Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice: Gingerbread House Christmas Ornament

Happy New Year's Day, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve, whatever your plans turned out to be. We had a very quiet night here at The Newlywed Chefette, as Husband has been under the weather for the past few days. I hate it seeing him sick -- lucky for us, he does not get sick very often.

Illness aside, we had a really nice, mellow Eve-ning. I built a big fire, which was a hit with all of us:


Husband was going a little stir-crazy, so we took a brief drive down to Bellevue to look at the Christmas lights and decorations along the street around Bellevue Square for a jolt of Christmas spirit. They do such a GREAT job with the decorations -- the lights, giant snowflakes, and Nutcrackers instantly put a smile on even the Grinchiest of faces :)


We ate a light New Year's Eve Midnight Supper (more on the menu later -- easy, tasty, and won raves from Husband!), did "our" Christmas, watched the Times Square Countdown, and called it a night!

It was so hectic before the holidays, and Husband wasn't feeling good afterwards, that we hadn't had a chance to open our gifts to each other. What better way to ring in the new year than with a few presents?! :)

I got this gingerbread house ornament at Sur la Table for Husband as a 'stocking stuffer.' (and right now, they're on SALE!!) Husband's grandfather was an accomplished Danish baker (he owned several bakeries, and made cinnamon rolls for Ruby's and American Airlines), and he would bake a gingerbread house for the grandchildren each year. "REAL gingerbread," Husband has told me many times. :) It is a very special memory for Husband, and when I saw this ornament I thought it would be a beautiful reminder of those fun times.


Sur la Table has had really unusual, beautiful Christmas ornaments the last few years (at least that's when I discovered them!), and they make great gifts. I got these chocolate-covered strawberry ornaments last year for my sister-in-law who is obsessed with them (can you blame her?!) They had one last year that was a suitcase covered with the old travel stickers you'd see on suitcases in the 60s -- really cool, and I got it for my brother-in-law who loves to travel. I don't see it on the site now, but maybe they'll bring it back next year!

I am a crazed, cheese-obsessed fiend, so I'm considering starting my collection of these fantastic CHEESE Christmas ornaments (CHEESE ornaments!!! Who would have thought?!) this year, since they are now on sale. The Chevre one especially speaks to me (my dad didn't dub me the Goat Cheese Queen for nothing!)


This pickle jar ornament is hilarious, and I'm thinking it's a must for my aunt, who likes to make pickles, and my dad...who likes to eat them. Plus, it's a fun nod to my German heritage, and I love the tradition of the Christmas Pickle:


"An old German tradition—the last decoration placed on the tree was always a pickle, hidden carefully among the branches. Whoever found the pickle on Christmas morning was blessed with good fortune all year long." (or, you know, a Starbuck's card or whatever other little prize you want to use...!)

That "ornament" is actually a jar full of pickle ornaments, so you could have several people winning Starbuck's cards being blessed with good fortune for the coming year -- what fun!

I think we may need one of these Space Needle ornaments for our tree next year:


And given that Husband has coffee in his veins, we should probably have one of these adorable Espresso Machine ornaments, too:
I just noticed the Berry ornaments -- I think my dad needs one of the boysenberry ones since he grew them when I was growing up.


And I love this adorable Cupcake ornament:


This Rainbow Trout ornament would be great for my uncle who loves to fish,


and last but not least, Husband was living in San Francisco when we first started dating -- wouldn't these cable car and Golden Gate Bridge ornaments be a fun memento of our times in the city?!


Sooooo, maybe I should have titled this post "Ode to Sur la Table Christmas Ornaments"...?! Obviously, I love them and can come up with a reason to justify buying most of them and since Sur la Table might not be the first place you'd think of for Christmas ornaments, I wanted to share that little tip with you. (Especially since they are on sale right now!) "In person," they look just like they do in the photos -- some, even better. Really beautiful, well-made, and a unique addition to any tree.

Wishing you all a happy New Year's Day, and a wonderful 2010!

Ridiculously Easy, Fool-Proof Roast Chicken on The BBQ

2 whole chickens, approx. 5 lbs. each*
kosher salt (optional)
6-8 whole lemons
non-stick cooking spray
olive oil (optional)

*I buy my chickens at Costco -- they are MUCH cheaper per-pound than the grocery store (unless there's a crazy sale going on!) and they come packaged two in a bag, so you just grab them and go -- what could be easier?!

The Short Version:
1. Heat the BBQ to 400 degrees.
2. Juice four lemons, and slice two more in half (you can play this by ear as to how many/few to actually juice. Basically, you want to have two-three unjuiced halves to stuff into the chickens, then you can juice the rest, and fill in any blank space inside the chickens with juiced halves.)
3. Take two chickens, pour the lemon juice over both of them, and stuff them with lemon halves.
4. Put both chickens on the BBQ, breast-side up -- cook for 20 minutes.
5. Flip, and cook for 40 minutes.
Done!

The "Longer" Version:
You can do this one of two ways: you can brine (soak) the chickens in a kosher salt bath overnight, or you can take them out of the bag, rinse them off, and throw them on the BBQ. The choice is entirely up to you and how much time you have.

If you are brining the chickens
Get two LARGE pots, and pour about a 1/2 c. of kosher salt in the bottom of each pot. Fill with about two inches of warm water, and stir until the salt dissolves. Place a chicken in each pot (after rinsing the chicken well with hot water and removing the innards), and then fill with more hot water until the chicken is covered. You can sprinkle in a little more salt if you like, if you feel like the added water may have diluted it a lot. If you want to make A-Little-More-Effort Fool-Proof Roast Chicken on The BBQ, you can even get crazy and add hot sauce, black pepper, Wild Turkey, vermouth -- whatever! -- to the brining liquid.

But, if you want to keep it easy (and I don't blame you -- I know I do!), just pop the lids onto the pots, and put them in the fridge. Or just skip the brining altogether! We are lucky and have an extra fridge in our garage, so it doesn't require a huge reorganization effort on my part to store the two large pots overnight. If you don't have the extra space, forget the brining! Let them sit for 12-24 hours, then pull the pots out and rinse the chickens again.

Once the chickens are brined, OR if you are just going straight to the BBQ:
1. Heat the BBQ to 400 degrees -- for our BBQ, this is just a touch about the Medium setting.

2. Now for the lemons. If they're at room temperature, great. If not, you can pop them (all together) into the microwave for a minute (or massage them in your hands -- this takes longer but then your hands smell deliciously lemony!!) -- they'll give you more juice this way!

Slice all the lemons in half, and juice the 6-8 of the halves. You want to have enough juice to pour over the chickens inside and out, with some"non-juiced" halves to stuff inside the chickens.

3. You can either transport the chickens one by one in their respective pots out to the BBQ, or you can do what I did (until the dogs broke my 9x13 Pyrex dish, that is...!) and put them in my 9x13 Pyrex dish. Holding them upright in whatever container you're going to carry them to the BBQ, pour the lemon juice over the front and back outside, and inside. Stuff two of the un-juiced halves, cut-side out, into the chicken cavity (AFTER removing the innards), and fill in any remaining space inside the chicken with the juiced lemon halves. There will be juice in the bottom of the pan/pot.

4. Take the chickens to the BBQ and double-check that it's heated to 400 degrees. Spray the spots on the grill where you are going to place the chickens with non-stick cooking spray, and quickly place the chickens onto the grill, breast-side up. Pour any extra juice left in the pan/pot over them and into the cavity. (You can rub the front and back of the chickens with a little olive oil if you want, to make sure they don't stick to the grill, but this adds fat, too, so it can definitely be skipped!)

*The chickens will spend the majority of the cooking time breast-side down so that the juices run into the breasts and keep them moist. Start out cooking them breast-side up, so that the meat on the back gets some of the juices as well. The breast side is fleshier than the back, and if you poke both sides with your finger, you will feel hard bones on the back -- this side goes down first. (The back is also much flatter than the breast side.)

5. Let them cook for 20 minutes breast-side up, then flip them. I've found the easiest way to do this is with two pairs of tongs -- using one set of tongs (if one set is longer, use the shorter set for the part of the chicken closest to the front of the grill -- the juices will drip down into the grill and flames will shoot up, so the farther your hands can be from the grill the better), grab the front of the chicken by sticking the tongs inside the cavity and grabbing the top. Do the same with the other set of tongs on the back part of the chicken, and flip it so it is breast-side down on the grill. Do the same for the other chicken. The goal is to get the chicken turned without breaking the skin or disturbing the meat. (I have tried to do this by hand with gloves -- they are really hot. Also, I have tried to flip them by grabbing the legs and wings, which pull off -- the tong method is the best way I've found.)

6. Let them cook this way for 40 minutes -- NO peeking! Go catch up on your DVR'd shows, paint your nails, walk the dogs, wash your hair, wash your car...whatever! Once the time is up, test for done-ness by piercing the meat and making sure the juices run clear. If so, pull the chickens off the grill -- you're done! If the juices are pink, continue cooking, checking every 2-3 minutes, until done.

That's it!

No really. That's all.

So if you don't brine, it's rinse, juice, BBQ, flip, BBQ, done -- easy-peezy!

I have made these many, many times, and they always come out delicious! Last time I made them, Husband "taste-tested" them and ended up eating a huge chunk of each -- they're just so moist and flavorful, it's hard to resist!

You can cut the breasts off and use them whole and then shred the rest of the meat, or just shred all of the meat. I have used the chicken for Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken-Tomatillo Enchiladas, Chicken Quesadillas, Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa (a stupidly-easy, delicious dinner recipe I will post SOON!), Chicken, Curry, & Rice Casserole -- you name it, anything you need chicken for, these are perfect!

Note: I just made some more over the weekend, and I did one lemon and one lime, just to see how it turned out. I plan to use the lemon for Chicken Noodle Soup, and the lime for Avocado Chicken and Pioneer Woman's White Chicken Enchiladas! The difference was very subtle, and both were delicious - so feel free to vary the citrus depending on what you plan to do with them!

Enjoy!

*Please consider voting for one of my three entries into the Cooking with PAMA Contest -- I could win a trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival (and I really, really, reeeeally want to go!) You can vote once a day, and I'd really appreciate your support! Thank you!!!! Here are the entries: PAMA Pumpkin Soup, PAMA Cupcake Sundaes/PAMA Cupcakes, and PAMA Carnitas with Pineapple-Pomegranate Salsa!

PAMA Pomegranate Cupcakes OR PAMA Cupcake Sundaes

This recipe gives you two delicious ways to enjoy PAMA pomegranate cupcakes — one, a ‘grown-up’ take on cupcakes which will delight both the young and the young-at-heart, suitable for a sit-down dinner or holiday party; the other, a traditional cupcake — portable, suited to holiday parties, potlucks, or brown bag lunches as a special treat!

For the cupcakes:
1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mix
1 1/3 c. PAMA-Pomegranate reduction (recipe below)
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
3 Large Egg Whites
Red food coloring (I use Wilton gel food colors)

For the PAMA-Pomegranate reduction:
2 c. pomegranate juice (I used fresh, but store-bought will work just fine!)
1 c. PAMA pomegranate liqueur

For the PAMA Buttercream Frosting:
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. PAMA-Pomegranate reduction

For the PAMA-Pomegranate reduction:
Combine the pomegranate juice and the PAMA liqueur in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by one cup – so you are left with two cups of liquid. Reserve 2/3 cup of the liquid – add the rest to the cupcake batter.

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cups of a cupcake pan with paper liners. Blend the cake mix, pomegranate reduction, oil, and egg whites in large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds). Beat for 2 minutes on Medium. Add red food coloring to the batter, if desired. Pour batter into cupcake pan*, filling cups 3/4 full and bake 20-24 minutes (when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.)

*An easy, mess-free way to fill cupcake cups: fill a large zip-top plastic bag with the batter, cut off one of the bottom corners, and ‘pipe’ the batter into the cups. Toss the bag when you’re done!

For the PAMA Buttercream Frosting
In a large bowl, melt the butter, then add the PAMA-Pomegranate reduction and vanilla, and mix well. Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until all combined.

Assembly

For sundaes:
Pour a bit of the reserved reduction onto a dessert plate or small dish.
Set one cupcake in the sauce,

then either pipe vanilla ice cream onto the cupcake using an icing bag, or place a scoop of ice cream on top of or next to the cake.


Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds as a garnish.

*Hint: Either use the cupcakes shortly after they come out of the oven, or warm them for a few seconds in the microwave before placing them in the sauce — they will soak up more sauce this way.

For cupcakes:
Frost cooled cupcakes with the buttercream frosting, and garnish with one or more pomegranate seeds, if desired.

*Please consider voting for one of my three entries into the Cooking with PAMA Contest -- I could win a trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival (and I really, really, reeeeally want to go!) You can vote once a day, and I'd really appreciate your support! Thank you!!!! Here are the entries: PAMA Pumpkin Soup, PAMA Cupcake Sundaes/PAMA Cupcakes, and PAMA Carnitas with Pineapple-Pomegranate Salsa!

PAMA Pumpkin Soup

Perfect for Fall -- warm, hearty Pumpkin Soup!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cups chicken stock (or water)
1/2 c. PAMA pomegranate liqueur
2 1/2-3 cups pumpkin puree (not flavored pie filling)
1/2 teaspoon cloves (if whole, add before blending; if ground, add with rest of spices)
3/4 teaspoon crushed ginger
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 tablespoons agave nectar
1 small, whole roasted jalapeno pepper

Heat the butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and celery and cook until soft. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the cloves (if whole), the PAMA liqueur, and the jalapeno pepper. (A note on the pepper: add the pepper flesh, and blend, then check the heat; if desired, add half the seeds, blend, and check the heat again. If desired, add remaining seeds and blend.) Blend soup (with a hand blender or in small batches in a blender) until smooth, and whisk in the pumpkin puree, ginger, and agave nectar. Add the spices, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then simmer for 5 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. Remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with any of the following: sliced chives/green onions, plain yogurt, toasted pecans/walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and chopped dried cranberries.

Enjoy!

*Please consider voting for one of my three entries into the Cooking with PAMA Contest -- I could win a trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival (and I really, really, reeeeally want to go!) You can vote once a day, and I'd really appreciate your support! Thank you!!!! Here are the entries: PAMA Pumpkin soup, PAMA Cupcake Sundaes/PAMA Cupcakes, and PAMA Carnitas with Pineapple-Pomegranate Salsa

PAMA Carnitas with Pineapple-Pomegranate Salsa

For the carnitas:

1 pork roast (3-4 lbs.)
1 small jar pepper jelly (red or green)
1/2 c. PAMA pomegranate liqueur
1 beer
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 handful cilantro, rinsed

For the salsa:
1/2 pineapple
1-2 jalapeno peppers
1 red onion
1 c. chopped cilantro
1 c. pomegranate seeds
Juice of 1 lime

For the carnitas: Pour the beer and the PAMA liqueur into a crock pot, and add the pepper jelly — mix well. Add the garlic and cilantro. Cut the pork roast into 3-4 inch sections, and add them to the crock pot. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours, until pork is fork-tender and falls apart.

For the salsa: Slice the pineapple into 1/2-inch chunks, seed and chop the jalapenos, chop the red onion, and chop the cilantro. Mix all together into a large bowl, pour the lime juice over everything, and stir well.

Once the pork is done, shred with two forks, and put in warmed corn tortillas. Top with the salsa, guacamole, chopped cilantro, and garnish with lime wedges.

Enjoy!

*Please consider voting for one of my three entries into the Cooking with PAMA Contest -- I could win a trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival (and I really, really, reeeeally want to go!) You can vote once a day, and I'd really appreciate your support! Thank you!!!! Here are the entries: PAMA Pumpkin soup, PAMA Cupcake Sundaes/PAMA Cupcakes, and PAMA Carnitas with Pineapple-Pomegranate Salsa

Pumpkin Soup!

I made this soup last night, and it is the perfect meal for the chilly nights of Fall! I am on a squash kick right now with all of the Fall produce, and this soup has great pumpkin flavor, with a spicy zip from the roasted jalapeno and the pepper sauce -- it's a zingy surprise for your taste buds! Serve it with some toasty bread and a salad for a delicious, healthy meal! It also freezes and reheats well. It's pouring rain here today, so I'll be warming up with this soup for lunch at work -- yum!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 cup of carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

5-6 cups chicken stock (or water)

2 1/2-3 cups pumpkin puree (not flavored pie filling)

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves (if whole, add before blending; if ground, add with rest of spices)

3/4 teaspoon crushed ginger

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

5 tablespoons agave nectar

1 small, whole roasted jalapeno pepper

A few dashes of Tabasco, or your favorite hot pepper sauce (optional -- the roasted jalapeno adds a good amount of heat, so be sparing with this!)

3/4 cup plain yogurt

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnish: sliced chives/green onions, plain yogurt, toasted pecans/walnuts, chopped dried cranberries

Directions

Heat the butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the cloves (if whole) and the jalapeno pepper. (A note on the pepper: add the pepper flesh, and blend, then check the heat; if desired, add half the seeds, blend, and check the heat again. If desired, add remaining seeds and blend.)Blend soup (with a hand blender or in small batches in a blender) until smooth, and whisk in the pumpkin puree, ginger, and agave nectar. Add the spices, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then simmer for 15 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/4 cup of the yogurt, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with sliced chives/green onions, plain yogurt, toasted pecans/walnuts, and chopped dried cranberries.

Irish Oatmeal with Dried Fruit

We've decided we need to eat more healthily. We eat a fairly healthy diet, but the first year of marriage (and its Freshman-15-like weight-gain) has taken a bit of a toll, so we're cracking the whip! The first step? A healthy breakfast. Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I've mentioned that we are currently 'eating down the fridge' (where you try to use up the food you've got at home before buying more...great for the creativity AND the wallet!), and in taking stock of what we had on hand, I discovered a nearly-new container of Irish Oatmeal from Trader Joe's, along with an almost-completely-full bag of Craisins (dried cranberries), and a few dried blueberries. Hallelujah, breakfast is served!

A piping-hot bowl of oatmeal is the perfect way to start the day, especially now that the weather has gotten distinctly colder! And the dried fruit will flavor the oatmeal and sweeten it a bit, without any added sugar!! For those of you that haven't tried Irish Oatmeal, give it a shot -- instead of the oats being rolled/flattened like Quaker, they're cut in half, so it's got a great texture and is supposedly better for you (perhaps because it's closer to its natural form???) Anyway, Irish Oatmeal is delicious, but it does take a bit of time to make. My secret? I make it the night before, so all we have to do in the morning is heat and eat. Perfect!

PS I cook it differently than it recommends on the container, because I've found it burns too easily and is harder to make with their instructions.

Makes: 4 servings for Husband + 3 for me (portion control is another part of our new plan :) )

8 cups of water
2 cups of Irish Oatmeal
A few handfuls of your favorite dried fruit (I used cran & blueberries, but anything would work)

Bring the water to boil in a LARGE pot , and pour in the oatmeal. Turn the heat down slightly, and boil for 5 minutes, watching carefully (I used the tallest pot I have, probably 8-10 inches, and it still almost boiled over...!) Once the liquid starts to turn cloudy/it looks like it's starting to thicken, turn the heat down to medium, add the fruit, and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is step does not require constant attention, but you want to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom, so a stir every few minutes will tell you if you need to adjust the heat, etc. Once you get to 20 minutes, check it to see if you like the texture -- if you do, you're done! If not, keep cooking for a few more minutes. I tend to leave it a little 'wet' as I know it will dry out a bit when we reheat it.

Once it's done, I scoop it into plastic containers with an ice cream scoop (3 scoops for him, 2 for me), let it cool, and then pop it into the fridge. And voila! We've got a healthy, inexpensive breakfast for almost the whole week right at our fingertips!

*You could also top this (or plain oatmeal) with homemade jam, to add a little flavor and some fruit without a ton of sugar, etc.

Enjoy! ~ Newlywed Chefette