Not really an eggnog drinker? Then craft yourself a home-brew for the holidays. Eric’s recipe is a great one, but feel free to substitute your own ingredients to formulate your custom crafted beverage.

Directions:

– Start by heating 1.5 gallons of water to 160°F and remove from heat.

– Place crushed specialty grains (below) into a large muslin bag and steep them in the water for 30 minutes.

8 oz. Medium Crystal
8 oz. Gambrinus Honey
6 oz. Chocolate Malt
6 oz. Black Patent
4 oz. Roasted Barley

– Remove the grains and allow excess water to drip off . Do not squeeze.

– Discard grains and then add:

8 lbs. Amber liquid malt extract

– After the extract has dissolved top up the pot to a comfortable boil volume (Ex. 3.5-4 gallons in a 5 gallon pot) and return it to the heat.

– Bring it to a rolling boil and add:
Note: When adding hops be prepared for the wort to foam up.

1 oz. Galena, Nugget, or Chinook hops

– Boil for 30 minutes and add:

1 oz. Cascade, Centennial, or Amarillo hops

– Boil for 25 minutes and add:

1 oz. Tettnang, Spalt, or Saaz hops
1 tsp Irish moss (helps produce clear beer)

– Boil for another 5 minutes.

– After boil, place:

.5 lbs. of freshly coarse ground espresso beans in a muslin bag and steep for 10 minutes.

– Remove the pot from the heat and chill as quickly as possible using either a wort chiller, ice bath, or really cold water. Once the wort has been cooled to below 80°F, pour it into the primary fermenter and top up to 5 gallons with water. Stir with a spoon for 5 minutes to aerate, take a starting gravity reading and then pitch yeast:

Wyeast 1056, WhiteLabs 001, or Safale US-05 Dry Yeast

– Take initial gravity reading using a hydrometer. Put the lid and airlock on and ferment at 62°f-72°f for primary fermentation.

– After 7-10 days or when fermentation activity stops take a gravity reading.

– After another 10-14 days take another gravity reading. Boil 5 oz. corn sugar in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes and pour into a bottling bucket. Rack the beer into the bucket and then into bottles.Rack the beer into a 5 gallon carboy with an airlock for secondary fermentation.

Bottle condition at room temperature for 14 days and enjoy.

Roasted Pheasant Directions:

Roasted Pheasant is a perfect dish to serve for those looking for an alternative to the traditional turkey.

Place your oven rack in the bottom third of the oven, then preheat that bad boy to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Fill a roasting pan with quartered onions (I used three), chopped carrots (I used six), several whole stalks of celery, as well as sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. Add 1 cup each of chicken stock and white wine. This will serve as the roasting bed for the birds.

To prepare the birds, first ensure that they’ve been allowed an hour or so out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Rinse the birds inside and out. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter per bird. mix with salt and pepper. Lift skin on breast and rub seasoned butter on the breast beneath the skin. Add one tablespoon of butter in the cavity, then add two quarters of an apple, one small spring of thyme, and one small sprig of rosemary. Cover as much of the breast as possible with thick-cut bacon. This will help keep the breast moist while the leg and thigh are cooked fully. Cover the cavity with a bay leaf. Place the birds on top of the roasted vegetables.

Roast at 400 degrees fahrenheit until the breast reaches at least 165 degrees, the thigh reaches 165 – 175 degrees, and the juices run clear. For one bird this should be 50 – 60 minutes. For two it will be 60 – 75 minutes. Remove the bacon strips for the last 15 minutes of roasting to allow the breast to brown and the skin to get crispy. Loosely tent the birds with aluminum foil while you make the gravy.

The pan juices make an incredible gravy. Make a medium-dark roux by melting 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and slowly whisking in 2 tablespoons of flour. Keep whisking until the mixture just begins to darken. Drop the heat to low. Continue whisking and add the pan juices. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Stone Fence

This is the drink that Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were sipping on the night before they took Fort Ticonderoga from the Red Coats. Traditionally topped with hard cider, this version is a little less likely to get you into a fight. The warm flavors of cider, bourbon, and bitters, make this one of my favorite drinks in the late fall and winter.

Stone Fence Directions:

Fill a glass with ice. Add an ounce and a half of bourbon and two dashes of Angostura bitters. Top off with your favorite local cider. Tuck a slice of lemon into the rim and enjoy.

Sean Kelly is nice enough to dust off his families cherished cookbook and share his Southern Pecan pie recipe. Remember this pie is made with love and has been passed down from generation to generation in the Kelly family.

Ingredients:

8-9 inch pastry shell
1C light brown sugar
1/2C white sugar
1T flour
2 eggs
2T Milk
1tsp vanilla
1/2C melted butter
1C chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Mix brown sugar, white sugar, flour.
2. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, butter.
3. Beat well.
4. Fold in pecans.
5. Pour into shell.
6. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.

My daughters and I have a holiday tradition to make the best looking and even better tasting key lime pie. The most important part of this recipe is to make sure you enjoy the time spent with family while creating this masterpiece of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter) melted
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup key lime or regular lime juice
2 whole large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime zest

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
5. Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.
6. Voila!

My husband John has three favorite breakfast foods – eggs, bacon, and waffles. So I have come up with the Breakfast Stack! A simple pile that he can take down before he heads out for the day. The stack includes a healthy spin with avocado and I add a bit of cheese for flavor. Delicious! Happy stacking!

Ingredients:

Waffle, toasted
Egg over-easy with choice of cheese
Sliced Avocado
Black Forest Pork bacon

Directions:

1. Toast Waffle.
2. Cook Egg over-easy, place on Waffle.
3. Cook Bacon stack on Egg.
4. Slice Avocado and stack on top.
5. Chow Down!

We all have friends or family members who are on specifics diets. This recipe is a tasty snack for those who are on a paleo specific diet. These paleo banana muffins are nut free, (except coconut), grain free, gluten free, dairy free, and have no added sweetener.

Ingredients:

4 bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup sunflower butter (Can substitute any nut butter. Can reduce to 1/4 cup)
4 tablespoon coconut oil (or butter)
1/4 – 1/2 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree (use more if you reduce the nut butter.)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (can substitute berries or shredded carrot.)
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Line muffin tins with foil muffin papers – (They come off easier than paper.)
3. Combine everything but the shredded coconut and chocolate chips in a food processor and process till smooth.
4. Take out the blade and stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.
5. Spoon batter into the muffin cups.
6. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven, take muffins out of pan and cool.
8. Eat like a caveman!

Enjoy this cocktail anytime of the day. It got the name from trying to figure out what to have on the raft while on fishing trips as beer is a bit tough to handle in the morning. My brother and I were on the boat one day, and it was breezy, so we came up with a new drink and titled it, The Morning Breeze. The recipe has evolved over the years with the need to look for a bit healthier (paleo safe) ingredients, so here is the current recipe:

Ingredients:

Ice
Your favorite Reposado Tequila (Silver Tequila is out.)
Bag of fresh limes
Natural Ginger Beer (Not Ginger Ale, or anything with Corn Syrup.)

Directions:

1. Pick your favorite (and appropriate) cup or glass.
2. Fill to the brim with ice (don’t cheat on the ice.)
3. Fill cup/glass half full with your favorite Reposado Tequila, (Silver Tequila is out.)
4. Using citrus squeezer, squeeze one half of a fresh lime into cup/glass.
5. Fill the rest of the cup/glass with your favorite Natural Ginger Beer.
6. Stir.
7. Garnish with slice of fresh lime.
8. Drink responsibly.
9. Rinse and Repeat.

Our favorite holiday traditions, recipes, and giving back:

Each season, following Thanksgiving, there are two items that are almost as anticipated as Santa himself, and that is the Advent Calendar and the Elf on the Shelf. My daughters, Lauren (6) and Emma (3) love hunting for the Elf each morning almost as much as I despise finding a hiding place for him each night. Our “Lego” Advent Calendars contain a little figurine behind each window that the kids get to assemble (read: Mom struggles to put the damn things together for them). To cut down on fighting, this year they each have their own calendar. I’d love to say that the Elf is a guarantee of good behavior…. more like, with constant reminders, the children’s “anticipation-of-santa-pre-holiday-behavior” is somewhat tolerable..

This year, in an effort to demonstrate the true non commercial spirit of the holiday season, we have added to the Advent Calendar a “Daily act of Kindness” that the girls try to follow through on (ok, it should be called “Almost Daily”). Something as simple as paying a compliment to someone, or something as thoughtful as sending a nice card to a relative. In addition, each year, the girls pick out a toy to donate to Toys for Tots, and we sponsor a family in need and purchase items to donate to the family.

So as you can gather, between the Lego assembly, Elf hiding, and do gooding, that does not leave much time for preparing some traditional holiday recipe that’s been handed down for generations and takes 3 days to make. In fact, it doesn’t leave time to prepare anything. That is when I call upon the area catering company for a little help. As I always say, it was home made, it just wasn’t made in my home! One simple and easy to follow recipe that I do have is for the perfect Mimosa:

A Perfect Mimosa Recipe:

Champagne
Orange Juice

Preparation:

1. Pour one full glass of champagne.
2. Add a tiny splash of OJ.
3. Enjoy!

Here are my go-to recipes for parents running short on time during the holiday season.

Bluouzo! Ingredients:

2 oz. Ouzo
A splash of Blue Curacao

Bluouzo Preparation:

1. Pick your favorite glass.
2. Fill the glass with ice.
3. Add 2 oz. of Ouzo.
4. Add a splash of Blue Curacao.

Easy Weeknight Dinner Ingredients:

Sausage
Tomato
Cannelloni beans
Polenta

Preparation:

1. Slice the polenta (the kind that comes in a tube) into 1/2 medallions, coat in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place them on a hot griddle and sear on both sides. Turn the heat down and cook slowly for about 30 minutes making sure to not burn the polenta.
2. Throw 1lb. of sausage in skillet brown and drain.
3. Add a can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes, and a can of cannelloni beans.
4. Add some chopped spinach or kale to make your wife happy.
5. Let it simmer for a bit.
6. Serve over a couple slices of Polenta, and enjoy.

Now, drink your Bluouzo. Stin Uyeia Sou!

What are dilly beans? Dilly beans are an easy to make, fun to eat snack, similar to a pickle. Dilly beans are preserved in canning jars so they can be enjoyed at a later date.

Bean Mixture:

2 Pounds trimmed green beans
4 Heads dill (or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed or 2 tablespoons fresh dill)
4 Cloves garlic
4 Small hot peppers

Vinegar Mixture:

2 ½ Cups apple cider vinegar
2 ½ Cups water
¼ Cup canning salt

Canning Process:

1. Fill a pan with water. Fill jars with water. Make sure water in pan covers top of jars. Heat to boiling and keep hot.
2. Put jar seals in pan of water and keep hot. Don’t boil.
3. Heat vinegar mixture to boiling.
4. Take one jar out of hot water at a time. Fill with beans, dill, garlic and hot pepper then vinegar mixture leaving ¼ inch head space. Insert knife to release trapped air.
5. Wipe rim of jars clean.
6. Take one jar seal out of hot water. Place on jar and screw on lid.
7. Put jars in an already boiling pot of water that will cover jars by one inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Take jars out and let set for a day before moving.
8. Best if you wait 2-3 weeks before sampling.