Author: Carrie

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

CarrieLeave a comment

This is one of my favorite holiday appetizers to make for a crowd.  This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite food network star’s, Ina Garten.  It is simple to make and will please everyone’s tastebuds.  The hint of sherry and fresh flavors really make them special.  You should make them for your Christmas Day appetizer this year…it’s just that easy.

Ingredients

16 extra large white mushrooms, olive oil, 2 1/2 tbsp sherry, 1 lb. Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean sage sausage, 6 scallions minced, 2 garlic cloves minced, 2/3 c. panko, 5 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/2 bunch fresh parsley minced, salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop finely.  Set this aside.  Place the caps in a shallow baking dish and toss with 3 tbsp of olive oil and sherry.  Set this aside.

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Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the sausage.  Make sure to crumble the sausage in the pan as you are cooking it.  Once the sausage is browned, add the chopped mushroom stems and cook until tender.  Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another five minutes.  Add the panko crumbs and stir well to combine everything.  Lastly, fold in the cream cheese on low heat and continue until the cream cheese is melted and thoroughly incorporated.  Turn the heat off.  Stir in the parm and parsley.  Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, fill each mushroom with the sausage mixture.  There will be plenty of stuffing so make sure to put a heaping pile of it in the mushroom.  Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer in the same baking dish in which you have pre-treated the mushroom caps.  Make sure they are snug in the pan so they do not move around when you place them in the oven.
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Bake until the stuffing is browned. You can only imagine how great they will look once they are cooked. I got so engrossed in the dinner party in which I served them at and forgot to take a final picture. You can check out Ina’s recipe here if you want to take a look at the final product.

Crafty Claus

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I have been busy this season doing a whole bunch of projects. One project that I have completed is painting the Santa Claus ceramic figures that I found in my grandmother’s attic. They were unfinished pieces of ceramic that a family member had made. Now, they have a whole new look of color. I brought them to life with Martha Stewart’s new all-purpose paint line that you can find at Michael’s Craft Store. The paint can be used on ceramic, glass, wood, pottery…just about anything you can think of. I found the paint to be thick and creamy. The paints started at $1.99 per bottle and the bottle might look small but it goes a long way. Here is one of the finished products.

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Santa’s Whiskers: the Official Start of Holiday Cookie Baking

Carrie1 Comment

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This cookbook might be vintage but the recipes never get old. One of my favorite Christmas cookies is found in this book. They are called Santa’s Whiskers because the coconut on the outside of the cookie is symbolic of Santa’s beard. They are also speckled with candied cherries for that extra Christmas cheer. You can make the dough ahead and slice and bake them right before the party.

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Ingredients

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. finely chopped red and green cherries
1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
3/4 c. flaked coconut

Directions
In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Blend in milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, chopped cherries, and pecans. Form dough into two 8-inch rolls. To do this, roll the dough in flaked coconut on a sheet of wax paper. Pull the waxed paper as if the dough roll was a sushi roll. The dough will even out inside the wax paper tube. Place in fridge and chill thoroughly.

Cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 until the edges are browned, about 12 minutes. Makes about 60 cookies.