Yummy homemade eggnog

Christmas is weird this year but at least we still have eggnog.

 

 Ingredients

• 4 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 oz bourbon
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg and more for topping
• 4 egg whites

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. 

Chill and serve.

** I like to grate fresh nutmeg on top for good measure. You can also add more bourbon if you're really being festive!

Recipe: Onion pie

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

12 T unsalted butter

4 oz Saltine crackers (about 36)

1-1/2 lbs yellow onions, peeled, trimmed, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced (about 4-1/2 cups)

1/2 t kosher salt

3 lg eggs

3/4 c heavy cream

4 oz. grated extra-sharp New York cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)

1. heat over to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet or saute pan over low heat; set aside. In a food processor, pulse Saltines to fine crumbs and transfer to medium bowl. Pour four tablespoons melted butter over crumbs and toss with fingertips or a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Press mixture firmly into a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan, using a second pie pan, if possible, to compact them evenly against bottom and sides of pan.

2. Reheat remaining melted butter in skillet over medium-high heat until frothy. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are evenly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer onions to pie pan, patting them down in an even layer on crust.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with a whisk and add heavy cream and remaining salt, whisking gently to incorporate. Pour mixture slowly, in a thin stream, into center of onions in pie pan. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and place in oven. Bake until puffy and slightly browned on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife into six wedges and serve.

Yield: 6 servings.

Bring us some Figgy Pudding

Last Christmas, I made Figgy Pudding for the first time ever. I was always curious about the Christmas Song and wondered, "what IS it anyway?" It's surprisingly good if you like spice cake and this recipe comes with Whiskey Sauce so there's a double bonus. It turns out my Father-in-law loves it and has fond memories of eating it in days gone by. This might become a new Christmas staple for me!

Ready in: 2 hrs 30 mins
Serves: 15

INGREDIENTS FOR FIGGY PUDDING:

16 oz dried figs
1-3/4 c milk
1-1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
2-1/2 t baking power
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t salt
3 eggs
1/2 c melted butter
1-1/2 c breadcrumbs
1 T grated orange peel

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a a medium saucepan, heat milk and chopped figs over medium-low heat but do NOT bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. The the milk will soften the figs.
3. In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs one minute on high. Reduce speed to low and add butter, bread crumbs, orange peel, and warm fig mixture.
5. Slowly incorporate flour mixture. Beat until just blended.
6. Pour the mix into the greased bundt pan. Level top as much as possible. Cover the mold with a piece of aluminum foil greased on one side, greased side down.
7. Place the mold in a roasting pan and place on oven rack. fIll with hot tap water 2 inches up the side of the mold. Bake for 2 hours or until the pudding is firm and it is pulling away from the side of the bundt pan.
8. Remove the pudding from the water bath. Remove the foil and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding. Invert bundt pan onto a serving plate and remove mold. It should come away easily.
9. Serve with a hard sauce.
10. ******
    
    INGREDIENTS FOR WHISKEY SAUCE:
11. 1 c heavy cream
    1/2 c whole milk
    1/4 c granulated white sugar
    1 T cornstarch
    2 T whiskey or bourbon
    2 egg yolks
    pinch of salt
    1 T unsalted butter
    Optional: 1 t pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the heavy cream, whole milk, and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan and set aside. 
2. In a small bowl or cup, whisk the cornstarch with the whiskey or bourbon. 
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and set aside.
4. Place the saucepan over medium heat and add the cornstarch mixture. Cook until the sauce comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 
5. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture to the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Return the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking for 1 minute longer. 
6. Whisk in a pinch of salt, the butter, and vanilla, if using.
7. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. The sauce will thicken more as it stands -- or actually, I just pour it right over the figgy pudding. The cake is best served warm but a few seconds in the microwave also counts. My Father-in-law puts it in a bowl and adds milk!

Merry Christmas!!!

The cat is looking over the Christmas mess.

Mom's Christmas Cookies #2 - 7-Layer Bars

I was inspired to make these bars -- also not because they were my favorite -- but because they were my brother-in-law Rick's favorite. We talked about making mom's recipes during our Thanksgiving gathering and his eyes lit up when he remembered Mom's 7-layer bars. I quietly vowed to myself that I would make them this year.

And that was BEFORE he landed in the hospital fighting for his life. Rick caught a very severe case of strep pneumonia and was very sick, in ICU and on a ventilator for over a week. After being moved out of ICU, he stayed for another five days before he was able to return home. He remains on oxygen at home and is still working his way back to health. It was surreal seeing Rick hooked up to the ventilator just a year from seeing my own Dad on that very same machine. I'm not sure what kind of sign God is trying to send to us. I suppose it's about feeling blessed and to appreciate the people who remain with us and thankful for the time that we had with those we've lost. That's what I'm going with anyway.

Oh, by the way, we've canceled Christmas.

Well, we've only postponed it a little bit. The Kinninger Christmas will be celebrated sometime in January. That's cool. That will give me more time to make all of mom's cookies!

And, in honor of Rick and my mom, here's the 7 layer bar recipe!

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 pkg semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 pkg butterscotch chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I used hazel nuts!)
• 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Melt butter and mix with graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Spread into 13 x 9 inch pan and and press firmly to make a "crust."
3. Pour condensed milk over crumb mixture, then layer coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and nuts. Press firmly with a fork
4. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool.

Tweets from the North Pole!

We had a fun and exhausting trip to the North Pole last night!

Curt makes such a great Santa. He even worked some OT after the show when a friend needed a favor. Her daughter was unhappy and embarrassed about something that was said on TV so she needed a little extra Santa love.

Audrey also called in and did a great job pretending she wasn't talking to her parents. Vivian apparently knew it was me immediately and thought Daddy must have been "at work." She seemed underwhelmed that I knew Santa so well. She was more impressed with my "Christmas-y clothes."

Below are a few shots from the evening, as well as the live tweets from CTN.

Nutcracker 2010

The girls performed in their first-ever production of The Nutcracker over the weekend. I'm sure it won't be the last.

I had the dubious honor of being the "backstage chairperson" since I'm a seasoned stage mom (with our debut in "Cinderella" last year.) It was fine, however. I was also mom to the youngest cast member (at only 4 years old!) and I figured I'd better be back stage anyway.

Vivian kept up with the 5 and 6 year olds in her Clown group and may have even stole the scene when she expertly dealt with her bow falling off near the beginning of her dance during the final (and videotaped) performance. She has great instincts, that one. although she was very upset with me when we got offstage. "Mommy, you're opposed to put my bow on tight!"

Audrey was absolutely gorgeous as a party girl. She danced and acted her way through the entire party scene with grace and elegance. And if you ask her, she had one of the biggest roles in the show. She really believes she was the star.

My long weekends of hauling the girls to separate rehearsals and then sitting in the basement of the auditorium are now over and I won't miss them. However, watching the girls light up during rehearsals and performances and seeing Vivian dance in the wings before going on stage (usually the Sugar Plum fairy dance) made it all worthwhile.

The Nutcracker!

We just got through our weekend of The Nutcracker. I'm in recovery at the moment but I'll post more about it soon!

What a magical weekend for my girls!

Where do I begin?

I hate it when too much time goes by between blog posts. I feel this pressure to fill in all the holes and write about everything that happened.

Let's see . . . let me recap. Since I last wrote we have hosted, attended or participated in . . .

• Two days of dance recitals


• Vivian's Very Hungry Caterpillar performance followed by


• both girls dancing at Glacier Hills with the Provenzola boys and other Randazzo dancers


• Estabrook end-of-year Carnival


• Mom and Dad's Estate Auction (oh, so bittersweet)


• field trips and school parties


• last day of school


• Curt being brilliant in a show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)


• cast parties and birthday parties
  

There. I feel better now.

I'm sure I'm missing something . . .

Cinderella! Picture blog

The first weekend in December found Audrey on stage and under the lights while I was hidden in the "cave" (as the mothers affectionately called the basement of the auditorium at Ypsilanti High School).

Audrey and her cohorts performed in the holiday ballet production of Cinderella produced by the Ypsilanti Area Dancers. The production was beautiful and Audrey had a BLAST! I was worried that the crazy schedule (and let me tell you, it was CRAZY) would leave Audrey with a bad taste in her mouth for future ballets, but that didn't happen. She is pumped and ready to do The Nutcracker next year!

Audrey posing with the leads after the final performance.
Front row: Audrey and Spring Fairy
Back row: Cinderella, Fairy God Mother, Summer Fairy, Winter Fairy, Fall Fairy

Lots of tears!

No tears for Audrey. She's all smiles. Here she is with fellow butterfly, Hannah.

The stepsisters backstage (without their wigs, of course).




The bugs are lining up to head upstairs and onto the stage!

Audrey loved the Wicked Step Mother

Here's what they spent MOST of their time doing all weekend. This group is watching Disney's Cinderella!!

Comparing notes on their Nintendo DS systems.

Two of my buddies all weekend. Nobuko and Beth.

All is a blur

The holidays are zipping by and I want to get a few pics posted of Halloween before the snow flies.

Oops. I think I'm already too late for that deadline.

Anyway, as usual, a gathering was held at 201 N. Wallace on October 31st to celebrate the tricking and treating for all the little ones. We were blessed with pretty nice weather and a wonderful backdrop of yellow leaves in our backyard for some photo opps.

The gang hangs out on the play structure waiting for "go" time!

BFFs!!

Parents trying to get a group shot!

What a mess.

Getting ready to hit the streets.

Ursula stops by!

The Bridge is Mine

Audrey has been displaying a very creative flair lately -- both in her dramatic abilities and in her writing.

The drama, I could do without.

She has recently concocted a series of "illnesses" that get more and more alarming with each incident. This is all in an effort to yank me out of work so that I can take her home and thereby get her out of school early.

I bought it the first two times. I mean . . . what else are you gonna' do when the school secretary calls and tells you that your daughter is sick and wants to go home? However, by the third phone call in as many weeks from the school office, I was done. I don't even remember what the first two illnesses were but the third call was about her "arm hurting." There was no accident or anything . . . her arm just started hurting. Oh geesh. Thank goodness the school nurse wasn't buying it either and Audrey stayed in school that day.

The very next day, we got a call that her hips were hurting.

Seriously??

At least she is venting her creativity through music and dance in a much more positive way. Not only is she heavily involved in her tap and ballet classes on the weekends, she has also taken to music-writing like her Dad.

She recently composed this beautiful song. I hope to get a video of her singing this song and will post it soon.

She has plans for many more songs. She commented that she wants to make a "CD of 29 songs." That is -- if her injuries don't get in her way.

Oh, Say Can You See

yourself singing at the Palace? That's what this website says and that's exactly what Curt did yesterday.


He participated in a singing competition/audition (not exactly sure which and neither are they) to get a chance to sing the National Anthem at a Pistons game. We think. Again, we're not really sure what the prize is. I'm guessing the Pistons don't know either.


So, he had his eighty second shot -- two actually. He wasn't happy with his first round since they made him wait for an hour or so in a stuffy room, but of course his crappy singing is better than most because he made it to Round 2. (He can out-sing anyone even on his worst day) Round 2 took place on the Palace floor itself.


Another 80 seconds and he nails it this time. Whoo hoo!! I'm getting text updates on my Blackberry. So . . . now what??


Oh crap. Go home. We'll call you. In FOUR WEEKS!


But he had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat.


Meanwhile (and with a less-than-subtle segue), Audrey has been listening to my Brandi Carlisle CD in my car ad nauseum. We went to Frankenmuth yesterday and I heard it many times on the way there and back.


She has never tried singing any of the songs herself, but after Daddy came home from his Pistons audition (and after bath time) somehow the sparks flew and she gave it a go. I fired up the words and guitar tabs on my laptop and here's what happened:

Happy Father's Day, Mommy!

That's what Vivian kept saying to me as she handed me each Disney Princess picture she created with her AquaDoodle.

And it might as well have been Happy Father's Day to me because I had a really wonderful weekend. For the record, I believe Curt did as well.

Friday night began with a trip to the Hamburg Family Fun Fest. I met up with some other Mommy friends so Curt had a free pass and a kid-free night. And he deserved it after playing Mr. Mom for weeks on end while I was in rehearsals and performances for Kiss Me Kate. Hmmm. I should probably blog about that. I had a BLAST doing the show! Anyhoo, back to Hamburg. The girls rode a ton of rides before we got drenched with rain. No fireworks that night but we did have fun hanging out at Jayme's house for awhile.

On Saturday, I made a ton of money NOT singing! I was originally scheduled to sing two weddings that day. However, due to some scheduling snafu, I was off the hook for the noon wedding and then the 2:00 wedding shortened the service to just three songs. And since the snafu was not my fault, the music director said he'd cut a check for me anyway. DaHAM! I'll do more weddings like that any day.

This short commitment freed up most of my morning to FINALLY deal with the weeds that were taking over my yard. And since we got pummelled with rain on Friday, they were a breeze to pull! Eureka! My day continued with Sat. evening Mass (the girls were mostly good) and a trip to the nursery while Curt played disc golf. As I was putting flowers and plants in my car, I received a text that Curt was home and already cooking dinner. Yahoo! We ate dinner and drank wine on the sun porch and had a relaxing end to the day.

Father's day started out with Curt opening the gifts that the girls made and wrapped for him. From there, we hit high gear and couldn't stop: lawn mowing, flower planting, house-cleaning, grocery-shopping, laundry. We were amazing. And being productive never felt so good.

We celebrated our hard work with a nice relaxing evening at Top of the Park -- one of our favorite summertime activities. Vivian danced and made new friends, Audrey became a budding violinist and Curt and I just got to hang out on our blanket sipping our wine, uh water.

Ahhhhhhh . . .