Winter Wonderland

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas



It was a very full weekend and I finally feel like the Christmas spirit is in the air. From walking on Michigan Avenue and enjoying the lights to making Christmas cookies and sharing a warm winter meal with friends, I am definitely in the Christmas spirit.

This weekend we indulged in mushroom bread and cookies (recipes below)
Delicious!


Mushroom Bread

1 loaf day-old Vienna Bread
1 pound Swiss cheese, grated
6 ounces fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped

Sauce:

3 green onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3/4 cup margarine or butter

Score bread diagonally both ways, cutting the bread in X's within 1/2 inch of the bottom crust. Stuff bread with cheese and mushrooms.

Put sauce ingredients into saucepan and heat until margarine melts. Spoon over bread, wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.


Mexican Wedding Cake aka Snowball Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (can also use almonds)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Extra powdered sugar (for rolling)

Directions for Preparation

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large mixing bowl, combine together the ingredients - ½ cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. To this, stir in flour, chopped almond and salt. Whisk the mixture well till you get a smooth dough. Make small balls (about 1 inch size) out of the cake dough and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Transfer baked cookies into a wire rack. When cookies are still hot, roll them in powdered sugar. Allow to cool down for a few minutes and roll cookies in powdered sugar again before serving.