Morning Drinks

I think that any kind of fruit goes great in a cocktail. The simplest, most elegant drink for a brunch is anything mixed with champagne. I like to smash up fruit and put it at the bottom of a champagne glass and top with champagne...kind of like a Bellini! I smashed up a combination of strawberries, peaches and blueberries (sounds weird) and put a tablespoon in the bottom of my glass. Top it with champagne and it is so refreshing!

The classic mimosa is always fabulous too. Special glasses always brighten up a morning as well! Sundays are the best. Christmas morning always feels like a Sunday to me.

Christmas Lights!

I love, love, love Christmas lights! Or any lights for that matter. I want to add some pictures of the lights around my house to my blog, but I don't have a camera!!! So tomorrow, even though my class will be over and people probably won't see this anymore, I'm going to put up some Christmas lights...on this blog!

Orange Chicken

Christmas always seems to involve oranges to me. Being starving as I got home today, with almost nothing to cook, I whipped up this orange chicken in no time. It was pretty good!

I took two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and placed them in a big plastic bag. I'm only cooking for two but feel free to modify the recipe to fit your diners. (A great place to get chicken is Costco, I get 12 chicken breasts for about $20.) I always like to pound out my chicken so that it is a bit thinner. It cooks so much quicker! I like to just use my regular rolling pin...it gets lots of aggression out too. Pound the chicken out so it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet to medium heat and add one table extra virgin olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Let them melt together and then add the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides...I'm paranoid so I let it cook for about 7 minutes per side.

Add about half a can of orange juice concentrate. Let this reduce down for several minutes until it becomes thick. Keep pouring the sauce over the chicken to coat it. Add about 1/4 cup of chopped roasted and salted Almonds (Blue Diamond is great). Let everything meld together and serve with some pasta or rice. I made some penne and asparagus to go along with the chicken and it was wonderful! It was a quick and delicious meal!!!

NOTE: I'm going to get a new camera tomorrow, so these entries won't be dull for long!!!!

Holiday Egg Nog

Many people are nervous about eating raw egg, but we all stick our fingers in the cookie dough, right? This egg nog recipe comes from my boyfriend's mother. I'm not sure if it is traditional or not, but it is good!

Ingredients:

6 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint heavy cream
1 pint of milk...NOT LOWFAT
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 quart vanilla ice cream...Dreyers is best

Separate the eggs...put the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl. Beat the yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar until it is thick. Beat the whites with the remaining sugar until they are stiff and fold the two together. Blend well. Stir in the cream, milk, and vanilla. Mix together and scoop out chunks of ice cream and add to mixture. Add some brandy to it for a spicy adult beverage! Top the whole thing off with some cinnamon. Yum! Careful...not a slimming drink!

Crazy Cocktail Shakin'

I was just browsing youtube and found this video...this guy is crazy! I almost think that this has to be fake. Just a cool video of a bartender to share with ya'll! Keep those recipes coming on Jottit!

Holiday Martini

In one of my production classes I had to do a martini segment. Since we are near the holidays I chose to make a Midori martini. The color is super festive and it tastes really yummy! It is very simple to make too.

Mix in a martini shaker filled with ice:

2 shots vodka (Grey Goose is my favorite but expensive!)
2 shots Midori
2 shots sweet & sour mix (Dr. Swami & Bone Daddy's is great)

Vigorously shake it all together and pour directly into chilled martini glasses. Enjoy! It makes a pretty picture for parties!

Good Ole Green Beans

Well this is a very corny recipe to me...but it is so classic for Thanksgiving. I think that the green bean casserole must have started in the 70's or something. It seems very true to that era of home cooking. I had to make a quick and simple dish and it sure is one! My mother has this recipe written down, but I think that it comes from the Campbell's soup can. I hope I don't get into trouble! The recipe for 12 is as follows...

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
8 cups of cooked and cut green beans (I like fresh...it is worth the work)
2 cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1 can of french fried onions (try French's 6 oz can)
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons soy sauce
pepper to taste
extra french fried onions for the top

Mix everything together (saving the reserve french friend onions) and put into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. Bake this for about 20 minutes. Then add the reserve onions and sprinkle them on top. Bake for another five minutes. Easy and dummy proof! Very comforting as well. XO