Prepping for the Holidays!!!

Fall is in the air – that lovely little nip at your nose and toes. The way the air swirls in your lungs, colder than normal and invigorating. I love fall and the promise of the coming holidays--holidays and meals and parties. Since my house is frequently hosting said meals, I thought I’d share two of my absolute favorite holiday staples.

One is Sweet… and so loved that it inspired one super sexy scene in my holiday romance Hollywood Holiday!

Gingerbread Men Cookies1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 ½ cups dark molasses
2/3 cup water
6 cups Gold Medal flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon

You can (my mother has) burn up your mixer with this, so please:
Mix brown sugar, shortening, water & molasses together. STIR in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat your over to 350 degrees. Lightly Pam or grease your cookie sheet. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut out (with well floured cookie cutters) cookies. Place a few inches apart and bake 10-12 minutes. Once cool, decorate with frosting, red hots, gumdrops, and whatever yummy deliciousness you want to use on your cookies.

This is also a perfect recipe for a gingerbread house! Which, to me, is the perfect centerpiece for any holiday table.


The other is Savory… a recipe from my mom. This is a super easy, relatively inexpensive treat for parties.

Shrimp Roll-ups (Crab Roll-ups)
I loaf white bread
1 lb butter
½ lb Velveeta
7 or 8oz. shredded crab or canned shrimp
1 can sesame seeds

In saucepan, melt cheese and butter. Cool and add crab or shrimp. Stir until completely blended.

Set aside ends of loaf. Cut crusts of bread and roll each piece as thin and flat as you can. Spread a mixture of cheese and seafood on each slice and roll them jelly-roll style. Arrange seam-side down on a cookie sheet. Melt the butter in a pan, brush rolls (well) with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Freeze.

Whenever you’re ready, pull some from the freezer, cut each roll into 3-4 pieces and broil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Have any staple recipe for the holidays? If you decide to make one of these, I hope you enjoy it!