need some ideas?

look, ma, no vegetables!

(unless you’re the united states senate…)

i love coconut and i love coconut macaroons. not the fancy colored french ones (okay, maybe i like those too…) but the ones that look like this. like chewy mounds of toasted coconut, often dipped in chocolate.

unfortunately, mine didn’t turn out like that. instead, they were more like coconut meringue kisses, which aren’t necessarily bad, they just weren’t what i was looking for. they were still gobbled up, though…

FAIL.

i’m not giving you the recipe, because why would you want it?!

maybe i’ll try another one sometime. i still have plenty of leftover coconut.

i made this for dinner, but filed it under dessert because that’s probably when most normal people would eat it.

this is nothing like the nasty, jello-like rice pudding that comes in containers from the grocery store. you gotta try it.

start with 3 ounces of arborio rice. that’s the kind of rice you make risotto out of.

melt about a tablespoon of butter in a pan over low heat. stir in the rice and some orange peel and raisins (optional) and toast the rice.

measure out about a cup and a half of milk. stir in half a teaspoon of vanilla. add a little to the rice, and stir until it is absorbed.

then add a little more and repeat. more and repeat.

taste the rice and keep adding milk and cooking until it is nice and soft.

toward the end, you also want to add a pinch of salt, a little sugar, and cinnamon to taste. and i took out the orange peel to serve.

perfect comfort food dessert (or dinner when your man’s away…)

lay them out on a lined baking sheet, and bake for 14 minutes at 325, stirring once.

as soon as they come out of the oven, sprinkle liberally with coarse salt.

let cool thoroughly (or else they’re mushie), break apart, and serve.

sweet and salty – great bar snack!

[thank you, minnesota monthly.]

it’s my favorite super retro dessert/snack/side dish and it only comes out at christmas. you’re going to love this.

first, you need a mold. ask your mom – she may have one from back in the day – or you can use a bundt pan, or even a regular old square cake pan.

start by dissolving one packet of strawberry jello in one cup hot water.*

then mix in half a cup of pecan pieces, one mashed banana, and a packet of frozen (thawed) strawberries.

sounding weird? stay with me.

pour half the mixture into the mold, and let it set in the fridge for an hour.

when it’s hard, spoon in and spread out a thin layer of sour cream.

then, gently, spoon in the rest of the mixture, and put it back in the fridge until it hardens all the way.

to help release it from the mold, set in a little pan of warm water, and…

…FLIP!

all ready for your 50s-themed dinner party!

* this version reflects a correction. the original post said to prepare jello according to package instructions, which call for two cups of water.

i spent a fabulous new year’s weekend with my parents, and as you know, when mama cooks and i are together in the kitchen, magic happens! so here’s what we had:

date bars. i had sent her the recipe because i wanted to make them over the weekend i was there, and she had them ready for me when i arrived! perfect late-night snack.

i liked these a lot – they were sweet and a little salty. couple things we’ll change next time: use old fashioned oats, not quick-cook like the recipe said. also, i would have put toasted pecans in the topping because a little crunch would be very nice.

dinner friday night was shrimp cooked in the oven in a very hot cast iron skillet with white beans, tomatoes and capers.

on new year’s eve, we started with the cutest little appetizers: pre-made teeny-tiny philo shells, filled with smoked blue fish, a dollop of mayo-mustard, and topped with a caper or two.

how cute?! if you ever see these shells in your grocery store, pick them up. you can fill them with all kinds of things – how about chocolate mousse and a raspberry? endless possibilities.

then we had a couple of oysters.

and the main attraction was risotto with scallops and prosciutto.

our signature cocktail of the evening (besides champagne, of course!) was an apple manhattan.

2 parts bourbon, 1 part apple brandy, 1 part sweet vermouth. and a cinnamon’ed apple slice for garnish.

i made more chocolate chip gingersnaps for dessert.

and the next day, the best thing for a NYE hangover was beef stew with plums.

that side dish back there in the corner is christmas jello mold. details to follow. stay tuned, please.

this year’s modifications:

1. for dried fruit, i used mostly cherries (they are my favorite and SUCH a guilty pleasure because they are so expensive), combined with fewer cranberries and some white raisins. i soaked them in sloe gin because i thought i had rum, but it turns out i didn’t… no harm, no foul!

2. i usually put a cinnamon-sugar swirl inside, but since i was giving one loaf to my grandparents who aren’t allergic to nuts, but do prefer low-sugar, i did a toasted pecan-cinnamon swirl for them.

3. traditional powdered sugar topping. as soon as they come out of the oven, you pat them with confectioners sugar.

i just really love this stuff. perfect with coffee for breakfast christmas morning!

those are tart cherry jam thumbprints on the left, which i wasn’t super impressed with. they’re not very pretty, are they? mum said they looked homemade… as a compliment.

the others are chocolate chip gingersnaps. now those were an enormous hit. at the party, at work, at home… everywhere. everyone loved them. they will become a regular for me. and super easy, too! the combination of ginger and chocolate is so unexpected and works terrifically. (is that a word? it should be.)