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Merry Christmas! Once again we had our Annual Christmas Cook Off – This tradition started out as a fun way to get everyone’s involvement in meal preparation when we rented a cottage near Traverse City, MI, between Christmas and New Years a few years back. Throw in some prize money and everyone loved the idea.

‘This years cook off had each couple prepare three dishes, typically an appetizer, entrée and a dessert, but not required. We kicked it up a notch this year and added a theme/specialty drink from each of the teams. After all the dishes are prepared (sort of, some still in preparation) each type of dish would be presented by all the teams to the other participants and voted on for taste/aroma and appearance/presentation. Leigh’s mom (Grandma) did not participate in the preparation, but was a highly sought after vote in the competition.

The voting was done after all dishes and drinks were tasted. We have a slightly over complicated score sheet, that is then entered into a spreadsheet and tabulated to determine the winner for each category and the overall winner. This year, it was yet another close competition with the difference in scoring being less than five points between 1st place and 4th.

Enough talk… here are some pictures of the dishes and all of us enjoying Christmas Eve 2018 together.

The Teams

The Appetizer Round!

N&L – Empanada with Chorizo & Potato – 1st Place Appetizer!
T&E – Pupusitas
J&A – Roasted Red Pepper & Pesto Hummus & Tirokafteri (Greek Feta Cheese Dip)
T&L – Tarte Flambee

The Entrée Round

J&A – Home Ravioli & Marinara Sauce – 1st Place Entrée
T&L – Boeuf (Beef) Bourguignon
N&L – Bistec Con Pimient (Peppered Beef), Tortellini w/Manchego Cream Sauce
T&E – Chiles Rellenos

Dessert Time!

T&L – Crème Brûlée – 1st Place Dessert!
J&A – Croatian Flan – w/ Raspberry Sauce
N&L – Quesada Pasiega w/ Pistachio Brittle & Pomegranate Bourbon Drizzle!
T&E – Cuban Sandwich, Deconstructed & Assembled atop Focaccia (Oops, not a dessert, but very delicious!)

Specialty Theme Drink!

N&L – Pomegranate Bourbon Sangria, 1st Place Specialty Drink!
T&E – Crema de Vie! (Cuban Egg Nog)
T&L – Kir Royal
J&A – Spiked Italian Soda

We hope that you enjoyed this post and we will be sharing some of these recipes in the weeks and months to come. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As a child I watched my mom make peanut brittle every year around Christmas time. She had made peanut brittle so many times that she didn’t even pull out the recipe. As an adult I asked for the recipe and it was pretty straight forward, but you had to figure out what she meant when she said use about a walnut size chunk of butter (2 Tbsp.). This has become a highly requested treat from my seven siblings, who also fondly remember this holiday treat.

Ingredients:

½ cup hot water
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light Karo Syrup
1 ½ cups Spanish peanuts
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
2 Tbs. butter

Directions:

Bring hot water, sugar and Karo Syrup to a boil.
Heat to 300 degrees (hard crack) on candy thermometer or until stringy like hair.

Add peanuts and cook for a minute for color. Do not overcook/burn.

Remove from heat. Add baking soda and butter. Mixture will become foamy.

***Peanuts, Soda & Butter All Mixed In***

Pour onto cookie sheet and spread it out by carefully tilting the pan so that it fills out the baking sheet. Don’t stir or spread with a spoon/spatula, it will release the air pockets inside which help to make the peanut brittle light and airy.
Flash cool, if you can’t get it in your freezer/fridge, just let it cool to room temperature on the counter.

***Peanut Brittle Poured onto Baking Sheet***

Break the peanut brittle into bite-sized pieces. Try not to eat too much during this process.

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