Luck 'o the Irish--a Treat for St. Patrick's Day

My girls love any reason to celebrate ANYTHING, so in the spirit of fun, I recently tested out this new recipe for St. Patrick's Day.  I'd never done anything outside of green "leprauchaun" milk in their cereal on March 17th, so these little bites were a great find.  Plus, they were from one of my Allrecipes acquaintances--Elizabeth made these with her Irish grandmother.  Aren't they cute?

 

Here's how you make them.  Find the recipe here on Allrecipes:

 

Grandma Mottle's Blarney Stones

 

Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup milk, or as needed 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups dry roasted salted peanuts, finely chopped 1 pound cake, cut into bize-size cubes

 

Directions:

1.	Pour confectioners' sugar in a bowl. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly, until mixture has a thin frosting consistency; whisk in vanilla extract.
2.	Place chopped peanuts in a bowl. Line a flat surface or a plate with waxed paper.
3.	Dip 1 pound cake cube in frosting and roll cube in peanuts; place on wax paper to dry. Repeat with remaining pound cake pieces. I used salted dry roasted peanuts, and the delicious combination of the cake, glaze, and saltiness might make your little leprechauns want to kiss you afterward!

 

Kahlúa Cake Pops Video, and a GREAT Giveaway Opportunity!!

My photo of the finished cake pops

 

Fun during filming

The ideal holiday party has three main components:  great friends, a menu where everyone is asking for the recipes, and a festive atmosphere.  In my previous behind-the-scenes post, I showed you a little of what it took to make a video for Allrecipes and Kahlúa.  Here is the finished product, and this will be a recipe that everyone asks for!  Made with devil's food cake, chocolate frosting, & Kahlua, these chocolatey cake bites are decadent, perfectly portioned, and I can't wait to make them again.

In the Allrecipes video kitchen--here's a snapshot from the video

VIDEO LINK (read disclaimer to the left):  http://allrecipes.com/video/4103/kahlua-cake-pops/detail.aspx

RECIPE LINK:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kahlua-cake-bites/detail.aspx




These cake bites are fun, festive, and for adult parties only.  During the filming, we used regular base Kahlúa for these cake pops, but with the variety of Kahlúa flavors, the creations are practically endless.

I think these combinations for cake pops would be fantastic:

• Pumpkin Spice Kahlúa with spice cake and cream cheese frosting, coat with white chocolate
• Cinnamon Spice Kahlúa with chocolate cake, a dash of cayenne for heat, coated in white or milk chocolate 
• Peppermint Mocha Kahlúa with white cake, coated in dark chocolate







EXCITING NEWS!
Allrecipes and Kahlua are having a contest where you could win $5000!  Pin what makes your Holidays sparkle by December 10th for your chance!

Contest Link:  Taste the Spirit of Kahlúa Pin it to Win it!

Follow Kahlúa on Social Media:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Kahlúa
• YouTube: http://youtube.com/Kahlúavideo
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/Kahlúa/
• Tweet/Instagram @KahluaMidnight (https://twitter.com/KahlúaMidnight) 

Thanks for stopping in!  I'd love to hear about your favorite Kahlua recipes or stories!

Behind the Scenes in Seattle--Cooking with Kahlúa, Part 1

Seattle Morning

Recently, I had to opportunity to fly out to Seattle for another video shoot with Allrecipes, and it was a fantastic adventure!  It's a city I love, and I try to go at least once a year now (I'll post more about Seattle in a later entry).  You might remember my previous opportunities , and this one was just as fun.  I was able to work with Angela who writes a beautiful blog called Dancing with My Father, and we had a great time during the "party" scenes.  Just don't ask what we were discussing.........knowing you're being filmed but not recorded makes you bring up some ca-raazy topics!

 

I LOVE having friends and family over, especially at Christmastime, and I was happy to participate in this shoot to show how fun it can be to incorporate KAHLÚA into your holiday festivities for more than cocktails.  Think brownies, cupcakes, cheesecake, and cookies--or, the cake pops I demonstrate in the upcoming video.  They're so easy, you may want to make them your signature party recipe!




Aren't they pretty?

You may recognize the two fabulous cameramen from before, David Albright and Erik Dinnel.  I'm completely biased, but they are so talented and patient, they really added to the process.

 

Here are some more of the key players for this behind the scenes tour.  All great people, they made this experience memorable and at times ridiculously funny!



Allrecipes Marney & Sydney, the Makeup Master



Sarah(Allrecipes), Sarah(Kahlua), Ryan(Allrecipes), Karen(Allrecipes), and Cory(Allrecipes)



David, Jean (Food Stylist), Marney, Me, Angela, & Erik

It was a whirlwind of a trip for me, but I'm thankful to have been a part of it.  I look forward to showing the finished video and sharing the delicious recipe from Kahlúa!  Look for it in November, just in time for your holiday and Christmas parties...........

  

 

 

The Joy of Cooking......with Leftovers!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, much like crazy uncles and goofy cousins (I mean that in the best possible way!).  Hopefully you love and adore your families, but in the casual poll I took, most folks were dreading the travel, interacting with certain relatives, and not knowing what to do with the mountain of leftovers after.  Who really enjoys eating turkey for 2 weeks?  Why is this attached to the tradition?  I have some ideas for you!

First, try something different for the main entree.  I discovered that I'm not a big turkey-by-itself fan, so this year, with my family's blessing, I decided to make something completely new:

Roast Pork with Maple & Mustard Glaze

 

with

 

 Brussels Sprout Slaw

 



It was absolutely wonderful.  The glaze on the pork loin was simultaneously sweet & savory, and the slaw was the perfect complement.  In the South, we love pork barbecue with cole slaw, and this reminded me of a more elegant and "fancy" version of that. 
Of course, you can't have Thanksgiving without some stuffing, so my husband made this and was so proud of himself afterward--he kept raving about his accomplishment, and I let him have a big head about it just for the day, and was-able-to-bite-my-tongue-about-how-I-cook-almost-every-day-and-we-never-make-THAT-much-of-a-fuss-about-it, but........I know he appreciates my cooking.  And he should've been proud because it was delicious.  How can you go wrong with bacon and cornbread?  Come to think of it, the last time he helped with a holiday meal, he made bacon scallion cornbread.  I sense a theme here!  YUM.

 

Bacon-Cornbread Stuffing

 

 

After the Thanksgiving meal, we were gifted some leftovers from my mother-in-law, and I don't like for things to go to waste, so I was determined to repurpose them into something my family would enjoy.  I came up with this:

 

If you look closely in the bottom photo, even my youngest was nervous about MORE turkey after Thanksgiving!  This is more than a generic turkey salad sandwich.  I call it, "Year Round Thanksgiving Turkey Salad" because sometimes I want the flavors of this season in the Summertime, and this would satisfy the craving.  It's also a perfect way to use up the leftover turkey and other ingredients you used for your family dinner.

Here's how to make your own.  You'll need:
4 cups of chopped leftover turkey (white, dark, or combination)
1 1/2 cups light mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 stalk of diced celery
1 heaping tbsp minced shallot, or other leftover onion
1/4 cup chopped parsely
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
Salt & pepper, to taste.
Leftover cranberry sauce, sliced swiss or provolone (optional), grainy mustard
Your favorite sandwich bread

Mix the turkey, mayonnaise, and poultry seasoning together in a large bowl.  Stir in the cranberries, celery, shallots, parsley, & nuts.  Season with salt & pepper.
Spread the top half of your bread with grainy mustard and a dollop of cranberry sauce, place approximately 1/4 cup of turkey salad on the bottom half.  Place a slice of cheese on the salad side and broil to melt (optional).  Make your sandwich and enjoy!

Hope my daughter loves it as much as I do--she'll see it in her lunchbox for the next two days!

(Please throw out remaining leftovers after they've mingled in your refrigerator for a week.  I'm a stickler for food safety and don't want anyone to get sick--plus I need you to come back for the next blog post!)

Happy eating!