The June 2003 Issue of Chewin' the News from 30 Day Gourmet Freezer Cooking . . .

Hi cooks!

Can you believe it's December already? Me neither! It sure snuck up on us here in Indiana - probably because we were wearing shorts a few weeks ago.

This issue is all about keeping the "happy" in your Happy Holidays! So many of our traditions seem to revolve around food and that food is usually the responsibility of the family cook. And that family cook is probably YOU! If we can give you a few tips, a few recipes or a few laughs to help make your holiday food preparation easier, then we have succeeded.

January is a time of new beginnings and 30 Day Gourmet is no different. Next month, I'll be turning the newsletter over to Tammy. Unlike me, Tammy is great with deadlines and will get this thing out on time. I will be chiming in here and there and helping to finalize each issue but it will be her baby! Tammy has been doing this freezer cooking thing as long as I have and is an expert recipe tester! She has been monitoring our message boards for a few years now and answering lots of your questions (and lots of mine, too!). Thanks, Tammy!

I love dips as appetizers! This zesty cold dip is definitely a winner! It smells so good you just have to taste it! The ingredients are pureed, so people who normally wouldn’t eat spinach might give it a try. We like tortilla chips as dippers, but you could use crackers, French bread, bread sticks, or even carrot and celery sticks. I bet it would work great in a bread bowl too. You might even be tempted to have it for lunch, but of course we wouldn’t know anyone who would do a thing like that, do we? (Yeah, me too!)

Now this dip is definitely eaten as a meal at my house! The kids and I love it! It looks very nice layered in the pan, so would make a great party “take-along”. Just add some dippers on the side, and you’re ready to go! Again, we like tortilla chips to dip, but bread sticks would work well with this recipe. I could also see pizza veggies working too… green pepper strips, fresh mushroom slices, etc. Use your imagination, based on who you’re serving it to. Veggies and breadsticks for an office party; chips and bread sticks for a Super Bowl party.

How about a dessert dip? This creamy dip is from a book called Homespun Gifts From The Heart by Karen Ehman, a friend of Nanci’s. I haven’t seen too many recipes for dessert dips, but knew this one was perfect for this month. It’s to be served with Gingersnaps Cookies, and our Recipe of the Month is for Grandma Petrini’s Gingersnaps. Trust me when I say they go great together!

I got this candy from a neighbor a couple of years ago as a gift. We couldn’t keep our hands out of the candy jar! It’s similar to the inside of a Butterfinger candy bar. Or a softer, flaky version of peanut brittle.

If you haven’t made candy with a candy thermometer before, it’s really not that difficult. Pick up a candy thermometer (less than $5 at my Wal-Mart) and you’ll be ready to go. A candy thermometer is different from a meat thermometer in that it has a clip on the stem so you can hook it on the side of your pan. That way it can keep track of the temperature, and you can stir. The important thing is to watch the thermometer, stir and watch the thermometer some more. If the recipe says to remove the pan from the heat when the thermometer reads 300 degrees, you need to be watching closely to do that. Or you could have a burnt batch of candy that no one will eat. The thermometer can move quick too… it’s at 275 and in a few seconds it’s at 300. It’s also helpful to have all the ingredients measured out before you turn the burner on. There’s less chance of error that way. Timing can be crucial when making candy, so I wrote the Assembly Directions out that way. I hope you’ll give it a try. I think you’ll find it’s worth it!

French Toast Casserole
I think my kids would eat this every day for breakfast! They can be funny sometimes about trying new food, so I told them I was making French Toast for breakfast, and left off the “Casserole” part. They smelled it baking and came to see why it wasn’t ready yet. But they quickly decided it was worth the wait! They had seconds, and were ready to fight over the leftovers! I made it again the following week. When I said I was making French Toast for breakfast, Gabe immediately asked “French Toast or French Toast Casserole?” I asked if it mattered and he said “Yes, French Toast Casserole is better than plain French Toast!” Go figure! It’s so quick and easy to put together, you could easily mass-produce this recipe. It’s a great recipe to serve for company too!

If you need more ideas for holiday foods, don’t forget the “Holiday Freezer Cooking” ebook. It’s packed full of holiday favorites, and will help you have a hassle-free holiday… at least as far as your meals are concerned! We also have a lot of recipes on our web site… go to www.30daygourmet.com and click on the yellow Recipes button at the top. Enter the category (dessert, appetizer, etc.) of what you’re looking for, and there’s your list! You can also click on the yellow Message Boards button to check out recipes entered on the message boards by cooks like you.

Our winner for this month is Theresa D, from TX, with her recipe for Grandma Petrini’s Gingersnaps. I was intrigued by this recipe the first time I saw it because you don’t have to roll out the dough to make the cookies. That’s my baking secret… I can’t make cookies that are rolled out. I can write an eBook about desserts, I can make a cheesecake from scratch, I can make flaky pie crust, but I can’t make cookies if the dough has to be rolled out. And I have had enough bad experiences that I won’t even try a cookie recipe if I have to roll out the dough! It’s ridiculous!! My friends laugh at me. But, it’s true.

Now you know why this recipe interested me. And also because it is so versatile. Theresa said in her post on the message boards that she mixed it up like the Master Oatmeal Cookie Mix from the manual, and gave the cookie mix as gifts, with the directions for making fresh cookies attached. What a great idea! So I had to try the recipe!

The recipe did not disappoint! It was easy to make and easy to bake! Using the small Pampered Chef cookie scoop made perfect-sized cookies. Rolling the dough balls in sugar before baking helped them develop crispy edges while baking. And I really could determine how chewy or crispy the cookies were depending on how long I baked them.

I don’t think I’ve ever made gingersnaps before. (Probably because the dough had to be rolled out!) My kids decided instantly that I needed to make them more often. Gingersnaps are a new favorite at my house. Then when I tried the Pumpkin Dip recipe Nanci sent me for dipping the Gingersnaps in, oh my!!!! These two recipes definitely go together! What an unusual dessert combination to offer your guests! I guarantee they’ll be asking for seconds!

I was unable to reach Theresa by email, so we’ll have to meet her next month. Theresa, if you read this, please contact me by email at tammy@30daygourmet.com so you can claim your prize. Congratulations, Theresa!

Submit your recipe for the Recipe of the Month contest!
You too can submit a recipe for this contest! Just post it on our Cook’s Corner message boards under the appropriate recipe category. All submitted recipes are considered, as long as they include freezer directions and your email address so we can contact you. The winner receives a check for $25 or $25 worth of their favorite products from our on-line store.

Nanci's note: Maybe if I have my daughter, Becky, read this she won't be asking me to make Frozen Peanut Butter Bars once a week☺

Lauren and Steph L., we were unable to reach you by email… please contact Nanci at office@30daygourmet.com to claim your prize. To enter our contests, please post your stories on our message boards or e-mail them to me at tammy@30daygourmet.com

Do you have to thaw cookie dough before baking or not? Also, is there any cookie dough that doesn't freeze well? Thanks! Susan

You ask a good question, Susan! When I am making cookies from frozen dough, it has already been formed into the cookie shape and flash frozen. I put the dough balls on a cookie sheet and set it on top of my stove. Then I pre-heat the stove to the required temperature. When the stove beeps that it’s done pre-heating, I put the cookie sheet in and start the timer. The cookies have a few minutes to defrost while the stove is pre-heating, but that’s it. It may take a minute or two longer to bake them, but that isn’t a big deal.

As far as what cookie dough freezes well, in my experience, most of them do. I certainly don’t claim to have made every kind of cookie though. As a general rule, I would say if the dough is to be light and flaky, tender and delicate, it might not freeze as well. Depending on how much you have to handle the dough after it thaws. If it can be thawed and scooped onto a cookie sheet, it should be fine. But if it is a rolled or formed cookie, the more you have to handle it, the tougher the dough tends to get. The best advice would be to try it with part of your dough and see how it does. Most baked cookies freeze well also, as an alternative.

Also, while we’re on the subject of making cookies, we got a great tip in an email from Ann. She said:
“Find 2-3 of your favorite cookie recipes that your kids like to make. Then in Nov. while the stores have great sales on the bakery products, buy several bags of sugar, flour, M&Ms/Chocolate pieces/butterscotch pieces etc and make about 8-12 batches up with pre-measured dry ingredients grouped in bags ready to go. This is in effect your own store of "cookies in a jar". Then when you need to make some cookies for school or friends it's easy to whip up a batch because it is essentially all done except the mixing. All you have to worry about is keeping eggs and butter/margarine on hand. “

What a great idea!! This tip could be put to use all year ‘round, not just at the holidays!

Contact them or our other consultants by accessing the "Consultants" section of our site.

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Lots of our consultants and “regular” cooks are being featured in their local newspapers as word about their “unusual” cooking plan spreads. Please let us know if you are one of them! We want to add links on the site to any 30 Day Gourmet related news media. Thanks!

Our Indianapolis cooks were surprised to open their morning Star a few weeks ago and find 30 Day Gourmet recommended by columnist Ellen Miller in her "Balancing Act" column. Click here to check it out.

I received this story via email from a friend. It may have been passed around enough that you've already seen it, but I hadn't. As a parent, it really tickled my funny bone. Probably because I could see my kids doing some of the same things! I hope you enjoy it too!

Family Fun magazine is my favorite magazine for this time of year. If you don’t get their magazine (only $10 for a yearly subscription!) click here to check out their website. It’s bursting with holiday crafts for the family, recipes for gift-giving, ideas for new traditions, party-planning help, decorating fun and much more!

It’s time for those New Year’s resolutions, and everyone’s bid to have a more organized year. We’ll look at some ways to help you make that happen, and get the New Year off to a great start

Chewin'

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