December | 2013 | Home Is Where The Haggis Is

Monthly Archives: December 2013
- Christmas 2013
  
  Posted at 9:30 pm by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Dec 26th
  Before 2014 arrives, I wanted to post a few pictures from the Christmas Eve dinner that my husband and I hosted this year.
  
  We spent the day before washing china, stemware, serving platters, setting the tables and preparing the brandy ice. Okay, why does my husband’s brandy ice look so much better than the time I tried it? I might have to add this picture to that post.
  
  Hard to believe that it is already over. I (almost) forgot how much planning and hard work actually went into it. Notice the orange pepper grinder thoughtfully placed at my dad’s place setting. The man loves pepper.
  
  The place card holders and napkins were ideas I pulled from Pinterest. The sugared cranberries came from a suggestion by fellow blogger Slim Paley. My only regret is that I wish I could have slowed down time so that I could appreciate the whole evening a little more.
  
  The kids table. Add a few adults who are kids at heart to it too.
  
  The guests have arrived.
  
  Sydney and Olivia enjoying time with their cousins. By the way, that strawberry tree was completely eaten by the end of the evening.
  
  May you all have a blessed and happy 2014.
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  Posted in Holidays | Tagged Christmas
- Brandy Ice
  
  Posted at 10:31 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Dec 17th
  I love Mad Men. I love how everyone on the show smokes and actually makes it look glamourous. I love the beautiful attention to detail with the set and wardrobe. And probably most of all, I love how everyone on the set drinks heavily, yet would never be condsidered an alcoholic. If Don Draper had a favorite dessert-because he is not exactly the dessert type-it would be a Brandy Ice. This recipe is dedicated to all of you who aren’t afraid of a good, stiff drink added to your dessert.
  
  Brandy Ice
  
  serves 8
  
  My husband’s family owned a restaurant for fifty two wonderful years until they closed it down -by their own free will and ready to retire- in 2000. Brandy ice was their most requested dessert that they served. This recipe is simple, fast and elegant. The key to success in this dessert is the stainless steel bowl in which you mix your ingredients. The steel bowl keeps the ice cream cold and prevents it from turnning soupy.
  
  I plan to serve this for our Christmas Eve dessert this year because you can also make it ahead of time and just pop it into the freezer until you need it. Warning-it tastes best made fresh, but when you need to save time it still works well.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1/2 carton good vanilla ice cream like Homer’s (a local favorite among the North Shore crowd).
  
  I used E&J VSOP brandy. Add as much or as little brandy as you like. Sorry, no exact measurements here. It is really up to you, but you would be surprised at how much you can get away with and it won’t overpower your dessert.
  
  Directions:
  
  Scoop the ice cream into a stainless steel bowl of a standing mixer or you can mix it by hand in steel bowl. Add brandy and turn mixer on high for less than a minute until mixture is smooth and creamy. Spoon into bowls and enjoy.
  
  You could garnish it with a small peppermint stick or sprig of mint and a little more brandy on top if you like.
  
  Cheers.
  
  P.S. Thank you AMC for your beautiful images and for airing a brilliant show.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged brandy, dessert, ice cream, Mad Men
- Baked Christmas Dog Treats
  
  Posted at 8:13 pm by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Dec 13th
  For the holidays, we can’t forget man’s best friend. Giada inspired me to try her recipe when I watched her latest Christmas episode on Food Network. You can find it here.
  
  I used white flour instead of wheat and Christmas-shaped cookie cutters instead of bones.
  
  Sprinkling a little parmesan on before I put these into the oven.
  
  Our cat, Harp, was offered a small piece of these baked treats, but she politely declined.
  
  Olivia helped me put these into an airtight container until we make our rounds tomorrow distributing them to some lucky neighbor dogs. They were fun and easy to make so make sure you show your four-legged friend some love and try this recipe out.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged dog treats, oats, peanut butter
- Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
  
  Posted at 9:47 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Dec 6th
  With just twenty days to go until Christmas, I feel like I am scrambling to get my shopping, baking, holiday cards, wrapping and everything else complete in time. Here is one recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to make with minimal ingredients and makes a great item to munch on for guests. Another bonus is that the house always smells like cinnamon when you are done.
  
  This recipe is for sugar coated pecans and also courtesy of my fantastic grandmother-in-law. (She lets me call her Grandma though.) I love that about her.
  
  Sugar Coated Pecans – can be served in a pretty candy dish or sprinkle some on top of a salad with crisp apples or pears and some goat cheese. They keep well in a tightly sealed container stored at room temperature for about two weeks…if they last that long.
  
  10 ounces whole pecans
  
  1 tsp cinnamon
  
  1 tsp vanilla
  
  1 cup sugar
  
  1/2 cup water
  
  dash of salt
  
  Place all ingredients except the pecans into a frying pan and mix well. Turn on heat to medium-high and add the nuts.
  
  Stir continually until all moisture is gone and the nuts have a sugary texture and coating.
  
  Take off heat and allow to cool on tinfoil.
  
  Good luck! More holiday ideas to come.
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  Posted in Baking | Tagged cinnamon, pecans, sugar, sugar coated pecans
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