1 00:00:07,073 --> 00:00:08,308 Hank, we'll start from the top. 2 00:00:08,375 --> 00:00:09,209 Okay. 3 00:00:10,510 --> 00:00:12,112 Holidays in California. 4 00:00:12,178 --> 00:00:14,614 -[Jack] Go! -[both screaming] 5 00:00:17,751 --> 00:00:19,386 [Elizabeth] Obviously, it doesn't snow 6 00:00:19,452 --> 00:00:21,154 on the Central Coast of California, 7 00:00:21,221 --> 00:00:23,289 but it doesn't mean we can't sled. 8 00:00:23,356 --> 00:00:24,357 -Three... -Okay. 9 00:00:24,424 --> 00:00:26,192 -...two, one. -[yelps] 10 00:00:29,929 --> 00:00:31,231 Ah! Coming! 11 00:00:32,532 --> 00:00:34,501 [laughs] 12 00:00:34,567 --> 00:00:37,670 Do you guys like sledding better on the snow or on the dirt? 13 00:00:37,737 --> 00:00:38,972 -Snow. -Snow. 14 00:00:41,107 --> 00:00:43,710 [opening theme music playing] 15 00:00:43,777 --> 00:00:45,678 [Elizabeth] Welcome to Rancho San Julian. 16 00:00:45,745 --> 00:00:47,447 I'm Elizabeth Poett. 17 00:00:47,514 --> 00:00:50,984 This place has been my family's home since the early 1800s, 18 00:00:51,050 --> 00:00:53,887 when my great, great, great, great-grandfather 19 00:00:53,953 --> 00:00:56,489 first moved to the Central Coast of California. 20 00:00:56,556 --> 00:01:00,593 Eight generations later, our family is still here, 21 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:03,096 cooking, eating, and living off the land 22 00:01:03,163 --> 00:01:04,664 from Ranch to Table. 23 00:01:06,833 --> 00:01:08,935 It's a huge job and it's constant. 24 00:01:11,738 --> 00:01:12,872 Captain, come on! There you go. 25 00:01:15,108 --> 00:01:17,911 This place grows and inspires some amazing things. 26 00:01:18,611 --> 00:01:20,280 So delicious. 27 00:01:20,346 --> 00:01:22,849 I've been cooking big ranch meals since I was a kid. 28 00:01:22,916 --> 00:01:23,683 It's how I grew up. 29 00:01:25,251 --> 00:01:28,354 We've got all sorts of goodies for dinner tonight. 30 00:01:28,421 --> 00:01:33,092 It's all about fresh, seasonal, simple, delicious food. 31 00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:36,095 And it's that philosophy of food and life 32 00:01:36,162 --> 00:01:37,864 that inspires me every day. 33 00:01:49,375 --> 00:01:51,811 Today I am getting the whole kitchen ready. 34 00:01:51,878 --> 00:01:53,746 I love decorating for the holidays. 35 00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:57,550 I made this big bough and I'm gonna put it up. 36 00:01:59,052 --> 00:02:00,086 Here we go. 37 00:02:00,153 --> 00:02:01,921 The thing I love about the holidays 38 00:02:01,988 --> 00:02:03,790 is it's all about traditions, 39 00:02:03,857 --> 00:02:07,126 it's all about food and coming together 40 00:02:07,193 --> 00:02:10,663 because especially with young kids, it's a magical time of year. 41 00:02:11,798 --> 00:02:12,565 I think we're done. 42 00:02:17,904 --> 00:02:20,840 I love the holidays for many, many reasons, 43 00:02:20,907 --> 00:02:24,310 but mainly I love the holidays for the food. 44 00:02:24,377 --> 00:02:26,679 I think that this is the time of year 45 00:02:26,746 --> 00:02:28,848 that it's really nice to be able to have, like, 46 00:02:28,915 --> 00:02:31,351 a really big, hearty breakfast. 47 00:02:31,417 --> 00:02:35,188 So, today I am gonna be making a strata. 48 00:02:35,255 --> 00:02:37,357 You can make different kinds, but I am gonna be making 49 00:02:37,423 --> 00:02:41,594 a strata with sausage, gruyere cheese, and mushrooms. 50 00:02:41,661 --> 00:02:44,697 It's almost like a casserole, but it's in layers. 51 00:02:44,764 --> 00:02:49,002 And also this time of year, I love making a million different types of cookies. 52 00:02:49,068 --> 00:02:51,671 I can package them all up and drop 'em off 53 00:02:51,738 --> 00:02:53,673 to neighbors and friends' houses. 54 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:56,876 It's something that, kind of in this community, we all do. 55 00:02:56,943 --> 00:02:59,646 So, I'm gonna be making chocolate truffles. 56 00:02:59,712 --> 00:03:01,714 So simple, so delicious. 57 00:03:01,781 --> 00:03:05,485 And then my butter thumbprint cookies with a jam filling. 58 00:03:05,552 --> 00:03:08,555 They're kind of the perfect pairing to this season. 59 00:03:08,621 --> 00:03:11,391 But for right now, I'm gonna be making the strata. 60 00:03:11,457 --> 00:03:13,293 So, now I'm greasing the pan. 61 00:03:13,359 --> 00:03:14,994 Just with a little bit of butter. 62 00:03:15,061 --> 00:03:19,799 Just wanna get a nice French baguette bread and cut the bread. 63 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:23,069 And you wanna do it at about a half an inch thickness. 64 00:03:26,406 --> 00:03:29,342 So, we've prepped the pan, we've cut our bread, 65 00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:32,345 and now we're gonna cook up a pound and a half of pork sausage. 66 00:03:34,247 --> 00:03:37,984 I think during the holidays, it's really a time that we wanna 67 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:41,154 kind of be home more and hang out with the family, 68 00:03:41,220 --> 00:03:45,758 and so my mom always used to have big breakfasts. 69 00:03:45,825 --> 00:03:48,895 She would make a lot of different dishes, 70 00:03:48,962 --> 00:03:52,599 but the strata is something that I've really come to love. 71 00:03:52,665 --> 00:03:54,267 All right, so while this is browning, 72 00:03:54,334 --> 00:03:56,202 I am gonna start cutting the onions. 73 00:03:57,036 --> 00:03:58,338 Just one yellow onion. 74 00:04:01,274 --> 00:04:02,241 Perfect. 75 00:04:03,376 --> 00:04:04,444 All right, this is looking good. 76 00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:06,713 This is all brown. 77 00:04:06,779 --> 00:04:12,585 And as I scoop it out, I'm keeping all the oil in the pan. 78 00:04:12,652 --> 00:04:17,457 That's where you're gonna get all of that delicious breakfast sausage flavor. 79 00:04:18,291 --> 00:04:20,393 I'm gonna just add the onion. 80 00:04:22,862 --> 00:04:26,466 I'm gonna add about two tablespoons of olive oil. 81 00:04:26,532 --> 00:04:28,901 Now I'm gonna add a quarter teaspoon of salt. 82 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:32,472 We're gonna just cook it till it's nice and brown. 83 00:04:33,673 --> 00:04:35,208 It's about done. 84 00:04:35,274 --> 00:04:38,544 And we're gonna just put it in with the breakfast sausage. 85 00:04:38,611 --> 00:04:40,313 The thing I love about making this strata, 86 00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:42,415 is that you can do all the work ahead of time. 87 00:04:42,482 --> 00:04:44,617 Throw it in the fridge, let it sit overnight 88 00:04:44,684 --> 00:04:46,252 and then in the morning, all you need to do 89 00:04:46,319 --> 00:04:48,221 is pull it out and throw it into the oven. 90 00:04:48,287 --> 00:04:51,758 So, now we're gonna cook up a half a pound of sliced mushrooms. 91 00:04:53,526 --> 00:04:58,164 So, I'm gonna add in again another two tablespoons of olive oil 92 00:04:58,231 --> 00:05:00,767 and a quarter teaspoon of salt, 93 00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:03,336 while I cook these up together. 94 00:05:03,403 --> 00:05:05,471 Same thing, I'm just gonna scoop 'em out, 95 00:05:05,538 --> 00:05:08,141 put 'em right in here with this mixture. 96 00:05:11,077 --> 00:05:14,414 And last but not least, I'm just gonna get some baby spinach. 97 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,015 Let that cook down. 98 00:05:17,216 --> 00:05:19,185 If it needs it, looks like it does, 99 00:05:19,252 --> 00:05:21,254 could use a little bit more olive oil, 100 00:05:22,588 --> 00:05:23,923 a little bit more salt. 101 00:05:25,024 --> 00:05:26,092 Just do a little pinch. 102 00:05:29,696 --> 00:05:31,664 Spinach is so fast to cook. 103 00:05:31,731 --> 00:05:33,166 I like to do it at the end. 104 00:05:34,567 --> 00:05:36,169 You wanna squeeze out the excess juice 105 00:05:36,235 --> 00:05:38,805 so that you don't have a longer cooking time for the strata. 106 00:05:43,576 --> 00:05:44,777 I'm just gonna roughly chop. 107 00:05:48,448 --> 00:05:49,615 I'm gonna place it in. 108 00:05:51,617 --> 00:05:52,518 Okay. 109 00:05:53,453 --> 00:05:55,021 So, we're gonna mix this up. 110 00:05:55,088 --> 00:05:59,492 So, we've got all of this delicious sausage mixture. 111 00:05:59,559 --> 00:06:01,227 Now we're gonna mix up the eggs. 112 00:06:03,429 --> 00:06:04,330 Okay. 113 00:06:04,397 --> 00:06:05,565 Get those eggs out. 114 00:06:05,631 --> 00:06:06,733 Whoo! 115 00:06:06,799 --> 00:06:10,036 Strata calls for a ton of eggs. 116 00:06:10,103 --> 00:06:13,306 Twelve of these bad boy eggs. 117 00:06:19,979 --> 00:06:22,849 All right, now we're gonna add in three cups of half and half. 118 00:06:25,318 --> 00:06:27,420 Two teaspoons of salt. 119 00:06:29,055 --> 00:06:30,723 About a quarter teaspoon of pepper. 120 00:06:34,327 --> 00:06:35,161 Great. 121 00:06:36,562 --> 00:06:40,032 And I've already got the gruyere cheese 122 00:06:41,634 --> 00:06:42,935 nicely shredded. 123 00:06:43,002 --> 00:06:45,505 Strata just, it means layers. 124 00:06:45,571 --> 00:06:48,341 So, we're gonna start off with the bread. 125 00:06:48,407 --> 00:06:50,943 And basically we're just gonna use half the bread 126 00:06:51,010 --> 00:06:53,079 and make one big layer. 127 00:06:54,347 --> 00:06:56,349 Oopsies, oh, man. 128 00:06:56,415 --> 00:06:57,183 It's fine, keep going. 129 00:06:58,317 --> 00:07:00,920 Take half of the sausage mixture, 130 00:07:00,987 --> 00:07:03,356 we're just gonna lay in that mixture. 131 00:07:10,463 --> 00:07:13,199 And now I'm gonna put half the cheese. 132 00:07:14,934 --> 00:07:17,470 Okay, so we've done our first layering, 133 00:07:17,537 --> 00:07:18,938 and now we're gonna do it again. 134 00:07:19,005 --> 00:07:20,273 Take our bread, 135 00:07:22,542 --> 00:07:23,543 sausage mixture, 136 00:07:25,778 --> 00:07:27,947 now just for the rest of that cheese. 137 00:07:28,848 --> 00:07:30,950 All that goodness. 138 00:07:31,017 --> 00:07:34,086 Now we're gonna pour in all of this egg mixture 139 00:07:34,153 --> 00:07:37,490 and you're just gonna pour in really, really slowly 140 00:07:37,557 --> 00:07:41,294 because that egg is just gonna soak to the bottom. 141 00:07:41,894 --> 00:07:43,062 Right. 142 00:07:43,129 --> 00:07:44,397 All in there. 143 00:07:46,399 --> 00:07:48,234 I'm now just gonna cover it. 144 00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:51,938 I just like to put something heavy on top, usually just a cutting board 145 00:07:52,004 --> 00:07:56,342 and I'm doing that mainly because the bread and things will start coming to the top 146 00:07:56,409 --> 00:07:58,744 and I just wanna make sure that they're fully soaked 147 00:07:58,811 --> 00:08:02,114 in that egg and creamy mixture all night long. 148 00:08:02,181 --> 00:08:04,483 So, I'm gonna put it in the fridge overnight 149 00:08:04,550 --> 00:08:06,986 and it will be ready to put in the oven in the morning. 150 00:08:15,895 --> 00:08:19,632 [Elizabeth] During the holidays, my family loves a big breakfast 151 00:08:19,699 --> 00:08:21,901 and that's why I love making breakfasts 152 00:08:21,968 --> 00:08:25,338 that just feel hearty and cozy. 153 00:08:30,409 --> 00:08:32,511 So, we've let the strata sit overnight. 154 00:08:32,578 --> 00:08:34,247 I brought it to room temperature, 155 00:08:34,313 --> 00:08:37,783 now the strata's been in the oven at 325 for an hour and a half. 156 00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:39,685 It is ready. Yum. 157 00:08:40,686 --> 00:08:43,022 You can see all that cheese is, 158 00:08:43,089 --> 00:08:45,024 all the little bubbles on the side. 159 00:08:45,091 --> 00:08:47,159 It smells so good, I can't wait. 160 00:08:47,226 --> 00:08:51,130 I'm just gonna let this rest for about 15 minutes and then it's ready to eat. 161 00:08:51,197 --> 00:08:54,834 When I was little, my mom was always great about the holidays 162 00:08:54,901 --> 00:08:56,702 and always making it special for us. 163 00:08:56,769 --> 00:08:59,705 We would have a lot of hot cocoa and a lot of different things. 164 00:08:59,772 --> 00:09:02,008 It would just feel like a special time of year. 165 00:09:02,775 --> 00:09:03,809 What's for breakfast? 166 00:09:04,610 --> 00:09:05,778 Strata. 167 00:09:05,845 --> 00:09:06,646 [Jack] Yum. 168 00:09:09,282 --> 00:09:10,383 Jack, you want some on your plate? 169 00:09:11,784 --> 00:09:12,551 All right. 170 00:09:13,786 --> 00:09:14,720 Okay. 171 00:09:14,787 --> 00:09:15,554 Here you go, hon. 172 00:09:17,056 --> 00:09:17,823 Here you go, honey. 173 00:09:20,526 --> 00:09:21,894 Here, I'll take the orange, while it's-- 174 00:09:21,961 --> 00:09:23,529 -[Elizabeth] It's a little cooler. -While it's cooling off. 175 00:09:23,596 --> 00:09:24,697 -Yeah. -[Jack] You know what would be really good on this? 176 00:09:24,764 --> 00:09:26,465 -Hot sauce. -[Elizabeth] Go grab some. 177 00:09:26,532 --> 00:09:28,968 My great uncle, who lived here, 178 00:09:29,035 --> 00:09:32,638 would always bring a little Tabasco in his, uh, pocket. 179 00:09:32,705 --> 00:09:34,040 You're kinda like him. 180 00:09:34,106 --> 00:09:35,541 Really good. 181 00:09:35,608 --> 00:09:39,545 During the holidays, breakfast becomes a bigger thing. 182 00:09:39,612 --> 00:09:44,650 It's nice to take that time to kind of enjoy it and be together. 183 00:09:44,717 --> 00:09:46,719 And then go out and do all the fun things 184 00:09:46,786 --> 00:09:48,354 that we wanna do for the holidays. 185 00:09:48,421 --> 00:09:50,089 Your coffee's getting cold, so drink up. 186 00:09:56,429 --> 00:09:58,597 So, one of the things I love to do around this time of year 187 00:09:58,664 --> 00:10:01,500 is make these gift boxes full of sweets. 188 00:10:01,567 --> 00:10:03,569 I love making different types of cookies, 189 00:10:03,636 --> 00:10:07,173 boxing them up, and then leaving them in my neighbors' mailboxes, 190 00:10:07,239 --> 00:10:08,741 and it's just something sweet to do. 191 00:10:08,808 --> 00:10:11,210 So, today I'm gonna be making some truffles, 192 00:10:11,277 --> 00:10:15,281 and then I'm gonna make right now this buttery, thumbprint cookie. 193 00:10:15,348 --> 00:10:19,352 Super simple, but it just has this, like, this buttery, rich goodness. 194 00:10:19,418 --> 00:10:22,588 So, let's get started making the thumbprint cookies. 195 00:10:22,655 --> 00:10:25,057 I'm gonna start by creaming a cup of unsalted butter. 196 00:10:26,959 --> 00:10:29,295 And you wanna make sure that it's at room temperature. 197 00:10:31,998 --> 00:10:34,967 And I'm gonna add in a fourth of a cup of brown sugar 198 00:10:38,938 --> 00:10:41,907 and a fourth of a cup of granulated sugar. 199 00:10:41,974 --> 00:10:44,110 Captain, always barking. 200 00:10:44,176 --> 00:10:45,911 [all laughing] Oh, my gosh. 201 00:10:47,213 --> 00:10:48,814 Make sure the sides are clean. 202 00:10:50,683 --> 00:10:52,651 Now I'm gonna add two eggs. 203 00:11:02,061 --> 00:11:06,899 I like to make sure that the eggs are mixed. 204 00:11:09,235 --> 00:11:12,405 And I'm gonna add in the two eggs and two teaspoons of vanilla. 205 00:11:18,811 --> 00:11:21,614 Add that in and mix well. 206 00:11:23,849 --> 00:11:25,251 All right, so this is fully mixed. 207 00:11:25,317 --> 00:11:27,286 I'm gonna get together the dry ingredients. 208 00:11:29,121 --> 00:11:32,658 Baking is probably one of the most fun traditions during the holidays. 209 00:11:32,725 --> 00:11:36,629 It's maybe the first time that I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, 210 00:11:36,695 --> 00:11:40,499 having fun with all of the different flavors 211 00:11:40,566 --> 00:11:42,134 that come with the holidays. 212 00:11:42,201 --> 00:11:45,671 Gonna start with two and a half cups of all-purpose flour. 213 00:11:46,505 --> 00:11:47,573 One teaspoon of salt. 214 00:11:49,108 --> 00:11:51,844 And now I'm gonna just slowly add it into the butter mixture, 215 00:11:51,911 --> 00:11:53,112 little by little. 216 00:12:03,589 --> 00:12:05,357 Smells good. 217 00:12:05,424 --> 00:12:08,227 The nice thing about this cookie, I don't need to cool them in the fridge, 218 00:12:08,294 --> 00:12:12,231 I can just go right now into rolling them and putting them in the oven. 219 00:12:12,298 --> 00:12:14,133 All right, let's make these cookies. 220 00:12:18,104 --> 00:12:20,840 Cookie sheet with a piece of parchment. 221 00:12:22,541 --> 00:12:25,878 So, I'm gonna put about a quarter of a cup of sugar 222 00:12:27,146 --> 00:12:28,080 on a plate. 223 00:12:32,118 --> 00:12:35,154 So, we have this strawberry jam, a little bit of sugar. 224 00:12:36,789 --> 00:12:40,092 So, I'm gonna just take about a tablespoon of cookie dough, 225 00:12:41,127 --> 00:12:42,895 roll it up into a little ball, 226 00:12:42,962 --> 00:12:45,498 put all of that delicious sugar on it, 227 00:12:45,564 --> 00:12:48,167 nicely coated, I love to really coat it. 228 00:12:48,234 --> 00:12:50,169 Makes the cookie look really sparkly. 229 00:12:51,937 --> 00:12:54,940 And then you just put your thumbprint right on in there. 230 00:12:55,007 --> 00:12:56,509 It's almost like a little well. 231 00:12:56,575 --> 00:12:57,543 And we keep going. 232 00:13:00,112 --> 00:13:02,748 These cookies I've made for a really long time 233 00:13:02,815 --> 00:13:04,850 and I've just found them more and more fun 234 00:13:04,917 --> 00:13:07,353 ever since I've been canning and jamming. 235 00:13:07,419 --> 00:13:10,689 I love being able to use all the jams 236 00:13:10,756 --> 00:13:12,725 that I make throughout the year. 237 00:13:15,661 --> 00:13:18,697 So, I'm doing this in just a regular sugar, 238 00:13:18,764 --> 00:13:22,301 but if you want to you could use, like, another color dusting. 239 00:13:22,368 --> 00:13:26,105 If you wanted to use a red, maybe, dusting sugar. 240 00:13:27,039 --> 00:13:28,407 That's fun and festive too. 241 00:13:29,975 --> 00:13:30,910 Okay. 242 00:13:31,777 --> 00:13:33,045 Thumbprints are ready. 243 00:13:36,015 --> 00:13:38,717 So, now we're gonna just put in the jam. 244 00:13:38,784 --> 00:13:42,221 Put about a quarter teaspoon of strawberry jam 245 00:13:42,288 --> 00:13:44,456 right into this well that you made. 246 00:13:44,523 --> 00:13:45,925 And you just wanna do a little. 247 00:13:45,991 --> 00:13:48,961 When you're putting this all in the oven, it will heat up 248 00:13:49,028 --> 00:13:51,664 and you just don't wanna over-stuff these wells 249 00:13:51,730 --> 00:13:53,632 because then it will boil over. 250 00:13:53,699 --> 00:13:55,801 All right, so these are all ready to go. 251 00:13:55,868 --> 00:13:58,437 I've pre-heated the oven to 350 252 00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:02,741 and this is a really quick bake, about 12 to 14 minutes. 253 00:14:02,808 --> 00:14:06,745 The thumbprint cookie is something that my mom used to make a lot of them 254 00:14:06,812 --> 00:14:08,681 because she did so much jamming 255 00:14:08,747 --> 00:14:11,784 and it's just one way to also, kind of, 256 00:14:11,850 --> 00:14:13,919 keep using that jam throughout the year. 257 00:14:13,986 --> 00:14:15,421 All right, it's been 12 minutes, 258 00:14:15,487 --> 00:14:17,356 I'm gonna check on these cookies. 259 00:14:17,423 --> 00:14:20,025 And they are looking perfect. 260 00:14:20,092 --> 00:14:23,295 You can see that they are just starting to brown 261 00:14:23,362 --> 00:14:25,698 just a little bit on the edges. 262 00:14:25,764 --> 00:14:31,270 That jam, it's almost like a gummy right inside the cookie. 263 00:14:31,337 --> 00:14:33,138 All right, so I'm gonna let these cool 264 00:14:33,205 --> 00:14:35,841 and then I'm gonna make the chocolate truffles, 265 00:14:35,908 --> 00:14:37,476 and then we're gonna wrap them all up 266 00:14:37,543 --> 00:14:39,378 in these beautiful little packages 267 00:14:39,445 --> 00:14:41,347 to drop off at my neighbors' homes. 268 00:14:58,731 --> 00:15:00,266 [Elizabeth] The boys are in their treehouse. 269 00:15:00,332 --> 00:15:03,202 They built this, uh, a couple years ago 270 00:15:03,269 --> 00:15:05,170 with Austin and their grandfather. 271 00:15:06,138 --> 00:15:08,307 I have hot chocolate for you! 272 00:15:08,374 --> 00:15:10,009 Do you want me to, oh, no, no, no, please. 273 00:15:10,075 --> 00:15:12,444 Okay, all right. 274 00:15:12,511 --> 00:15:14,713 So, the boys have forts all over the ranch, 275 00:15:14,780 --> 00:15:17,449 but one of their favorite forts is the treehouse 276 00:15:17,516 --> 00:15:20,286 because it's just theirs, they can make it their own 277 00:15:20,352 --> 00:15:22,021 and then sometimes, I visit. 278 00:15:22,655 --> 00:15:23,389 All right. 279 00:15:24,290 --> 00:15:25,124 Ready. 280 00:15:27,593 --> 00:15:29,962 Can I come up? Parents allowed? 281 00:15:30,029 --> 00:15:31,196 [Jack] I'll make an exception. 282 00:15:31,263 --> 00:15:32,197 Well, thank you. 283 00:15:32,931 --> 00:15:34,366 Oh, my gosh. 284 00:15:34,433 --> 00:15:37,069 -Yummy. -[Jack] How does that work? 285 00:15:37,136 --> 00:15:39,004 [Elizabeth] You just open it a little bit and it pours out. 286 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:42,308 Have you guys slept up here yet? 287 00:15:42,374 --> 00:15:43,309 [Jack] Me and Dad have. 288 00:15:43,375 --> 00:15:44,543 [Elizabeth] You guys did, yeah. 289 00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:46,211 Oh, yeah, I didn't. 290 00:15:46,278 --> 00:15:48,147 -[Elizabeth] You stayed in the house with me? -[Hank] Yeah. 291 00:15:48,213 --> 00:15:51,016 [Elizabeth] Being able to make these holidays as memorable as possible 292 00:15:51,083 --> 00:15:53,652 is really the ultimate joy for me. 293 00:15:53,719 --> 00:15:57,323 It's so important for kids to just be a kid and have fun. 294 00:16:01,627 --> 00:16:05,998 So, this time of year we all make different types of cookies 295 00:16:06,065 --> 00:16:09,234 and I'm making chocolate truffles right now. 296 00:16:09,301 --> 00:16:13,439 The thing about truffles is, I feel like whenever I make them, 297 00:16:13,505 --> 00:16:18,210 I feel like everybody's like, it just seems so, like, fancy and decadent and... 298 00:16:18,277 --> 00:16:21,880 I kind of love that because it is so simple. 299 00:16:21,947 --> 00:16:25,017 It's almost, like, a little bit embarrassing how simple it is. 300 00:16:25,084 --> 00:16:26,618 Double boiler, 301 00:16:26,685 --> 00:16:30,189 heatproof boil, about an inch of water. 302 00:16:30,255 --> 00:16:33,125 You put it right on, on medium heat. 303 00:16:33,192 --> 00:16:36,962 And then I'm gonna grab some butter and chocolate. 304 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,603 So, basically we are just starting with a stick and a half of butter 305 00:16:46,138 --> 00:16:49,241 and eight ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. 306 00:16:51,110 --> 00:16:52,978 I'm just gonna let this melt down. 307 00:16:53,045 --> 00:16:56,248 It's just gonna take probably about 5-10 minutes. 308 00:16:56,315 --> 00:16:57,883 Keep your eye on it, you wanna make sure 309 00:16:57,950 --> 00:17:01,253 that you always have water in this pan 310 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,790 so that it's slowly, slowly melting. 311 00:17:04,857 --> 00:17:06,925 So, around here, a lot of our neighbors, 312 00:17:06,992 --> 00:17:10,429 they love to, you know, make sweets and drop them off. 313 00:17:10,496 --> 00:17:12,898 Usually we leave them in the mailboxes. 314 00:17:12,965 --> 00:17:15,501 It's just something that becomes a holiday tradition 315 00:17:15,567 --> 00:17:17,803 where that you're sharing with your neighbors 316 00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:21,173 and when I open my mailbox and there's some sweets, 317 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,475 you cannot help but smile. 318 00:17:23,542 --> 00:17:25,978 So, you wanna just keep constantly stirring. 319 00:17:26,044 --> 00:17:30,249 All that chocolate and the butter has all melted together. 320 00:17:30,315 --> 00:17:32,184 All right, so this is all ready to go. 321 00:17:32,251 --> 00:17:34,520 I'm gonna take this off the heat 322 00:17:34,586 --> 00:17:36,922 and now I'm gonna get some vanilla and cream. 323 00:17:43,328 --> 00:17:45,664 So, now I'm gonna put a teaspoon of vanilla 324 00:17:49,435 --> 00:17:50,936 and a half a cup of cream. 325 00:17:52,204 --> 00:17:54,940 And I'm just gonna pour this very slowly 326 00:17:55,007 --> 00:17:58,210 and just constantly be mixing it all in together. 327 00:18:04,550 --> 00:18:06,885 So, after you've seen all that cream disappear, 328 00:18:06,952 --> 00:18:09,488 you wanna really keep stirring for about another minute 329 00:18:09,555 --> 00:18:14,827 because you really want all of that cream just to mix in 330 00:18:14,893 --> 00:18:16,662 really, really well with that chocolate. 331 00:18:18,697 --> 00:18:21,400 All right, so this is all done. 332 00:18:22,835 --> 00:18:24,169 Might have to have a little even though it's warm. 333 00:18:26,271 --> 00:18:27,139 So good. 334 00:18:29,908 --> 00:18:30,709 Okay. 335 00:18:35,047 --> 00:18:36,381 Okay, so we've wrapped it all up, 336 00:18:36,448 --> 00:18:39,218 we're gonna put it in the fridge for four hours 337 00:18:43,055 --> 00:18:46,191 and then it's the fun part, we're gonna dip it in sweet cocoa powder. 338 00:18:54,766 --> 00:18:56,869 [Elizabeth] I love the holiday season here on the ranch. 339 00:18:56,935 --> 00:18:59,838 It's such a nice time of year, it just feels cozy. 340 00:18:59,905 --> 00:19:02,908 I'm making chocolate truffles right now. 341 00:19:02,975 --> 00:19:05,377 Okay, so the truffles have been cooling 342 00:19:05,444 --> 00:19:08,013 in the fridge for about four hours. 343 00:19:09,248 --> 00:19:12,851 You can see all that chocolate goodness 344 00:19:13,552 --> 00:19:15,254 has hardened. 345 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,689 To know when it's ready to start making the truffles, 346 00:19:17,756 --> 00:19:19,925 you just put your thumb in, you take it out, 347 00:19:19,992 --> 00:19:22,561 and you should be able to see your thumbprint, 348 00:19:22,628 --> 00:19:24,296 and your thumb should be clean. 349 00:19:24,363 --> 00:19:28,534 Just gonna grab a little sugar and some cocoa powder for the dusting. 350 00:19:29,768 --> 00:19:32,371 So, I'm gonna do a half cup of cocoa powder 351 00:19:35,307 --> 00:19:36,909 and a quarter cup of sugar. 352 00:19:39,411 --> 00:19:42,114 If you just like that cocoa powder taste, 353 00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:44,116 you can just have the cocoa powder, 354 00:19:44,182 --> 00:19:46,385 but I always love to add a little bit of sugar. 355 00:19:47,686 --> 00:19:49,788 So, that cocoa powder is ready. 356 00:19:49,855 --> 00:19:51,924 What's really fun about these chocolate truffles 357 00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:55,627 is that you can dip them in crushed walnuts, 358 00:19:55,694 --> 00:20:00,933 or chocolate sprinkles, or different types of sugars. 359 00:20:00,999 --> 00:20:03,902 I love this because you can really kind of make an assortment 360 00:20:03,969 --> 00:20:06,872 and make whatever you're delivering super festive. 361 00:20:06,939 --> 00:20:09,875 I'm gonna roll about one tablespoon of chocolate. 362 00:20:09,942 --> 00:20:11,944 I'm gonna put this in my hand. 363 00:20:12,010 --> 00:20:16,214 You wanna work quickly because you wanna make sure that it stay cold. 364 00:20:16,281 --> 00:20:17,883 Gonna dip it in that cocoa powder. 365 00:20:19,051 --> 00:20:19,952 There it goes. 366 00:20:21,620 --> 00:20:24,323 And it's fun, too, at parties I like to bring it, 367 00:20:24,389 --> 00:20:26,158 and, I don't know, I'm such a watchful person, 368 00:20:26,224 --> 00:20:29,294 I like to watch people and see which ones they usually go for. 369 00:20:29,361 --> 00:20:31,096 I always feel like chocolate on chocolate, 370 00:20:31,163 --> 00:20:33,465 especially during the holidays, 371 00:20:33,532 --> 00:20:35,567 people love going for the chocolate. 372 00:20:36,969 --> 00:20:39,271 Jack loves red, 373 00:20:39,338 --> 00:20:41,807 his favorite color. Hank's is green. 374 00:20:41,873 --> 00:20:44,643 It's fun to make a bunch of these colors for them. 375 00:20:44,710 --> 00:20:45,777 I love these walnuts. 376 00:20:45,844 --> 00:20:48,647 These walnuts are so delicious. 377 00:20:48,714 --> 00:20:50,282 They come from our neighbors. 378 00:20:50,349 --> 00:20:53,318 We usually get a really big bag in the fall 379 00:20:53,385 --> 00:20:55,854 and then I keep them throughout the year. 380 00:20:55,921 --> 00:20:58,123 They're fun to use for these truffles. 381 00:20:59,091 --> 00:21:00,959 All right, these are all done. 382 00:21:01,026 --> 00:21:03,762 I'm so excited about them, they're so festive. 383 00:21:03,829 --> 00:21:06,031 And we're gonna put them in with the thumbprint cookies. 384 00:21:06,832 --> 00:21:08,367 So, that's the fun part. 385 00:21:09,201 --> 00:21:09,968 [gasps] 386 00:21:14,606 --> 00:21:18,844 Every year, I love to drop off sweets for friends and family 387 00:21:18,910 --> 00:21:23,448 and I love kind of packaging them in these really sweet little tins 388 00:21:23,515 --> 00:21:26,018 and I've kind of picked these two different sweets 389 00:21:26,084 --> 00:21:29,221 because that butter thumbprint cookie is really delicious 390 00:21:29,287 --> 00:21:31,823 and it really gets the sweetness from the jam, 391 00:21:31,890 --> 00:21:34,292 whereas that chocolate is just delicious 392 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,396 and all the the things that we love about the holidays. 393 00:21:40,232 --> 00:21:42,668 Just putting a little bit of paper in there. 394 00:21:42,734 --> 00:21:45,003 Gonna do a couple of truffles. 395 00:21:45,070 --> 00:21:46,838 I like doing a couple different kinds. 396 00:21:51,443 --> 00:21:54,479 My mom has beautiful handwriting 397 00:21:54,546 --> 00:21:56,581 and I wish I had handwriting like hers, 398 00:21:56,648 --> 00:22:01,687 but she did always teach me about writing real letters with your own hands. 399 00:22:01,753 --> 00:22:04,489 Especially for thank yous or holidays, 400 00:22:04,556 --> 00:22:07,726 it's just nice to go just that little extra mile. 401 00:22:15,801 --> 00:22:21,039 Instead of a bow or a ribbon, I love using these dried mandarins. 402 00:22:23,308 --> 00:22:25,010 I'm gonna make these throughout the week 403 00:22:26,178 --> 00:22:28,680 and probably keep making more cookies 404 00:22:28,747 --> 00:22:31,683 and then just try to drop these off throughout the season 405 00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:34,252 and, uh, hopefully make people smile. 406 00:22:42,294 --> 00:22:43,762 Hey, do you guys want truffles? 407 00:22:43,829 --> 00:22:44,629 Thank you. 408 00:22:48,633 --> 00:22:49,701 Guests first. 409 00:22:49,768 --> 00:22:51,436 Ooh, truffles. 410 00:22:51,503 --> 00:22:52,771 [woman] Mmm, these are tasty. 411 00:22:52,838 --> 00:22:54,606 So, every year during the holiday season, 412 00:22:54,673 --> 00:22:58,443 we have this tradition where we have friends over 413 00:22:58,510 --> 00:23:03,148 and we write things down that we don't wanna bring into the new year 414 00:23:03,215 --> 00:23:05,717 and we just toss 'em into the fire. 415 00:23:05,784 --> 00:23:06,885 Okay, so pass around those. 416 00:23:08,620 --> 00:23:10,422 -What are you gonna write? -I'm gonna think about it all day. 417 00:23:10,489 --> 00:23:11,590 You gonna think about it? 418 00:23:11,656 --> 00:23:12,924 Okay, it has to be secret. 419 00:23:12,991 --> 00:23:14,826 Jack, why don't you write down one, honey. 420 00:23:14,893 --> 00:23:17,496 I think it's a time for self-reflection 421 00:23:17,562 --> 00:23:22,734 and kind of thinking about what we wanna leave behind in the old year 422 00:23:22,801 --> 00:23:24,436 and what we wanna bring into the new year. 423 00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:29,908 [Jack] What is it? What is it? 424 00:23:33,745 --> 00:23:36,481 -Release, release. -Release it all. 425 00:23:36,548 --> 00:23:38,850 I think sitting around the fire 426 00:23:38,917 --> 00:23:44,122 you can be thankful for all the things that have happened in that year. 427 00:23:44,189 --> 00:23:48,927 It's fun to, you know, have the boys just playing around with bubbles 428 00:23:48,994 --> 00:23:52,531 and watching those bubbles fly up into the air. 429 00:23:52,597 --> 00:23:53,932 There it goes, bye! 430 00:23:53,999 --> 00:23:56,668 Just imagining what the new year will bring.