Video: Cool Food Gifts for the Holidays, Southern Sweet Chocolate Coconut Pie Recipe

From Denny: This is so cute! I've done a few gingerbread houses in my time and this one is simplified and easy, so easy you can do it with your kids. How fun! The kit has a cardboard frame, the mix included for the cookie dough and the royal icing too, from Sur la table for the $35 kit.

Another idea is a baked Southern tradition: caramel cake. This lady baked these cakes for her family and they were such a big hit she started a business. From Carolines Cakes for $45.

This year's newest trend are gifts of salt and this company was also started by a woman. These are unprocessed salts that are healthier for you from Salt Sisters Salts for $5 to $14.

Do you know someone who likes to make their own vanilla extract with vodka and 8 vanilla beans? Here's how and you can purchase the vanilla extract kit from Salt Sisters Salts for $25.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I love the combination of chocolate and coconut and found this easy pie recipe that would be convenient to make for the holidays! Chilling time is the most effort you have to put into it.



Southern Sweet Chocolate Pie

From: Kraft Foods

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 5 hr 25 min
Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 deep-dish pie crust (9 inch), unbaked
1-1/3 cups BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Melt chocolate and butter in saucepan on very low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually add milk, stirring until well blended.

MIX sugar, cornstarch and salt in medium bowl; beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add chocolate mixture, mixing until well blended. Pour into pie crust; sprinkle with coconut and nuts. (Crust will be quite full; filling will not rise over sides.)

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until top is puffed and browned, covering loosely with foil for the last 15 min. to prevent overbrowning if necessary. (Filling will be soft, but will set while cooling.) Cool at room temperature 15 min., then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.


*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! :)

Appetizer Recipe: Chocolate Bruschetta

From Denny: Sometimes, you just don't want all the sugar interrupting the nirvana taste of your chocolate. Well, here is an interesting take on Italian "toast"! I'm used to having bruschetta with marinara sauce or olive tapenade.

The last thing I would have thought of would be to spread it with chocolate, cool! I have seen chef Giada on the Food Network spread her pizza bread with Nutello (hazelnut chocolate spread) that Europeans swoon over like we do peanut butter in America.

The restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia are leading the way with something unusual but very tasty for an appetizer - again. You can make it as a savory or as a sweet version, your choice! Mmmm... fresh and cooling mint...

I think the Great American Oracle (me) predicts this recipe will be adopted eagerly at our house for regular snacking! :)

Chocolate Bruschetta

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hands on time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves: 12


Ingredients:

12 ( 3/4-inch) slices baguette (about half a loaf)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or other coarse-grained sea salt)

Mint leaves for garnish


Instructions:

Brush bread with the olive oil. Toast on a grill or under a broiler until golden brown. Remove from heat and spread a generous amount of melted chocolate over each slice. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and garnish with a mint leaf.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 160 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 4 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 583 milligrams sodium.

And a couple of traditional bruschetta recipes:

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bruschetta al pomodoro - tomato bruschetta (gastronomydomine.com)
• Bruschetta Fresca (autofoodography.com)

Recipe: Sweet Potato Soup with Matchstick Fries and Frizzled Leeks

From Denny: We love our sweet potatoes here in Louisiana! From Canada.com comes yet another way to enjoy our beloved sweet potato in a gourmet soup. There is a recipe converter link listed after the posting area on this blog in case you are not familiar with the Canadian version of measurements.

Sweet Potato Soup with Matchstick Fries and Frizzled Leeks

This recipe comes from Chuck's Day Off show.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

The Sweet Potato Soup

3 large sweet potatoes, cut in chunks

3 leeks, roughly chopped

Pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Nub of butter

6 cups (1.5 L) chicken stock

1 big knuckle of fresh ginger (about 1 tablespoon / 15 mL) peeled and grated)

2 cups water (500 mL)

Peel and quarter the sweet potatoes.

Wash leeks well and drain, remove any damaged outside peel, remove the hairy white tips from the end, and cut leeks into one-inch slices (leave one three-inch section aside to be fried later for the garnish).

Soften leeks in a large pot with a nub of butter, the salt and pepper. Do not brown.

Add six cups of stock or water

Add sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil until cooked through - just softer than fork tender. Using an immersion blender, purée the ingredients until they are thoroughly blended.

Add the grated ginger, and test for consistency. If too thick, add a bit more water. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper as needed. Place in a bowl and garnish with a mound of hot crispy matchstick potatoes and frizzled leeks.


Matchstick Fries and Frizzled Leeks

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (or another medium-starch potato)

Canola oil for frying

A sprinkle of salt, pepper

3-inch (8-cm) piece of leek, julienned

A dusting of potato starch

Peel and cut potatoes into matchstick slices.

Rinse them under cold water in a strainer to remove excess starch. Let drain well. Pat dry. In a deep fryer set at 350 degrees F (180C), fry for three to five minutes submerged in canola oil until a nice, deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel or absorbent cloth. Hit them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper right away.

Cut strips of leek into julienne slices similar to potato. In a small bowl, place two tablespoons of starch and lightly dust the leek pieces in it to help prevent burning. Fry the three-inch strips of leek in same oil until they are just golden - about one minute, to make "frizzled leeks."

Add to your bowl of matchstick fries. Mix them together. Garnish in a little mound on top of the soup.

***

Chuck's Day Off airs on the Food Network on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. For more information on Chuck Hughes's TV show and for more recipes, go to: www.foodtv.ca/chucksdayoff

For previous columns and recipes, go to www.montrealgazette.com/life and click on Food & Wine

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service