I love my pal Scott’s balls!  I mean, these things are so amazing – holy yum!  I used to work with Scott at Orca Bay Seafoods.  He is hilarious and gives better advice than anyone I have ever met in my life.  I think it is because he has 7  sisters (give or take a few).  He also makes a mean cheese/meat plate that we would pass over our shared cubicle wall while talking on the phone to each other even though we only had 3 feet between us.  

Here is a pic of Scott with his cute son Hayden that I stole from his Facebook.

While I worked at Orca Bay, Scott would bring in these amazing chocolate peanut balls and the ladies at the office would swoon.  People would practically beg him to bring them in more often.

 I have missed his balls so much since I left Orca Bay almost 2 years ago.  Well, the other day, I was the very fortunate recipient of a fed-exed package of balls!!  They lasted about 3 hours and then they were all gone and I felt very ill. However, it was worth it! They are like little bites of chocolate peanut butter heaven.

He not only sent me these balls, but also was generous enough to share his coveted recipe.  I would recommend making these now.  You will not regret it.

Scott – Thank you again very much!  Ricardo would so be proud. I miss Ricardo stories greatly.

Scott’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Printable recipe here.

1 Cup    Powdered sugar (sifted)

1 Cup    Finely chopped pecans

1 Cup    Peanut butter (creamy Jif, of course)

1 Tbsp  Melted butter

1 Tsp  Vanilla extract

1-12oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all but chips into bowl and mix well. I find doing it by hand is the only way to get it mixed really well. Put the mix in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. After the mix hardens a bit, roll into 1″ balls, and put back into the fridge for 30-40 minutes. This just keeps it from getting too mushy when it gets dipped in the chocolate, which gets quite warm.

Melt chocolate ships in double boiler (with a little parafin wax for a nice sheen) and, using two standard teaspoons, drop the balls in the chocolate and cover generously, then drop onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet, and return to the fridge. I usually do this in the evening and leave the balls in the fridge overnight, so i am not sure exactly how long it takes to get the balls into their mouthwatering goodness. This recipe usually makes about 20 balls, so I almost always double it. – Scott

And any Frei family holiday would be complete without a lot of red wine spilling.  This year was no exception:

 Fondue? Don’t mind if I do!  I love fondue – I think it might be because I am a sauce person. I am obsessed with sauces.  Fondue is the only meal I can think of where you dip every course and every bite.  In the words of Lustopher Hardy – “A little bit of heaven”. 

We generally setup the fondue around my parent’s kitchen island, which promotes lots of socializing.

Even Mavie (who has severe IBS (not joking) and is not allowed people food) tried to get a piece of yumminess. 

For those of you not familiar with fondue, we have three courses for the party:

The Cheese

The Meat

The Chocolate

Easy to remember since it is the three basic food groups .

I am sure some of you will be able to relate to this, but all of our family’s Christmas recipes have been around for so many years that they are stored in this little messy handwritten card holder my mom keeps.

 I love looking through all these recipes every year.  I even found a couple of Tomato Aspics (sick).   We don’t make that anymore. My favorite was this recipe written on a Goodyear Tire notepad. Hehe.

 Here are the fondue recipes.

 Don’t worry, I retyped them .

The Cheese Course

As previously mentioned, the night begins with the cheese fondue.  I really could just have this course and be fine for the rest of the night.  It is sooo freaking good. I have seen people make cheese fondue with many different types of cheeses and ingredients.  We never stray from the traditional.  Why fix what ain’t broken? 

Important note: When eating the cheese you must be careful.  It has been said that if you drop your piece of bread or fruit into the cheese you must kiss the person next to you.  Generally, this gets a little strange because I am usually eating fondue with my family.

Traditional Cheese Fondue (Adapted from handwritten recipe circa 1972 by Pam Frei)

½ Pound freshly grated Emmentaler Swiss Cheese

½ Pound freshly grated Le Gruyere Cheese (Do not use processed Gruyere.  The year we tried the processed is the same year we tried the chocolate fountain.  It will forever be known as the year of the fondue failure and subsequently the year without a Santa Claus)

1.5 Cups Dry White Wine

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1.5 Teaspoons Cornstarch

1 Garlic clove halved

½ Teaspoon Nutmeg

Salt and White Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Kirsch Cherry Liquor

Dippers

Loaf of French bread cubed

2 Apples cubed

Roasted potatoes for dipping (optional)

Rub garlic on inside of large pot with two forks.

 Remove garlic solids.  Add white wine and lemon juice and heat over medium heat.  Heat till air bubbles rise but to not boil.  Whisk in cornstarch so there are no lumps.  Reduce heat to low.  Add a handful of cheese. 

 When cheese is melted add another handful.  Do not boil.  Add in nutmeg, salt and pepper and Kirsch.  The Kirsch adds great flavor.  At this point, we add the cheese mixture to a crockpot on high, so it doesn’t burn.  Use fondue sticks to dip.

 The Meat Course

The meat course is a little different because the eater is actually cooking their own meat. 

There are fondue pots (we have 3-4) of heated beef bouillon and red wine (one year we experimented with peanut oil) and over the years we have tried the different combinations of the following:

Shrimp (peeled and deveined)

Steak (cut into chunks)

Chicken (cut into chunks and generally marinated)

Salmon (cut into chunks)

Mushrooms

Peppers          

 Heat the following over a stove until boiling and add to fondue pot.

2 Cups of Beef Broth

1 Cup Red Wine

We like to use Sterno, not tealights, as a heat source.  Otherwise, it doesn’t get hot very fast.

Now for the dipping sauces – I try to make these the day prior to the party:

Sweet and Sour (my personal favorite)

½ cup Apricot Preserves

¼ cup Catsup (this cracks me up!  Anyone know the difference between catsup and ketchup?)

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 Tablespoons Major Grey’s Chutney

Heat all ingredients until it reaches a simmering stage.

Mustard Sauce

1/2 Cup sour cream

1/3 Cup mayonnaise

1.5 Tablespoons prepared mustard (the French’s kind. Not the Dijon)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Teaspoon horseradish

Combine all ingredients and mix well

Blue Cheese Dressing Sauce

This can easily be used as salad dressing to.

¾ Cup sour cream

½ Teaspoon dry mustard

½ Teaspoon salt

½ Garlic clove minced

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ Cup mayonnaise

3 Oz. Crumbled blue cheese

Combine all ingredients with the exception of blue cheese in a large bowl.  Mix for 2 minutes on low speed.  Slowly add blue cheese and blend 4 more minutes.  Refrigerate 24 hours prior to serving.

Teriyaki Sauce
We take a shortcut and use Yoshida!

  The Chocolate Course

I am usually so stuffed at this point that I can barely walk, but I always make room for just a bit more since the chocolate is so good.  Our recipe is super simple but really yummy!

Chocolate Fondue

2 Large bars of Symphony Chocolate with Toffee Bits – This stuff is the best and adds a little extra crunch

½ Cup Whipping Cream

2 ounces of Bailey’s Irish Cream (optional)

Heat chocolate and whipping cream over double boiler over low heat.  Stir until melted.  Transfer to chocolate fondue pot.  

We have this super cute hot fudge warmer thing we use:

Dippers

Use any combination of the following:

Bananas sliced

Mandarin Oranges

Strawberries

Apples

Pineapple

Pound Cake (bite size)

Cheesecake (bite size)

Leftover holiday cookies

At this point in the party I am generally ready to pass out since I am so full. 

I hope you have all have a wonderful Christmas!  I would love to hear about your Christmas traditions.  Please post them in the comment section. 

Be safe, be merry and eat & drink with reckless abandon!  You can work it off later!

Love,

Lindzee

PS.  I wish Mr. Barrera could have been here!  Hope you are having fun in b-town!