Merry Berry Cheese Squares

The snow made everything look so festive! I'm so in the mood for Christmas now!

I'm also in the holiday spirit because last night was my family's annual Christmas party, held at my aunt's house in Newton, N.H. She had quite the spread of food out, including warm spinach and artichoke dip, rum and bourbon balls, cheese and crackers, lasagna bites, and brown sugar kielbasa, to name a few. My duty was dessert, so I made Merry Berry Cheese Squares. I received this recipe when I acted as a judge at The Nashua Telegraph's Culinary Delights Cook-off a few months ago. I did not note who made the recipe, but these bars were second in the running for the "best dessert" award that day. The bars are creamy and rich, and the whole cranberries add a necessary tartness to the otherwise too-sweet squares. Plus, they look almost as festive as the snow outside:

Merry Berry Cheese Squares
Yields: 24 pieces

-2 cups unsifted flour
-1 1/2 cup oats
-3/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
-1 cup butter or margarine, softened
-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
-1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
-2 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With mixer, blend flour, oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar and butter until crumbly. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of mixture. Press remaining mixture into bottom of greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Baked for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk, and mix until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Spread the cheese mixture over the baked crust (doesn't have to be cooled). Combine the cranberry sauce, cornstarch and remaining 1 tbsp. brown sugar. Spoon this over the cheese layer. Top with reserved crumb mixture, and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool and cut into pieces. Refrigerate leftovers.

These squares are definitely not figure-friendly, but it's the holidays - nothing I consume between now and New Year's will probably be healthy. The bars were also a big hit with my family, and I cut them into smaller pieces, since I knew people would be eating a bunch of other desserts.

What baked goods are you making for your upcoming holiday parties?

Local Tweetup gave me new holiday meal idea

Thursday night, I headed down to Nashua for a Tweetup. For us Twitterers, a "Tweetup" is simply a meet-up, or networking event, where you can meet your fellow Tweeters face-to-face, exchange business cards, and just get to know people in your community with common interests (in this case, food and social media, mostly). The event was held at Killarney's Pub inside the Holiday Inn, and a good crowd of at least 30 people mingled over cold Bud Lights and over salted popcorn. Having a Tweetup at such a casual location, with inexpensive appetizers for anyone who wanted them, was a great way to keep it cost effective - and thus brought more local Tweeters in.

I chatted with a lot of folks that I've met at previous Tweetups, and I was also fortunate enough to meet a few new people. Before I left for the night, however, I bumped into my buddy Wayne (@WayneNH), a social media guru and columnist. Wayne asked me a number of insightful, food-related queries, including what my beef is with Dunkin' Donuts (for the record, I loathe their coffee and artificial products). When Wayne asked me what my favorite holiday meal was, however, his response back made me rethink my holiday food traditions. He explained that every Christmas he and his family make a special breakfast versus a big dinner. To me, this is a simple, yet brilliant idea. Not only is a Christmas breakfast cheaper than having a big dinner, but it's also a great way to break up the morning that otherwise rushes by.

What food traditions do you cherish during the holidays?

'Tis the season to save some money

This weekend, I traveled to Long Island to see some friends from my alma mater for a mini holiday party. One of my friends is getting married in June, so us bridesmaids got together this weekend to get fitted for our dresses, but we also made time to meet up with a few of our other friends Saturday night for the gathering. My friend, Stephanie, held the festivity at her apartment, and she had everyone bring one appetizer or side dish, while she focused on the main meal. Everyone brought a little something, including goat cheese tartlets, spinach and artichoke dip, and pigs-in-a-blanket. For the entrée, Stephanie prepared chicken rolled up with fresh mozzarella, breaded and baked in a sauce of butter, white wine, and fresh herbs. She used the remaining cheese for her homemade mashed potatoes, served on the side. The chicken was delicious, although I could have gone without all that butter – over two and a half sticks were used for the sauce!

For dessert, Stephanie had a great, cost-effective idea that also extended the holiday get-together: a few hours before everyone arrived, she had some of her girlfriends over to bake several different kinds of cookies for dessert after the holiday dinner. By doing this, Stephanie saved herself some money as the host – she had each person bring a recipe and its relevant ingredients. The girls had made so many different kinds of cookies, too, including sugar cookies with icing, gingerbread men, and chocolate fudge cookies filled with creamy peanut butter – ah, how I love the taste of the holidays! Here's a photo of my friend Janine putting her artistic skills to good use:

The Nashua Telegraph - Holiday Parties on the Cheap:
I recently wrote an article for The Nashua Telegraph regarding holiday parties on the cheap, and the event planners I spoke with had some awesome tips. I learned that eliminating the little expenses add up quick, without compromising the ability to have elegant décor and delicious food.

In what ways are you cutting corners this year to keep your holiday party within budget?

Turkey and tapas

Phew! It's been a crazy few days, so I apologize for the lack of blogging. I'll start this post by saying my sweet potato pie came out edible and quite delicious. The only thing I'd suggest is to melt the butter before you add it to the sweet potatoes - I was in a rush, and wasn't thinking like a true culinarian at the time.

My Thanksgiving holiday as a whole was also a success. I spent a lot of quality time with my family, ate a lot of homemade, traditional dishes (without overindulging), and sipped on some budget-friendly, palate-pleasing Yellow Tail wine. I was even fortunate enough to have a second holiday with my boyfriend's family on Friday, but instead of eating the same foods we ate on Thanksgiving, his godfather whipped up some yummy tapas and a holiday cocktail, made with Prosecco and blood orange liqueur. The cocktail was refreshing, and went beautifully with appetizers. I was too busy mingling and gorging to take photos like a good blogger, but the menu ranged from polenta topped with spicy tomato sauce and creamy feta cheese, to a variety of crackers and cheeses, marinated olives, and salmon dip with capers. The spread was vast, and having appetizers and cocktails the night after Thanksgiving was a perfect way to round out the holiday without overstuffing our stomachs two nights in a row.

Needless to say, I have a lot to be thankful for these days. How did you spend your Thanksgiving holiday?