Recipes

Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of eggnog! Yes, folks its the hap-hap-happiest time of the year since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny $%*&*# Kaye! This one is not for kids. Let me show you how to make a delicious boozy eggnog inspired by one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time – Nation Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Hip hip hooray it’s Christmas Vacation!

To make the Eggnog you will need:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 250 ml bourbon
• 5 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup cognac or brandy
• 1/2. cup dark rum
• Pinch of salt

To serve you’ll also need:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Reserved Egg Whites

Let me show you how it’s done!

1. Separate Eggs. Either in your hands or by passing the yolk between shells, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Place the egg whites into a freezer safe plastic bag or container and save until ready to use. Place the egg yolks into a mixing bowl and add sugar to egg yolks.
2. Mix Eggnog Base. Mix sugar and egg yolks together on medium-high speed until thick and light in color. Then add everything else! The Milk, Cream, Bourbon, Cognac, Rum, and Salt. Mix again to combine and to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a Gallon-sized sealable glass jug and place into fridge for 1-3 weeks.
3. Serve. When you’re ready to serve. Let the reserved egg whites thaw and come to room temperature. Then place thawed egg whites into a mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Place whipped egg whites into bottom of serving bowl. Then in same mixing bowl (no need to clean) place the additional 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream and whip until soft peaks form (don’t overwhip). Place softly whipped cream over egg whites in mixing bowl. Shake the egg nog base as it will have separated as it sat, and add that to the cream and egg whites. Gentle fold together with a spatula. Don’t over mix or you’ll deflate your nog! Serve in Moose Mugs (link in YouTube Description) and top with a grating of nutmeg or cinnamon to taste and there you go! My Christmas Vacation Boozy Egg Nog!

It’s fall! For me, the quintessential autumnal cartoon is Over the Garden Wall. Honestly, if you haven’t seen it, you MUST check it out. During their journey in the Unknown Greg and Wirt encounter little black turtles that seem to be evil, then seem not to be… it’s never entirely clear. What IS clear is that they are a perfect inspiration for a fruity, gummy treat! I present to you my Over the Garden Wall Gummy Turtles!

To make the gummies will need:

You’ll Need (for traditional gummies):

• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 3 Tbls. water
• 3/4 c. light corn syrup or glucose syrup
• 50 grams unflavored gelatin
• 15 grams powdered pectin
• 1/2 c. fruit juice such as tart cherry
• A turtle candy mold

Let me show you how it’s done! 

For the pectin & gelatin gummies:

1. Bloom the gelatin & pectin: In a small bowl whisk together the gelatin and pectin until incorporate. In a another bowl power the 1/2 cup of fruit juice. Sprinkle the gelatin & pectin over the fruit juice whisk constantly. This will set up very quickly. If needed switch to a spatula. Let set while you prepare the sugar mixture.

2. Boil the sugar. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan add the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir to combine. Turn to medium-high heat and stir to dissolve sugar in water. Once the sugar is dissolved and has come to a boil stop stirring. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals. Add a candy thermometer and boil until mixture reaches 290F.  

3. Combine sugar and gelatin mixtures. Remove sugar mixture from heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin and pectin. Stir until all the pectin/gelatin has dissolved – this may take a minute. Then add a pinch of salt, candy flavoring, and black food coloring. Mix to combine. Pour gummy mixture into a heat-proof measuring cup.

4. Fill the molds. Carefully fill the candy molds and let gummiessit for at least 2 hours at room temperature or until fully set. Then, unmold and enjoy

For Vegan Agar Agar Gummies:

• 1/2 c. 100% fruit juice
• 1/2 Tbls agar agar powdered
• 1-2 Tbls honey or agave as needed
• Black Food Coloring

To make the agar agar gummies – mix agar agar with fruit juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat until agar is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Stir constantly so agar doesn’t clump – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add honey to taste, then add more flavoring if desired and black food coloring. Transfer to heat-proof measuring cup, then fill your mold. Set in fridge for 10-15 minutes. Unmold and enjoy!

For Vegan Pate de Fruit Gummies:

You will need:

• 2½ cups strawberry purée, strained
• 2¾ cups granulated sugar – divided as ¼ cup & 2½ cups
• ½ oz pectin
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar mixed with 1/8 tsp water
• Black Food Coloring

To make the pate de fruit gummies:

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan bring fruit purée to a gentle boil in a over medium-high heat.
2. Whisk together the pectin and ¼ cup of sugar (this will help the pectin not clump up later).
3. Sprinkle pectin mixture evenly over the boiling puree in 2 stages, whisking to incorporate.
4. Boil 2-3 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in the corn syrup.
5. Sprinkle 2½ cups of sugar over the fruit mixture in 3 or 4 additions, whisking to fully incorporate
6. Cook mixture over medium heat until it reaches 225º F (107º C), stirring every 5-10 minutes. Use a candy thermometer. This will probably take 10-20 minutes.
7. Remove mixture from the heat when it reaches the correct temperature, and whisk in the cream of tartar and water solution.
8. Add black food coloring and mix to combine.
9. Pour fruit mixture into a heat-proof measuring cup. Then, fill your molds. It might help to grease your molds, though mine came out fine without.
10. Let set at room temperature for a few hours. Do not let set in fridge. Enjoy!

Ducktales woo-oo! Just in time for Christmas I’m making Scrooge’s money bin into a gingerbread house!

To make the Cookie Money Bin you will need:

You’ll Need:

• 4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 3 sticks soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbl vanilla paste or extract
• 1 Tbl orange zest
• Thick royal icing
• Black and golden yellow food coloring
• A cup or two of cake crumbs
• A few tsp of buttercream icing
• A large cake board
• A food-safe marker
• A small piece of tissue paper
• Ziploc bags or pastry bags
• Various candies to decorate
• Lots of chocolate coins
• Set of templates (COMING SOON)

Let me show you how it’s done! 

1. Make the cookie walls. Mix the flour, cardamom, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add orange zest and vanilla then add eggs and egg yolk one at a time, mixing after each addition. Scrap down bowl. Slowly add the flour until incorporated. Turn dough out onto work surface and bring together with hands. Cut into two equal pieces and flatten into discs. Wrap in cling film and chill in refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.

2. Make the dome. Make some cake pop dough by mixing some cake crumbles and a few tsp. of buttercream frosting. You don’t need a lot. (You could probably even make this out of more cookie dough.) Find a small bowl with a diameter a bit smaller than the top cookie piece. Line the bowl with cling film and press the cake pop dough into it. Chill for about an hour. Meanwhile, thinly roll out some yellow fondant between two sheets of wax paper. When the cake pop dough has chilled turn it out and cover with the fondant. Smooth it down with your fingers and cut off the excess with a knife. Make a round indentation in the top center of the dome and then use the back of the knife to make around 16 indented lines (don’t pierce the fondant) coming down from the middle point. Use a red spice drop and a toothpick to make a flag and then insert into the center of the dome. Set aside.

3. Bake the cookies. Once cookie dough has chilled roll it out to ~1/4 inch thickness on some parchment paper. TIP: use two thin books or magazines of the same height and place on either side of the dough for an easy height guide. Cover the books with wax paper if you don’t want to get them greasy. Cut out the cookie walls using the templates and a sharp knife or pizza cutter, remove the excess, and slide the parchment paper on to baking trays (make sure to leave a bit of space between cookies as they will spread when baking). Bake in a 375F oven for ~10-12 minutes or until the bottom edges start to go light golden brown. Keep an eye on it.

4. Trim the cookies. Once cookies are done immediately re-lay the templates on top of each piece and re-cut off any excess. Be careful, they will be HOT! Let cookies cool completely on a cooling rack before moving on.

5. Color the icing. Dye a little of the royal icing black and a little golden yellow. Thin out with a little water until they are a pipeable consistency. But each color in a separate sandwich bag, seal, and cut a tiny corner off with a pair of scissors to create piping bags.

6. Decorate the $ piece. Lay a piece of tissue paper over the $ template and trace over with a food safe marker. Then lay that on top of the small rectangular cookie and trace over again (the ink should have transferred through to the cookie) TIP: if you don’t plan on eating this then you can just use a Sharpie or other non-food safe marker. Pipe over that with black icing and outline with yellow icing. Let dry a few hours at least. Once dry you can glue that piece onto the FRONT piece with some royal icing.

7. Assemble the money bin. Pipe some thick royal icing on the center of the cake board and attach the bottom piece. Then attach the walls with more icing on the bottom and sides of each piece. Use some spice containers to help hold them up as they dry. TIP: the front piece is meant to lean a bit forward so you’ll def want some support there. I also like to pipe more icing up the inside seams for extra support. Let dry several hours or best overnight.

8. Decorate the board.  Spread more icing all over the cake board and decorate with lots of candies.

9.Add the candy surprise!  Fill the money bin with lots of chocolate coins and enjoy!

And there it is: my Ducktales Christmas Cookie Money Bin!

Natural 20!!!!  I’ve quickly become a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons.  I’ve been watching Critical Role (Campaign 2) and fell in love with the game.  Surprisingly, I had played it until very recently.  Now, I’m hooked.  My first set of dice for the game were colorful and translucent…basically they looked like …

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Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah BATMAN!!! PASTA!!!

 

This week I’m making two-toned Batman-inspired pasta.  These little sheets of fazzoletti pasta as pretty easy to make, they just take a bit of time and care.  This is perfect if you’re a fan of the comics, movies, or TV shows, or could even be great as a spooky and delicious Halloween treat! Let me show you how it’s done!

 

To make the Pasta:

• Flour – I used 00 flour, but all-purpose will work fine too!
• Eggs (basic ratio I used was 2 eggs/2 c. flour and more flour as needed)
• 1 yellow pepper
• Turmeric (can leave out too, but helps get a little more yellow color and adds a very subtle flavor)
• Activated Charcoal

Let me show you how it’s done!

1. Make the 2 doughs. Cut the yellow pepper into small pieces, removing the seeds.  In a blender combine pepper pieces, 1-2 tsp. turmeric, and eggs and blend until smooth.  Mix into flour and stir to combine.  Add more flour if necessary until it comes together as a dough.  It shouldn’t stick to your hands.  If it does add more flour.  Keep kneading for 5-10 minutes until smooth.  For the black dough add 1-2 tsp of activated charcoal to the eggs and mix the same way as the yellow dough.
2. Roll out dough. Set your pasta machine to 0 and roll out the dough.  Then fold dough over on itself and roll again.  This is called Laminating the dough and it’s an important step for giving the dough some strength.  Do this 5 times or so.  Then turn the dial to setting “1” and roll again.  Then roll out at “2” and keep doing this until a level of “6”.  If the pasta gets too big to handle cut in half with a sharp knife.
3. Cut Batman Shapes. Use your cookie cutter dipped in a bit of flour to cut out Batman shapes from the yellow dough. I fit 2 shapes on top of each other.  Save the little Batman cutouts for later.
4. Combine two doughs. Brush a bit of water all over the now cut-out yellow dough with a clean paintbrush.  Lift the BLACK DOUGH (not the yellow as all of the cut-outs has made it very weak) and place it over the yellow sheet of dough.  Lightly roll together with a rolling pin to get an initial seal.  Then set the pasta machine at a 0 or 1 and roll together to make the two colors stick to one another.
5. Roll out two-toned dough. Cut each Batman into a single square sheet and continue rolling out until a level of 6, each time turning the dough to roll either “wing” side or “head” side first to keep the image as even as possible.
6. Trim up edges.  Use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or fluted pasta roller to clean up the edges of the fazzoletti until they’re the size you desire.  You could also make these into large ravioli or even sheets of lasagna.
7. Dry, Freeze, or Cook.  You can now let the pasta dry and use it later, freeze it in a large freezer-safe plastic  bag, or boil a big pot of salted done.  Fresh pasta doesn’t take as long as dried pasta to keep an eye on it.  Mine took 5-7 minutes.
8. Enjoy. Make a simple sauce of brown butter and sage or whatever you like and enjoy!
9. Use the scraps! You can re-roll any scraps of dough together to get a marbled effect and then cut out more Batman shapes, which you can use in place of farfalle, orichette, or other small pasta.

And there it is – Batman Pasta!

 

 

Happy Holidays!  I’m back with a Stranger Things-inspired holiday treat!  I am a HUGE fan of the show and wanted to create something that would be instantly recognizable to fans of the show.  I came across a website of floor plans from popular televisions shows…

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This week I’m taking on another Disney Princess and trying to beat the summer heat at the same time!  I remember singing my heart out to the songs of Disney movies when I was a kid.  The Little Mermaid was the beginning of a Renaissance of animated musicals, led by…

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Dun dun duh duh DUN dun duh duh DUN dun…

Every time I hear the opening them of GoT I get chills.  This Sunday is the premier of Season 7 and I can’t wait!  To celebrate I’m creating, or re-creating rather, my Game of Thrones Cake Pops.  Recreating??  Why, yes….

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I’m back with another Miyazaki-inspired recipe.  I decided to do something different and go savory!!  I was thinking of My Neighbor Totoro and thought that he would be perfect make out of meat!!  I present to you my Totoro Turkey Meatloaf….

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It’s a me, Mario!  This week I’ve teamed up with Missy from Miss Trendy Treats and collaborated on the theme of Super Mario!  I think anyone who had the original NES remembers spending hours playing the original Super Mario Bros. game along …

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