Cooking Club #5-8

*Cooking Club is coming up soon, and now that I'm blogging, I want to share these moments but I thought I should play catch-up first. So without further ado, here (and in other posts) is what we've been up to. Enjoy!

Clockwise from top right: Ham, Crab Cake, Stuffing, Potaotes, Pot Pie

#5 November: Thanksgiving     

The Menu:

         Appetizer
Sage and Cranberry Crab Cakes
        Main Course
Chicken Pot Pie
Brown-Sugar Glazed Ham
        Sides
Spinach Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing Baskets
        Desserts
Apple Pie
Cute Turkey Cookies

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, we decided we must have a Cooking Club Thanksgiving Feast. We each took a dish that is usually on everyone's Thanksgiving Day menu and created our own "version" of the classic. The choices up for grabs were potatoes, turkey/ham, pie, cranberries, stuffing, and veggies. I chose the yummy classic side dish stuffing.

I found this cute recipe while perusing my Taste of Homes Cookbook. I wanted a twist on the classic stuffing and thought, how cute, stuffing baskets.

While I was mixing it up and adding the ingredients, my mouth was watering. It smelled delightful. However, these Stuffing Baskets were more on the dry side than I enjoy.

Definitely not my Mama's stuffing.

Some members enjoyed the dish, and some didn't.

Definitely nothing to write home about. [But I agree to share all of my Cooking Club successes and failures. If you're not inspired to try these failed recipes, I hope you try the themes!]

However, the Spinach Mashed Potatoes and the Apple Pie were tasty and sinful in their own ways.

I actually could.not.wait. for Jessica to finish the topping so we could get this in the oven and eat it already!

Too bad Andrew missed out on this feast.


*If you don't do anything else, gather some friends and have a Thanksgiving feast of your own this month. Nobody would complain about two Thanksgivings.

It's like a turkey army!

#6 December: Cookie Exchange  

The Menu:

Apricot & Raspberry Pinwheels
Chocolate Chip Spritz
Cream Cheese Spritz
Caramel Press Cookies
Chocolate Cookies
Mocha Madness
Eggnog Cookies
Cookie Pops
Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Christmastime is here....so we thought, why not a cookie exchange? After all, a few of my close friends and I get together every season to spread the cookie cheer. We gather and bake cookies and belt Christmas carols and gossip and talk about our college days and how much we miss each other because life has taken over and we're crazy-busy. You know, girl stuff.

So when Cooking Club decided to make cookies our monthly theme, I was giddy with joy. I LOVE baking around the holidays! In fact, I had four (!) so-called gatherings scheduled for this season: one with my close friends, one with my mother-in-law, Cooking Club, and I always have one at home in case I didn't get a chance to make everything I wanted. [Trust me, my list contains so many recipes, I rarely get to them all.]

For this meeting, I had planned on making another cookie, but after that failed when I did a test run during my baking session with my mother-in-law, I chose to try the Apricot Pinwheels instead. Score! I found this recipe in a Betty Crocker pamphlet my mother-in-law picked up for me two years ago.

These were a lot of fun to make (especially when I got out my ruler and was all percise with my measurements to make sure I got the exact amount of cookies---because I'm OCD like that) and were even more delicious. I wanted to make a double batch, so when I ran out of apricot preserves, I susbstituted my favorite, raspberry. A-Mazing!

These little pinwheels are so yummy that they are now on my "Must-Make-Every-Christmas" cookie list (which is quickly becoming a very looong list). I even took some of these tasty treats home for my family Christmas, and my grandpa enjoyed them so much that I had to promise to make him a special batch next year.

OK, so back on topic. We were one member down, again, this month. I guess Andrew isn't into the whole baking thing. It's too girly. But Jessica made up for his absence because she decided to try three cookie recipes. Yay! more cookies!

Hmmm...or so I thought.

I guess an all-day baking extravaganza isn't fitting for Cooking Club, especially with two young teenagers who became bored about two hours in. And decided to skip out and relax in the living room for the rest of the day. And brought the most complicated cookie recipes. Yeah, that happened.

Nine hours later, we were exhausted. We watched the day-light hours fade through the window as we continued mixing and baking and covering the kitchen floor in flour and forgetting that the oven temperature does continue to rise after it's been on for hours and hours, sadly burning the Mocha Madness batch.

Yeah, no more Cooking Club cookie exchanges.

Check out my pinwheels! (Above left are the Eggnoggs and above right are the Chocolate Butterscotch Chips)

But, you must try these pinwheels! They are so cute and fun to make, AND I promise they will be a hit at your next Christmas party. [If not, look me up and I'll take them off your hands.]

*P.S. The Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookies were awesome....the recipe was on the back of a Nestle Tollhouse bag of butterscotch chips. (Remember that episode of FRIENDS where Monica tries to duplicate Phoebe's grandma's cookie recipe? HeeHee. BTW, I LOVE FRIENDS, best show ever. I own all the seasons, watch them all the time, and I'm sure you will become tired of my FRIENDS references. But that is just something I cannot apologize for.)

Apricot Pinwheels

Makes 4 dozen

1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 c butter
1/4 c sugar, or sugar substitute (like Stevia)
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 c apricot preserves (or whatever you prefer, like raspberry)
1/4 c almonds, chopped

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and salt. Cover and refrigerate, about 30 minutes or until firm. Preheat oven 350 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheets with shortening.

On a generously floured surface, roll dough into 16x12" rectangle. Cut rectangle into 48 2"-squares, 8 rows by 6 rows. Use metal spatula to place squares 1" apart on sheets. Spread each square with about 1/4 tsp preserves. On each square cut from each corner to 1/4" from center. Bring every other point to center and press together to form a pinwheel. Sprinkle each with almonds.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove from sheet to cooling rack. Enjoy!


Nutritional Information
Original recipe, per cookie: Calories 80; Fat 5; Protein 1

[Since I'll be making these this Christmas season, I'll make sure to post a few more pictures.]



#7 January: Pasta

The Menu:

Blue Cheese Gnocchi
Chicken Paprikash
Pesto Chicken Pasta
Rice Noodles with Pork
Garlic-Based Red Sauce with Homemade Linguine
Shrimp/Chicken Pasta
Ham and Cheesy Mac


Someone decided pasta would be a great theme for this month's Cooking Club. And I agreed.

Now that we have Andrew back, we lost Jessica's sister. She apparently wasn't as enthused about cooking as one needs to be for Cooking Club. (Cough, I'm sure it had nothing to do with last month's 9-hour cookie disaster extravaganza, cough.)


Mmm. Pasta. I LOVE pasta.

There are so many ways to eat pasta.

But I definitely wanted to try something new. Gnocchi sounded amazing and I've always wanted to try it.

So I thought, what's better than trying gnocchi first-hand homemade?

I went to my trusty over-the-top-fancy recipe book, The 1,000 Best Recipes, which I bought for my husband (then boyfriend) when he first moved into his own apartment. I thought he might learn to cook. He took one look at this cookbook and tossed it aside. He prefers simpler meals, not ones with fancy ingredients and multiple steps. (Although he did brave this cookbook to make this chicken in a paprika and mushroom sauce....it is to die for. But that's it. He won't try any other recipes.)

Anywho, when I saw this beautiful pasta pillow drowning in a white cheese sauce, I was a goner. I didn't need to look any further. Nothing else would satisfy. I counted the days until our next meeting so I could make this amazing dish.

And it did not disappoint.

Oh, and this is such a simple recipe. Only 5 ingredients total in the entire dish! Potatoes and flour are all you need to make these tasty gnocchi pillows.


Although, I had no idea that making gnocchi from scratch would be so time consuming, and did I forget to mention a MESS! (I've never made any form of pasta from scratch, and Jessica did warn me it was messy. Uh, understatement.)


But it was so worth it. I'd stop writing this post right now just to get my hands caked with flour and potatoes in order to taste one sweet pillow-y gnocchi. Maybe I should add this to our dinner menu for next week....

However, this dish did require some patience. That yummy sauce up there eventually thickens upon standing and oh.my.goodness. Holy frijoles. (I can't wait to see Puss in Boots. That cat cracks me up.)

I think I have a new pasta favorite. Move over lasagna. My palate is too mature for you.


[Oh, and a whole meal with tons of carbs...yeah, we didn't think this one through. We were stuffed and miserable by the end, but quite satisfied.]


Blue Cheese Sauce
*from The 1,000 Best Recipes

Serves 4


10 oz cream
4 oz gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, chopped

In a small pan, bring cream to a boil. Boil rapidly, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes, or until reduced by one third. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over gnocchi. Scatter chives over top and serve immediately.


*If you have the time and ambition, make the gnocchi yourself. Or for a quicker version, pick up some while you're at the store. Hurry home and make this sauce!



#8 February: Soup

The Menu:

Potato, Broccoli and Coriander Soup
Steak Chili Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Quick French Onion Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ham and Cheesy Potato Soup


With it still being winter and all, Jenny thought it would be a great month for a soup-themed Cooking Club.

Who doesn't love a bowl of steaming hot soup? Oh right, Mr. B is not a fan. (Crazy.) I guess he'll be making his own meals during these chilly months.

Again, my trusty cookbook, The 1,000 Best Recipes, came through with an eye-googling soup recipe, Potato, Broccoli and Coriander Soup. As I mentioned in my Broccoli-Cheddar Soup post, broccoli in my soup is a favorite. Add in potatoes, garlic, onions, a dash of cumin, some delightful coriander and you have a super healthy winter dish.

Once all of the potatoes and broccoli were chopped, they took a swim in this pan, full of chicken broth. And then this gorgeous soup, once pureed, turned into this!

[Sorry for the low-quality picture. The lighting is not the best in that kitchen.]



With all of the soups, we had a lot of downtime while everything was simmering. But the kitchen was filled with a mixture of intoxicating aromas. LOVED it! This was by far one of my favorites, along with our Thanksgiving and Cobbler months.

Please, please invite some friends and family over for a soup-themed gathering!


Potato, Broccoli and Coriander Soup
*adapted from The 1,000 Best Recipes

Serves 6


1 lb broccoli
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander (note: I had coriander kernals and used a coffee grinder to ground)
1 1/2 lbs potatoes, cubed
2 small chicken boullion cubes
about 4 c water (or you can forgo the cubes and water and substitue chicken or vegetable broth)
1 1/2 c skim milk


Lightly spray large pot with cooking spray, place over meadium heat and add onions and garlic. Add 1 tbsp water to prevent from sticking. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened and is lightly golden. Add cumin and coriander and cook 2 minutes.

Add potatos and broccoli to pot, stir well and add stock cubes and water. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Allow to cool slightly.

Blend soup in batches in a food processor or blender (or if you have an immersion blender---I want one so bad---use that) until smooth. Return to pot and stir in milk. Slowly reheat, without boiling. Season well before serving.


Nutritional Information
Per serving: Calories 340; Fat 18; Fiber 5; Protein 10

**I hope you enjoyed these Cooking Club snippets. There are many more to come as I try to play catch-up before this month's meeting. I hope these themes, and even Cooking Club itself, inspire you to gather with your friends and family in the kitchen, and make sweet moments (and delicious food) of your own.

***I've only included the recipes to the dishes I made. Only because I'm unsure of where everyone got theirs...and hey, we gotta give credit where credit is due.

[If you have any questions about the other dishes, I'll ask the other members where they got their recipes and pass it along!]

Check out our previous meetings!
Cooking Club #1-4


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi