It’s Christmas time and I’m on a sugar bender.  South Beach is nothing but a distant memory right now.  I have a target date of January 15th to reintroduce myself to phase one of South Beach, but until then, bring on the sweets! 

How adorable are these shortbread cookies?  Little bite sized snowflakes that you can pop into your mouth.  It’s alot of fun to select holiday themed cutouts and shape your cookies into festive forms.  In addition to these cute snowflakes I made a batch of Christmas tree shaped cookies and decorated those with a combination of white sugar and green sugar.  Very festive. 

These shortbread cookies are delicious, buttery and crumbly and highly addictive.  They are virtually the same recipe as my Pecan Shortbread cookie recipe, eliminating the pecans of course.  This is a better suited cookie for anyone out there with nut allergies. 

The dough is easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge for a few days.  A big time saver around the busy holiday season.  Just pull the dough out of the fridge (or freezer) and bake as needed.

Here’s what you will need to make approximately 40 cookies, depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutter…

 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

2 cups flour

Decorating sugar

egg wash

In a stand mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy.  Add sugars and salt and beat until well blended.  The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy.  Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until incorporated.

Pour in the flour and pulse the mixer at low speed 5-7 times for a second or two each time.  (You can put a towel over the mixer to protect yourself from getting flour all over you).  Continue mixing at low speed for 20 seconds more, just until flour disappears into the dough.  The dough should be soft, moist and clumpy.

Scrape the dough onto a smooth work surface sprinkled with flour, gather into a ball and divide in half.  Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350.  Line baking sheet with parchment.  Remove dough from refrigerator, remove from plastic, sprinkle with some flour and roll out to approximately 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thick.  Use your favorite holiday shaped cutouts to form each cookie. 

Whisk egg for egg wash.  Gently brush the top of each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with decorator’s sugar.  Place on baking sheet, one inch apart.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (smaller cookies might only need 12 minutes, watch carefully), rotating baking sheet at the midway point, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly less golden.  Remove from oven, allow to sit for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Restrain yourself from eating 17 cookies in one sitting.  Or not.

Love it or hate it.  When it comes to Indian food I find that people are in one of those two categories.  Rarely is someone on the fence.  I happen to love it.  I wouldn’t say I have it often, but I do really enjoy it.  Sometimes I even crave it. 

For years I’ve wanted to try making an Indian dish at home.  A whole dish.  Not just a side dish like my spinach and chick pea curry.  Not sure what the hold up was, but the wait is now over!  I tried my first Indian dish the other night and we absolutely loved it!!  I get so happy when a new meal turns out spectacular.

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver.  Those Brits sure know their Indian food so I thought I’d give this one a spin.  The chick peas, cilantro and almonds give this Chicken Korma so much flavor and great texture.  And the coconut milk.  Oh the coconut milk.  It really brings the entire dish together, giving that silky, creamy texture. 

Surprisingly, this entire meal took very little time.  Everything takes place in one skillet so there is not alot of cleanup, and who doesn’t love that?!  

If you haven’t tried cooking any type of Indian dish before, you will have to purchase a few new ingredients from the store.  Don’t let that dissuade you from giving this a try.  The ingriedients are rather common and should be easily found.  I’m pretty sure everyone has seen or used coconut milk before.  The other new ingredient was the mild curry paste.  This is the one I used…

I will, without a doubt, continue to make this Chicken Korma recipe.  Sparingly, though.  This is not a low fat dish, just look at the fat content in the coconut milk and you might fall off your chair.  Everything in moderation.

So…love it or hate it…which category are you in? 

Here’s what you will need to serve 4-5 people….

 1 3/4 pounds chicken breasts, cut into large dice

2 medium onions, chopped

1 green chile, most seeds and ribs removed, minced

2″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

15 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup mild curry paste

14 oz can coconut milk

7 oz water

1/4 cup sliced almonds

basmati rice

Prepare basmati rice according to package.

Meanwhile,, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add onions, chile and ginger.  Saute until onions are translucent, roughly 8-10 minutes.  Add the chopped cilantro and stir.  Add chicken to the skillet and cook for a few minutes, turning the pieces over to allow both sides to lightly brown.  After about 4 minutes add the curry paste, coconut milk, chick peas and half the sliced almonds.  Fill up half of the empty can of coconut milk with water and add to the skillet.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.  Add a touch more water if necessary.

Serve over basmati rice.

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is here already!  Shocking how time flies; one minute you are applying sunscreen, then next you are planning Thanksgiving dinner.  Sort of.  Anyway, I’ve got myself a new favorite side dish, one that would be perfect on any Thanksgiving table.  Stuffed mushrooms!

One word sufficiently describes these babies.  Superb.  Truly, they are delicious.  My fiance actually rolled his eyes back into his head during his first bite.  They are that good. 

I saw Ina make these the other day and just had to try them.  She never disappoints!  I made a few slight changes to her recipe (added thyme, decreased amount of mascarpone).  Very yummy and very hearty.  A few big stuffed mushrooms can hold their own for a light lunch, for sure. 

One of my favorite things about these mushrooms is that you can make them ahead.  Stuff them, put them in a baking dish, cover and keep in the fridge until ready to bake.  Or, store the filling in the fridge and just stuff the mushrooms as needed and pop in the oven.  Works really well during the week when you are short on time and energy and need just a little something to go with that piece of chicken or steak. 

If you think your turkey can stand not being the center of attention this Thanksgiving, go ahead and give these mushrooms a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what you will need to make approximately 25 medium/large stuffed mushrooms…

25 medium/large white mushrooms, cleaned

3/4 pound sausage (remove from casing)

4-5 scallions, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup panko (bread crumbs)

3 oz mascarpone (roughly 1/3 of a container)

1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped thyme

2.5 tbsp marsala

3 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove stems from mushrooms and reserve.  Clean mushroom caps with a damp paper towel, put in a large bowl.  Add marsala and 3 tbsp olive oil and mix to coat all mushrooms.  Put aside.

In a large skillet add a few tablespoons of olive oil, when hot add sausage and cook until just browned, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon.  Meanwhile, chop mushroom stems and then add to the sausage.  Add scallions, garlic and panko and thyme.  Mix to combine and cook for about 5-7 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add mascarpone, parmigiano cheese, parsley and salt & pepper to taste.  Mix well until the mascarpone has fully melted into the sausage mixture.  Allow to cool slightly.

Now comes the time to stuff these guys.  Be careful, the mushrooms will be somewhat slippery to handle due to the marsala and olive oil.  Just take your time.  Stuff each mushroom well, mounding the tops with the delicious filling.  Pack the filling down slightly.  Place each stuffed mushroom in the baking dish.  Pop in the oven, uncovered, and bake for approximately 40 minutes.  As an added touch, I sometimes like to turn the broiler on for a minute or two towards the end of the cooking time.  This helps to brown the tops nicely, creating a bit of a an extra crunch on top.  If you do this, do not leave the stove, watch it carefully.  One or two minutes is enough, you don’t want to burn them!

Have I mentioned how delicious these are?

We’ve been trying to cut back on our carb intake lately (brief stint on South Beach).  Just to be completely clear, it has not been fun.  Not fun at all.  I really like carbs!!   Eliminating them from meals is….difficult.  Take something as simple as a taco.  Can’t have the taco.  Now what?!  Lettuce leaves have never played such an important role in cooking.

I did some searching around on the web for carb free meals and phase one South Beach meals.  I came across some interesting ideas.  One of which was this taco, using lettuce as a vessel to hold the taco filling.  Genius.  I love using Boston lettuce for this, the leaves act as perfect little cups.  I serve the tacos with salsa and guacamole.  You can certainly use any toppings you like!

I have to say, I really like this meal.  Even in the lettuce cup!  But I’ll tell you what I love most… the leftovers!  (Yes, again with the leftovers.)  I use the taco filling in an omelette for breakfast.  Super genius.  It’s SO delicious.  I spread guacamole over the top and I swear it’s almost as if I’m eating a burrito, but in an egg! 

So, if you are trying to cut back (or cut out) carbs give this recipe a try and be sure to make an omelette with the leftovers, if there are any. 

Here’s what you will need to serve 4 people…

2 pounds ground pork (or turkey, or sirloin)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large jalapeno, minced very fine

2-3 large plum tomatoes, diced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tbsp chili powder (start off with one and add to suit your taste)

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp paprika

1/3 cup (plus 2 tbsp) fresh cilantro, chopped

1-2 tbsp lime juice

boston lettuce (one head)

In a large skillet saute the onion and red pepper flakes in some olive oil for about 3 minutes.  Add jalapeno and diced tomatoes, saute for another 3 minutes.  Slide the onion mixture to the side of the skillet and add the chop meat, breaking up the meat.  If you are using sirloin you will probably need to drain out some of the fat in the skillet.  Using turkey and/or lean pork doesn’t yield as much fat.

To the meat mixture add the fresh cilantro, cumin, coriander, cayenne and paprika.  Mix around and cook until slightly browned and cooked through.  Once cooked, turn off flame and add remaining 2 tbsp of fresh cilantro and lime juice.

Meanwhile, remove any outer/damaged leaves from the head of lettuce and discard.  Carefully break inner leaves away from the head and rinse and pat dry.  Personally, I prefer using the inner leaves that are smaller, they are more sturdy and therefore much less messy. 

Arrange lettuce cups on a platter and fill with taco mixture.  Give a good dollop of salsa and guacamole to each one and serve.

My inspiration for this meal came from Kayln’s Kitchen http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/04/turkey-lettuce-wrap-tacos-with-chiles.html