Nuts and Bolts

For me, it just isn't Christmas without Nuts and Bolts.  They have always been a staple and I can't remember a Christmas without them and I hope I never will!

Tomorrow, my husband and I are having our annual Wine and Cheese Potluck so I thought I had better make a batch to prepare for the party.  I love how simple they are and how good they taste.
For storing I always have them in a ziplock freezer bag and store them either in the fridge or the freezer.

Nuts and Bolts

1 box Shreddies

1 box Cherios

1 bag Pretzel sticks

2 boxes Cheese Nibs

1 large bottle of Worcestershire sauce 

1 lb butter

garlic powder, onion powder and tabasco sauce to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200.
2. Mix the first four ingredients in a large roasting pan.  If it isn't big enough, use two.
3. Melt the other ingredients in a pot.
4. Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Place in the oven and cook for 1and 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.
6. Lay out on newspaper covered table to absorb some of the excess liquid.
7. Store in freezer bags in the fridge or freezer.

Turkey Casserole

In my family we often will do a Christmas in November for the family members that cannot make it to actual Christmas.  We had ours this past weekend so I had turkey leftovers to use up.  There was a fair bit so instead of just making a turkey soup I decide to do a turkey casserole as well.  I love making casseroles because it is easy to make twice as much so you can freeze one for later and that is exactly what I did.
The recipe I have posted is for enough for one large casserole dish or it can be divided into two smaller ones.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Turkey Casserole

1 package egg noodles

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

3 1/2 cups cold milk

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup diced bell peppers

1 onion

1 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp dried tarragon

1 cup grated pepperjack cheese

3 cups cubed skinless turkey

enough crushed potato chips to cover the top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling water, stirring occasionally until almost cooked through and still firm to the bite, about 4 minutes. Drain.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook, stirring, until mixture is light golden, about 3 minutes.
4. Pour milk into butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, green onions, garam masala, and dried tarragon. Bring mixture to a simmer, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in pepperjack cheese until cheese is melted and incorporated.
6. Stir pepperjack cheese mixture, turkey meat, and noodles in a large bowl until evenly incorporated. Pour mixture into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle chips on top, pressing down slightly with the tines of a fork. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Hazelnut Cake (aka 'The Crunchy Frog')

This is a marvellous dessert that my mother-in-law makes and I have always enjoyed it.  I decided it would be a great dessert for a barbecue I had with some friends the other night because it would allow me to use up some of the wonderful sugared violets my in-laws brought us back from the South of France last year.

A great thing about this dessert is that you can make the cakes in advance and store them between grease-free paper in an air tight container in the freezer to use at a later date.  I love recipes like that.  Especially since it means I can have a gluten free dessert in the freezer on hand for any unexpected guest that may stop by.

The Crunch Frog

6 eggs, separated

6 oz sugar

6 oz hazelnuts
1 L whipping cream

1. Roast the hazelnuts in the oven to allow the natural oils and flavour to come out.  Do this by putting them on a baking sheet and in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 F.
2. Wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and allow them to steam for about a minute.  Then rub the nuts between the towel to remove the skins, do not worry if all the skins do not come off.
3. Break the hazelnuts into small pieces either by using a food processor or placing them in a bag and using a rolling pin.
4. Combine the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and mix until blended.  Add the hazelnut pieces and lightly mix.
5. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.
6. Fold together the egg whites and the egg yolk mixture.
7. Divide the batter into two greased and floured 8 inch round cake tins and bake at 375 F for about 30-40 minutes.  The cake will rise and fall.
8. Let the cakes cool and remove from the pans.  Slice each cake in half to make 4 layers.  Ice each layer with whipping cream and decorate.  I like to put candied flower blossoms on the top.

Spiced Stuffed Mushroom Caps

I am a sucker for stuffed mushroom caps and they would be a weekly menu item at my house if they were a little healthier.  I usually make them when I have some mushrooms in the fridge that need to be used up.
I wanted to stray from my regular recipe so I looked online and found this one.  It was a little on the spicy side for my liking but that would be simple enough to fix but cutting the amount of cayenne pepper in them.  I hope you like them.

Spiced Stuffed Mushroom Caps

12 whole fresh mushrooms

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

2.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

3.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

4.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.