Archive for category: Food + Drink

I’m so happy chef Cat Cora gave me her recipe to share with all of you! We had so much fun making it on Facebook live! Make sure to keep your eye out for more cooking videos!

Lemonade Sugar Cookies 

Makes 4 dozen cookies

1 6-ounce Can of Frozen Lemonade Concentrate
½ Pound Unsalted Butter (2 sticks) (Softened)
1 Cup Sugar (Plus extra red and green colored to sprinkle over the cookies)
2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest (Finely Grated)
2 Large Eggs
2½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Fill a large bowl with warm water and plop in the unopened can of lemonade to thaw while you mix the cookie dough.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Add the lemon zest, if desired. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture is light and creamy, 4-5 minutes, then set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Measure out 1/2 cup of the thawed lemonade and set the rest aside. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Stir, then add about one third of the 1/2 cup lemonade. Continue adding the flour and lemonade alternately, stirring after each addition, until the mixture shows no streaks of flour. Beat on low speed with the mixer just until all the ingredients are combined.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake the cookies, checking them after 8 minutes. When the edges are just starting to brown, remove the cookies from the oven. (The centers will still look soft.) Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the top of each cookie very lightly with a little of the remaining lemonade concentrate, then lightly sprinkle with the colored sugar. Transfer the cookies to a rack and allow them to cool completely.

This year I planned a Friendsgiving for some of my close girlfriends, and after sending out the invites I was having second thoughts. Preparing a whole meal for 6 people while pregnant was starting to feel quite stressful, and let’s just say I am not the greatest cook! I was definitely looking for some cooking hacks that would help me out in preparation for the big feast.

I found a Farmer John Gold Wrapped Whole Ham that comes pre-cooked and is easy to heat in the oven. I added a brown sugar-agave glaze to it just before it was done cooking and it was perfection (I was pretty proud of myself that I didn’t burn it or myself!). See the simple recipe here:

 

FARMER JOHN® Whole Ham  (instructions also come printed on the wrapper…so easy!):

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325°F (my ham was about 20 pounds so I increased my temperature to 350 degrees).
2. Remove ham from package and discard the bone guard.
3. Place ham cut side down in baking pan and cover ham with foil.
4. Place ham in oven and heat for approximately 15 minutes per pound until warm. Do not overcook. (I cooked mine for a little over 5 hours until a food thermometer inserted into the ham read temperature of 140°F).
5. With 30 minutes left pour glaze over ham (simple recipe below) and continue cooking 30 minutes more, basting at least twice with the drippings to ensure the ham does not burn.  
6. Allow for the ham to stand covered for 5-10 minutes before carving.

 

Brown Sugar Agave Glaze:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups packed, light brown sugar
• 1 cup agave

 

Directions:

1. Combine the brown sugar and agave in a saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and the brown sugar has dissolved.
3. Pour the brown sugar glaze over the ham and continue cooking 30 minutes more, basting at least twice with the drippings to ensure the ham does not burn.  

 

The ham came out beautifully and was a favorite among my guests! Now, I am definitely a sides kind of girl, but recently I’m really into the desserts (it could have something to do with these twins!). I went for a non-traditional pie this year, and did a dark chocolate brownie cake topped with FARMER JOHN® All-Natural Bacon bits. Pro Tip: You can totally cheat and use a boxed brownie mix like I did for this!!

Dark Chocolate Brownie Cake

Ingredients:

• Boxed Brownie Mix & Ingredients listed on box
• Dark Chocolate Icing
• About 5 slices FARMER JOHN® All-Natural Bacon cooked, chopped
• 8 in round cake pan

 

Directions:

1. Follow instructions on boxed brownie mix and cook as directed.
2. While brownie cake is cooking, cook about 5 slices FARMER JOHN® All-Natural Bacon until well done. I like them crunchy.
3. Let brownie cake cool, then, ice with dark chocolate icing.
4. Chop bacon, sprinkle chopped bacon bits onto icing.
5. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

*This post is sponsored by Farmer John, but the opinions and excitement are all my own!