Fun for decoration, party favors or festive snacks, these Popcorn Trees are easy to make. The recipe is from the National Popcorn Board, which advises that it’s important to use unflavored white popcorn for the best color and flavor.

RECIPE: POPCORN TREES

Ingredients For 10 Trees

 
*Make your own colored sugar by adding food coloring to sugar, stirring in a bowl or shaking vigorously in a sealed container. Add more food coloring for more intense tones.

1. PLACE the popcorn in large bowl.

2. PLACE marshmallows and butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the popcorn. Toss well to coat the popcorn evenly.

3. LINE a baking sheet with foil. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray, then scoop up about 1 cup of the popcorn mixture. Shape the mixture into a cone shape, keeping the base flat. This forms the tree.

4. SPRINKLE the tree with decorating sugar. Pplace the tree on the baking sheet. Continue to make the rest of the trees.

5. PIPE frosting on the trees to make a garland, then decorate them with colorful candies.
 
SERVING SUGGESTION

Place each tree atop a sugar cookie and decorate the serving tray with shredded coconut to resemble snow—as shown in the photo above.

Find more fun popcorn recipes at Popcorn.org.
  

Toast to Chanukah or winter. Photo courtesy SKYY Spirits.

This year, Chanukah begins at sundown on December 16th and ends at sunset on Wednesday, December 24th.. The date is based on the Hebrew calendar months*, which are of different lengths than our Gregorian calendar months.

Chanukah commemorates an event in the 2nd century B.C.E.: the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, that had been destroyed during Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of Syria.

According to the Talmud, for the rededication, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the high priest was needed to light the menorah (candelabra) in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night.

However, only one flask of oil was found, with enough to burn for just one day. Yet, the oil burned for eight days, and during that time a fresh supply of kosher oil was prepared to continue.

Based on this miracle, an eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages.

But there is no official Chanukah beverage. So this year, for fun and festivity, we’re publishing a Chanukah cocktail recipe—colored ice blue, a color of the flag of Israel (which is blue and white). The recipe is from SKYY Spirits.

You don’t have to officially celebrate Chanukah in order to whip up a batch. Several years ago, we received the very same recipe called the Winter Chill.

Substitute the vodka for tequila, and you’ve got a blue Margarita!
 
RECIPE: CHANUKAH COCKTAIL or WINTER CHILL COCKTAIL

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients with ice in a shaker.

2. SHAKE vigorously and strain into a Martini glass.

Curaçao (pronounced KOO-ruh-sow) is an orange-flavored liqueur made from the dried peel of a citrus fruit called the laraha, which is grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The laraha was bred from the sweet Valencia orange that was planted by Spanish explorers.

The orange did not grow well in the nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao. It yielded small fruits with bitter, inedible flesh. However, the peels maintained much of the sweet, aromatic essence of the Valencia.

Orange peel has utility and economic value, so the Valencia trees were eventually bred into the laraha species.

To make the liqueur, the dried peels are soaked in a still with alcohol and water, and spices are added. The liqueur is naturally colorless like triple sec, another orange liqueur.

But Curaçao is often colored, typically blue, which creates vibrant-colored, exotic-looking cocktails. The coloring in Blue Curaçao does not alter the taste.

Tired of expending elbow grease to clean burned on or dried food from cooktops, stoves, ovens, barbecue grills, baking pans and counter tops?

So was Richard Lambert, who solved the problem by inventing the whimsically-spelled SKrAPr. This kitchen gadget looks like a merger of a spatula and a paint scraper.

The non-scratching blade scrapes residue off of smooth surfaces. The material is a patented composite resin that works on all smooth surfaces: aluminum, ceramic, glass, granite, hardwood, marble and stainless steel.

Most messes can be SKrAPed up with water as the only lubricant—no chemical cleaners required.

If SKrAPr looks like a device that can scrape off paint splatters or de-ice car windshields—well yes, it is.

There’s a limited lifetime warranty.

The company makes other tools as well, including:

The company uses its Landana 1000 Days, an aged Gouda, in the recipe. Serve the cod with a Chablis or other dry white wine. Find more recipes at LandanaCheese.com.

RECIPE: MARINATED COD

Ingredients

1. MAKE a marinade from the wine, cloves, some thyme, bay leaf, rosemary and sage. Peel the onion, cut into large pieces and add to the marinade. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, simmering for 10 minutes; then leave to cool until lukewarm.

2. WASH the fish and lay it in a pan that can be tightly covered. Pour the lukewarm marinade into the pan. If it doesn’t fully cover the fish, add broth or water. Cover and let the fish to marinate for 5 hours.

3. BRING the mixture to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

4. MELT the butter, add enough flour to make a white roux (see instructions below). Dilute with strained cooking liquid until a creamy sauce is created. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. In the meantime…

6. DRAIN the fish and lay it carefully on a preheated serving dish. Drizzle the sauce over the fish and garnish with thin slices of lemon and fresh herbs. Serve the rest of the sauce on the side.
 
HOW TO MAKE A WHITE ROUX

A roux (pronounced roo) is a combination of fat and flour, that has been used for centuries as a thickening agent in French cuisine. White and blonde roux are used to thicken sauces and soups. Brown and dark brown roux are primarily used in Cajun and Creole dishes, such as gumbo and jambalaya. They have more flavor than the white and blonde versions, but are thinner and thus do a lighter job of thickening

1. MELT the clarified butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is hot enough, a pinch of flour sprinkled on top of it will slowly start to bubble. Then…

2. WHISK the flour into the clarified butter until a thick, rough paste forms. Whisk constantly while the paste bubbles over medium heat. As it cooks, the roux will become smooth and begin to thin. After about 5 minutes, the raw smell of the flour becomes a nutty aroma and you have a white roux.
 
For Other Roux

As it continues to cook—with continuous stirring—the roux becomes smoother and thinner and the bubbling becomes slower.

Buy one for yourself, buy one as a gift, but turn holiday cake-baking into a no-fuss event with an embossed cake pan.

A plain bundt or loaf cake is instantly decorated by the design embossed in the pan. Aside from an optional dusting of confectioners’ sugar, there’s no more work for you to do—a welcome time savings during the holidays or any time of the year.

Nordicware has an extensive collection for every season. For the holidays, check out the Cathedral Pan and other winners, including Bûche de Noël, Christmas Village, Fairytale Cottage, Gingerbread House, Gingerbread Man, Holiday Tree, Holiday Wreath, Star of David and a dozen more.
Pair the cake pan with a package of Nordicware’s terrific bundt cake mixes for a delightful gift.
 

BAKING TIP

Use Baker’s Joy, a nonstick spray with flour, to carefully spray all the nooks and crannies so the details are perfect.