12 Days of Christmas: 2 Turtle Doves Cocktail

Photo by Kristen Finn

On the Second Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2 Turtle Doves 
From the Capital Cooking Cookbook

1 shot 360 vodka
1 oz coconut cream
1 oz half and half
1/4 oz creme de cacao
Rimming: shaved white chocolate rim

Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Rim the glass with the shaved white chocolate. Strain liquor into the martini glass. Perfect for any holiday party.

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Book Review: Eat Clean Cookbook

Initial Thoughts:

Photos:  Beautiful photography throughout the book.

Recipes:  The recipes use a lot of ingredients that I don't typically cook with such as kefir, flaxseeds, Sucanat, rapadura sugar, wheat germ, spelt, kamut, etc.

The Eat Clean Cookbook by Tosca Reno is full of healthy recipes.  I'm more of a fan of moderation rather than completely changing the recipes and ingredients, but maybe that will change when I have children.  My friend Kitty does cook with these types of ingredients and loves it.  Some of the recipes that sounded really good were the eat clean egg strata and the pear and black walnut salad with fig vinegar.  I would even use the J.D. Gourmet Fig Balsamic Vinegar for the dressing.  There are also some cool sections about things like coconuts where Tosca explains why they are healthy and gives tips to use them.  If you are into healthy cooking, this book would be a great choice.  Perfect for a holiday gift.

The Festival Was Filled with Spirits, Including my Pumpkin Pie Shooter

Crowds filled the beautiful Atrium Ballroom at the Ronald Reagan Building for the Washington D.C. International Wine and Food Festival's Spirit of the Festival.   Each team will provided a food and cocktail pairing for guests to sample. 

I made my Pumpkin Pie Shooter for the guests to try. 

Photos by Emily Clack

Easy Dessert: Chocolate-Hazelnut and Banana Rolls

1 tube of refrigerated crescent rolls

Nocciolata chocolate hazelnut spread

1 banana

Powdered Sugar

  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Unroll the crescent rolls per package instructions.  Put a dollop of Nocciolata chocolate hazelnut spread in the middle and add a slice of banana.  Wrap the banana and Nocciolata in the pastry dough pinching the edges together.  Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar and serve.  So easy and so good!

I recently discovered  Rigoni di Asiago's Nocciolata chocolate hazelnut spread and I'm in love.  

 

Nocciolata, “The Healthier Nutella” is 100% natural and made only of organic raw materials without the use of chemical processes and do not contain artificial flavors, which could alter its taste. Soft and scented with the flavor of Italian hazelnuts, Nocciolata contains 15% more hazelnut than Nutella, the household name brand in America.   Made with organically produced ingredients, carefully selected and measured, and skillfully combined to create the perfect, creamy consistency, Nocciolata can be enjoyed as a spread on bread, an accompaniment to cakes, crepes or ice cream; and is even used by creative cooks in cooking and baking.