found: a red-nose reindeer

merrrrrry christmas!! tis the season of mistletoes, reindeer, christmas trees, and lots of holiday parties!! this post is coming at the most perfect time, the last weekend before christmas. what does this mean? an entire weekend of holiday parties! and i bet you have to "bring a dish of your choice," right? think no more; a fun and festive idea is here! reindeer cookies made from nutter butters. that's right. 2 words of heaven on earth. peanut butter. YUM!!

ingredients:
- 1 pack of nutter butter cookies- yields about 30 cookies (unless you're like me and eat them while making them... whoops)
- 1 pack of m&ms
- 1 bag of pretzels
- 1 container of vanilla/cream cheese icing

directions:
spoon icing onto the eyes, nose, and antler spots.  make sure the eyes are placed in the middle of the cookies. this will allow for ample room at the top for the pretzel antlers. place m&ms on eyes and nose spots. if you want all "rudlophs," obviously, use the red m&ms for the noses only. for the antlers, cut (or bite if they're for you) the bottom of the prezel off. position halfway on top of cookie. and there, you have your reindeer :)

icing application

m&m-eyes/nose application

pretzel-antler application

these cookies are a fun dessert for holiday parties, an entertaining activity for your kids, or simply, a festive treat to have around the house. all i know is... these cookies are a HIT! your guests, kids, and family will all receive great pleasure from eating rudolph for dessert. and not to mention these cookies are YUMMMMY! a perfect combination of sweet, salty, and nutty. you can't go wrong with these!! and as always... happy cooking :) and merry christmas!

roll up some love

the first time I had sushi I was 17 years old. i was at sushi yoshi in peachtree city, georgia.  after hesitantly tasting my first roll, i remember trying to decide what i thought. either way, i was “cool” because i was in high school and eating an “ethnic food.” when i left for college, i began to experience sushi even more and eventually grew to love it.

the great thing about moving to chicago is the numerous japanese restaurants within a 1 mile radius. it seems almost 95% of them are BYOB, which is a huge plus. nonetheless, the most entertaining way to eat sushi is to make it at home. although i don’t know how to roll it in fish eggs or add Japanese magic and eel sauce, i still receive a simple pleasure out of rolling my own sushi.

what you need that you might not normally find in your kitchen: bamboo mat (can find them for $2-$5)

ingredients we used: swordfish, smoked salmon, avocado, cilantro, carrots, cucumber, cream cheese, crab claw meat, rice

ingredients:
- sticky rice or sushi rice (mine is “calrose” brand)
- rice wine vinegar
- nori (or seaweed paper)
- fish (smoked salmon, crab meat, swordfish, shrimp, whatever you like)
- vegetables (cucumber, carrots, avocado, cilantro, whatever you want)
- cream cheese (if you like california rolls or a creamier roll)
- soy sauce
- wasabi/wasabi powder to mix your own
- sriracha (thai chili sauce EVERYONE should own. i’ve found i like this on sushi better than wasabi! offers more flavor and a smokier spice)

directions:
rice: combine 1 and ½ cups of rice to 2 cups of water. bring to boil then simmer for 20 min until all liquid is dissolved. add rice wine vinegar (i usually put in ¼ cup). rice should be VERY sticky. cool rice in fridge until chilled. you don’t want hot/warm rice.
*this is enough rice to make about 4-5 sheets of rolled sushi, which will feed about 2-4 people. double rice if preferred.

after rice has cooled, place nori (seaweed paper) on bamboo mat. cover nori with rice, careful not to tear it. spread and pat rice down with wooden spoon or fingers. this is what keeps your roll together, so make sure you cover the entire sheet.

add a “line” of preferred ingredients. you can mix up each roll by adding everything or only a couple things. this is where you can be creative!

carefully, roll sushi using wooden bamboo mat as a guide. when the end of the bamboo mat touches the other side from rolling first section, roll mat backwards and keep meeting mat to mat to form an entire roll.

slice off each end and throw away or eat. then slice remaining roll into bite size pieces.

place sticky rice on nori

add "line" of ingredients

carefully roll sushi

slice sushi into bite size pieces

the great thing about sushi is you can literally fill it with anything you like. just like my wonton wrapper entry a couple months back, sushi is one of those things you can personalize and alter for each season. there are fruit sushi rolls, american sushi rolls containing beef and potatoes, and you can always get festive during fall using pumpkin and squash. happy cooking :)

tis the season for soup

this weekend chicago got its first snowfall. with snow comes cold, and with cold comes soup!! during the next couple of cold months, we will constantly be looking for ways to warm up from the inside out. hot soups are a great dish to make when you don’t want to think: throw anything and everything in the pot. cream cheese? sure, apples? why not. a jar of baby food? of course. soy milk? yea that’ll be good too. most of the soup I prepare is a direct result of having “nothing in the fridge." Random pasta, chicken broth, cream cheese, and some frozen veggies is really all it takes. today’s post is a soup i made from onions and potatoes lying around, carrots that were going bad, and a can of pumpkin i had in the pantry.  a little curry, cilantro, milk, and random ingredients can be so great when combined with household staples. and this is how i made CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP :)


ingredients: whatever you have in the fridge… ☺ no, but really. I used:
-    1 can of pumpkin (100% pumpkin… unseasoned)
-    2 potatoes
-    1 onion
-    handful of chopped carrots
-    soymilk/heavy cream/sour cream (whatever you have)
-    apple juice (not necessary but kind of a cool idea)
-    handful of cilantro
-    2 tbs butter
-    curry/garlic/pepper/coriander/red pepper flakes
-    1-2 bullion cubes


directions:

heat soy milk (or heavy cream), a can of pumpkin, bullion cubes, & apples juice

 

shred potatoes

add shredded potatoes, diced carrots, & onion

add butter and sour cream (if you wish)

add curry powder and various spices, then finish off with cilantro

curried pumpkin soup is loaded with fiber and has a thicker, creamy consistency that screams comfort food. if you would like more protein, feel free to add beans or tofu. and the great thing is you can add different ingredients each time. this soup also keeps well so it's great for leftovers. enjoy the winter snow and happy cooking :)