Question:
We are doing a cookie exchange where I work, and since this is the first holiday we'll be at this new office
together, I want to make something simple yet something that'll knock their socks off. Any ideas?
Ingrid's Answer:
There's a recipe for Santa's Surprise Cookies, and Thumbprint Celebrations. It's
always fun to personalize the batch of cookies for each individual person; like using different colored icing
for each person and writing the name of the person, or the company name, in icing.
Question:
Ingrid I love your show! Can you help me? My favorite dessert is churros, but do they always have to be fried?
Ingrid's Answer:No, they don't. Actually, I have a great recipe for what I call Shortcut Churros which are oven-baked. You take sheets of puff pastry, cut them in half-inch strips, roll them in sugar and cinnamon, and bake them following the instructions on the package until they're golden. Then I suggest dipping them in melted Dove chocolate and then M&M'S for color. I would serve the churros in a little bucket next to the melted chocolate for people to dip them in.
Question:
How do you make a gingerbread house from scratch?
Ingrid's Answer: Check out the recipe for TWIX Bar Log Cabin. Replace the TWIX with homemade gingerbread cookies, or mix them together. Just make sure the cookies are well-dried so they don't fall apart. To prevent breakage, I recommend baking them longer at a lower temperature. That will dry the cookies out and make them harder and more consistent. Normally you wouldn't do that if you were going to eat the cookies, but to make a house, the rule of thumb is to bake them longer at a lower temperature.
Question:
What is the best frosting to decorate gingerbread men with? I usually use royal frosting, but it tends to fall off. Any suggestions? Which frosting helps the candy stay on best?
Ingrid's Answer:I like making my own Royal Icing — 3 egg whites, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 ¾ cups confectioners' sugar. I think this gives you more time to attach the candies to the gingerbread men, preventing the icing from hardening before you get them on. It also tastes a lot better. Here's a recipe for a Giant Gingerbread Boy.
Question:
What will you cook for your family's holiday meal?
Ingrid's Answer:I tend to be very traditional and make the yearly turkey with my three-meat stuffing. I serve that with spiced broccoli, orange butter and spice sauce, and a sweet potato and pecan casserole. What I like to do to my cranberry sauce is give it a little twist with passion fruit pulp, which gives it a nice tang. And I'll have the Hanukkah doughnuts for dessert. If you want to spruce them up, serve with a scoop of ice cream on the side, and sprinkle some M&M'S on top.
Question:
My kids aren't chocolate lovers. What dessert do you suggest I make for them?
Ingrid's Answer:The churros that I suggested earlier, dipped in caramel or marmalade. Or a creamy fruit salad with SKITTLES sprinkled on top would make it fun and family-friendly, too.
Question:
How do I keep cream puffs light and fluffy? Usually, they look good in the oven, but after I take them from the oven, they fall when I set them on the table. Am I missing something?
Ingrid's Answer:Generally, when you take cream puffs out of the oven they get a shock in temperature that will immediately deflate them. Leave the oven door open before taking them out. This is so you can gradually change the temperature, so they don't shock. First thing is turn the oven off. Then open the door, wait a couple of minutes, then bring them out. Ideally, you should put them on a plate where they're not in a draft from a window or air conditioner. The trick is to very gradually change the temperature when bringing them out.
Question:
What's the secret of making yummy crispy plantains? Thanks!
Ingrid's Answer:I think that would be having the oil at medium temperature. You have to fry them twice. The first time in, you want to make sure that they're cooked through before smashing them and then going in for the second fry. So the first fry is very important. Making sure they're cooked through, but not burned, keeping the oil at a medium temperature, and smashing them thin.
Question:
Hi Ingrid! My favorite cookie recipe has always been sugar cookies with icing, but since a lot of my family members have high cholesterol, I can't serve them this year. Do you know of another recipe I could make for my health-conscious family?
Ingrid's Answer:Try low fat, cholesterol-free oatmeal cookies. Use a low cholesterol butter substitute or corn oil instead of butter. Use egg whites or applesauce instead of whole eggs.
Question:
Love your show! If I wanted to make my cookies non-dairy, what could I use as a substitute for butter?
Ingrid's Answer:You could use non-dairy margarine, like unsalted corn oil. You can also look for any kosher products, which will definitely be dairy-free. Or, try [vegetable] shortening.
Question:
What's the best icing to make from scratch?
Ingrid's Answer:Royal Icing — 3 egg whites, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar. Always sift powdered sugar before use. Look at the consistency of the icing — you want it to be almost like ketchup. Then, you can cover it with a damp cloth when you're not using it, and repeat the beating process before you use it. It dries very quickly!
Question:
Is there a rule for how many desserts should be served at a dinner party?
Ingrid's Answer:The more the merrier! I like to say that there are no rules in food; it's whatever makes you happy. But you can also make individual servings, and present it that way so everyone gets a little ramekin or their own portion in front of them. It's a fun way to present it. There's a great recipe coming for New Year's: Tres Leches, with half a cup of crushed SKITTLES on top. To me, desserts are about being playful — besides delicious, obviously!
Question:
What New Year's Eve party ideas can you share?
Ingrid's Answer:For me, a good luck theme is always what I go with at New Year's; it's for all our crazy Latino traditions. I place 12 grapes in a beautiful wine glass for each guest, and at midnight, everyone eats their 12 grapes to symbolize prosperity. I have little pads and pencils on the plates for each guest to make their wish list for the New Year. I also like to walk around the block with a suitcase, which symbolizes travel and going places. I've got great stuff coming to BrightIdeas.com, so check in to see more great ideas for a New Year's party.
Question:
How many beverage options should I make available to my guests?
Ingrid's Answer:I like to do what I call a signature drink for the evening. This allows me to enjoy my party, not play bartender. It saves money, and I set up a self-serve station and make it the drink of the evening, whatever the drink will be. Stocking a full bar is very expensive. The more options you give people, the more cleanup you will have. And a fun, creative, unexpected drink gives the evening a theme.
Question:
My study doesn't have a door, but I want to keep it off-limits during my party. How can I let guests know not to go in there?
Ingrid's Answer:Either a curtain, a couple of trees or potted plants, or construction cones (they're playful). Potted plants are probably a good idea. Line a couple up at the room's entrance.
Question:
How can I keep eggnog cold while it's sitting out on the buffet table at my party?
Ingrid's Answer:I always make batches ahead and freeze them in ice cube trays. Throughout the evening, you bring out the frozen eggnog cubes and put them in the bowl. Or, you can put a bowl of ice underneath the eggnog bowl.
Question:
What's the best night to throw a holiday party?
Ingrid's Answer:First, find out when all your friends' office parties are before you choose a date for yours. Generally, during the holidays I would think that Mondays and Tuesdays are the least popular days, likely making them the best choices for availability.
Question:
I need some ideas for New Year's Eve party food. It's not a sit-down party, so everything should be easy to eat while standing.
Ingrid's Answer:Make things bite-sized. Little toasts with tapenade, or little tartlets with onions and crumbled cheese that you could make with a puff pastry sheet. Take out the entire sheet, cover it with some onions and cheese, bake them, and cut them into little squares. Or, do a big pork loin, cut it in small bite-sized pieces, and serve with a fig jam on top of mini crackers; smoked salmon with sour cream and chives on little toasts; a signature drink. Remember to have fun!
Question:
My son's birthday is 9 days before Christmas, and I find that I can't get family to come to a separate birthday celebration when they say they can just give him his birthday presents at Christmas. This seems unfair to him. How can I get my family to come to his birthday parties?
Ingrid's Answer:Celebrate his birthday earlier, like at the beginning of the month. Explain to your family that their presence is very important to him.
Question:
I have a large family and prefer to make a gift for the entire family instead of individual gifts that cost hundreds of dollars. What would you suggest I make this year?
Ingrid's Answer:I suggest the sharing of an experience as a family. A cooking class is something that would be a lot of fun to do with the whole family. Whether at home where you bring in a chef, or going to a facility where they hold cooking classes — and they will accept all ages so you can bring your entire family. It's time well spent together, and it's bonding around food and laughter.
Question:
I've only been working for my new boss for the past 6 months, barely making minimum wage. The girls in the office suggested we each buy her a Christmas gift. Any suggestions?
Ingrid's Answer:Bake something — a batch of cookies or cupcakes. Try Santa's Surprise Cookies and wrap them in beautiful paper or a nice tin.
Question:
Ingrid, which cooking gadgets will be under your tree this Christmas?
Ingrid's Answer:Definitely lime squeezers. Can't live without them! Tortilla warmers; chocolate fondue sets; microplanes.
Question:
What's a good gift for my child's teacher?
Ingrid's Answer:You could frame one of the fun things you have made in class, or you could give a homemade picture frame and include one of your child's accomplishments. You can give an apple dipped in chocolate on a pretty stick. Or, try Santa's Magic Cocoa.
Question:
I want to wrap gifts in an earth-friendly way. Any ideas?
Ingrid's Answer:Newspapers and magazines are fun, or recycled paper, or craft paper. Fabric is another fun option. People can later turn that fabric into something else.
Question:
I've been dating my boyfriend off and on for 5 years. This is the first Christmas we've lived together. I want to get him something really special, but I'm at a loss. Help!!!
Ingrid's Answer:Make him a special meal just for two. Men love chocolate. Make him a delicious chocolate dessert — a chocolate fondue evening by the fireplace and the Christmas tree. You can dip marshmallows, strawberries, and pieces of store-bought pound cake into the chocolate. You can arrange it all on long skewers: skewers of cake, skewers of marshmallows, skewers of strawberries or melon balls. Melt some Dove Chocolate inside the fondue pot and add M&M'S. It's unexpected, totally romantic and festive.
Question:
Every year I spend countless hours making my Christmas cards, making out the envelopes, stamping them, etc. This year I was thinking of doing e-mail cards. Do you think that takes the personalization out of it though?
Ingrid's Answer:It's good for the environment, and you can always personalize it by having a festive family photograph of yourself and your dog, or yourself and your children with a fun message in your hand.
Question:
How do you decorate for the holidays? I'm looking for new ideas.
Ingrid's Answer:I take Styrofoam cone shapes, and take individually-wrapped candies or chocolates, such as Mini DOVE or MILKY WAY, SNICKERS, TWIX. Anything that's miniature and individually-wrapped. Then, take a glue gun, and start attaching candy from the bottom of the cone, moving upwards without leaving any holes so the cone is completely packed with candy. It turns into a candy and chocolate Christmas tree. You can wrap the bottom in some burlap and put a bow on it, or, you can try three cones of different sizes.
Question:
My birthday is in December. I want to throw a combination birthday and holiday party. How should I decorate the house?
Ingrid's Answer:I would make arrangements that have candy or colored M&M'S. Within the arrangements, place a smaller vase with flowers. You could pick two or three colors that don't need to be red and green per se. Fill your trays with M&M'S, and lay your party food over it. Going with a different color scheme will create a feeling of Christmas along with a festive birthday celebration. Spell MERRY BIRTHDAY on the cake with M&M'S. That could be the invite — "Come to my Merry Birthday!"
Question:
I want to decorate the walkway to my house for a holiday party. Do you have any ideas?
Ingrid's Answer:Kerosene hurricane lamps are fun for outdoor use, and they won't blow out. You could also use small plants with Christmas lights wrapped around them, creating a whole pathway.
Question:
I live in a warm-weather region, so we'll be holding our Christmas party in our backyard. Do you have any suggestions for outdoor decorations, particularly for around a swimming pool?
Ingrid's Answer:I have a very fun idea — get plastic balls, like beach balls, in Christmas colors — red, white, green. Get the biggest you can get, and also some different sizes. Blow them up, and put them in the pool to float. They will look like gigantic Christmas ornaments, and people can kick them around to play in the yard. That should be very inexpensive yet fun decor.
Question:
Ingrid, how would you suggest I keep the kids busy while I cook?
Ingrid's Answer:When I'd had my sister's kids when they were little, I'd always find them a fun job to do. Find something non-hazardous (no knives!) to do, and let them participate. They will have fun, and enjoy the experience and feel that they're part of it, and therefore, contributing.
Question:
If a holiday party invitation doesn't specify attire, how should I dress?
Ingrid's Answer:It's the holidays. Spruce up. I would say cocktail attire will make you safe. I prefer to be a little overdressed than underdressed for the holidays.
Question:
Is it true that you have a book coming out?
Ingrid's Answer:Yes, it is. I have a book coming out in February called "Simply Delicioso - A Collection of Everyday Recipes With a Latin Twist."
E-Chat Session
Archive:
Archive:
