Celebrating the New Year and Top 12 of 2012

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It’s New Year’s Eve and while some of us will be popping bottles of expensive champagne to celebrate, the rest of us will be taking a much more affordable approach.  Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine and, in my opinion, is less dry and more delicious than your usual champagne anyway.  Mix it with a little pureed fruit or, for the lazier of us, peach nectar from a can, and you’ve got yourself what’s called a “bellini”.

Simple, delicious, bubbly.  Just like New Year’s Eve should be.

Making bellinis is super easy.  Just one part fruit juice or nectar to two parts prosecco.

Bellinis

  • 2 oz fruit juice or nectar
  • 4 oz Prosecco (the sommelier at our local grocer recommended La Marca brand)

Pour 2 oz fruit juice into champagne flute.

Add prosecco and let the bubbles mix it for you.

Drink, enjoy, pour another, drink more.

Happy New Year!

The Top 12 Posts of 2012

pds

moc

basil

ddcc

scc

peanut butter truffle brownies

gooey butter cake

chocolate peanut butter cake

smore cook

btc brownie

ccroll

if i were hosting thanksgiving… (a thanksgiving recipe roundup)

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Even though I’m working this Thanksgiving, I can’t help but plan what I would make if I were hosting this year.  So I give to you, my Thanksgiving recipe roundup.  Family, close your eyes, because this may be what you’re eating next year!  [ insert evil laugh ]

Ina’s roasted turkey breast, because we only really eat the white meat anyway.  Remember, we don’t judge here.  And I don’t need to buy a whole 20-lb turkey just to have everyone fight over the breast meat.

My favorite cranberry sauce, that I will probably make this year as well, since BF’s family eats the stuff that comes out of a can (yuck!).  No pic for the cranberry sauce, maybe an official post later.  That links to the recipe though, and that’s half the battle.

Mom’s stuffing recipe… which may be posted later… but I don’t have at the moment… it’s bread, onions, sausage, and delicious.  Lots and lots of delicious.

Traditional mashed potatoes, I don’t think we have an official “recipe”, but roasted garlic like the ones over on Annie’s Eats is always a pleasant addition to any potato recipe.

Sweet potatoes, even though I’m the only one who eats them.  And this recipe from Some Kitchen Stories looks like it might be onto something…

Serious Eats has an amazing-looking green bean casserole recipe.  I’ve never been into that whole cream-of-mushroom-soup mess so these may convert me from a hater to a lover.

For bread, I could make life easy with these easier-than-pie dinner rolls.  But don’t these olive oil fantails look much prettier?

I certainly think so.

Desserts are something that are never lacking in our house.  Ever year I make my praline pumpkin cake, which is not “too pumpkiny” (as if that’s a thing!).

I also love this caramel apple pie, which wakes up your boring traditional pie with caramel and crunch.

And… maybe even this lightest-ever-pumpkin-cheesecake that I fell in love with when I made it last year.  It’s so good.  Seriously.

And of course we can’t forget the drinks!  I don’t know about you, but a glass or two seems to help make the entire experience much more tolerable enjoyable. 🙂  Right?  And this apple cider sangria from How Sweet Eats would be the perfect balance of cider and wine (not to mention a pretty presentation).  Don’t you think?

Be sure to check out Wee Eats on Facebook for daily Thanksgiving tips and tricks!  Make sure you are subscribed to all of the Wee Eats updates, I’d hate for you to miss out!

What to do with your leftover Halloween Candy

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Sure there are a ton of things you can do with leftover candy, one of which includes just saving it for later, because IT’S CANDY. Not like it’s going bad anytime soon, right?

Or you could stash it in the freezer.  With any luck you’ll forget about it and it’ll be there waiting for you in your time of need.  I call these times “candy emergencies”,  I always have at least one piece of candy in my purse at any given point in time for this exact reason.

OR,  you could get creative, and turn your candy into a real bona-fide dessert with one of the recipes below!  (Click the picture to go to the recipe!)

Candy Corn Upside Down Cake from yours truly here at Wee Eats

Halloween Candy Dump Cake from Scarletta Bakes

Halloween Candy Bark from Brown Eyed Baker

Halloween Candy Blondies from Bake or Break

Cake Mix Cookies from My Baking Addiction

Monster Munch from Eat, Drink, Love

Melt them into Halloween Candy Hot Chocolate from The Naptime Chef

Or, just turn it into one giant candy bar with this Mega Fun-Size Bar recipe from Serious Eats

IT’S NATIONAL S’MORE DAY!

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I did enjoy (preemptively) these s’more bars and home made s’mores (toasted over our very own flat-top, electric stove) For those of you haters, I promise that this is the ULTIMATE way to perfectly brown your marshmallows!

I have only two pieces of advice:

1. Remember to open your windows and turn on your fan… marshmallows, even when toasted to a golden brown indoors, still produce smoke!

2. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THINGS HOLY – DO NOT LET THAT MARSHMALLOW DROP ONTO YOUR BURNER! I haven’t done it yet, but now I’m certain that I’ve jinxed myself and it will happen the next time I do it (so… tonight?).

For the rest of you, here are some new ways to enjoy an old classic:

I start, of course, with my very own s’more cookies  🙂 Enjoy!