhere between 20 and 40 entries in the parade. Last night we had a good turnout--34.

After the parade, a few things happen simultaneously, Santa comes to the firehouse, after he is finished with the parade. There is Hot chocolate and a food drive and pictures. The firemen are hanging about ...we have a volunteer fire department...and there is people mingling, visiting and laughing at those babies who really don't want to sit on Santa's lap.

A block down and a block over, on the Nixon Lawn (not named after our former president), (the lawn is in the center of town, the rural Nevada equal to a town commons), there is community Christmas Caroling, with hot cocoa too.

Then one block over from the caroling, the Methodist Church hosts chili and hot dogs and has a game night--board games, cards, trivia--it's quite fun.

The idea is that folks travel from one to the other.

I work for the Chamber of Commerce. I'm the only one there in the office... again, small town. So the organization of the parade falls on my shoulders. It's gone good for the past 6 years that I have been doing it.
Last night I remembered to take my camera.... BUT, I forgot my glasses, forgot to set the camera settings to night/action and I had gloves on. These are my excuses for pictures like the ones below. LOL

But you guys--you blog readers, have seen my food photography, so really, I can't rationalize, can I? I just take bad pictures.

They are space-aged pictures.

It's a good think the newspaper was there taking REAL photos. I'll get some and post them at another time. Another good thing about a small town... I can just call the newspaper and say, "hey Mike, can you e-mail me some of those pictures you took, mine just didn't turn out"
He'll sigh and say of course. (he's used to me too, and my picture taking abilities)

But....there is something unique about these space aged pics.... don't ya think?


and then it dawned on me to say STOP while I take your picture.



Merry Christmas....I'm off to cook something. Caramel corn, spritz cookies, sugar cookies and spaghetti!!