Our Thanksgiving Challah

With Karen Mordechai

Challah Isn’t this beautiful? This is my oldest son’s bread baking. I think I mentioned before … He is the perfect bread maker in the family. There is good reason … He is meticulous, doesn’t mind tedious and is detailed to a fault. That sounds like my accountant! Yep, he’s a CPA too. You can even see all these traits at work when visiting his kitchen here. Will has been making challah for our holidays for years. He is always searching for new recipes. How in the world do you improve on perfection! When he arrived yesterday with these in hand everyone pulled out their iPhone to get a shot. Seriously! We must give credit for the recipe to Karen Mordechai. She has a lovely new book, Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings. Will used her Challah recipe, changing the ingredients a bit but keeping the recipe instructions pretty much the same. Her recipe has become a quick favorite and definitely gives challah an amazing new look. Continue reading



Banana Cream In Meringue Shells

tonight’s Dessert

Banana Cream in Meringue Shells Meringue Shells are great for serving fruit, sorbet or pudding desserts. Light in taste and calories, slightly crunchy. Make them a bowl, or a pillow of meringue. And yes, it’s pretty good all by itself.

I’ve added a banana cream that works as an 8 inch pie filling as well.

I’m ready for dessert!

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Chicken Cordon Bleu, Broccoli & Mornay Sauce

Cordon Bleu & Mornay Sauce

Chicken Cordon Bleu on a bed of Mornay Sauce drizzled Broccoli. The prep time of this one dish meal and baking time are each about 30 minutes. The perfect dinner for family and friends. Serve with a side of rice or not. Enjoy!

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30 Minute Beef Stew Revisited

Chicken Divan-Cordon Bleu Dish Coming Up next

30 Minute Beef Stew

I have lots of company coming! And I may love to cook but family first! So, its got to be quick. Yep, I’ll be cooking every night now until Thursday’s big meal. My plan is to put together meals that are quick and pretty much one dish … Like this 30 Minute Beef Stew. The Baked Chicken with Roasted Vegetables is another really good choice. Click on these links for the recipes. Sunday I’m putting together a new recipe combining all the good things in Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chicken Divan. Stay tuned to see the outcome. Until tomorrow!


Artichoke Dip Makes Up In Minutes

For The Unexpected Guests

Artichoke Dip or Spread

Put this together in minutes and bake for 30. A warm dip for the holidays. Serve with sliced and toasted baguette topped with a little drizzle of olive oil. Perfect!

There are three main ingredients and a few optional ones. The idea is to keep it simple to bring the artichoke flavor through.

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Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta Fazool)

Pasta And Beans

Pasta Fagioli

Dean Martin certainly created a curiosity about pasta fazool with his song “That’s Amore.” But it wasn’t until I heard a friend’s remark, he was driving around in his corvette when the rest of us were eating pasta fazool, that my curiosity was pushed enough … I needed to know. (Thanks Paulie) Simply put, this is a traditional Italian dish made with, you guessed it, pasta and beans … Originally a peasant soup usually made without meat.

Since those days I’ve tasted many versions of this soup and pretty much love them all. I’ve heard the chain, Olive Garden, has their version as well. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and created my own Pasta Fagioli.

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Candied Pecans and Candied Yams

Eat together or Separately

Candied Pecan Topped Candied YamsCandied Pecans are a great addition to recipes. Or eaten alone. Make this pecan recipe no more than a week ahead for optimum freshness and store nuts at room temperature. I’ve used these nuts in my candied yams for an added touch. And these would have worked well in my Apple and Cranberry Chutney. My favorite ‘though is eating a mixed greens salad with feta and candied pecans with a balsamic vinaigrette … And toss in a few dried cranberries.

Candied Yams are included here too. No surprises in the recipe except the potatoes are baked the day before and candied the following day. Why this two step process? My oven will be stuffed during the holidays and this reduces the baking time on the day of. Of course it all can be done in the same day.

Both of these recipes are easy and delicious.

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Friendsgiving Apple and Cranberry Chutney

Apple and Cranberry ChutneyAfter the traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving how about giving this a try for Friendsgiving. Sweet, tart and spicy apple. Too much of a change for your turkey? Try it with my Pork Chops Recipe!

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