Over my Christmas break, I did A LOT of cooking and baking! I had so much fun, and there are pictures of some of them below. I made sugar cookies, inside-out peanut butter blossoms, and gingerbread (on top of the no-bake and chocolate chip cookies my sister made). My family and I used the gingerbread to make homemade gingerbread houses (that were actually good to eat and didn’t taste like cardboard). My grandma and I also made hot chocolate bombs and homemade marshmallows which was a lot of fun and they tasted great! I also tried my hand at a Yule log because that sounded fun. I tried making macarons for the first time which was a complete fail, but you can’t win ’em all. Mark my words, I will be trying again! My dad and I made homemade fish and chips (he didn’t think my fry batter was going to work, but I proved him wrong). I also made lasagna stuffed shells, Jamaican beef patties with rice and peas, Philly cheesesteaks, my favorite potato soup and cheese straws, homemade pizza, spanakopita and felafel, tamales, paella, creme brulee, lemon posset, and several meat and cheese boards. I think that was everything, but I could have forgotten something… I hardly left the kitchen.
We decorated the sides before sticking them together which made it much easier for everyone to decorate!
My Yule log was an orange-flavored sponge, cranberry jam, whipped cream, chocolate ganache, and milk chocolate shards. I also made meringue mushrooms and green-colored sponge for moss.I cut out somewhere around 50 sugar cookies and made 7 different colors of royal icing (because I accidentally made a quadruple batch instead of a double batch…). I had some people over and we decorated them all, but mine are pictured above. You might notice my ginger man, not to be confused with a gingerBREAD man.My grandma and I made a bunch of hot chocolate bombs and filled them with all kinds of different things: marshmallows, candy cane pieces, cinnamon candies, sprinkles, Junior Mints, caramels, etc. We decorated the tops to represent what was inside, but I think the tiny snowman is my favorite!
Pictured, in order: Chicken tamales, paella, spanakopita bites and felafel, potato soup & cheese straws, Jamaican beef patties & rice and peas.
My new job is at a wine bar that serves a bunch of shared dishes including flatbreads, baked brie, whipped feta, and different boards. I love building the boards because I get to be creative in how I arrange them, so I made a few boards over break. One for dinner one night, one for the sugar cookie decorating, and one for a dinner party.
Elaine
Hi, I'm Elaine!
Welcome to my food blog; I am a Montanan, an Eagle Scout, and lover of all things food. I love to cook and bake, as well as share my creations with others.
