New blog and cookbook to checkout!

Hello. I have come across a few new things this past week I wanted to share with my friends. The first one is a blog that my sister-in-law uses all the time for fun new recipes. The blog is sisterscafe.blogspot.com. If you are stumped for dinner ideas or what are good dinners to take to other people this is a great resource.

Also, while cruising the OC swap meet last Saturday my mom and I stumbled upon a cookbook that has been a hit in Utah. My mom and her friends can't get enough of them. My mom bought an entire box of them to take back to Utah to give as wedding gifts. My favorite part of it is all the pictures. (Yes, I am a visual learner. ) The pictures help you with flower arrangements, shopping lists, place settings and has many incredible recipes I can't wait to try!! I have a hard time finding an entire cookbook that I just love, I usually have a few favorites in the ones I have, this one is the exception. It is a gem. The title is " The Gathering of Friends". Authors, Michelle Huxtable, Alyse Christensen. It retails for $25. The website for more information is: thegatheringoffriends.com

Hey thanks for the invite Jamie.  It is a great idea to exchange recipes.  I am in desperate need of some new ones.  Bryan was in PA last weekend and it made me so whitehall ward homesick.  What a fun way to stay in contact with each other.  So this is our families favorite cookie recipe right now.  They can be pretty addicting.  P.S. I almost have our families blog set up so I will send you guys all links as soon as I get it finished.

Peanut butter Filled Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. I have a powerful Kitchen-Aid mega mixer which could mix cement so I used the mixer the entire time. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake ‘em in for 8-10 minutes or until they’re just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. They will be slightly soft so don’t overbake ‘em unless you want to play ice hockey out front with them.

You can pretty these up with a little drizzle of chocolate, but I had to get my flour covered butt out of the kitchen.  They’re just as good without.

Ricki's Rolls (thats my mom)

Mom's Rolls

7 cups flour
1 1/2 Tb active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
2 teas salt
2 eggs

Put 2 cups flour in bowl with yeast in center. Heat the milk, sugar, butter, salt in saucepan over low heat. When sugar is dissolved and butter is almost all melted (not too hot, not too cold) pour into flour and yeast. Add 2 eggs. Mix with mixer for about 2 minutes. Then add rest of flour and knead on floured surface. Put in greased bowl and cover with light towel. Let rise. (I usually make the dough in the morning and let the dough rise all day. Punching it down 1 or 2 times). About 1 hour before cooking, form into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 18-20 min.

It took some practice for me.......but I'm sure all of you expertise bakers... will be just fine!!!

YAY!!! I love you guys....K, I will invite Louisa...and Anna too....I didn't have a recipe of hers, but those cinnamon rolls sound super nummy, and I think she has a really good pizza dough recipe that I remember NOT getting. And you guys can invite anyone you want too!!!

Thank you!

What a brilliant and clever idea Jamie! Maybe you should get sick more often. J/K I really do hope you are feeling better. Thank you for inviting me and I am so excited to start writing down all of the recipes. All of you are amazing cooks and I can't wait to share new recipes I have learned too. I just emailed Brenda the other day asking for a recipe, and now we have this great outlet to share.
I agree with Terri, I definitely need the roll recipe from Jamie. Brenda also has a really good one she made for Thanksgiving so we need to post both of them. Trena, I have been thinking about those cookies you make with the snickers in them. Terri, you made some killer meatballs one of the many times you entertained us at your house with your delicious food. I am so glad to have JoAnna's bread recipe. Can't wait to try it!!!!!
This is going to be toooo much fun!!

Thanks all of you!!

Miss you and wish I was going to be in Utah with all of you in August, but my family is coming down here then on vacation and I didn't think it would be too nice to leave them. Have so much fun!!

Love,
Camille

Good Job Jame!

Thank you for thinking of this. I am so happy that I have Camille's sugar cookie receipe!! Seriously! I can't believe that I didn't get that from her sooner. That will most definetly become a Christmas tradition in our family as well. I LOVE THOSE!! I know that Santa will too.

JoAnna must post her coffee cake receipe on here.

And Jamie, can you post your crock pot sweet tasting pork that you made that one time... with coke I think?? OH and your moms rolls??

Is Louisa a part of this?? Because if so she has to post her cinnamon rolls and the frosting!!! NOTHING HAS EVER COME CLOSE TO HER ROLLS!!!! I LOVE THEM.
I've heard that Brett's are pretty darn good too, but I've never had the pleasure.

I'm dying here thinking about all of this.

O.K. gotta run. I love you and again thanks for this!
Terri

2+ years later...

Oh Jamie, this blog is much needed! Thank you. This post is not about food but oh well. I have been laughing at myself for the last few days and I have been thinking I need to share this with my Whitehall Ward friends, so thanks Jamie for giving me the chance to share! Remember the file folders Jamie did for one Enrichment Activity? Yeah well I just finished them. FINALLY. I am so proud of myself! I hope you all appreciate my accomplishment.