{Photo credit: Martha Stewart}
Have no clue what to make for your New Year Party? How about making this pie? I love making savory pie and this is an easy, quiche-like pie that I prepared for our Christmas. The colorful peppers and spring onions make this pie look really festive and Christmassy. This pie can also be made into bite size appetizer using mini-tart pan. Don’t worries about making it look perfect as this pie is supposed to be rustic looking ;)
1. Removed sausages from it casing. Heat up a frying pan and cook the sausages until lightly brown. Add in the leeks. Continue to cook until the leeks are lightly brown. Dish out and set aside.
Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year! A year full with peace, joy, health and wealth.
Every small town has the townie bar, right? The Downtowner is a ton of fun and you can buy a round of drinks for a group of people for around $10. Can't beat that.
A view of Main Street and the grain bins.
We brought my kitty along, he liked this spot under the tree so we started calling him our little Christmas kitty.
I failed to take a lot of food pictures and focused more on eating a lot of it. Sigh. That New Year's resolution to lose a few pounds is definitely in effect. Upper left photo, Erik had a great 3 egg omelet at the restaurant in town called Reubens. Lower left photo, Christmas dinner consisted of prime rib, lobster tails, baked rice, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, cheesecake, I could go on but the memory of that is bringing on a lot of guilt. Right photo, you can't celebrate the holidays without a festive sparkling cocktail (sparkling wine and pomegranate juice).
The midwest was slammed by a huge snowstorm on Christmas Eve Day. It made driving to North Dakota quite a treat. But seriously, the aftermath was beautiful, so pristine and peaceful whiteness everywhere. 
This is another Chinese American classic dish here in United State. I am not sure how the name of this dish come about as neither the ingredients nor preparation methods applied have anything in common with traditional Mongolian Cuisine. Mongolian beef consists of sliced beef coated with dark sweet sauce. The best part of this dish is you can tailor it to to suit your taste and you can even add some vegetables to it. I cut back on the sugar as I always find the one serve at the restaurant too sweet for my liking.
1. Sliced beef across the grain into thin strips. Marinate it with 2 tbsp of soy sauce and dash of pepper for 30 minutes. Mix the sauce ingredients together and set it aside.
I am sure you are eager to know the results of the Christmas Giveaway. I really appreciate your participation and kind comments as I never knew there are so many people reading my blog. It is really fun reading all your kind comments.
Here’s an easy Chocolate Truffles that we love and I know you will too. These bite size handmade truffles are rich, elegant and stylish. They are great as holiday gifts or even for parties. Instead of picking up a box of chocolate from the chocolate shop why not make it yourself. They are simply delicious and surprisingly easy to make. You can add any flavors to the chocolate from citrus peel, coffee, spices, vanilla or liqueur. While cocoa powder is the traditional used for coating, these truffles can also be coated in confectioners’ sugar, toasted and chopped nuts, shredded coconut or even shaved chocolate.
1. Over medium heat brings the cream to a boil to boil. . Immediately pour hot cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth.
{Photo credit: Breakfast and Brunch Recipes}
{Photo credits: Real Simple, EZ Chef, Martha Stewart, Pottery Barn, Reader’s Digest}
Is Christmas time again and it is time to do some baking. I didn't bake much this year. Just 4 types of cookies for our cookies swap. I baked my usual Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Cookies , Pineapple Tarts , Russian Tea Cakes and this Strawberry Nut Pinwheels. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Home Best Holiday Cookies magazine.
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
{Photo credit: Martha Stewart}
The weather is so cold this week and we are expecting a snow storm this Saturday. I am finding ways to keep myself warm and the best thing to do is to crank up the oven. I baked some Christmas cookies for our cookies swap and also this Apple cake for my neighbor Nancy’s birthday. I’ve baked so many apple cakes but in my humble opinion this is one of the best apple cakes. This cake is soft, moist, and full of apple flavor. I especially like the crunchy sweet cinnamon apple topping.
1. Prepare an 8” baking pan, greased well and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.
Have you participate in the Christmas Giveaway yet? If not you can still do it here . Closing date 23rd December 2009. 
{Photo credit: The Kitchn}
If you have a favorite champagne, sparkling wine or champagne cocktail, please share it with me! Send me an email to eatdrinkpretty at gmail dot com.
I will be posting over the holidays so please check back!
Is the holiday season again and while you are shopping for your loved ones it is time for some Christmas giveaway here at My Kitchen Snippets. I am giving away 3 fabulous baking books for three lucky readers.
The third winner will get Cake Galore by Valerie Barrett. Plenty of cake recipes in this book with categories like Grandma’s Favorites, Afternoon Tea, Special Occasion Cakes, Healthy and Special Diet Cakes, etc.
These mock cosmopolitans were made with 100% cranberry juice and were a little too tart for my taste. I will probably add some symple syrup (equal parts water and sugar and boil until the sugar melts) when I make these. They are a perfect cocktail (or mocktail) for any upcoming holiday party.
Making cranberry sauce is so much easier than I thought. I always think of my sister, Kat, when I think of cranberries. She is the only one at Thanksgiving that really cares about cranberry sauce and loves it, even right out of the can. I will definitely make this homemade sauce for her next year.
Homemade scones! I'm not sure it gets much better than a warm scone right out of the oven. They were surprisingly easy to make and cranberries can be substituted for almost any fruit or even ham, cheddar and chives if you want a savory scone.
This salad was amazing, and easy! It was the perfect sweet and savory combination with the dried cranberries, cranberry vinaigrette and gorgonzola.___________________________________________
Spinach salad with gorgonzola and cranberry vinaigrette
Ingredients
¼ cup each cranberries and balsamic vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon each sugar, Dijon mustard and chopped onion
12 cups baby spinach
4 slices pumpernickel bread, cubed and toasted
1 cup each gorgonzola, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries (we used dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice)
Directions
In a food processor, combine cranberries, vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard and onion and pulse to puree. Slowly drizzle in oil until it forms a smooth emulsion. Add dressing to the bottom of a large mixing bowl and add dried cranberries and walnuts. Toss to coat. Serve topped with gorgonzola. Serves 6-8.
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Cranberry scones
Ingredients
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Zest of two lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) chilled butter, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
½ - 1 cup half and half
Direction
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon zest. Add in chilled butter and mash with your fingertips to form a mixture that looks like bread crumbs. Mix in cranberries. Add 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, then add half and half until a soft dough forms. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a six inch disk and cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. Arrange on a cookie sheet and brush with remaining lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 18 minutes or until nicely browned. Makes 12 scones.
