super-simple Christmas treats

it’s happening!

Santa’s coming to town!!

Christmas and winter, i love this time of year.

rain is blowing sideways here in the valley, flooding low points of parking lots and sidewalks just enough to go over one’s shoes if one doesn’t watch where one steps. an empty parking space downtown has become a myth, and the office breakroom is brimming with christmas cookies and homemade treats. (so it doesnt help that most of my coworkers are already on vacation! i find it so difficult to turn down peppermint bark.) tonight, my sister flies in from New York, and my baby brother (who turned 19 this week!) arrives from the city he lives in, about an hour’s drive away.

i’m so excited!

this year, things are a little different. yes, we wrestled another 12-foot tree into our loft; i still attended an amazing cookie swap as well as our friend’s sparkly, dress-up cocktail party; but this year we decided in my immediate family not to exchange gifts. i can’t imagine possibly having more than i already do!… i am so blessed and provided for, and i don’t need anything. (but Nathan and i couldnt help but buy a few small treats for everyone anyway!) 

but mostly because last Friday, during my office Christmas party, Nathan left me a voicemail letting me know he had unexpectedly been laid off. and i couldnt call him back, since his phone belonged to the company. we got him a new phone, yes, but things feel very different than a week ago. but we are so thankful for the Lord’s timing and hand in our lives. my new job is stable and wonderful and covers both of us with medical insurance, and for now i have a House Husband who helps with groceries, errand-running, cleaning and……. well, let’s be honest, i still do the cooking (it’s my favorite)! a definite highlight is that Nathan is no longer working on-call this Christmas, or for any Christmas, or holiday or weekend or birthday ever again. i’m thrilled!! i’ve cooked a nice Valentine’s Day dinner for one for the last time; awoken to work calls in the middle of the night for the last time. 

so much to be thankful for!

i want to celebrate every day, and of course that means i want to eat! here are some of our dinnersforwinners favorites that we rounded up to inspire your holiday kitchen…………

if you want a peek into a delicious Hawley tradition, these peppery, spiced gingerbread cookies are as tasty as they are adorable. they are super-simple to make, fun to decorate, and fill the house with a wonderful gingerbread smell!

still my most popular recipe on this blog to-date, salted butter carmels are a great way to try your hand at candymaking, if you haven’t before. they are so delicious, and so much better than anything you could purchase! wrapped in some parchment or colored cellophane, they are the perfect last-minute gift… just make sure to save some for yourself! i love the creamy caramels and flecks of salt on top.

if you need a last-minute idea for contributing to a party, this mushroom tart is one of my top favorites! it serves well at room-temperature, so, great for traveling. prep is so easy with frozen puff pastry, and i think the tart is pretty presentation. i love the flakey pastry, melty Gruyere cheese and roasted mushrooms together!

i also adore these SPAM latkes — i know, so un-Kosher, but seriously so delicious! crispy potato cakes laced with salty shredded SPAM are amazing alongside a little pickled cabbage. you could swap leftover Christmas ham for the SPAM or even skip the meat and go all veggie. i could eat potato pancakes for every meal!

i hope the season is bringing you contentment and family and champagne punch and mistletoe.

and if you’re up for it, consider a little something to raise support for those affected around Sandy Hook Elementary in a run and ride in January! this is something we can do together, no matter how far apart we may be from each other geographically. participants commit to running or cycling 26 miles in the week, in whatever manner they choose, and registration fees benefit the victim’s families and first-responders. i hope you’ll decide to meet the challenge with me! i’m a slow runner, but steady, and with each step i can pray for healing in the Newtown community.

peace on earth. yes? and goodwill toward men.

penne and the jets

the other night, we went to a completely magical place for dinner.

my Uncle Brad and Aunt Jane — wonderful, warm and often-smiling folks — occupy and manage a camp and retreat facility in the woods about an hour from us, off a logging road called Socialist Valley. they live in a cabin that has been part of the grounds for just about ever. since at least a million years ago when my great-grandma Martha cooked and lived at the dining hall herself. growing up as a home schooler, it was difficult for me to meet kids my own age and make friends, so i became obsessed with attending summer church camp on this campus. it was the highlight of every year for me, and i adored the swimming, canoeing, night games, hiking, chapel services and lifelong friendships i made there. and when Brad and Jane took over management, the food from the dining hall started being fantastic! previously, there had been french toast too tough to cut through with a knife and fork (and which quickly became a game of french-toast frisbee), spaghetti you could stand a fork in, and squares of sweaty, greenish scrambled eggs cut from a pan. however, Jane cooks roast beef and creamy mashed potatoes, real eggs for breakfast, burgers from the outdoor grills, and puts healthful twists on dishes that are so tasty — kids don’t even know how nutritiously they’re eating.

i love summer camp!!

camp is a very different place in the dark and the cold, like when we visited last week, than in the lively summers. but the cabin is such a warm and welcoming place despite the dark… glowing the only lights in the night for what seems like miles. Jane fills their log cabin with candles and rustic touches, autumn leaves and oranges and reds, and cooks wonderful meals for us. i love visiting the Cabin! our winter evenings there are usually filled with board games, wine and laughter. she made us Breakfast for Dinner on our visit, a bread pudding with roasted asparagus, which was wonderful, and plenty of coffee. afterwards we bundled up and hiked around the campus with flashlights and rubber boots — a special Night Tour for my husband, who never got to attend to this camp. we got to see some updates to the campus and the buildings, but the smell of the trees and the sounds of the creek had me certain that i was 14 years old, huddled against the evening cold and dark, searching for my friends during Capture the Flag. camp counselors with Super Soakers were surely around the next corner!

this super-simple pasta would fit right in with Brad and Jane’s cozy cabin. a creamy pumpkin sauce coats tender penne noodles with a sprinkle of crisp rosemary… pumpkin makes a wonderful savory dish, despite how often it is lauded for pies, cakes and cookies. this has been one of my FAVorite Autumn dishes ever since i saw it in Martha’s magazine years ago. the spikes of flavor from the red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes bring a liveliness to this creamy, comforting dish. make it with your own pureed squash if pumpkin is not your thing. and pretend you’re in a cabin in the woods, playing Backgammon with Brad and Jane, deer and elk as your neighbors, and an industrial freezer hum the only sound for miles.

penne in creamy pumpkin sauce

serves 4

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food

 

the advantage of frying the rosemary in the olive oil is two-fold: it creates a crispy garnish, and also infuses the oil as a tasty base for the sauce. 

• 12 ounces penne, or other short pasta
• coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (substitute a little less if using dried)
• 1 15 oz pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

salt a large pot of water and bring to a boil. cook pasta according to package directions. drain, reserving 2 cups pasta water, and set aside.

in same pot, heat olive oil over medium. when hot, fry rosemary until just beginning to brown (60 – 90 seconds). transfer rosemary to a paper towel to drain, using a slotted spoon.

carefully add remaining ingredients, being cautious of the hot oil that could cause splattering. add 1 cup reserve pasta water and stir until everything is heated and smooth, 2 – 3 minutes.

add pasta to sauce and thin with more pasta water if necessary to create a smooth sauce. season generously with salt. serve sprinkled with crisp rosemary. enjoy!