All I Want for Christmas...

***That's our tree! Isn't it pretty? I love, love, love this time of year!

So, as you may have guessed, cookbooks are one thing that I love to collect. When Christmas rolls around each year, there are usually several that I've had my eyes on. This year is no exception...Especially with our trip to France, Germany, and Italy coming up in just 2 months. I've found myself obsessed with French cuisine. I love it. So naturally, some of these cookbooks are by French chefs or about Paris in general...and there's even one by a Birmingham, AL chef about Italian cuisine! Honestly, I'm probably just as excited about sampling all of the gourmet food as I am about seeing the sights! Haha. Our 2 week-long adventure in Europe, will be here before we know it. We've got *almost* everything we need before we go...cameras, passports, new coat...check! There are only a few more things we'll need, like some comfy walking shoes. The good news is, I plan to blog about our entire trip right here on Sugar & Spice. I want to write about everything from the food we eat to all of the amazing things that we see and do. I hope you'll come along with us in February. :)

The following cookbooks are at the top of my Christmas list this year. I've included links to each cookbook on Amazon.com. What's on your wish list???***

1. "Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops" - By Dorie Greenspan

I recently bought Dorie's "Baking: From My Home to Yours", and I absolutely love it. Dorie Greenspan never fails to deliver a delectably perfect recipe. So, the first two cookbooks on my list are no-brainers. I've read nothing but rave reviews for "Paris Sweets". I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.

2. "Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme" - By Dorie Greenspan

I first heard about this cookbook during one of my favorite Daring Bakers challenges - The Chocolate Eclair. Not to mention, Pierre Herme is considered the top pastry chef in France...and even in the WORLD! Being the chocolate lover that I am, I must have this cookbook! :)

3. "The Complete Rubuchon" - By Joel Rubuchon
The New York Times recently declared this book the "Joy of Cooking" for French cuisine. After flipping through the pages, I certainly believe it! The only drawback to this great cookbook is the fact that there are no photos...which is usually something that I love. However, Joel Rubuchon is the man, and I cannot wait to try some of his recipes. He includes precise techniques and teaches you the correct preparations for classic French dishes. This is a book you can rely on for any occasion! The recipes are also less fussy than you would expect, which is something else that I love about this book.

4. "Bottega Favorita" - By Frank Stitt
Frank Stitt is a local chef here in the Birmingham, AL area, and he has received accolades from Gourmet magazine, the Discovery Channel, The New York Times, the James Beard Foundation, and he was recently named one of the culinary "Legends of the Decade" by Bon Appetit magazine...pretty darn impressive, huh?? I have an autographed copy of his first cookbook, "Frank Stitt's Southern Table", which is equally as fabulous as this companion book.

Here's a great review from Amazon.com:

"There are some places worth traveling to just for the food: Rome, Venice . . . and now, Birmingham, Italy.

In this companion to his first, best-selling cookbook, the beloved Southern chef Frank Stitt travels to Italy and brings the best of Mediterranean cuisine back home. To Stitt's mind, the two regions—Italy and the American South—share commonalities. Both native cuisines have a tradition of turning humble ingredients—ground corn, bitter greens, cured pork, the daily catch—into poetry on the plate. And as the chef points out in his lively introduction to the book, this is elemental cooking based on the purity and simplicity of the freshest and finest ingredients."

5. "Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen" - By Clotilde Dusoulier

I first happened upon Clotilde's food blog, Chocolate & Zucchini about a year ago. I loved the name and I love the blog even more. She's authored several awesome books, and I would love to have a copy of this one. Be sure to visit her blog...you'll be impressed!

Yummy Blueberry Muffins

***Brad and I had a craving for something yummy last Sunday morning. I had some fresh blueberries hanging out in the fridge, so these blueberry muffins sounded perfect. If you don't have any fresh blueberries on-hand, frozen blueberries work just fine. The lemon zest in these muffins were the secret ingredient...they add the perfect little zing to each bite. And just look at that blueberry goodness! ;)

I used a trick that I learned from Giada De Laurentiis when making these muffins:

- Place blueberries in a fine mesh strainer over your mixer bowl. Add flour to blueberries and shake until all flour makes it into the mixer bowl below. A thin layer of flour should remain on all blueberries (see photo below). This will prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins during the baking process! This will also result in nice, sifted flour in the mixing bowl...you can then proceed with the recipe, adding the sugar, baking powder and salt to the flour.

One more thing...I sprinkled a little sugar over each muffin before baking. This just makes them extra yummy.

Enjoy!***

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour (180 g)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg beaten

3/4 cup milk (180 ml)

1/4 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup blueberries (120 g)

1 tsp lemon peel (5 ml) (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. (See note above regarding the flour trick!)

In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Yes, the batter should be lumpy. (If you try to stir all the lumps out, your muffins will be very tough.)

Carefully fold in blueberries and optional lemon peel.

Grease muffin cups, or line with paper bake cups; fill each 2/3 full. Bake at 400°F for 19 - 21 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from pans; serve warm with butter.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Traditional Pot Roast

***This is one of my favorite comfort foods! Not only does it make the house smell down-right delicious, but it tastes amazing too! The best way to prepare this is with a slow cooker...it makes the meat so tender that it just falls apart and melts in your mouth.

This is how my Mom always prepared this classic dish, so it's still the recipe that I use (with a few additions). This doesn't come from any cookbook...just from memory. Sometimes, those recipes are the best! ;)

Feel free to play around with the ingredients. You can add garlic, or even substitute some of the beef stock with red wine!


Oh, and this is also great the next day...once all the flavors have really come together. If you like pot roast, you may also like this ITALIAN POT ROAST that I posted a few months ago. It's also fantastic!***



Ingredients:
One 3-4 lb. boneless chuck roast
1 cup water
Beef Stock
2-3 Tbsp. Amazing Taste Beef Seasoning (or your favorite seasoning will do!)
1 Onion, diced
1 package baby carrots
8 - 10 small, new potatoes or 2 large russet potatoes, cut into wedges
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) Cream of Mushroom soup
Garlic Salt, to taste



Directions:
Place roast in slow cooker and add water. Layer the chopped onion, potatoes, baby carrots and Cream of Mushroom soup around roast. Sprinkle Amazing Taste seasoning over all ingredients. Add enough beef stock to cover all ingredients, and stir to combine...making sure that the roast remains on the bottom. Season with garlic salt.



Cook on high for approximately 5 - 7 hours, or until meat is very tender...stirring occasionally. Serve hot!

Savory Low-Calorie Chicken & Amazing Taste Samples!

***A company named Amazing Taste recently sent me some wonderful samples of their seasoning product offerings. I had not used their seasonings before, so I was curious about them. I replied to their e-mail, and just a few days later I received 9 different samples! Pretty cool, huh? They even sent along some recipes to try. I happened to have almost everything for this recipe on-hand, so I thought I'd give it a try. I simply adjusted the recipe to serve 2 people. It was really good! You can see their product offerings and learn more about the company at the following site - Amazing Taste. Be sure to check them out! I used their Beef seasoning in a pot roast that I made last night...it was fabulous. I'll be sure to blog about that as well.

Amazing Taste - Thanks again for sending these great samples!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 packet Amazing Taste Malibu Seasoning

1 cup carrots, sliced

1 cup zucchini, sliced (I didn't have this on-hand, so I substituted celery)

1/2 cup water, light beer or white wine

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (I left these out...we're not mushroom fans).

1 small onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place vegetables in 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. of Amazing Taste Malibu Seasoning.

Coat chicken on all sides with remaining seasoning and place over vegetables.

Add liquid and bake chicken covered for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve with rice pilaf or brown rice. (I served this dish with white rice.)

20 Days Until Christmas!!!

Without a doubt, this is my very favorite time of the year! As I type this, I'm sitting by the Christmas tree...all lit up and pretty! I love it. We've got most of our decorations up now...including my new favorite decoration. When I was little, my Grandmother had some beautiful Annalee dolls. When I found the Annalee Christmas Countdown Calendar above, I HAD to have it! It reminds me so much of my Grandmother...baking Christmas goodies with her, listening to the reindeer on the roof (she'd always pretend like she could hear them on Christmas Eve...pointing out any knocking noises she heard outside), and seeing Rudolph's red nose on the way to visit family. See, she'd always find one of those towers with the single red light at the top and tell me it was Rudolph. Oh, those were the days. She made this time of year so magical. So, everytime I see my new calendar, all those fun memories come rushing back.

Oh, and don't you just love my new "Cook" ornament? My Nestie friend, Jenny, bought that for me as part of our Ornament Exchange....along with several little photo frame ornaments. I can't wait to pick out some photos for them. Thanks again, Jenny! I LOVE them!!!

Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done yet? I haven't bought the first thing! Is that bad? I've got several gifts picked out...I just haven't bought them yet. We plan on getting started next week sometime.

Well, now that the official countdown has begun, I can't wait to get in the kitchen and do some more holiday baking. What will you be baking this year?