Karla Blake raised her four children—Justine, 27, Anthony, 26, Mikayla 24, and Nicholas, 17—to believe in faith, family and traditions. Perhaps that’s why they’re close to her in adulthood, and why they try to come home for the holidays. At Karla’s, they’re joined by her mother, Diane, her husband George, as well as Karla’s three nephews, the sons of her late brother. They all know the holidays with Karla mean great homemade food and quality time together as a family.
Karla, a licensed insurance agent who specializes in Medicare, is Christian. One of her favorite family traditions is a ‘Jesus stocking’. Starting when her kids were young, she had her children write notes to Jesus that they put in the stocking. The notes were ‘gifts’ to Jesus for his birthday.
“I wanted my kids to understand that as Christians, Christmas is about the Lord and not just Santa,” Karla explains. “I love looking back and seeing their handwriting through their years, the cute way they wrote from their heart as children, and how they matured as young adults. It’s fabulous to now have a stocking full of gifts and promises.”
After the prayers comes the food. Karla is from an Italian background where much of her family time was centered around meals and entertaining. Her mother, Diane, is locally famous for operating Diane’s Place for 19 years.
“When you grow up in an Italian family and your mother owns a restaurant, there are no child labor laws,” Karla says with a grin. “I was working in the front of her restaurant from age 13. My Nanny (her grandmother Wilma) taught me how to make several of our family favorites and passed on many of our family recipes and traditions.”
Among the tasty treats Karla makes for the holidays are cheesecakes topped with sugared cranberries, crème bruleé French toast, pepperoni and Italian sausage breads, candy cane-shaped caprese salads, and homemade limoncello.
Karla was kind enough to create her dishes and share them with the Venice Lifestyle team.
Karla’s Crème Bruleé French Toast
“I make this the night before Christmas,” Karla says. “It bakes while we open presents the next morning and fills the house with such a delicious scent.”
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
Challah bread
6 eggs
1½ cups half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup Grand Marnier
¼ tsp. salt
Fresh ground nutmeg and cinnamon to taste
Melt butter and sugar, pour into 13x9 pan. Slice the bread and place into pan on top of the sugared butter. Whisk the remaining ingredients, then pour on the bread, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes to lightly brown. Finish with powered sugar and fresh fruit like oranges.
Karla’s Pepperoni Bread and Sausage Bread
“I love the red and white colors when I slice these. They’re so festive for the holidays.”
Bread dough, makes 2 loaves
5 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
14 oz. warm water
1 ½ tbsp. yeast
3 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
Mix and knead the dough into a ball and cover with a towel. Let the dough rise and pound it down three times. Cut the dough in two. Roll out into rectangular shapes. For the pepperoni bread, line the dough with a package of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. Fold the ends in, roll it, and pinch the dough at the bottom. Brush with an egg wash and top with sesame seeds; Karla uses both white and black seeds. For the sausage bread, buy one pound of quality Italian sausage, and brown with onion. Spread on the dough, top with cheese, and follow the same final steps. Bake the breads at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Homemade Limoncello
“We use a handle of 151 proof Everclear and 60-80 lemons,” Karla says. “Use only the peels, no flesh; I put the peels and Everclear in a large gallon container, seal it tight, and store it in a cool, dark place. Let that marinade for two months, shaking it everyday. Next, make simple syrup: heat eight cups of sugar with six cups of water until dissolved, and add a splash of vanilla (approx. 3 tsp). Mix the lemon-infused Everclear and simple syrup. Let that rest for another 10 days. It makes about five 17 oz. bottles, great gifts for Christmas parties. The limoncello is creamy, delicious, and very strong. It is a recipe I’ve recently perfected. I looked at several recipes from respected cooks, combined their ideas and made it my own.”
Karla Blake, Medicare Specialist
954.612.1754. Karlablake.medicarespecialist@gmail.com. Karlablakemedicarespecialist.com