What You Need:

2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate

2 T butter

1 C + 6 T sugar, divided

2/3 C evaporated milk

1 t + 1/2 t vanilla extract, divided

1 qt. peppermint ice cream, softened

1 (9 in) deep dish pie shell, baked

3 egg whites

1/4 t cream of tarter

1/2 t vanilla extract

3 T peppermint stick candy, crushed

How to Make It:

Place a heavy saucepan over medium heat. 

Add the chocolate and butter to the saucepan and heat until both are completely melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. 

Add 1 C of sugar and the evaporated milk to the pan.

Continuing cooking, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Remove the pan from the stove and stir in 1 t of vanilla.

Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Spread half of the ice cream into the baked pie shell.

Place the shell and ice cream into the freezer until the ice cream has become firm.

Remove and spread half of the chocolate mixture over the firm ice cream.

Return to the freezer until set.

Repeat the layers one more time.

After the second layer of chocolate mixture return to the freezer and leave at least 4 hours or overnight.

Place the egg whites, 6 T sugar and cream of tarter into a heavy saucepan and place the pan over low heat.

With an electric mixer on low speed beat the ingredients while cooking for 12 minutes or until the mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from the heat and pour in the vanilla.

Beat with the mixer until soft peaks form. 

Fold the crushed candy into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie and return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Serving Size:  8

What You Need:

12 hard boiled eggs

1/2 C salad dressing

1 t parsley flakes

1/2 t dried chives

1/2 t dry mustard

1/2 t dill weed

1/4 t paprika

1/8 t pepper

1/4 t salt

1/8 t garlic powder

2 T milk

How to Make It:

Split the eggs in half lengthwise.

Place the yolks in a bowl and lay the whites on a plate.

Mash the yolks with a potato masher or fork.

Fold in the salad dressing using a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle in the parsley, chives, mustard, dill weed, paprika, pepper, salt and garlic powder.

Carefully pour the milk into the yolk mixture.

Use a fork and stir the mixture together until all the ingredients are incorporated together.

Fill each egg white with the mixture.

Sprinkle the tops with fresh parsley and paprika before serving.

Serving Size:  24

To make hard boiled eggs easier to peel add a pinch of salt to the water when boiling the eggs.  Run under cold water and place the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  When cracking the egg to peel crack the top and bottom of the egg and roll in your palms to loosen.

What You Need:

3/4 C butter, room temperature

1/2 C + 2 T sugar, divided

1/2 C brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t cinnamon, divided

1/2 t ginger

1/8 t salt

1 egg

1 t vanilla

2 1/4 C flour

Red and green miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

How to Make It:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. 

Pour in 1/2 C sugar, the brown sugar, baking soda, 1/2 t cinnamon, ginger and salt.

Beat with mixer on medium speed until well combined.

Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until completely incorporated into the mixture.

On low speed beat in the flour in it is completely moistened.

Divide the dough in half, cover and chill 1 hour or until the dough can be easily handled.

Place the oven temperature on 350 degrees and allow the oven to heat while finishing the cookies.

Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

Lightly flour a flat surface and roll out half of the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin to 1/4 in thickness.

Cut the cookies with a scalloped cookie cutter.

Cut a 1 in circle in the center of each cookie.

Place the cut cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the cookie dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Press the red and green candies into the cough.

Continue in the same manner with the second half of the dough.

Bake the cookies 10 minutes or until lightly born and firm.

Cool on the cookie sheet 2 minutes then move to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Serving Size:  36 cookies

These little treats make great munchies during your Christmas day.  Make a double batch to be sure to have enough to go around. 

What You Need:

2 (1/4 oz) pkgs. active dry yeast

1 C warm water

1/3 C butter at room temperature

1/4 C sugar

1 t salt

2 eggs

5 C flour

1 egg yolk

1 t cold water

1/4 t cinnamon

How to Make It:

Dump the packages of yeast into a mixing bowl.

Add the warm water (110 degrees) to the yeast and stir until completely dissolved.

Place the butter, sugar and salt into the yeast mixture.

Break the eggs into the mixture and add 3 C of flour.

Use an electric mixer and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Add 1 C of the remaining flour and stir until a soft dough forms. 

The remaining flour may be added as necessary to form the dough.

Flour a flat surface.

Knead the dough 7 minutes or until the dough become smooth and elastic. 

Butter a large bowl on the bottom and up the sides.

Place the dough into the buttered bowl turning to cover with the butter on all sides.

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise double in size about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down with your fist.

Very lightly flour the flat surface again.

Place the dough on the floured surface and divided into four sections.

Shape each section of dough into an 18 in long rope.

Grease a cookie sheet and place the ropes parallel on the sheet.

Start with the right rope and braid the dough ropes together.

The first rope should go over the second rope, under the third rope and over the fourth rope.

Continue always beginning on the right side until the ropes are completely braided together then pinch the ends to seal.

Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise 45 minutes or until double in size.

Heat the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Place the egg yolk, cold water and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl and whisk to completely combine.

Brush the dough with the egg yolk mixture. 

Bake the Bread 22 minutes or a golden brown.

Cool the bread on a wire rack before cutting.

Serving Size:  1 loaf

Making bread isn’t really that difficult.  Being sure to completely dissolve the yeast, kneading the bread until it becomes elastic and making sure you allow the bread to rise as directed will insure that you have the perfect bread every time.

When dealing with a caterer for Christmas dinner, contact them well in advance of the occasion. Caterers book up fast with private parties and corporate affairs. Discuss a budget with them. While you want the convenience of not cooking you don’t want to go broke trying to do it. Choose a caterer with the most services included in the price of the meal.

Stick with a simple menu. Adding several side dishes and meats will jack up the price. Choose one or two meats and maybe three side dishes. Chicken is one of the cheapest meats to serve. Desserts can be brought by the Christmas dinner guests.

Remember that caterers will be watching the clock. They get paid for the amount of hours they are there. So, serve dinner first and then everyone can lounge and talk over dessert since you provided that yourself. The caterers can clean up, wrap up any extra food, and clear out in a matter of a couple of hours. The rest of the Christmas evening can be enjoyed by you and your family alone.

Some catered Christmas dinners just involve the food. In that case, the price will be cheaper and you can set up the eating area any way that you want. The food arrives a few hours before dinner and you didn’t have to lift a finger.

Catering a Christmas dinner is a great way to save time on cooking. The family gets a great meal for Christmas without the hassle and stress of preparing it.

Preparing Christmas dinner for a group of people can be time consuming. With everything that goes into the Christmas season, adding dinner to the list can be daunting. This year, consider having your Christmas dinner catered.

To many, catering Christmas dinner can seem like a frou-frou thing to do. You’d expect that at a high society Christmas dinner but not for a down home family gathering. Actually, more and more people are opting for this type of holiday meal.

Catering a Christmas dinner meal saves time. That is probably the number one reason to have the Christmas meal catered. Hours are spent in the kitchen fixing food and washing dishes. By the time the guests arrive to eat, you are too pooped out to participate.

The Christmas dinner is about fellowship. It is hard to carry on a conversation if you are asleep. With a catered dinner, the caterers do the majority of the work while, you are allowed to play host or hostess and interact with the family.

Catering a Christmas dinner includes food and service. Caterers come in and set up the food station and bring already prepared food. If you’d like, they will also serve the food to the guests and replenish food that is running low. Afterwards, they are responsible for clean up.

A popular European holiday drink that has found a place in the U.S. is wassail. It is a spiced punch that is served hot. Many modern versions use mulled cider but traditionally they used mulled beer. All of the ingredients were heated together in a bowl and topped with toast. Soggy bread aside, this drink choice can begin a new holiday tradition in your home.

Teas are also good. If you have a diabetic person in your family, teas may be easier to handle than some of the alcoholic or sweeter flavored drinks. Try peppermint tea or sugar-free apple cider mix so that they can join in the festivities as well.

We almost forgot the hot chocolate. That’s the reason you bought the reindeer mug, right? It warms the cold places and tastes great with a Christmas cookie or a slice of cake. Instead of water, like most drink mixes call for, use milk instead. Milk makes hot chocolate taste creamier. Hot milk at bedtime will send your kids off to Sleepytown.

These are just a few of the traditional holiday beverages most people turn to when Christmas rolls around. You may have others you’ve grown to love over the years. Either way, leave room for a new beverage tradition to join the ranks.

There are many holiday songs that mention good things to drink. Holiday beverages are the perfect topper for a great dinner or the wake up for morning breakfast. Here are a few holiday drinks to include on your menu.

What is the single favorite drink at Christmas? It’s eggnog. Eggnog is made with, you guessed it, eggs. Some people may be concerned about raw eggs. If that’s the case, you can purchase chilled eggnog in the carton. There are 1,001 recipes for eggnog floating around so use the one that suits your taste buds.

Eggnog is traditionally an alcoholic drink, using whisky, rum or brandy. If you have kids you can ixnay the liquor for a tasty non-alcoholic version. Don’t forget to top your creation with nutmeg and/or cinnamon for flavor.

Another tasty drink is apple cider. This warm apple drink keeps the chill away when the weather outside is frightful. For a different taste, add slices of citrus fruits to the warm cider and cinnamon sticks. Garnish the glass with curly Qs of citrus rind.

Holiday punches are a hit with all ages. Whether it is a citrus punch or a sparkling one (champagne) you can spruce up the presentation. Add colorful ice cubes to the punch. Try red and green Kool-Aid ice cubes. For more red and green garnish, add maraschino cherries to drink and punch glasses.

The secret to a holiday brunch is the preparation and a bit of cheating. It is okay because the food will still be good. For example, if you decide to serve blueberry muffins, buy them from the store. Take them out to come to room temperature in the morning. Use frozen, cooked sausage for the casseroles so you don’t have to perform that step on Christmas morning.

A perfect way to save cleanup is to have a buffet brunch and a buffet holiday dinner. The tables will only have to be set up once. All you will do is wipe up the table clothes and switch out the food pans when it is time for dinner. The brunch food stays warm from the first family member to the last.

Want some brunch ideas? Here they are:

·         Sausage, egg and cheese breakfast casserole

·         Assorted muffins

·         Fruit Juices

·         Fruit salad

·         Ham and turkey slices with white and wheat bread

The first rule is to keep it simple. Dinner is coming in a few short hours and you want everyone to have room for all that you’ve prepared.

You have spent a good portion of Christmas Eve getting food ready for Christmas dinner the next day. Treat all of the diligent cooks (and the rest of the family) to a brunch on Christmas morning. Everyone can get the nourishment they need to finish preparation for dinner that night.

The good thing about a brunch is that it combines the best of breakfast and lunch. If you have those who love breakfast foods anytime of the day, it works. For others who want to eat light, they have the lunch half of the fare.

If you are going to host the Christmas brunch, include the cooking items you need in your master list for Christmas dinner shopping. You don’t want to run out of eggs or milk or bread. While one half of the group is working on Christmas dinner, the other half can be preparing for brunch.

Here are some tips to get you started:

·         Decide on the menu ahead of time – keep it simple but with enough variety for your family’s tastes.

·         Decide how you will present the brunch. Buffet style is good for early risers and those who want to sleep for an extra 20 minutes.

·         Don’t forget the drinks: plenty of fruit juices, milk and teas

·         Perform the prep work the night before when the other half of the cooks are preparing for Christmas dinner – casseroles can be put together and refrigerated.

·         Don’t forget the setup for a buffet style brunch. You don’t want to run out of pans for the food.