Today's Food Holiday for January 30 is Croissant Day

Bakeries are baking extra croissant's today to honor National Croissant Day

Happy Croissant Day everyone! This holiday is celebrated every January 30th in the United States. On this day we are encouraged to eat Croissant's and I can't think of a better thing to do. I love croissant's and find myself buying or baking them every chance I get. I do enjoy them stuffed with ham and cheese as a breakfast food and I love them stuffed with chocolate or fruit as a dessert. Keep an eye out on my posts because I'm working on a page about ways to eat croissant's.

• Food Holiday Directory

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A croissant is a buttery, flaky, pastry named for its crescent shape. Croissants are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry. 

Crescent-shaped breads have been made since the Renaissance, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since antiquity.

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How to Celebrate Croissant Day

• Visit your favorite bakery and buy a bag of fresh baked croissant's.
• Eat croissant's with every meal. Breakfast, Lunch and Supper.
• Learn to bake your own croissant's.
• Bake your own croissant's and share with your friends and family.
• Host a Croissant Party! Bring everyone together for some food fun.

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Holidays To Remember:

Perfect for National Chocolate Cake Day which is celebrated every January 27th!

I wanted to pass on this Pillsbury photo & recipe because as far as a chocolate cake goes... you can't get any better than this. I say this because I enjoy the flavor of hazelnut mixed with chocolate & this recipe uses a whole 16oz. bottle of hazelnut coffee creamer. It also has a 8oz. pack of cream cheese & those who know me well know I cook lots with cream cheese.  Last but not least, nuts & chocolate just go together & this recipe has a touch of chopped hazelnuts too.

RECIPE: Mocha-Hazelnut Cream-Filled Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box (18.25 oz) butter recipe chocolate cake mix
• Butter
• Water
• Eggs
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules or crystals
• 2 bags (12 oz each) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 bottle (16 oz) refrigerated hazelnut-flavor coffee creamer
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts (filberts)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of two 9-inch round pans. Prepare cake mix as directed on box using butter, water and eggs and adding coffee granules; pour batter into pans. Bake as directed on box. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and place on wire racks.
2. In 3-quart saucepan, cook chocolate chips and coffee creamer over medium-low heat about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until melted. Remove from heat; beat in cream cheese with wire whisk until smooth. Cover; refrigerate about 30 minutes.
3. In small microwavable bowl, reserve 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture; set aside for topping. Beat remaining mixture on medium-high speed 8 minutes or until it forms a light and fluffy frosting.
4. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate, rounded side down. Spread 1-inch-thick layer of frosting over cake. Top with second cake layer, rounded side up. Spread frosting on side and top of cake.
5. Microwave reserved 1/2 cup chocolate mixture on High 30 seconds or until soft; spread over top of cake. Sprinkle hazelnuts around top edge. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store in refrigerator.
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1st blog post on 1/27/12 - Flickr photo /
re-post on 1/25/18

RECIPE: Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

Perfect for National Peanut Butter Day!

I like this recipe because, Well... it's all about the peanut butter! Not only is it a great cookie with a surprising touch of cinnamon and chopped peanuts but it's filled with peanut butter too! I think it's a perfect cookie for those who want to celebrate peanut butter. :)


Note: Our Food Calendar also celebrates National Peanut Butter Lovers month the month of November.


DESCRIPTION BY PILLSBURY

"It's a twist on the classic peanut butter cookie! Crunchy outside, creamy inside, with just a hint of cinnamon. A real winner!"

RECIPE: Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled

DIRECTIONS

1.Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

2.In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.

3.Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

4.Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

5.Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Pizza Week: Second week of January

The second week of January is National Pizza Week. We celebrate this observance every year and I always look forward to the new and improved pizza recipes that are posted on food blogs. For this week I'm going to try and post a few pizza ideas and recipes myself and also list an ongoing link list to some other great pizza posts. If your posting about pizza in your blog, make sure you leave us a comment about your post ok. We'll celebrate pizza together :) 

Pizza In The United States

The United States has developed quite a large number of regional forms of pizza, many bearing only a casual resemblance to the Italian original. During the latter half of the 20th century, pizza in the United States became an iconic dish of considerable popularity. The thickness of the crust depends on what the consumer prefers; both thick and thin crust are popular. Often, "Americanized" foods such as barbecued chicken and bacon cheeseburgers are used to create new types of pizza.

Ingredients:

American pizza often has vegetable oil or shortening (often, but not always, olive oil) mixed into the dough; this is not as common in Italian recipes (for example, the pizza dough recipe in the influential Italian cookbook Il cucchiaio d'argento does not use oil). This can range from a small amount in relatively lean doughs, such as New York style, to a very large amount in some recipes for Chicago-style deep-dish dough. In addition, American pizza (at least thin-crust) is often made with a very high- gluten flour (often 13–14% protein content) of the type also used to make bagels; this type of flour allows the dough to be stretched rather thinly without tearing, similar to strudel or phyllo dough.


In some pizza recipes, the tomato sauce is omitted (termed "white pizza"), or replaced with another sauce (usually garlic butter, but sauces can also be made with spinach or onions). In the Philadelphia area there are also tomato pies—sauce only, or sauce with ripe Roma tomatoes and spices but no cheese—and upside-down pizzas, i.e., the cheese on the bottom and topped with sauce. Pizza is normally eaten hot (typically at lunch or dinner), but is sometimes eaten as cold leftovers. (I like it cold for breakfast myself)     wikipedia.com - thefreedictionary.com - gone-ta-pott.com -

Outside Links
•  Chicago style deep dish pizza
•  Thick crust pizza recipe

•  Thin crust pizza recipe

•  How to make dessert pizza
•  Joandsue.blogspot - califlower crust pizza
•  Pizza Tips


1 Week Celebration Recipes
•  Recipe #1 - 4 ingredient pizza /what I call a cheater cheese pizza
•  Recipe #2 - Smoky Brunch Pizza
•  Recipe #3 - Deep-dish sausage patty pizza
•  Recipe #4 - being posted Thursday
•  Recipe #5 - being posted Friday
•  Recipe #6 - being posted Saturday
•  Recipe #7 - being posted Sunday

Other Pizza Holidays to Remember!

• October:  National Pizza Month.

• October 11: National Sausage Pizza Day.

• January: National Pizza Week is the second week of the month.

• May 15:  National Pizza Party Day.

• November 12: National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day.

Frozen Chocolate Granola Cream Cake Recipe

I have to tell you January 5th is National Whipped Cream Day and since I love whipped cream so much I knew I couldn't miss posting for this holiday. I go through at least 2 bowls of whipped cream every week. I just love it! I put in on all my dessert, in my hot cocoa and even on top of my coffee when I have it. ha ha! Here's the recipe I've picked to celebrate.

Frozen Chocolate Granola Cream Cake Recipe 
Originally uploaded by Betty Crocker Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box (6 oz) Nature Valley® dark chocolate granola thins, unwrapped
1 cup Cocoa Puffs® cereal

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line 8x4-inch loaf pan with foil. In large bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

2. Spread 3/4 cup of the whipped cream evenly in bottom of pan. Place 3 granola thins, chocolate side up, on top of cream. Top with 3/4 cup whipped cream. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cereal evenly over top. Spread 3/4 cup of the whipped cream over cereal.

3. Repeat layering with 3 granola thins and 3/4 cup whipped cream. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cereal, 3/4 cup whipped cream and 3 granola thins. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

4. To serve, let cake stand at room temperature 5 minutes. Remove plastic wrap. Place serving platter upside down over pan; turn platter and pan over. Remove pan and foil. Break remaining granola thin into pieces; sprinkle over top. With sharp knife, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

To all you spaghetti lovers, January 4 is National Spaghetti Day and this is the recipe I've picked to post in it's honor. I just wanted to remind everyone that spaghetti sauce cooked in a slow cooker turns out fantastic every time so pull out that crock pot and let it simmer slowly while your at work! Pam

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce Recipe 
Originally uploaded by Betty Crocker Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (15 oz each) Muir Glen® organic tomato sauce
1 can (28 oz) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz) Muir Glen® organic tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and translucent.

2. Spoon vegetables into cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.