Recipe for a Delicious Holiday

From our table to yours, thank you for making us Better Together! Here are some of our delicious holiday recipes. 

Steven's Orecchiette with broccoli rabe and chicken sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Orecchiette
• 2 lbs. Chicken sausage
• 4 bushels of broccoli rabe
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Parmesan/ Ricotta

Directions:

1. Heat pan with olive oil, remove sausage from casing.
2. Chop broccoli rabe finely, removing most of the stems.
3. Add minced garlic to pot. Add sausage and mash until it begins to brown. Add broccoli rabe and onion powder.
4. Begin to boil water for pasta, let the meat and vegetable mixture come to a simmer. Boil pasta until ready, and then strain.
5. Add pasta to the other pot and mix together while adding olive oil. Serve with some grated parmesan or a dollop of ricotta.

Rachel’s Merry & Bright Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 orange pepper
• 2 avocados
• ⅓ red onion
• 1 cucumber
• 6 sticks of celery
• 6 whole carrots
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 can of hearts of palm
• 12 mushrooms
• 2 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 part Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1. Wash all the veggies and drain any water out of the canned vegetables and rinse them well.
2. Cut up all the vegetables into small, bite-sized pieces, (think ½ inch in size), and put into a large bowl.
3. For dressing: Using a tall cup, pour ½ cup of olive oil, then add ¼ cup of Balsamic Vinegar, then add 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard and mix quickly for 2-3 minutes or with a small blender.
4. Add the dressing to taste. (Depending on how much dressing you like, you may need to add more or less.)
5. Cover the large bowl with the amount of dressing you like on the vegetables, and place it in the fridge overnight.
6. Serve the next day and enjoy. No wilted lettuce to ruin your salad and it’s great for leftovers. Not to mention, it’s very colorful.

Dustin’s Divinity

Caveat: I have not been successful in making this, but Jeff’s mom can make it and it’s DELICIOUS! I’ll try again this year… the weather has to be ‘just so’ to make it right.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c White Karo syrup
• 1/2 c water
• 2 egg whites (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Bring sugar, syrup, and water to a boil. Boil til it spins a thread from a spoon.
2. While the mixture is boiling, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. When the syrup spins a thread pour half of the mixture very slowly into the egg whites continuing to beat at medium speed.
3. Keep beating the mixture and cook the remaining syrup til it forms a hard ball when dropped in a cup of cold water.
4. Slowly add the syrup to the egg whites. Add vanilla and chopped nuts and continue beating until it is cool enough to drop from a spoon in the shape of a ball. Pour the entire mixture into a buttered pan.

Phillip’s Sangria on the Cheap

• 750ml bottle of red wine - Three Wishes Cabernet Sauvignon is like $3 a bottle. I get mine at Whole Foods.
• ⅓ c rum - I like to use Old New Orleans Crystal rum. Approx. $13 a bottle. You can make a lot of sangria with a bottle
• 1 ½ c orange and pineapple combination juice - Simply Orange makes one such juice. If you can’t find the combination, use ¾ c orange juice and ¾ c pineapple juice
• ¾ c cranberry juice
• 3 Tbsp white or brown sugar - Whichever you already have or is cheapest
• 1 apple - not Red Delicious, because they are anything but
• 1 orange
• 1 pitcher

Directions:

1. Add the rum, sugar, and fruit juices into the pitcher and mix well.
2. Cut the apple in half. Remove the core, leaving the skin on. Cube one half and slice the other. This gives a nice variety in texture. Add to pitcher.
3. Slice the orange leaving the peel on and add to the pitcher.
4. Add the wine to the pitcher. Mix well. Taste. Add rum & sugar to liking.
5. Let sit for at least three hours for the fruit to permeate the wine. Or don’t. No one is judging you.
6. To serve, put ice in a glass then pour in the sangria, scooping out some fruit. Garnish glass with an orange slice if you’re feeling particularly festive.

Amanda’s Gin Drank

I usually mix this up by the glass, but in the spirit of the holiday, you can make a big batch and pass them around if any party needs turning up.

Ingredients:

• ice
• 1 part Gin
• 1 part juice
• 2 parts sparkling water
• ¼ lemon or lime

Directions:

1. Toss a couple ice cubes in a glass. Not too many, because that means less drank. Good gin is key, I like Hendricks or a local distillery, Venus. Pour a splash of gin in that glass. Another splash for good measure.
2. Add a some fruit juice for sweetness. I like limeade or even orange soda is delicious in this drank. Add equal parts juice & gin, or adjust to your taste.
3. Fill up the rest of the glass with your favorite sparkling water. I’m addicted to Spindrift at the moment but you do you.
4. Squeeze a big wedge of lemon into that drank to crank up the flavor profile. Lime works too, this recipe is about whatever you have on hand.
5. Stir your drank and enjoy, sip as needed when listening to Auntie tell the same story for the 20th time or while little Susie performs her beginning clarinet recital.

Beau’s Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 12 oz bag of chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside. Mix peanut butter, butter and vanilla together in a large bowl.
2. Slowly add one cup of powdered sugar to the creamy mixture, mixing well each time. By the time you get to the third cup of powdered sugar, the mixture will become very difficult to stir with a spoon. Start mixing with your hands.
3. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated into the peanut butter mixture, you can start making your balls. Simply pinch off a small amount and roll between your hands to form a small ball. Place the peanut butter balls on the prepared cookie sheet with waxed paper.
4. Once you have made all of your balls, melt your chocolate. If you dont have a double boiler, you can simply put a metal or glass bowl on top of a saucepan with about an inch of water in it. As the water in the saucepan begins to heat up, the steam will heat up your bowl and start melting your chocolate. Be sure to add the shortening to your chocolate - this will make covering your peanut butter balls with chocolate a lot easier.
5. One at a time, drop your peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate. Lift the ball out of the chocolate with a fork and then transfer it to the waxed paper.
6. Once all of your peanut butter balls are coated, put the cookie sheet in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. This will ensure the chocolate coating is completely hardened.