Southern Living "Cooking for Christmas"

I was given the pleasure of cooking for 12 people over the Christmas holiday! And yes, I volunteered. I was actually given this cookbook from my Mother-in-Law, and I really wanted to try the recipes out. Only having 4 in my little family, most of these recipes call for 8 to 12 serving size, so this was a perfect opportunity to really test them out! 5 meals for 12 people cost about $700 in groceries, and that is considering I have all the spices and basics (like sugar, flour, ect...). The book uses expensive cuts of meat, which can be substituted for a "cheaper" cut, which I will make note of when I post the recipe. I also appreciated the fact that they use winter veggies, things that would be in season at this time of the year!

I highly recommend buying this cookbook if you plan to make a lot of these recipes. The cookbook includes a lot of cooking tips and trick and more advice that I haven't included on my posts. There is also a few more recipes in each of the meals I used that I won't be posting, so to get the full effect of the meal, again, I recommend buying the book.

The five different meals were put together in separate chapters, and there were more meals, but the 5 were the ones I chose to use over the short time I had to cook. The book also has individual recipes in the back half if you don't want to cook the entire meal. There were several recipes I looked at in the meals that I was really iffy about and not sure if we would like it, but I am so glad that I took that leap of faith. These meals were professionally put together to compliment each other and so no dish would dominate another. 

There is also drinks and desserts included with each meal....which we took advantage of as well. Like the meat, the alcohol needed for them can also be pricey, so if there is a good substitute for it, I'll will make note of that as well, but if the "fancy" alcohol is recommended, please take my word for it that its worth the extra penny.

The meal choices I made:

(the images are all my own!)

"Fondue Fun"
~Two-Cheese-and-Honey Fondue
~Tomato-and-Herb Fondue
~Mixed Salad Greens
~Mississippi Mud Fondue

"Easy Supper Club"
~Bacon-Arugula-Apple Bite
~Herbed Pork Roast
~Roasted Fall Veggies
~Puffed Mashed Potaotes
~Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad
~Brandy Alexander Cheesecake

"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"
~Cherry-Pecan Brie
~Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
~Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
~Pancetta Wrapped Beef Tenderloin
with Whipped Horseradish Cream
~Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
~Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
~Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

"Feast with Friends"
~Quick Winter Pickled Veggies
~Deviled Ham Terrine
~Kumquat Martini
~Fennel-Crusted Rib Roast
~Roasted Asparagus
~Warm Greens with Cornbread Croutons
~Buttermilk Panna Cotta
with Zinfandel-Poached Figs

"Casual Texas Holiday"
~White Bean-and-Black Olive Crostini
~Sparkling Sipper
~Citrus-Walnut Salad
~Roasted Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
~Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes
~Roasted Turkey Stuffed with Hazelnut Dressing
~Upside-Down Apple Tart

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Friday Feature

My friends, I feel like I have neglected my blog for almost a week! Luckily I've had a few recipes up my sleeve to share, but interaction has been minimal. And I'm so sorry. The internet-guy is suppose to come Saturday, so hopefully I'll have the internet situation figured out. It doesn't feel like a normal week when I don't do my "Flash-Back-Fridays" or the "Wordless-Wednesdays" hop! What would I do without a computer completely?? *sigh*

This sweet lady contacted me about doing a feature, and I jumped at the chance--what better timing? These are such excellent tips!
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Submitted on behalf of Primrose Schools: Early Preschool Education by Emily Patterson (@epatt1062)

The kitchen is the life of any house. It's where meals are made, and days are discussed. It can, however, be the central location for many accidents, especially when children are involved.

Everything about the kitchen can be fascinating, and children take a lot of pride in accompanying parents in creating culinary masterpieces. Children are always wanting to be more like adults. That sometimes means working with the most dangerous equipment, such as the oven and the stove, red hot pots and pans, and even the blender.

It's important to let your child participate with these tasks for their own self esteem. Therefore, here are some guidelines which will make everything easier and safer for your family:

1. Know your child's limits. Based on age and maturity level, this should be pretty common sense. If there are easier tasks, such as measuring or stirring cooler items, assign those to your youngest ones. If there are no tasks that you are confident that your child can perform safely, you can always let them pretend to cook alongside you, or give them pots and pans, with which they can make music. A little entertainment while you're preparing dinner couldn't hurt.

2. Set up some ground rules that are always followed in the kitchen. These are your basic dos and don'ts of the kitchen. Make sure the children know to wash their hands and when. Make sure they know what they are allowed to touch and what they are not. Handles of pots and pans are always to be turned in to avoid spilling any hot food on the kids. Whatever rules you can think of besides these, that are always going to need implementation while cooking, are important to be made clear.

3. Try to help your child build to their full potential. Let them start with easier tasks, and when they have mastered those, move on to more difficult tasks. For example, teach older kids to cut softer items first, and then, let them move up to harder items. Kitchen skills will prove to be valuable over the course of your child's life. As their skill improves, so will their confidence.

4. Make sure you are having fun. Cooking with children is bound to get messy at one point or another. Don't stress yourself out over spills or accidents. Try to be patient and understanding with your child, and help them find a less messy way to complete whatever task they are assigned. Make your clean up fun too. Remember, it's not really about the outcome. It's about spending time with your family.

When it's all over, and you've prepared something delicious together, make sure to compliment your little chef. Boost his/her confidence by telling them how good everything tastes and how great of a job they've done and ask them what meal they'll want to attempt next.

Check out this excellent web site: Primrose Schools
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Funny Story: My son grew up calling a knife "Sharpy" because he tended to be more accident-prone than others. He's 5 now, and has learned to call it a "Knife"....but still, "sharpy" will always be somewhere in my vocabulary!

Do YOU have a funny kitchen story? Tell me--I need a few laughs! =D