Posted by: Claire Machamer, March 12, 2012 in In the Kitchen
Southern Living Test Kitchen Professional Norman King gets the scoop during the biscuit brunch he hosted for ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ bachelorette Paige Duke and her friends.
Posted by: Christy Jordan, November 8, 2011 in Featured on TV
, In the Kitchen
I just got back from the set of Great Day Houston, where I presented a Christmas segment on homemade gifts from your kitchen and fun ways to package them on a budget. The ideas were so creative and fun, with our inspiration from the fabulous Carla Beurkle, food stylist extraodinaire!
I'm excited to share them with you today. Be sure and check back soon for a clip of the show!
This is the idea I am most excited about using this year! CD Sleeves make the perfect holders for individual cookies. To make them even more attractive, we cut small pieces of scrapbook paper and slipped in behind the cookie. We bought these in a package of 50 for $5.99, making this easy packaging idea come in at around 10 cents per cookie. They fit so perfectly and are so cute, folks will never know what their original use was!
This is a great way to make a single batch of cookies and have thoughtful gifts for every person in your child's class or everyone in your office.
This is a quick snapshot of some of the setup.
In the back of the set towards the right you see large tubes. We packaged homemade Butter Pecan Granola in plastic zipper seal bags and put them down inside cardboard mailing tubes. By covering the tubes with wrapping paper we have a delicious gift for any granola lover. Once they taste that granola they WILL want to make some more, so we glued the recipe on the outside of the tube as an added bonus.
Notice our pretty pedestal platters? Each one cost less than $2.00 to make - some were even free - using thrift store finds and mismatched pieces around your house plus a little epoxy glue (my favorite is E-6000).
Lets take a closer look...
These Pecan Cranberry Cheese Wafers are presented on a teacup pedestal which is made by simply turning the teacup upside down and gluing the saucer on top.
We packaged the Pecan Cranberry cheese wafers (an updated spin on cheese straws - but requires much less effort!) by stacking them in paper towel rolls and wrapping them up with paper and ribbons in the style of British firecrackers. (Recipes at the bottom of this post)
This is a simple tin tray glued to a glass candlestick from the $1 store.
Here we took a Christmas plate found in a thrift store and glued it to another $1 glass candlestick to make this great cake sized pedestal which we displayed peppermint bark on. This would make a great hostess gift to a holiday party.
This is one of my personal favorites! A mismatched green glass bowl that was ready for a yard sale is paired with a dollar store candlestick to create a beautiful pedestal bowl for your holiday buffet!
Each of the recipes featured in my segment are below.
For more great gift recipe ideas click here and be sure and pick up a copy of the December issue of Southern Living!
Preheat oven to 325. Stir together butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Add oats, pecans, wheat germ, sesame seeds, an stir until mixture is evenly coated. Spread oat mixture out on a lightly greased 10x15 jelly roll pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toasted, stirring every ten minutes. Spread baked granola onto wax paper and cool completely (about thirty minutes). Stir in dried dates.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze up to six months.
Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Cool completely (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, soak cranberries in boiling water to cover 15 minutes; drain and pat dry with paper towels.
Beat butter and next 3 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended. Gradually add flour, beating just until combined. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Shape dough into 4 (12-inch-long) logs; wrap each log in plastic wrap. Chill 8 hours to 3 days. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
Line 1 (15- x 10-inch) jelly-roll pan with parchment paper; grease with butter. Microwave milk chocolate morsels in a large bowl at HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 45-second intervals. Gently stir in cookie pieces, pretzel sticks, and 3/4 cup coarsely chopped candies. Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup coarsely chopped candies. Let stand until firm (about 6 hours). Break or cut into pieces. Store in a cool place up to 3 days.
Note: We tested with Oreo Double Delight Mint 'N Creme Cookies. Do not freeze bark. Freezing will cause a powdery white coating called bloom.
Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well (dough will be sticky). Stir in chopped pecans, if desired. Dust hands with powdered sugar, and shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Coat balls with powdered sugar, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until done; remove to wire racks to cool. *Can change flavor of cookies by changing flavor of cake mix used.
After I changed into what I refer to as my "airport clothes" I remembered the most important picture of all, one of myself with my hosts!
Special thanks to the Emmy Award Winning Producer Don Geraci and host of Great Day Houston, Deborah Duncan for having me on the show! We had a great time and it was a thrill to be able to spend time on the Great Day Houston set again!
I prefer to eat my crow warm, so here goes. For the last few years I've been a big ol' pressure cooker naysayer—I just couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Plus, they're just so dangerous. All that bad mojo changed Monday night when I test-drove the new Fagor Duo pressure cooker. I was 100% wrong about all my preconceived, negative pressure cooker notions. I've now seen the light. I've seen the value. I'm hooked. (That chewing sound is me taking another bite of my crow sandwich.)
Posted by: Donna Florio, November 23, 2009 in In the Kitchen
I went to visit my mother, Clementa "Ment" Florio, when I was in Charleston. At 96, she still loves to cook, and was just pulling a pound cake out of the oven when I arrived. She tries different cake recipes she finds, but my sister has convinced her she's found a really good recipe and should stick with it, so she has. . .for now. I don't have a copy of her recipe, but, here's one of our staff'favorites. It's perfect for the holidays or anytime. You can bake it now, wrap it tightly in foil, put it in a freezer bag, and it will keep for several months.
Posted by: Rebecca Gordon, September 29, 2009 in In the Kitchen
I'm thrilled to announce the launch of a new Southern Living column, the Half-Hour Hostess, starting with the October issue. Each month, we'll provide quick and tasty recipes to help pull together any occasion you may be celebrating.
Take a look at some of my favorite ways to keep your get together real:
Posted by: Vanessa McNeil, September 29, 2009 in Ask the Test Kitchen
, In the Kitchen
Working at Southern Living for almost 20 years, yes I said 20 years, I finally feel like I can make my son's birthday cake. I tackled this great quest by making a 3 layer vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. I made 45 fondant Legos. It only took 3 days to make those bright Legos. I was so proud of my self and my son was proud too. There was nothing left but smiles on their faces Now I am making cakes for my friends and have lost the fear of baking a birthday cake. Check it out. Read More
Posted by: Vanessa McNeil, September 29, 2009 in In the Kitchen
Working at Southern Living for almost 20 years, yes I said 20 years, I finally feel like I can make my son's birthday cake. I tackled this great quest by making a 3 layer vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. I made 45 fondant Legos. It only took 3 days to make those bright Legos. I was so proud of my self and my son was proud too. There was nothing left but smiles on their faces Now I am making cakes for my friends and have lost the fear of baking a birthday cake. Check it out. Read More
Posted by: Marian Cairns, September 9, 2009 in In the Kitchen
I use to carry a secret as I walked the halls here at Southern Living. I don't really like cornbread, I know absolutely shocking! A member of the THE test kitchen that doesn't like cornbread?!?!?! It took a culinary epiphany to realize why, I have been doing it all wrong. I felt like Micheal Keaton in the movie Mr. Mom. He's in the car pool line for the first time and there's a knock at the window by an angry patrol mom........"SIR, SIR YOUR DOING IT WRONG hello sirrrrrrrrr your doing it wrong," as she bangs recklessly on the woody station wagon window (he is entering the car pool line clearly going in the wrong direction) O-M-G! I was totally him, behind the wheel of some pitiful quick bread.
Posted by: Marian Cairns, August 28, 2009 in In the Kitchen
Want a quick peak into the Southern Living Test Kitchen this week: It's Christmas in August!!!! I am working on our new super-fantastic double issue for this December. The special foods section will include our top pick for Christmas cookies. With help from our new intern Alison, we (actually she did ALL the work) sliced and baked our way through at least 5 pounds of butter and countless cups of sugar and flour to produce beautiful cookies for the photo shoot. The cookies themselves are so buttery and tender with the right level of sweetness y'all are are guaranteed to lov'em. The only thing I am missing is that glass of milk....now were did i put it?Read More