White Hot Chocolate

Who came up with white chocolate? Whoever it was, my mom has a couple words to say to them. Her hate for white chocolate brings our family great joy and laughter. Christina opens up a white chocolate KitKat sitting five feet away from Mom: Mom gets up and sits further away. Dad wafts white chocolate scent towards Mom from his White Chocolate Peppermint Bark: Mom gags and reprimands Dad. 

My mom once ate a whole bunch of white chocolate as a kid, got sick and gave it all to the porcelain throne. Ever since, just the smell of white chocolate brings back those unpleasant feelings. Because of this, I’ve never really had much of white chocolate. I decided to go out on a limb and try a recipe for white hot chocolate. I think I liked normal hot chocolate better, but it is pretty good. It is sweet and extremely creamy and rich. Make sure that when you add the white chocolate that you stir constantly until all the chocolate is melted. I left the rum out which goes in at the very end, but if anyone tries it with the rum, let me know how it tasted.  

http://www.marthastewart.com/353194/white-chocolate-hot-cocoa-coconut-and-rum

Spicing it up vs. Spicing it down

Lately Ryan and I have tried to find some healthy snacks to substitute for cookies, Doritos and popcorn. I poked around the Food Network site and stumbled upon a salsa recipe. 

Ryan’s favorite food type is Mexican. He grew up in Arizona and is no stranger to hot and spicy food. Actually, his family can’t get enough of it. Whenever I go down to visit, they try to grow my tolerance for spicy stuff, which isn’t always an easy process. Needless to say, my bland preference clash with Ryan’s some of the time. But I finally found a salsa that we both like!

I’ve realized that simplicity is my best friend. The ingredients are pretty simple except for the mango, which is a little tricky since it’s hard to find good, fresh mango produce in Utah during the winter. Other than that, this salsa is a great snack or appetizer for people that have a hard time stomaching spicy food. 

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-mango-salsa/detail.aspx

Shish Kabobs

When it comes to grilling up the meat, I let Ryan take over. Soon after we moved in to our new place about two years ago, my mother-in-law, Lisa bought Ryan a nice, new grill for graduation. Every guy needs his own grill to complete his manhood. We use this grill a lot for our meals, but when winter comes we have to figure something else out. Recently, I found this shish kabob recipe but we had already put the grill away in the garage. Luckily, last week’s snowless weather allowed us to sneak the grill out one more time this year to try out this recipe. 

The ingredients for this recipe are pretty simple and cheap. I stole the skewers and some bacon from my parent’s house, so that really helped our budget. The mushrooms and chicken take an hour to marinate so make sure you get that done first. I had Ryan as my right hand man in the kitchen, and then sent him outside to handle the grilling. The best thing about this recipe is the tangy flavor! The pineapples are just succulent and the chicken wrapped in bacon is to die for. I recommend this to any and every one.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-bacon-shish-kabobs/

Funeral Food

Last week was dead week for English majors, so I had ample time to cook. Thanksgiving motivated me to try some different things. Ever since I can remember, Thanksgiving at our house had basically the same things. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. But this year was different. My mom tried a lot of new things. Instead of mashed potatoes (which are usually my favorite), we made funeral potatoes and sweet potatoes. At first I was disappointed we wouldn’t be having mashed potatoes but the substitutes were just as delicious.

I guess “funeral potatoes” is a Utah thing because the out-of-state people I’ve talked to have no idea what this dish is. The confused look on their face helps me see the cogs turning. Funeral potatoes? Well, they are exactly the way they sound. People in Utah (it’s probably more of an LDS thing) usually make this dish to feed the guests after a funeral procession. I wasn’t sure why my mom chose to make this for the 35 or so guests we had this Thanksgiving, but we definitely had enough leftover, just in case Mom dropped dead after the stress of all that preparation.  

Anyway, here is the recipe for Funeral Potatoes. If you like potatoes, you’ll definitely like this!

http://saltlakecity.about.com/od/diningnightlife/r/Funeral-Potatoes-Best-Recipe.htm

Toffee in a Can

I have made a remarkable discovery: Sweetened condensed milk can transform into toffee with the help of a pot of boiling water. IT IS SO GOOD. This is Ryan’s new favorite. There are so many things you can do with this can of sweet goodness. I kind of followed a recipe called “Banoffee Danger Pie” from another blog. 

We start with the sweetened condensed milk. All you have to do is take the label off the can and stick in a pot of boiling water, cover it and boil for 2.5 hours. I usually do three cans at a time. 

The rest is fast and easy! I used a premade crust, but the time that I made my own crust it made a difference. If you need to make something fast for the lady’s club tonight, I’d use the premade crust. Cut three bananas up and place them at the bottom. Pour your toffee can on top and spread it evenly over the bananas (I don’t use the whole can because a thick layer makes the pie too rich and messy). Put it in the fridge for a half hour or more, so the pie can set. Then plop your whip cream on top, spread around and for a more elegant look, you can grate chocolate shavings on the top. WA-LA! I’m so glad I found this recipe. Check out this on the blog Brooklyn Limestone blog. It has a lot of other great stuff. 

http://www.brooklynlimestone.com/2010/08/recipe-banoffee-danger-pie.html#.ULg9X4Ybv9o

We Want Ham!

One of my favorite foods Thanksgiving has to offer are the sauces for the meat. Turkey is the backbone of our Thanksgiving and we couldn't do without the the meat's better half. My mom made homemade cranberry sauce this year instead of using the can. And I'll tell you, homemade sauces are ten times better than the canned or store bought stuff. My mom went all out this year and made almost everything from scratch. I'm really proud of her efforts and the way she took all of these gymnasts into her home. Sometimes I think she does too much, but she really cares about people and wants to make them feel welcome in our home. This Thanksgiving was a success because of her.

Usually turkey and cranberry sauce take up most of my plate but I have now found my new favorite Thanksgiving backbone. This year, my mom tried a new Pineapple Ham Sauce that I could eat by itself. Its just another great, simple recipe. The ham and this sauce were gone first with our 30 something guests. One change we made to the ham sauce was using honey mustard instead of plain mustard. It turned out amazing.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1727,147160-231194,00.html

What a Pleasant Surprise!

One of the salads that my mom and I made for Thanksgiving was called “Mama's Ambrosia” fruit salad. I've had versions of this recipe and have not been a big fan. Its made of marshmallows, canned fruit, sour cream and whipped cream. I know it doesn't sound like much, but most of my family liked it. And I was pleasantly surprised. My mom made a few changes to the recipe.

1. On behalf of my sister and myself, she left the walnuts out. We both dislike nuts, which my dad sees as a major character flaw. If you like walnuts I would keep them in, to make the texture vary a little bit more.
2. My mom used half of an 8 ounce container of sour cream and substituted the other half with whipped cream. We were tempted at first to use only whipped cream, but we are glad we didn't. The salad would have been too sweet. We all would have needed a trip to the dentist afterward.
3. We did not have any fruit cocktail, so we used two little jars of drained maraschino cherries. I don't like these nasty canned cherries, but again I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor they add to the sweetness.

We made a TON of this fruity salad, so we had a lot left over. It is a great bedtime snack and keeps pretty well. In fact, I just had some with my dinner. I will definitely make this again, before next Thanksgiving.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mamas-ambrosia/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=fruit%20salad%20ambrosia&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Simplicity of the Pumpkin Pie

My mom and I have tried so many different recipes for pumpkin pie. But the past couple years we have used this recipe from allrecipes.com. It’s very simple and it is rich and fluffy. The recipe says to use a whisk until smooth after you’ve combined all the ingredients. The pie will be less dense if you also use a electric blender for 2-3 minutes after using the whisk. We read a positive review with a tip and tried it this year. The only changes we made were mixing the pumpkin puree, spices and salt on medium heat over the stove. Then you let it cool before mixing in the other ingredients. I think does lessen the somewhat overbearing pumpkin taste and brings the taste of the spices out more. If I was in a hurry I would use the instructions of the first.

We were lazy this year and cheated with store bought pie crusts. The most important part of this recipe is the baking time and temperature. You preheat the oven for 425 degrees and put the pie in for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes. This way you don’t burn the top. The pumpkin pie was the second most popular pie this year, next to the chocolate cream pie. With a dollop of whip cream on top, it was delicious!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/perfect-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=pumpkin%20pie&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Deviled Eggs

Recipe #1: Deviled Eggs

These are a delicacy at the Nye house. My mom usually only makes them for Thanksgiving, but they are gone after their journey around the table. I’m not a big fan of deviled eggs but Christina and Ryan like them so much that I had to post about it.

Christina helped with the peeling of the eggs, of course (one for me, one for dinner, one for me…). My mom told me that older eggs are much easier to peel than the ones you just bought at the grocery store. And when you’re peeling 20 eggs or so, it helps if the shells cooperate. 

After you’ve peeled the eggs, carefully cut them in half, long ways, and take the yolk out. Mash all the egg yolks in a bowl with a fork. Add mayo, honey mustard and a little bit of ranch dressing (add at small amounts (¼ cup) of the mayo and mustard until smooth and then add a little ranch. Spoon the mixture into the egg hole and then dash the top with paprika. If you would like a clearer recipe, I’ve provided a good recipe at the bottom. Recipe #1 was a success and there are no more!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deviled-eggs-i/