Happy New Year and Hello 2012!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! We spent Christmas in Louisiana with my family



Loved every minute of it!


We flew back to Washington in time to see in the New Year - quietly! I seem to have caught a cold back home in the *warm* south so didn't really feel like going all out for a big New Years day meal. But I still had to get in the required New Years day staples - black eyed peas and greens for luck and money! So I decided to just dump it all in a pot and see what happened. The result was pretty tasty and worthy of a repeat so I thought I would write it out and share.



New Years Day Black Eyed Pea "Gumbo"

2 Tablespoons bacon grease (or vegetable oil)
2 heaping Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 large onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch greens (I used Kale, but any would do)
2 cans black eyed peas
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotel)
Smoked Sausage or smoky ham or smoky bacon (smoke is the theme - for flavor). Whatever you have on hand. I used 3 links of good smoked Louisiana sausage that I have in my freezer courtesy of my parents.
3 cups chicken broth
Spices/seasoning to taste - I used Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning & garlic salt.
2/3 cup uncooked rice

Heat grease or oil in a skillet until hot. Add flour and stir continuously (heat medium-high) until you have a roux that is light reddish brown - you could go darker, but I didn't want to have a strong roux taste. Add onions, bell peppers, celery & garlic and cook down until vegetables are tender. Add greens, peas, tomatoes, sausage, broth and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Add rice. Cook until rice is tender (about 30 minutes). Serve with cornbread.


Wishing you a very prosperous, healthy and happy 2012! Thanks for taking the time this past year to check out my blog and what I have going on. Your comments have been much appreciated!

Joining in for Mosaic Monday this week over at Little Red House

A Winner and A Surprise!

Drum Roll please......The winner of the Cookiepedia giveaway is Debbie at Mountain Breaths! I know you will enjoy it Debbie! The book will be coming straight from Quirk Books so be on the lookout. For those of you that didn't win this time...thank you for playing and maybe you can check the book out at Amazon or your local bookstore.

Click Here

This past weekend I did a little Holiday baking with a friend and her cute little girl Allie. We each decorated a little mini gingerbread house. Randy declared Allie's A Frame the winner...that's it front and center. Isn't that window mosaic pretty cool?


We made a few goodies including cake balls (crumbled baked cake, mushed with canned icing, rolled into balls then dipped in chocolate bark and sprinkled) and Chocolate Surprise Cookies




The surprise in the chocolate cookies is the ooey gooey marshmallow inside. They were really soft and yummy.



Surprise Cookies
Courtesy of Martha Stewart

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
• Chocolate frosting - see recipe below
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
3. Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begin to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
5. Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

For Chocolate Frosting:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.