Normally I would not dare touch the recipe for my favourite cinnamon buns but this year, I did! In two ways but I will talk about the second way later. The first way was to use buttermilk instead of skim. I was trying to ration the skim milk and had extra buttermilk so I figured, why not?
What surprised me was how much it changed the texture of the bread and it did not seem as sweet. They were still unbelievably delicious but I will not be making them that way again. Fascinating though!
Crockpot Cranberry Apple Cider
The last time I went to get cheesecloth from my grocery store, it took a woman working there 20 minutes to find it. My store has had a complete facelift since, there was no way I was going to bother going through that again so I decided to snuggle my spices inside a coffee filter instead: two cinnamon sticks, two cloves and a few allspice seeds.
I wrapped them tightly inside the filter with butcher’s twine and put it in the crockpot for a few hours on low. Reg was my foodie hero that day and went to the store on Christmas Eve so I could make our cranberry apple cider over the holidays like we used to when we lived in Ottawa.
This year’s cider was the best I have ever made but I did change a few other components as well ,which I will get to soon.
Marshmallow Fluff-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole
Every year I spend a ton of time looking for the two recipes I use to come up with a fantastic sweet potato casserole and then decide to change it in some way. This year instead of the streusel pecan topping I smeared (not easy to do!) the top with the marshmallow fluff I had from Halloween. Some people top this kind of casserole with marshmallows so I thought, why not?
Egads, too sweet! Ugh! I did like the roasted flavour and how it souffled but overall, this is just not my kind of food at all. If I ever get that stuff again I will make sure to use it in my pumpkin fudge instead.
When your roast is too big for your tiny crockpot
I always brown the beef before putting it in the crockpot
On Christmas I looked at my roast and then at my crockpot. Crap, it was not going to fit. I love crockpot roast beef, it is always so much more tender than when I roast it so Reg suggested I cut off the ends that would not fit and then try and get them inside the crockpot.
It worked! Reg saved the day. Unfortunately the day that I made this (December 25th) I woke up really late and the roast beef wasn’t done until after we got home from going to see Sherlock Holmes near midnight!
As a result, we had our Christmas dinner last night and dang, it was unbelievably good. Had it with mashed potatoes, homemade mushroom gravy, steamed broccoli and some peas. Followed by crockpot apple cider with a cinnamon bun for dessert. Perfect, just a day late.
I can’t help it. No matter what day of the year, I have to experiment with food. I also always come up with foodie challenges. That is just life in the kitchen and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Did your holiday cooking and baking go smoothly this year? Did you stick with tradition or think out of the foodie box?
I am loving the idea of your Roast in the crock pot…copied down as best I could from your description and pictures….will you be posting a recipe?
How much wine and beef broth is used?
Also…love the gravy idea but couldn’t find recipe…pleaza, pleaza helpa!
Happy Holidays and hope your feeling a lot better too!
Hi Kim! I have the link in the post but you can find the simple tutorial here. Basically you season the roast all over, brown it over medium high heat with oil of your choice. Put some carrots, celery and onions on the bottom.
I deglaze with around 1/3 cup of the wine and then probably 1/2 cup of beef broth. I scrape off all the good brown bits and put on top of the roast (which is on top of the veggies) and let it sit for a long time.
For the gravy, saute mushrooms. Once cooked, add some shallots (or onions) and cook for a bit. Add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. Soon after that, add the de-fatted juices from the crockpot. If you want more gravy (and who doesn’t) add some beef broth. Make a slurry (2 tbsp of cornstarch with at least 2 tbsp of beef stock) and add it to the bubbling gravy. Whisk to thicken.
Hope that’s everything! I will have to do an official post of all the steps one day soon. It’s so good! Oh an the roast beef will not be pink at all. Cooking it in the crockpot for those who like anything other than “cooked through” will not like this method.
Sounds like you had a very deeelish meal, even if it was a bit late. Stuff like that always seems to taste better the next day anyway.
I think marshmallow on sweet potatoes sounds more like a Southern U.S. tradition (reminds me of Paula Deen y’all), I think us Candadians are notorious for putting maple syrup all over our squash and sweet potatoes. Either way, it all sounds good.
Thanks so much….can’t wait for the turkey soup to be eaten so I can get on with this roast!
PS – will you be doing yorkshire puddings on your blog any time soon?
Some peeps are sooo needy!!!
Thanks for your help!
Ava, I think you are right, that it is a Southern tradition and I did also add maple syrup, no wonder it was sweet!
Kim, I didn’t have enough energy to make the puddings but this recipe recipe is quite good. In a Garten’s recipe is good too. Hope that helps!
Marshmallows on sweet potatoes is absolutely a southern thing along with cornbread stuffing, but after marrying into my husbands family I have come to love the sweet potatoes with syrup & nuts along with roast & gravy for the holidays! Being the first holiday season of gluten free for me, I had to think way out of the ‘foodie box’ & step away from old traditions!
glad all your goodies turned out so well so you could have great phhotos! i had a hit and miss, j made sugar cookies from alton brown( which were adorable) and lemon cake. unfortunately the lemon cake looked great but tasted blehh. my butter+sugar cakes never turn out well! any tips?
If the flavour of the cake was wrong, that sounds like an issue with the recipe. If it was the texture and lightness or doneness, that would be easier to advice on. Are you creaming the butter and sugar long enough? It really has to be creamed together to break down the sugar. Are you using real vanilla? That makes a difference when it comes to flavour big time!