Snowballs

The kids finally got a chance to play outside in the snow today.

While the rest of the East Coast was buried under a foot or more of snow, we managed just 3 inches. But it was enough to make snow forts and have snowball fights.

And when everyone came inside to warm up, we made more snowballs. But this time we made them out of soap, to give to the teachers at school as Christmas gifts.

"Snow"balls

4 bars Ivory soap, grated on a cheese grater or in a food processor

1/2 cup warm water

Drizzle water over soap and mix until it becomes a clay-like mass. Shape into balls. Set on a baking tray to dry. Package in holiday wrapping.

Better than Betty

I think it was 8-year-old Diana who first said my cooking was "Better than Betty Crocker." It's since become the standard compliment if they like the dinner I make.

If they only knew that sometimes I cheat off Betty.

I hate to bake. It's far too much of an exact science, and I'm much more of a "Oooooo, think I'll throw in a little of that" kind of a cook. But when I was growing up, Mom always made batches and batches of Christmas cookies, and I want these kids to have the same. So I compromise, using Betty's mix as the base for all kinds of cookies. Each of these recipes starts with a bag of sugar cookie mix, prepared according to package directions (unless otherwise noted) and baked at 375 F. for 9 to 11 minutes.

White Chocolate Pistachio

Add to the mix:

1/2 bag of white chocolate chips

An equal amount of shelled pistachios.

Form into a ball or drop on cookie sheet and bake.

Mint Chocolate Almond

Add to the mix:

1/2 bag mint chocolate chips

An equal amount of chopped almonds

Form into a ball or drop on cookie sheet and bake.

Almond delight

Add to the mix:

1/2 tsp. almond extract (or to taste)

Form into a ball and place on cookie sheet.

Press 1 almond into the top of each cookie and bake.

Make a glaze with

2 T milk

1 cup powdered sugar

almond extract to taste

Drizzle over cookies after cooled

Lemon chocolate

Add to the mix

1/2 tsp. lemon extract (or to taste)

Form into a small log and place on cookie sheet and bake.

While still warm, top with 3-4 semi-sweet chocolate chips. Return to oven for 30 seconds. Use knife to spread chocolate over top of cookie.

Cream cheese and jelly thumbprints

Eliminate butter from cookie dough mix and add 1/2 cup cream cheese (I used whipped because that's what I had in the 'fridge)

Form into a ball and push a thumbprint into the top of each. Fill thumbprint with jam or jelly (I like seedless raspberry) and bake.

Make a glaze with

2 T milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Vanilla extract to taste

Drizzle over cookies

Mmmmmmmm mushrooms!

Once upon a time, green olives were my pizza topping of choice. But for complicated reasons, I had to switch favorites, so I tried their sauteed mushrooms and was immediately hooked. I've since moved away, but when I visited yesterday I stopped by for a slice. And while chatting with the new pizza guy, he told me the secret behind the mushrooms, which they make in the restaurant's Newport News kitchen every day. In fact, they are so good that the pizza guy said he puts them on everything he makes for himself.

I'm going to tinker with the recipe a bit, I think. But here's the basics:

Mushrooms (pizza guy said they slice theirs in quarters so they are nice and thick)

Butter

Dry red wine

Oregano

Salt, to taste

Melt the butter and add the quartered mushrooms. Sautee slowly over low heat until brown. Add wine, stir, and let continue to simmer over low until liquid is cooked into the mushrooms. Season with oregano, salt and pepper.

Inside-out Pizza

Every other Saturday here is movie night. Part of the fun is the mystery of the movie: Scott and I pick it, and it's a secret until the house lights go down and the screen lights go up. So far we've seen everything from classics like "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Dark Crystal" to new movies like "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Up."

But the other part of the fun is the special dinner and/or drinks we have in front of the TV, which is also a mystery until movie time.

Last week the mystery dinner was Inside-Out pizza, deemed by the kids as good a delivery from Papa John's. And at $2.50 a serving (vs. a minimum of $5.50 a serving for delivery), it was a hit with mom and dad too. And best yet, you can fill it with your favorite toppings.

Inside-Out Pizza

Dough

You can either use prepared pizza dough available in the refrigerator section of many grocery stores, or make your own:

1 2/3 cups to 2 1/4 cups flour

1 package yeast (Fleichman's has a pizza yeast, and I used that. But any yeast would do)

1 T sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 T olive oil

1 cup warm water

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix together 1 cup flour and the rest of the ingredients. Add remaining flour until dough forms a ball. Remove from mixer and kneed until smooth, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and let sit 10 minutes.

Stretch/roll dough to form a rectangle that's about 12"x8"

Spread toppings to within an inch of dough.

Working from long end, roll dough slowly. Pinch seam together and tuck and pinch ends.

Let sit 10 minutes.

1 egg

1 T water

Whisk together and brush over top of bread

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake until bread is cooked through and golden on top, about 20 minutes.

Slice into 1" pieces and serve with bottled pizza sauce (for dipping)

Topping suggestions:

-- Pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage (remove from casings, break up while cooking through), mozzarella and Parmesan

-- Mozzarella and Parmesan (for the kids who like their pizza plain).

-- Mushrooms (saute in butter, cool completely); chopped spinach (1 box frozen, thawed and squeezed throughly dry), mozzarella, feta or goat cheese (optional)

-- Deli ham, salami and cheese (Swiss, American or mozzarella).

-- Your favorites!

Another Thanksgiving sauce

I've never been big on cranberry sauce. Truth is, I never really tried it. I think the wiggling cylinder of red good in a bowl on my grandmother's table scared me when I was young (heck, my grandmother scared me, which is probably more to the root of why I never had it). But here, everyone craves the stuff. So I decided to try something new for everyone and actually make the sauce from fresh berries. When one of the kids saw it bubbling on the stove, she was surprised it was possible to actually make cranberry sauce. What did she think? That the cans grew on trees??

Here's a basic recipe:

1 bag of cranberries

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring everything to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until berries pop and sauce thickens, about an hour.

However I decided that if I was going to go to all the trouble, I would add extra layers of flavor to my sauce. So here's what I did:

1 bag of cranberries

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

3/4 cup orange juice

2 T water or rum

1 cinnamon stick

Bring everything to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until berries pop and sauce thickens, about an hour. Remove cinnamon stick.

Thanksgiving apple sauce

When some people hear I make my own apple sauce, they look at me with the one raised eyebrow that says: isn't that the stuff that you buy in a jar at the Giant?

But anyone who has had homemade applesauce knows it's as different from the bottled stuff as pizza is from Pizza Hut. Sure, there is a similarity. But where as the store bought stuff tends to be shallow and runny, sauce made from fresh apples is rich and thick. And if you're going to be home and can stir the pot from time to time, it's one of the easiest recipes out there.

P.S. -- the apple sauce keeps in the fridge for about a week, so it's one you can make ahead. But I do like it served warm, which you can accomplish with a quick zap in the microwave.

1 bag apples (your choice. The sweeter the apple you use, the less sugar you need)

1 T butter

Sugar, to taste (see Note)

Splash of lemon juice

Cinnamon, to taste

Nutmeg, to taste

Dash of salt

Peel and dice apples. Put in a saucepan set over medium and add butter. Stir regularly until apples begin to break down and release their juice. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and continue cooking until apples are almost completely broken down. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (I typically use about twice as much cinnamon as nutmeg).

At this point you can either use an immersion blender to make a smooth sauce, or leave the chunks that remain to make a chunky sauce. I let my mood be my guide on that one.

Note: I typically use golden delicious apples and find they don't need any added sugar. But a more tart apple like granny smith will need some.

Thanksgiving starts early here

Sometimes, you have to ignore the calendar. Like when old friends and new family visit, giving you an opportunity to give thanks five days before the calendar tells you to. Which is why this year we had our first Thanksgiving on Saturday.

My soon-to-be Mother In Law and Sister In Law made these mashed potatoes (from a recipe by the J.M. Smucker Co. and found in the newspaper) for our turkey feast. And while I usual prefer my potatoes to resemble potatoes and not shredded paper before they are cooked, the add ins here make this a rich and flavorful alternative to my traditional mashed potatoes.

P.S. -- since this is arguably one of the biggest cooking weeks of the year, I'll be posting a collection of Thanksgiving recipes all week.

Make-Ahead Party Mashed Potatoes

(serves 20)

7 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 tsp. garlic salt

2 tsp onion salt

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, cubed and softened

1 12-oz. can evaporated milk

1 16-oz. container sour cream

1 15-oz. package instant mashed potatoes (9 cups)

cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 13x9" baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large sauce pan, bring water, butter and salts to a boil. Remove from heat and add cream cheese, evaporated milk and sour cream. Stir until cream cheese is dissolved.

Add potato flakes and stir until combine. Spread mixture in prepared pan. Bake until golden and bubbling around the edges. Top with crumbled bacon.