My Favorite Recipes

New Year's Favorites

Baked ham is a well-loved New Year’s Day favorite, and the ham bone and meaty bits can be used to make a great split pea soup later.

When Christmas passes, only the serious dieters are really ready for totally healthy eating. The rest of the country enjoys holiday food for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and for watching football bowl games. Here are some classics that readers have shared that their friends and family request and enjoy.

Charles Hofer’s famous baked ham appeared at his Christmas dinners and Fourth of July parties for decades, and he brought hams to funeral dinners, Easter dinner, and other occasions, too. The claret cranberries are a seasonal treat that must be enjoyed while the fresh berries are available.

Make-ahead salads and favorite desserts - drinks are included, too.

Charles

Hofer's Ham

Susan Huber McGregor, Colfax,

now of San Francisco

15-18 pound ham

1 cup prepared mustard

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

whole cloves

2 cups dark red wine

Aluminum foil

Horseradish sauce:

1/2 cup whipping cream

3 - 4 Tablespoons horseradish

1/4 teaspoon salt

Worcestershire, to taste

Trim ham of rind and fat. Layer a baking pan with foil lengthwise, crosswise and lengthwise again. Place ham on foil, dot with whole cloves. Cover with mustard and pat on brown sugar. Pull up foil close around ham and pour over two cups of dark red wine. Close up and fold over foil. Marinate for a day or two.

In a slow oven, 180 - 200 degrees F, bake for 6 - 7 hours. Remove from oven and pierce foil with a knife and allow some of the juices to drain off.

Allow to sit for one hour, then slice.

Claret Cranberries

Susan Huber McGregor, Colfax,

now of San Francisco

1/2 cup claret (or Cabernet Sauvignon will work)

AND AT THE END

1/4 cup claret or Cabernet Sauvignon

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound fresh cranberries

Mix together 1/2 cup claret, water, sugar, orange rind and salt. Bring to a boil and boil for seven minutes. Add cranberries, washed, stemmed and picked over. Cook five minutes until they burst.

Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in 1/4 cup wine. Yield: one quart. I can these and use as needed.

Overnight

Lettuce Salad

Christine Kackman,

formerly Colfax, Spokane

This salad is a favorite of mine for advance preparation, and it is fresh and crisp with texture.

Head of lettuce, shredded into large bowl (so you can toss it later)

layer of celery

sprinkling of green onions

1 can of sliced water chestnuts, chopped

layer of frozen peas, 1 to 2 cups

layer of mayo to cover peas

sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons sugar

layer of cooked and chopped bacon

layer of shredded cheese

Refrigerate overnight and toss before serving.

Apple Cranberry Cashew Salad

Alice Barlass, Colfax

16 servings

2 package (5 ounces each) spring mix salad greens

2 large apples, coarsely chopped

1 can (9-1/4 ounces) lightly salted cashews

1 package (5 ounces) dried cranberries

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Vinaigrette:

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon each ground mustard, poppy seeds and salt

Combine the first five ingredients.

Whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette.

Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss.

Fresh Broccoli Salad

Debbie Biagi, Colfax

2 bunches fresh broccoli

10 slices bacon crumbled

2/3 cup raisins

1/2 cup onion, chopped very fine

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vinegar

Wash and cut broccoli into bite size pieces. Combine mayonnaise, onion, sugar and vinegar; mix well. Add the bacon and raisins and pour this mixture into well drained broccoli; toss well.

Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.

Whole Grain Version of Starbuck's Cranberry

Bliss Bar

Kelli Collins

We think they taste even better than the "real" ones! Warning: the only healthy thing about these bars is that MaMa used whole grain flours.

Ingredients for Whole Grain Cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1-1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 Tablespoons lemon juice

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Joseph's Grainery Soft White Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/2 cup Joseph's Grainery Barley Flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup diced dried cranberries

6 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks

Frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup diced dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, ginger and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flours until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13" baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until cake is light brown on the edges. Allow cake to cool.

Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake and

Buttercream Icing

Shannon Buckley, Colfax

Cake

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups good cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/3 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-1/3 cups granulated sugar

1-1/3 cups light brown sugar, packed

4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1/4 cup brewed coffee

Buttercream frosting (recipe follows)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

12 ounces assorted chocolate (I used a mix of dark, semisweet and milk chocolate)

3/4 cup egg whites (4 or 5 extra-large eggs) at room temperature

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1-1/2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter one 4x3-inch cake pan, one 6x3-inch cake pan, and one 8x3-inch cake pan. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light, approximately five minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Combine the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee. On low speed add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix the batter only until blended.

For cakes, bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. If making cupcakes, line bottoms with parchment and butter and flour the sides. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes

Buttercream Frosting

Remove butter from the refrigerator and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces. Leaving the butter out while you work on the next few steps gives it just the right amount of time to soften slightly (touching it will leave a tiny indentation) while still ensuring that it is quite cold.

Place egg whites, sugar and salt in a double boiler or the bowl of a stand mixer over a pot of boiling water.

Whisk constantly until the eggs reach 160 F according to a candy thermometer (the temperature necessary to kill salmonella in raw eggs).

Remove from heat and, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed for 10 minutes or until the bowl cools to room temperature. If the bowl feels at all warm, keep whisking.

Beat in the butter one tablespoon at a time.

Turn the mixer up to high speed and keep beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. During this process, the gorgeous meringue will suddenly deflate and may look soupy or curdled. Just keep mixing and eventually it will come together again and become beautiful frosting (this can take up to 10 minutes).

Mix in vanilla.

Notes: Use immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to 2 months. Allow refrigerated or frozen buttercream to come to room temperature and then beat until it becomes light and fluffy again before spreading or piping on cakes. Store cakes frosted with Swiss meringue buttercream in the refrigerator, but always bring to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate

Mousse Pie

Jan Varnes, Colfax

1 8-ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup milk

2 Tablespoons sugar (for less sweetness, eliminate sugar)

1 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese

1 12-ounce cool whip

1 graham cracker crust or Oreo crust pie shell

Heat chocolate chips and two Tablespoons milk in saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted.

Beat sugar into cream cheese.

Add remaining milk to chocolate mixture and add chocolate mixture to cream cheese and beat until smooth. Fold cool whip into chocolate mixture.

Fold in peppermint baking chips or creme de menthe chocolate baking chips or leave plain. Spoon mousse into pie shell. Freeze for four hours before serving.

Hot Buttered

Rum Batter

Brenda Kneeshaw, Colfax

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

1 pound butter, melted

1 pound powdered sugar

1 pound brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix with heavy-duty mixer. Add butter after other ingredients are thoroughly mixed with ice cream.

To serve, mix one heaping tablespoon of batter with hot water and 1 ounce rum. If you don’t like rum, this tastes great just mixed with hot water.

Chi Chis

Dianne Appel, Dusty

6 cups pineapple juice

3 cups cream of coconut

3 cups vodka

12 ice cubes

In blender combine first three ingredients until smooth. Cover and refrigerate up to four hours. Before serving, puree in blender with ice. Makes 16 servings, about 200 calories each.

For three - two ounces cream of coconut, four ounces pineapple juice and three ounces vodka.