Holiday Brunch Part Three-Wrap up

 

In keeping with the holiday spirit I'm embracing these famous words-  

                                         "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

                                                                   Ernestine Ulmer

so starting the Holiday Brunch Line-Up serving desserts first. 

Ring in the holidays with a showstopper dessert Amaretto Tortoni

Amaretto Tortoni
Cook's Notes: Amaretto Tortoni is an Italian ice cream made with eggs and cream, typically served in a small cup and topped with chopped almonds or crumbled macaroon. This recipe is my adaptation of the classic sweet treat. It's light, creamy and the perfect small finish to your holiday meal. Recipe makes 4 dishes as shown in photo. The dessert can be made ahead and refrigerated until serving. Toasting coconut and almonds and crushing cookies can also be done ahead.

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon creme of tartar
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 cup crumbled macaroons (use the soft cookie kind from bakery department)
• ¼ cup Amaretto or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ¼ cup each coconut and almonds

Directions:

• Chill beaters in the freezer until needed.
• Mix coconut and almonds, toast and set aside.
• Crush macaroon cookies in food processor, set aside.
• Beat pint of heavy cream folding in Amaretto or almond extract until mixture is almost stiff, then folding in powdered sugar.
• In another bowl beat egg whites until stiff adding in creme of tartar.
• Gently fold whipped cream mixture and egg white mixture together.
• To assemble: For each serving place some Amaretto cream mixture into dish, top with macaroon crumbs. add another layer of Amaretto cream and top with toasted coconut and almonds.
• Refrigerate to firm up. After a few hours lay a sheet of wax paper over the dishes until serving. 

Kid-Friendly Cooking Activities 

keeping everyone involved in the holiday brunch 

Snowman Cupcake
Cook's notes: Looking for a kid-friendly kitchen activity over school vacation? This snowman cupcake would be easy to recreate. Use your favorite cake mix and prepared frosting, add two marshmallows for body, two pretzels for arms and top with a piece of chocolate candy (Rollo). Add these cute snowmen to your holiday brunch table.  

Festive P&J Sandwiches

Several years ago my nephew's wife bought this tray to our family gathering. At last count with my siblings grandchildren we now have 30 children in the family circle of various ages but the majority are under 10. 

The tray was a real hit filled with classic P&J sandwiches cut out using a Christmas cookie cutter. The stars were made out of yellow paper glued onto a toothpick stuck into the top of the tree. Off to the side in small cups are dip and veggies. So creative!

Waffle Cones Christmas Trees-a fun decorating project

Brownie Cookie Cutters-bake your favorite brownie mix in a holiday cookie cutter

Holiday Pancakes-bake your favorite pancake mix in a holiday cookie cutter

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Cook's Notes: Fresh fruit ingredients tossed with a healthy poppyseed dressing. The dressing is a nice blend of tangy and sweet with honey for a smooth and flavorful way to sweeten this dressing. It’s a simple and straightforward dressing that goes great on salads with fruit toppings but could easily stand its own on a salad topped with vegetables too. It's a healthy version of regular poppyseed dressing using yogurt. It would be fantastic for spinach salad as well.
Recipes adapted from cookingclassy.com

Salad Ingredients:

• 8 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
• 4 apples (preferably 2 gala and 2 golden delicious)
• 4 ripe kiwis peeled and diced
• 4 bananas , peeled and diced or pears
• 1- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils(produce department) 

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Dressing Directions: 

• Mix all ingredients together in a jar, cover and shake well to combine. Use immediately or store covered in fridge.

Salad Directions:

• In a salad bowl toss together all of the fruit then pour dressing over top and gently toss to coat.
• Serve immediately for best results.