Cranberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/12/12.shtml

Delicious! These are a real treat with ginger tea in the late afternoon. I love cranberries, in cookies, breads, and anything to do with Christmas. When baking, I 'helped' these into a triangle shape, and placed them close together, in a pan with an edge to it, so they would turn out more like a scone. I have to say, the white chocolate, while not a favorite of mine, was a nice surprise in these. It place of the suggested orange extract, I opted for grated orange rind. I do like cranberry and orange together. If this recipe had called for any liquid, I would probably have replaced that with orange juice as well. It's one of those holiday combinations that I love. Next batch will be going to friends with nut allergies, so the macadamia nuts will be absent. But I highly recommend this. It is great at the end of the day...put the water on to boil, you'll want some tea with these.

Thank you, Mrs. Sundberg.  :-)

Hot Spiced Cranberry Cider

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/12/05.shtml


Wow! What perfect weather for this drink! Our temps have been it the 30s at night...at 8:30 this morning, it wass 23º, so something hot is great! This can take the place of hot tea, it makes a great morning beverage, or anytime you just want to sip on something delicious!

I especially liked the way the brown sugar balanced out the tartness of the cranberry juice, and it made the appleness of the cider a deeper component of the drink. I don't think the lemon came through for me, but during cold season, the vitamin C is a good addition.

I will post a photo later, when I get my camera back upstairs with the computer.

Thank you, Mrs. Sundberg.  :-)

Bacon Cornbread and My Apologies

Recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/sundberg/2012/11/27.shtml

Life got away from me in the month of November. I wasn't quite prepared for it all, and I let some things take a back seat, including this blog. Instead of trying to catch up with every recipe, considering the holiday baking that is staring at me, I decided to jump in to the current post of Mrs. Sundberg, and try to forge ahead. If anyone is reading this, I promise to try and do better from now on. :-)

That said, this was a GREAT recipe to jump back in with! Bacon. Bacon. I love bacon! I have made a lot of cornbread the cheater's way, by using a mix with the leavening agents already added....I think you know which one I mean....but this was the first time I had made it from scratch. My other cornbread adventures had red pepper and onion mixed in, and things like paprika or chipotle chili powder sprinkled on top. These flavors didn't need any addition like that, so when I took it out of the oven, it was pale compared to those. But that in NO way affected the flavor of this wonderful recipe. The bacon flavor was laid nicely in the background, but definitely there, slightly sweet, with a texture that was more dense than my previous experiments. 

It joined baked chicken thighs with onions and mushrooms, and roasted tri-color cauliflower on the plate for supper. Yum. After some discussion, the Mr. and I decided that we are going to slice the remaining cornbread in half, dip it in an egg/milk bath and fry it like french toast tonight. Maybe a scrambled egg on the side and some fried potatoes. The bacon is already in there, so syrup added to it will only make it better to my way of thinking.

Thank you, Mrs. Sundberg.  :-)

BIG P.S.!!

I did slice, dip and fry this, just like french toast, and oh my, what a treat! Warm syrup, scrambled eggs and a turkey sausage patty on the side completed a wonderful meal, full of the delicious pairing of bacon/sausage and maple syrup. That was satisfying!