Other Musings

Donning the Apron: Christmas Edition!

Christmas dinner at the McFadden house is a feast of epic proportions. My brother fancies himself a food connoisseur and my dad watches the Top Chef food challenges to get “inspiration” for new recipes. My mom is more of a traditional cook, relying on family recipes passed down through the years and making some small tweaks. I usually stay out of the kitchen around holidays because my mom gets a bit sensitive about anyone messing with her ovens. However, this year I suggested making some appetizers so I could be WELL out of her way before dinnertime. I decided on a flatbread recipe I had made at our festivus party a week ago and my mom decided I should make spinach artichoke dip. The only problem was, I hadn’t made spinach artichoke dip in a few years and I didn’t fully remember the recipe! I had to do the best I could to make it up as I went! I didn’t get a chance to get any pictures, but both dishes turned out really well! Here is the recipe for the flatbread – I’ve got to try to make the spinach dip again to get the recipe straight!

Ingredients
1 Granny Smith Apple
10 slices of prosciutto
1 block (8 ounces) of a sharp white cheddar cheese – Vermont white cheddar if you can find it!
Olive oil

1 package of Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough



Prep Work
Preheat the oven to 400
Grate the cheese and put it aside
Cut the proscuitto into strips that are about an inch thick; proscuitto is hard to cut, so use a sharp knife and don’t worry about it being perfect
Slice the apple very thin, use a mandolin if possible. Do this last as apple browns quickly.

Get down to the cookin!
Unroll the pizza crust on a greased baking sheet (I used tin foil to line the pan)
Brush the crust with a light layer of olive oil
Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese on the crust
Line the apple slices in rows on the crust. It is ok to let the slices touch, but try not to overlap them.
Sprinkle another thin layer of cheese on top of the apple slices
Arrange the proscuitto on top of the layer of cheese. You don’t need to be exact with the placement, but make sure you’ll get a taste with each bite.
Sprinkle another layer of cheese; this can be thicker than the others, but shouldn’t be too thick.
Put the flatbread in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is a light golden brown.
Slice and serve!

 

Merry Married Christmas!

There is nothing quite like the Christmas season. Each year, I look forward to breaking out the holiday decorations, searching for the perfect tree, 24 hours straight of “A Christmas Story,” family and friends and the general feeling of holiday cheer in the air.

This being my first Christmas as a married woman, it has a whole new meaning for me. Now I have two families to celebrate the holidays with and, since my husband is also Jewish, a whole slew of new traditions! I am looking forward to learning more about my hubby’s traditions and making him a part of my family’s crazy Christmas celebrations. I also can’t wait to start some of our own family traditions! 
 

Registry Rewards

Figuring out where to register can be as daunting as deciding what to register for. There are so many stores out there and factors to consider – can my guests access the stores easily or order online easily? What kind of rewards are available? What is the range of price points? What style suits you and your hubby?

I decided on Crate and Barrel, Macy’s and Pottery Barn. For me, the most important factors were merchandise, convenience for us and guests, return policies and rewards. Here are my ratings:

Merchandise: Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn

Convenience: Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn

Return policy: Crate and Barrel, Macy’s, Pottery Barn

Rewards: Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn

I liked Crate and Barrel the most because it was so easy to handle returns, the range of merchandise was excellent and they were so easy to work with! Macy’s was good and by far the easiestfor our guests. The rewards program is great but their service is just below satisfactory. There were a lot of mixups with the gifts (wrong china pattern, wrong coffee pot, etc) and not a great attitude from te employees. Pottery Barn was not easy to work with. Half of the gifts I registered for were backordered or discontinued! I only registered for a handful of gifts there too because they were so expensive.

My advice, go with a department store, Crate and Barrel and something outside of the box like Amazon or Target! You can register for more than servingware or kitchen gear that way!