Limoncello

David and I decided to do something "homemade" for gifts this year for some our friends and family. We started in in September when we got back from Michigan...

LIMONCELLO!!!

Oh my lemony goodness!

Lemons from our tree, Vodka from bottles and some simple syrup.... oh my!

mmmm.... worth the effort and the wait.

Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark... mmmm... you know the stuff.

Dark chocolate, white chocolate, peppermint.... yummy.

But not at the prices you see it at... like here. Crazy.

So what do I do? I made my own. So easy. 2 bags of dark chocolate chips, 2 bags of white chocolate chips, peppermint oil, some vegetable oil, and peppermint candies.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or foil and spray with pam.

Put the dark chocolate chips, 1 tsp oil per 8 oz chips, 1/4 tsp peppermint oil per 8 oz chips in a double boiler to melt.

(or two pots on top of each other)

Once melted, pour into cookie sheet as evenly as possible. Put in fridge for 1 hr.

While it's in the fridge, crush the peppermint candy.

Then when near the hour mark, start melting the white chocolate, same way you did the dark with the same amount so oil and peppermint oil.

Pull the dark chocolate out of the fridge. I put some paper towels on top to gather any moisture that gathered. You don't want any since it will keep the layers from sealing.

Let the white chocolate cool a little bit then pour over dark chocolate, smooth out a bit. Sprinkle the peppermint candy on the top. Put back in the fridge for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, you can break it up and bag it (or eat it). Keep it in the fridge since it isn't tempered. So yummy and MUCH cheaper. 

Sorry, no after pictures, we gave most of it out as gifts and ate the rest :)

Dolmades! Oopa!

I love to cook. And I love to try to cook things I've only ever eatten out at a restaurant or elsewhere. This past weekend I decided to try my hand at Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves).

I have been wanting to try them for a while but have been looking for a good recipe. This wasn't something where I just wanted to use Martha Stewart's recipe, I wanted a "grandma's" recipe. And I found one, or a YaiYai as the recipe said.

So I ground the meat, onion, one egg, lemon juice, mint, dill and parsley and added in rice.

It smelled MUCH better than it looked.

Then I boiled the grape leaves for a while to take out the vinegar taste from the jar.

Then as Christopher watched from his highchair eating dinner, I assembled.

The naked grape leaf.

With filling:

Roll the top down (with steam in)

Fold the sides in:

And roll up and I have a dolmades!

Many!

Then line in a pan with some chicken broth. I put plates on them to stop them from floating and unwrapping.

And... that's it for photos. They cook for two hours and it was late. They went in the fridge and I made a sauce for them the next day at Grandma and Grandpa's for Father's Day. They were a hit. I have a few things I'd change next time, but I'm told they were good.