Around Because Reading, the holidays are our favorite time of year. And Christmas is like our favorite of favorites. So we’re having some Holly Jolly Saturdays, bringing you a holiday topic every Saturday in December.
Holly Jolly Recipes
Michelle’s Recipe
I love cooking and I pretty much cook for 3 holidays. It’s one of my favorite things to do but I have a go to recipe that is a great dish to take with your anyplace, Christmas, Easter, Pot Luck or even a BBQ this dish is so fantastic and so delicious, it is a favorite in my house and it’s super simple.
I believe some people call this a Caprese salad, I call it Mozzarella and Tomato. The dish is simple, light and so tasty. It pairs well with just about any dinner and makes a great dish to take to Christmas Dinner. It can be made in a few different ways….
Here is what you need…
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Tomatoes (cherry tomatoes in all different colors, if available)
- Basil
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper (optional)
That is it, basically, I like to make it look pretty, during the holidays I use Cherry Tomatoes and Small Fresh Mozzarella Balls. Then I place some basil over the top of it, I will also cut the basil in thin strips and garnish the platter with basil. I love basil. Then I add Olive Oil, a Pinch of salt and peppers (optional) I will put it in the refrig for about an hour to chill and serve when ready.
For BBQs I will use regular tomatoes and a Loaf or Big Ball of Fresh Mozzarella. I will slice it and stack them together in rows, tomato, mozzarella, basil, tomato, mozzarella, basil, etc…Then I will drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. This works great if you want to put it on your burger. So delicious.
This is a nice refreshing change from a salad and goes great if you are also preparing an Antipasto.
Berls’s Recipe
Normally when it’s time to share a recipe I get stumped. I’m not a big cook. I do cook, but not spectacularly. That being said, I actually have a fantastic dessert that I’ve been making every Christmas for about 4 or 5 years now. And because I’m sharing it, you also know it’s easy.
This is a Pinterest recipe from Chef in Training:
Tres Leches Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce
BREAD PUDDING:
- loaf french bread, thinly sliced and cut into quarters
- 2¼ cups whole milk
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 9 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon rum extract
VANILLA CREAM SAUCE:
- 1⅓ cups butter
- 5 Tablespoons flour
- 3 cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ cups sugar
BREAD PUDDING INSTRUCTIONS:
- Grease 9×13 baking pan.
- Place bread slices in pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla, rum extract, salt and egg yolks until smooth.
- Pour over bread (Note from Berls: I always make a day ahead and let it soak in the fridge overnight) and bake 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and set.
- Serve warm and top with Vanilla Cream Sauce.
VANILLA CREAM SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS:
- In saucepan, melt butter on medium low heat. Add flour and cook 10 minutes, stir continually. Add salt, cream, and sugar and stir until mixture becomes thick.. Remove from hear and stir in vanilla. Pour warm over Bread pudding.
One note about the Vanilla Cream Sauce. It is amazing BUT this is going to make like 3x more than you need. I’m scared to try making a smaller recipe, but those more experienced bakers might want to give it a go. Or if you wanted to make a double/triple batch of bread pudding you’ll have plenty of sauce left over. It’s very rich and little goes a long way.
Both of these recipes sound delicious! I’ll have to try and make them both. I love fresh mozzarella (or course I’ve only had store bought!) and I really like bread pudding too. Yummy!!
Yum! I have the last of my basil and ripe tomatoes on the counter from the garden. Sadly I have no fresh mozza. But tomatoes and basil with a little olive oil salt / pepper are good over french bread or pasta! I love bread pudding but my daughter doesn’t. I’m making ginger cookies this week – she loves those.
Great ideas! I like how simple and yummy Michelle’s Mozzarella and Tomato dish looks. I am not a fan of mozzarella, but it sure does look nice and easy to take with you to dinner at someone else’s house. I’ve never eaten bread pudding, but it sounds and looks great! Might have to give that a try!
I’m not a big tomato person, I like it IN things, but I don’t know about on it’s own. I’ll eat the mozzarella though lol! I think bread pudding may be my favorite dessert 😉
I absolutely love bread pudding. Yum!
Me to Carla! I think it’s my favorite dessert. And this sauce is SO GOOD!