as promised, peppermint bark

So on Tuesday when I was Howard Hughesing it (or being a hermit, if you need the translation) I peeled five boxes of candy canes in preparation for making peppermint bark. If you haven't ever had peppermint bark, prepare to meet an easy, delicious treat that is so simple to make you can't even believe it.

Here I am in my Santa apron. Now, I only wear this thing at this time of year. And, if you remember, I don't like Santa, but it seemed appropriate while showing you the recipe for peppermint bark. Don't mock. (and please ignore the two bottles of chocolate syrup, the bag or potatoes and assorted other junk on my counter...if you remember, I had a bad morning making this stuff.) (See previous post if you don't remember!) And no, I'm not showing you the bruise I got from running into the open microwave door.

Now, I make five batches of bark, because I give bark to all the relatives and all our neighbors. It's eagerly anticipated by everyone, and because it is so easy to make, I am able to get it done in a short amount of time. And everyone is happy. It takes one package of white almond bark to one box of candy canes.

I peel the candy canes and put them in a gallon ziploc bag. I use my hands to break them into smaller pieces. Then I use the meat tenderizer to smash the candy canes into little teeny tiny pieces. Smithereens. The definition of smithereens: a noun that refers to the dust in to which I smash the candy canes.

I do this on a cutting board, because the sharp broken candy inevitably pierces the bag and I end up with peppermint dust on the board. And it gets sticky. So don't just do it on the counter, unless you like sticky peppermint covered counters. I also wouldn't recommend pounding more than one box of candy canes in the bag, because I have no idea what amount of candy cane smithereens you need for each batch. It could be a cup, it could be more. Who knows?

Break the bark into a couple of big pieces and place in a microwave bowl. Microwave for three minutes. Stir.

Dump your bag of candy cane smithereens into the melted bark. Stir.

Spread onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Now, I don't like my bark to be too thick, so spread it thin. It makes it easier to crack later, after it hardens. Place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator or the freezer. It hardens faster in the freezer, but sometimes I don't have that much space. You'll know it's hard when it loses the shiny look.

When it hardens you pull it out and break it into pieces. I use my hands for this, and start at the edges and work my way to the middle. Five batches probably made about three gallon sized ziploc bags full of peppermint bark. But I divided it into smaller bags and put it into sandwich bags and then into gift bags. Using those special holiday bags would be cute too.

Note: I make one batch at a time. Because of freezer and refrigerator space, and because of how many cookie sheets I have, I do one and then another. If I made two batches together, I would need twice as much space. But a warning, you must wash the bowl in between batches. The bark doesn't react well being re-microwaved once it has melted and hardened on the sides of the bowl. Don't think about the chemical make-up too much, just wash the bowl. Trust me.

Now, Williams-Sonoma makes a really great bark if you don't want to make it yourself. Theirs has a milk chocolate layer underneath, which makes it more Andes mint flavored, but nonetheless wonderful. You could probably make the two layer peppermint bark if you tried, but I haven't yet and can't speak to the ease.

an ode to almond butter

I have made a new friend: almond butter. Oh my. I never knew anything could taste so yummy. I am trying to eat less things that will irritate my bladder and peanuts are on that list. I don't know why, but the doctor gave me a pamphlet with all the various things to avoid and peanuts were on the list. It said that I could eat almonds though, and I needed a substitute for peanut butter.

I found this next to the peanut butter, and although I wasn't sure about it when I bought the jar, I really do like it. I only recently discovered that I like almonds, so this is all new to me. For some reason, the skin on almonds has always bothered me, until recently. Somehow, I tried them in a mix I had and decided they were okay. It's interesting to see what I suddenly like now that I am older. In the last year I have discovered hollendaise sauce, grits, poached eggs and now almonds and almond butter.

What have you discovered taste-wise lately? Anything new?

a make your man happy meal

Can I just go ahead and admit that I love anything meaty and cheesy? Especially with great bread that is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and a good amount of sauce. I don't really like meatball subs from restaurants, because I am extremely picky about red sauce. EX-TREMELY picky about red sauce. I only buy one brand of sauce and I soup it up to my exact specifications (more on this later.)

Anyway, my husband loves meatball subs, so I make them from time to time. Now, I don't always make my meatballs from scratch, because I find that the packaged ones are just fine. If you don't agree with eating pre-packaged meatballs, then by all means, go ahead and spend the time making your own, then follow these instructions. I promise you, your meat-eating husband will love you and take you into the bedroom, well, once his dinner has digested.

The ingredients:

• 6 inch sub rolls of your choice
• an onion, chopped
• white mushrooms, sliced
• mozarella cheese (or any Italian cheese blend)
• frozen meatballs
• Classico Cabernet Marinara Sauce...to me it has the best taste

1. Let's start in the saute pan. Chop those onions and slice the mushrooms, then get them into the pan with some olive oil over medium high heat. I let the mushrooms get a little brown before I salt and pepper them.

2. Frozen meatballs. Ahhhh. Place the number you want on a paper towel on a microwave safe plate and cook according to the package directions. Usually a plateful of meatballs takes about 3 minutes. I normally cook extra to eat straight off the plate.

3. Add both the sauce and the meatballs to the pan with the onions and mushrooms. I tend to also add a couple of tablespoons sugar to my sauce as well...don't like it bitter at all. Let the sauce bubble while you prepare the bread.

4. My sub rolls were actually a foot long, so I cut them in half. Then I open them up and lay them out flat, while I get my toaster oven warmed up.

5. Lay out the meatballs on the bread and spoon on a little extra sauce. My husband likes extra sauce. He doesn't like anything dry, so I add extra to his.

6. Sprinkle on the cheese. Yum. If I have Alfredo sauce, then I sometimes drizzle a little on before the cheese. It makes the cheese a little more creamy and delicious.

7. Broil. I lay mine out on my toaster oven size stoneware pan and slide them on in. Pay no attention to all the crumbs on the bottom of the oven. Now, I know my oven, but I don't know yours, so watch your sandwich carefully and remove at the desired cheesy melty-ness.

I like it when it looks like this. Add a side of chips and enjoy! You will thank me for this recipe, and I know that you will make it again and again! The sauce/meatball combo works well over pasta or poured over pasta and then baked with cheese on top. It has lots of possibilities.

Now I am hungry, so I have to go and make something to eat. Hmmm, I wonder if I have any more meatballs?

oven fried chicken

When Bethany got married a couple of weeks ago, one of the gifts she received was a stack of recipe cards from this woman in our church who is a legendary cook. It was the best gift, I think, cause the recipes had been tried and tested and known to be yummy. Last Saturday while our men were playing poker, Bethany and I got together at her condo and tried a couple of them out.

One was Oven Fried Chicken. And it was so good. And easy.

We started with whole chicken breasts that we cut in half to make smaller pieces. I think we had four breasts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and whatever other spices you want. I highly recommend garlic and paprika, but do whatever feels good. We dipped in olive oil and then into crushed corn flakes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes and yum. So good.

See, it's easy? Go make some, I tell you.

the best fancy-schmancy, but not hard to make, potato salad

Let me confess that I do not like potato salad. I love potatoes in most forms, hashed, fried, baked, boiled, roasted and sliced, but haven't really liked potato salad until now. Until I found this recipe, I always just passed the cold dishes of potato salad on by when at a picnic. When I came across this recipe, I was curious. It sounded like I might enjoy it, and since I had guests coming over for lunch this weekend, I decided to try the recipe out on them. If I didn't like it, then they would probably eat it all.

But I loved it.

And I wanted to keep it for all my own. I let the guests eat some, and then quickly wrapped it up and put it back in the fridge.

But I am going to share it with you. Because I want you all to experience the deliciousness that I experienced, and since you can't reach through the computer and take mine, you can make your own. With this kinda not so specific recipe that I adapted from a Food and Wine May 2008 recipe.

The now I like potato salad recipe (makes 6 servings):

• 2 large red potatoes, chopped
• 2 large yukon potatoes, chopped
• mayonnaise
• mustard
• bbq sauce
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/2lb bacon, diced, sauteed, and drained
• fresh parsley, finely chopped

For this recipe, I decided to take a couple of shortcuts. First, I bought already hard-boiled eggs cause I also wanted to make deviled eggs as well, and I didn't have much time that afternoon. But if you were going to make this from scratch, then you can do that a day ahead, or earlier the same day. But even though I could have used bacon bits, I decided to saute my own bacon. I wanted much bigger pieces and I don't like the extra smokey flavor that the fake bits have.

1. Chop the potatoes, and get them in some salted water. Boil until fork tender.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, chop and saute the bacon. When crispy, remove from pan and let drain.

3. When potatoes are tender, remove from heat and drain. Allow to cool slightly while you mix the sauce.

4. Mix mayonnaise, mustard and bbq sauce together in a bowl. Now, I probably used about a cup of mayo, a tablespoon of mustard and a tablespoon and a half of bbq sauce. I like my potato salad to be a little saucy, and not dry, so I allow my potatoes to cool a little and I mix extra sauce. If you mix the sauce with the potatoes when they are hot, then the potatoes will absorb the sauce and not coat it well. But, to each his own, so do what you want. I also find that the potatoes fall apart if you stir them when they are hot.

5. Chop eggs and parsley, add to sauce.

6. Add potatoes, scallions and bacon. Stir.

7. Salt and pepper the whole thing and stir again.

8. Refrigerate, then EAT.

Now, please feel free to edit this however you want. There are those out there that like celery and relish in their potato salad, but I do not like celery or pickles AT ALL. Ick. But, it's all up to you and what you like. Enjoy it however you please.

I am going to get the rest out of the fridge right now and finish it off. Hide your eyes if you must.