Buon Natale from Mahogany Trail

What a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner with my loves. We opted for a more traditional holiday meal this year, versus our usual Italian feast. In typical Clark Giswold style, Jason completely outdid himself. Bourbon glazed ham, roasted thyme potatoes, maple balsamic Brussel sprouts, cornbread dressing and sugared carrots with pecans. Buon Natale!

Crispy Roasted Thyme Potatoes
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp olive oil
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
coarse salt
1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt, red-pepper flakes (if using) and thyme. Brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake 1 hour, until edges are crispy.

Brussel sprouts already posted in Fall 2014.

This is Jason’s secret cornbread dressing. Maybe one day I’ll convince him to share!

Sugared Carrots with Pecans
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes. Stir in ginger and sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Add pecans and cook until carrots are tender when pierced and mixture is glazed in sugar, 3 to 5 minutes.

Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tbsp bourbon
1 tbsp spicy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup

Combine ingredients and pour over top of scored ham. Cook according to directions.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

This cake tastes even better than it looks! The tart cranberries are complemented by the perfectly sweet white chocolate icing. It’s the perfect cake to celebrate the winter season and the holidays. The cake is so rich and buttery, it’s reminiscent of an old fashioned pound cake. I think this would be awesome with raspberries or blueberries. The possibilities are endless! This cake is sure to please and impress everyone at your holiday party!

For the Sugared Cranberries:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup water

Bring 1 cup sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Pour cranberries into syrup and coat fully. Place berries on a wire rack to dry, about an hour. Add sugar to a large ziplock bag. Add berries and shake until fully coated with the sugar. Set aside and allow to dry for another hour.

For the Cake:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans. Whisk together flour, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add butter, eggs, vanilla, sour cream and milk and mix on medium speed until smooth. Gently stir in cranberries by hand. Divide batter between the prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes, until slightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the White Chocolate Icing:
12 oz white chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream +2 tbsp to finish
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar

Place white chocolate chips in a metal bowl. Heat heavy cream until it starts to boil. Pour over chocolate chips and cover the bowl with saran wrap for 5-7 minutes. Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth. Allow ganache to sit until thickened and cooled. Beat the ganache with a mixer for about 2-3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Add butter and beat until it is fully combined. Slowly add powdered sugar a cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add remaining 2 tbsp of heavy cream to finish the icing.

Ice cake and top with sugared berries and garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Mini Shortbread Cookies

These cookies are so fun and festive, plus they come together in a flash! They are perfect for holiday entertaining or just watching your favorite Christmas movie. I’ve always loved shortbread cookies and these do not disappoint. You could make them anytime of year with any type of sprinkles you like. They’re also super fab dipped in chocolate.

1 1/4 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 tbsp red and green nonpareils

Preheat oven to 325. In a food processor pulse flour and sugar until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough begins to come together. Place dough in medium bowl. Gently knead in sprinkles until blended throughout. Pat dough into about an 8×5 rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 1/2 inch squares. Place squares on an ungreased large cookie sheet. Baked 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Store cookies in tightly covered container at room temperature up to a week.

Caramel White Hot Chocolate

You’re welcome. I’m just going to get it out of the way, because after you make this you will thank me. Pair this with my red velvet cookie post from earlier and you’ll be a happy camper. You’ll also be the most popular person on the block. Perfect for a chilly winter night (a Houston girl can dream). When I made this I poured a nice big cup to take a picture for the post. The entire time thinking, I will never drink this entire cup. The cup is empty. It’s that good. You will never buy those lame hot cocoa mix packets ever again. You could make this milk or dark chocolate.

8 oz white chocolate, chopped
4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
20 caramels, divided
Marshmallows or whipped cream for topping

Place chocolate, milk, vanilla and half of the caramels in a crock pot. Cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows or whipped cream. Melt remaining caramel in microwave for about 45 seconds and drizzle over top. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cookies

Red Velvet could quite possibly be the most popular cake flavor ever. I seriously don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it. If you do, I recommend you cut that person out of your life. You don’t need that negativity. These days we have red velvet everything thing- cheesecake, pancakes, muffins, cookies, etc… Here’s me hoping on the bandwagon, even though my Mother can confirm it’s always been my fav. There is a lot of controversy over the real red velvet and why it’s red. So before we get to the recipe, here’s a little red velvet history.

Here’s an excerpt from the New York Times: In cakes, an acid like buttermilk or vinegar may be used to activate baking soda, a common leavening. The reddish tint produced by the acid and the cocoa might explain why some chocolate cakes are called devil’s food, a theory that was held by James Beard. Home bakers in the South may have decided to exaggerate cocoa’s natural hue with food coloring and — Eureka! — they had red velvet.

Another theory is that home cooks started adding red food coloring after Dutch process cocoa became widely used. (The Dutch process makes cocoa easier to dissolve by adding an alkalizing agent like potassium carbonate, decreasing the acidity in the batter and muting the redness.)

2 1/4 cups flour
3 Tbsp unsweetned cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
Red food coloring or red velvet coloring

In a mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients- flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt until well blended, set aside. In the bowl of your mixer whip butter, shortening and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg, then egg white, vanilla, lemon juice and food coloring. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees during last 10 minutes of chilling.
Shape dough into about 3 Tbsp balls and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Flatten balls with greased hands to about 1/2-inch. Bake in preheated oven 9 – 11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. These would be great with cream cheese frosting (see banana cake post for recipe) and holiday sprinkles.

Thanksgiving on Mahogany Trail

Here on Mahogany Trail we tend to over do things Clark Griswald style. Thanksgiving is no exception. Weeks of planning, hours of prep and a schedule tighter than my Grandpa Beeler (LOL)! This Thanksgiving we really outdid ourselves. To quote Monica from Friends (one of my favs) “I kicked last years Thanksgiving’s butt!” Working in retail during the holidays is always a challenge. Planning was key to our Thanksgiving success. So how did we pull it off? Details below…

T minus 1 month:
Research and menu planning

T minus 2 weeks:
Finalize menu
-Maple Bourbon Glazed Turkey
-Citrus Peppercorn Dry Brine Turkey
-Homemade Gravy with Bourbon and Shallots
-Jason’s Famous Cornbread Dressing
-Fruit and Nut Sourdough Stuffing
-Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow Cream
-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Cranberries
-Cranberry Sauce
-Mashed Potatoes
-Green Bean Casserole
-Homemade Yeast Rolls
-Pumpkin Pie
-Chocolate Pecan Pie
-Fudge Pie

T minus 1 week:
Take stock of serving platters and dishes
Press table linens

T minus 5 days:
Grocery shopping complete. This included trips to 3 stores. Out. Of. Control. LOL!

T minus 4 days:
Prepare homemade chicken stock (this was the secret weapon)

T minus 3 days:
Make homemade pie crust
Prep all veggies
Make cranberry sauce

T minus 2 days:
Prepare rub and brine for birds
Dry brine and wet brine birds in the fridge
Prepare the homemade cornbread

T minus 1 day:
Make the pies- pumpkin, chocolate pecan and fudge. Yes Lord!
Prepare the cornbread dressing
Prepare the fruit and nut stuffing
Make homemade yeast rolls
Set the table

Morning of:
Both turkeys in the oven
Roast sweet potatoes
Prepare mashed potatoes
Make homemade green bean casserole

Dinner is served!

Special thanks to Mr.Biggs. He’s the real master, I’m just the sous chef. He always makes Thanksgiving special and no matter what, he did it again this year. Much love!

Caramel Apple Sweet Rolls

These are sheer perfection! What could be better than combining caramel, apples and cinnamon rolls? I’ll tell you…NOTHING! These should come with a warning. They will make you very popular and friends and family may demand another batch. This recipe makes enough to feed a small army. LOL! It makes 4 pans, perfect to give away as gifts at this time of year (If you can pry them out of your families hands). If you’ve never made homemade rolls this is a great recipe to start with. It’s not as complicated as it may seem. Conquer your fears and get to baking!

For the dough:
4 cups whole milk
1 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
9 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages (2 1/4 teaspoons each) active dry yeast
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt

For the filling:
4 Granny Smith apples
1 stick butter, plus more for greasing the pans
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the caramel icing:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

First, make the dough. Combine the milk and canola oil in a large pot. Add the sugar and stir it around. Scald it (heat it to almost a boil), then turn off the heat. Let the mixture cool until it’s warm, but not too warm! Add 8 cups of the flour along with the yeast and stir it around until all combined. It’ll be super sticky, but have faith! Cover the mixture with the lid of the pot or a dish towel and let it sit for an hour or so, until it doubles in size. After it’s had a chance to rise, sprinkle in the remaining cup of flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt and stir gently to combine. It’ll take a little while to get it all stirred together.

While the dough is rising start on the filling. Dice up the apples finely. Then throw them in a skillet over medium high heat and stir them around to cook. After 3 to 4 minutes, when they’ve gotten nice and golden brown, remove them to a plate. Add a stick of butter and the brown sugar into the same skillet over medium heat and stir it around until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Pour in the cream. Then stir it around and let it bubble up and thicken for about a minute.
Turn the heat down to low, then add the apples back to the skillet and sprinkle on the cinnamon. Stir the mixture and let it thicken for another 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon it into a bowl to cool.

When you’re ready to make the rolls, preheat the oven to 375 and roll out the dough in a rectangle about 10 x 30 inches. Spoon the caramel apples over the dough and use your fingers to spread them evenly over the surface. Roll the dough toward you into a nice, tight roll. This is really a two person job. Pinch the seam when you get to the end. Turn the seam over so that it’s facedown against the countertop. Slice the dough into rolls 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Grease 4 round, disposable foil cake pans. Place 7 to 8 rolls in each pan, being careful not to crowd them. Set aside to rise in a warm place for 20 to 25 minutes. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they’re nice and golden brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the caramel icing. Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the brown sugar. Let it melt, then whisk in the cream. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, then remove from the heat. Sift in the powdered sugar and salt and stir until you have a smooth icing. Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately spoon a good amount of icing over the top. Use a knife to spread it evenly Over top and it will run down into all the cracks.