Category Archives: Sunday Supper Series

Easy Christmas Cookies

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Yesterday my friends Sam and Becky joined me on a Christmas cookie baking extravaganza. We hit up two grocery stores and spent four hours baking and decorating our little hearts away.

Here’s Sam and Becky elbow deep in all the baking essentials:

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First up were some awesome Peanut Butter Cup cookies I found on Allrecipes.com. These ended up being my favorite tasting out of all the cookies we made. Peanut butter cookie with a smooshed in reeces cup? Yum!

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Then I made some Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti cookies from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe on Food Network. I’ve made these a couple times and they are really good. I add toffee instead of hazelnuts to give them an extra chewy texture.

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Next we moved onto the fun stuff- decorating sugar cookies! We used store-bought dough so we wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of refrigerating it overnight.

I have absolutely no artistic ability, so Sam helped out with a lot of these.

Getting in touch with my new name:

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It looked pretty before being cooked. It looked more like a pair of Batman boobs after they puffed up in the oven!

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Then we decorated some vanilla cupcakes. Since we didn’t have piping bags, we just put the frosting into ziplock baggies and cut a small hole in the corner.

We had one guy helping us decorate. Notice his kindergarten snowflake next to Sam’s amazing snowflake. Lol!

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I enlisted Sam’s help making a special cookie just for my sweetie. In wedding colors no less!

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And last but certainly not least…a cookie for all you South Park Fans!

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Merry Christmas everyone!

Carmelized Chicken Wings

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I live next door to this small (slightly scary) wings joint in Chicago. For months I’ve walked by on my way home and have been hit with the smell of delicious fried chicken wings.

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This prompted a strong craving for wings that I decided to submit to last night for supper. Instead of paying for some fatty (albeit delicious) wings from House of Wing, I opted to bake my own at home.

I started by creating a BBQ sauce from scratch with items most people have in their fridge:

– 3/4 cup ketchup

– 3/4 cup honey

– 1/2 cup soy sauce

– 2 TBSP of hot sauce

– 3 minced garlic cloves

I threw everything into a sauce pan and cooked it on high until boiling.

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Then I reduced the heat and let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes until the sauce was thick. With about 3-5 lbs of chicken wings and drumsticks chicken waiting in the a baking dish, I poured the sauce over the meat making sure it was all covered. Last, I seasoned the chicken with some cracked pepper you don’t need salt, there’s enough in the soy sauce).

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I baked the chicken  for one hour at 375 degrees and this is what I got:

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Holy cow- these wings were so delicious! WAY better than those small, fried wings you’d get at a bar. The sauce was tangy, sweet and sticky the way sauce should be. Check out my messy hands for proof-

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These were so good, that we ditched the side dish I was making (baked sweet potatoes) and made the wings our entire meal. Of course, we DID leave some room for dessert.

I whipped up some quick chocolate covered pretzels, which I gave a healthy upgrade by using whole wheat pretzel rods, dark chocolate and some nuts. These took me about 10 minutes to make one batch, which will last throughout the week.

All you need is two dark chocolate bars (8 oz total), a bag of whole wheat pretzel sticks and a package of nut topping (in the baking aisle).

I melted the chocolate by placing a metal bowl over one inch of boiling water.

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I poured the melted chocolate into a short cup, spread the nut topping onto a small plate and placed the pretzels on a baking sheet. Then I started to dip the pretzels in the chocolate and roll them in the nut topping.

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I let the chocolate dry and was finished! You can also roll the preztels in any topping you like- smashed peppermint, coconut, colored sugar- whatever suits your fancy.

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Let me know what you guys think of the wings if you try them. I think they’re being added to my top 10 favorite recipes.

Happy Monday!

How to Make Chimichurri

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After a couple weeks hiatus, the Sunday Supper series is back! I’m currently in Naples, FL at my parents house. My sister flew in from San Francisco to visit as well. We both like to cook, so we tag-teamed supper last night.

After a day of outlet shopping, we hit up the grocery store to pick up some food for supper- steaks with chimichurri, baked sweet potatoe fries, spinach salad and some ice cream.

You may remember from this post, but while in Buenos Aires, Luke and I took a cooking class to learn how to make Chimichurri- a sauce Portenos use to top their meat. It’s really easy to make and has a complex flavor profile that brings meat to life.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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– equal parts minced garlic, parsley and scallion

– one part red wine vinegar to two parts canola oil (olive oil works too, but then you can’t keep it very long because the oil congeals)

– a tablespoon ( or more depending on how much you make) of the following spices: dried oregano, paprika and red pepper flakes.

– Miz everything together and season liberally with salt and pepper.

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To make sure everything tastes right, I usually dip some bread into the mixture to try it out. When it’s ready, spread it across your choice of meat and you’ve got a delicious, spicy, tangy sauce that beats A-1 anyday!

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When sealed and refrigerated, chimichurri can last for 6+ months. I’d recommend making one big batch and keeping it in the fridge for anytime your meat dish needs a little awakening.

I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Pepperoni and Garlic Pizza

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Luke and I try to eat healthy as much as possible.  Most of the time we’re pretty good about what we eat, but every one in awhile we have a major cheat meal. This past weekend, was once such occasion as I made some homemade pepperoni and garlic pizza.

I’ve made this recipe a few times and it is awesome- way better than what you can order from a delivery pizza place. It’s really easy to make, but can be on the pricey side at about $15-$20 per pie. However, it’s a great recipe for when you really want to indulge in some out-of-this world pizza.

We picked up our ingredients at Whole Foods because we knew we could get some really great pre-made pizza dough from their bakery along with slightly higher-grade toppings. Here’s everything you’ll need:

– Pre-made pizza dough (from your grocery’s bakery)
– Newmann’s Own spicy fra diavolo tomato sauce
– Thickly shredded mozzarella cheese
– Pepperoni (large circles are best)
– Garlic (chop 2-3 cloves or use pre-minced)

Once we had all the ingredients, I pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees and began stretching the pizza dough. Don’t be intimidated by this process- it literally just involves holding the dough in the air and moving your hands around the edges so it stretches out. Then once it’s stretched to fit the pan you’re using, just lay it down and continue to pull the dough to the edge of the pan.

I bake the dough for roughly 8 minutes so it has some time to cook before I add the toppings. You don’t want the crust to be undercooked in the middle while the cheese is brown. After the 8 minutes, I usually will spread some melted butter on the edges of the crust (this pizza is definitely not on a healthy diet!) before loading it with toppings.

Next, top with the pizza sauce, garlic, shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. *TIP- I’ll usually mix the minced garlic into the sauce before I put it on, so it’s distributed evenly on the pizza. 

Return the pan to the oven for another 8-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool the pizza for five minutes and  you’re all set.

I was so excited to dig into our pizza that I forgot to take photos of the final product until it was halfway gone, but you should be able to get the idea of the awesomeness of this pizza from these…

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This pizza is seriously delicious. The crust is thick and and crisp on the bottom. The spicy sauce adds a flavor element you don’t normally get in pizza and the topping combination of garlic, mozzarella and pepperoni hits the mark without being overly complicated.

Luke’s response?

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Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/comments on this recipe!