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- 12/12/2016
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An Advent Calendar - 12. Door#12 - The Gingerbread House
The Gingerbread House
I purchased my first house seven years ago. It was the fulfillment of a dream I had for a long time, but could never afford. Getting a new job with a steady paycheck had allowed me to save enough money, along with a generous gift from my parents, to make a down payment on a house. After spending months looking at dozens of houses, I started to despair that I would never find anything in my price range that fit my specifications. My standards weren’t high—I wanted something that didn’t require a lot of work, since there wasn’t any room in my budget for anything other than cosmetic changes.
One day, I did an online search for real estate listings in my town and saw a new listing. The price was well within my range and the description seemed too good to be true. I immediately called my real estate agent, and she arranged for me to see the house. I was lucky enough to be the first person to see it. I was immediately drawn to the little house. The front of it was covered in dark brown shaker shingles, and the three bedroom cape had some personality to it. There was a recessed shelf built into the downstairs bedroom, and a custom cabinet in the dining room made to fit into an awkward corner.
It was structurally sound, despite having had some issues with the basement in the past, with a relatively new roof and updated electric work. The interior hadn’t been redecorated since the ‘70s, but I didn’t care about that, since I was planning on redecorating to my taste anyway. It was a bargain for the asking price, and I actually got it for slightly less. My dream of home ownership had come true!
After spending a couple of months painting and redecorating, I officially moved in to what I had dubbed my “Gingerbread House” during the month of December. The perfect way to celebrate was to have a Christmas party for my close friends. I made my favorites: roasted prime rib, shaved Brussels sprouts with bacon, mashed cauliflower, French onion soup, and salad. My favorite Christmas cookies were for dessert. Honey ginger cookies.
I’d like to share the recipes I made and hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.
French Onion Soup
Slice several onions into thin strips and sauté in some butter. Add some fresh garlic, salt and pepper to taste, then add to a stockpot with about six cups of beef broth. You can add fresh thyme or a bay leaf to add additional flavor. Simmer for about 30-45 mins, then place soup into individual ramekins and top with cheese of your choice. I used mozzarella, but have seen recipes that use gruyere. Place under broiler to melt cheese until brown and bubbly before serving. Some people add bread before they add the cheese, but I avoid the extra carbs so left it out.
Prime Rib Rub
I’ll just give the recipe or ingredients that I used for the rub. I don’t remember the size of the roast I got, but it’s easy enough to find the temperature and cook time guidelines online.
I combined fresh minced garlic, olive oil, fresh thyme, ground black pepper, and salt with olive oil and slathered it all over the top of the roast, then cooked it according to directions—using a high temperature at first to sear it, then a lower temp to cook it rare.
Brussels Sprouts
There’s no real recipe to follow. It’s a family dish that we make every holiday, and I just add ingredients according to taste. If you’re vegetarian or *gasp* don’t like bacon, then just omit it. It tastes perfectly fine without it.
Dice an onion and sauté either in butter or with the bacon.
Add shaved Brussels sprouts and cook to desired tenderness
Toast some chopped pecans, then add when Brussels sprouts are almost done
Enjoy! Even sprout haters love this dish.
Mashed Cauliflower
Again, this is my own concoction, rather than an actual recipe. It works fine with either fresh or frozen cauliflower.
Cook cauliflower ‘til it’s very tender.
Drain and let sit in colander for several mins to allow excess water to drain. Too much water means runny mash.
Mash with either a stick blender or hand masher.
Add butter, a little milk or cream, your grated cheese of choice (I like mild cheddar or cheddar jack), garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I also usually add grated parmesan.
Mix together until incorporated.
Honey Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
In a saucepan over low heat, melt together sugar, shortening and honey. Let cool.
Mix together eggs, vanilla, baking soda and ginger. Gradually add to cooled honey mixture.
Slowly add 4 cups of flour to mixture. Stir until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) until golden (about 12-15 minutes).
Thank you for reading.
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