ChallahThis was last year’s Thanksgiving bread and it was perfect! After years of homemade bread and rolls at Thanksgiving our baker was invited to another celebration, and forgot to at least provide us with some great baked goods. Haha.

Enjoy this recipe together with pictures. Give it a try. And you’ll see what we missed this year.


Winter ComfortTwo main dishes that need no introduction. Comfort food at its best! Potato Soup, here, and Chili Beans. I’m putting together a Portuguese recipe for Alcatra but thinking turkey instead of the traditional beef. Slow cooked with spice and wine in a clay roaster. Hope these tide you over until then. Start soaking that clay roaster.



Our Thanksgiving

Our Table

Preparing Thanksgiving Dinner can certainly cause angst especially if time is limited. Procrastinating only increases this feeling. Yep, this is me! My best advice (to myself and anyone else) is to create a schedule. And depending how much you need to accomplish, you may begin this schedule several weeks out from your first guest arrival. I include housecleaning, decorating, menu’s (if multiple meals for guests), shopping, baking, table setting, and main meal preparation. I get pretty detailed. This really helps. And a glass of Pinot Noir helps too!

My daughter is carrying on the tradition of a beautifully set table. It just makes the food taste better. That’s not my opinion, apparently there’s research on the subject!

Check out her Friendsgiving Celebration, here.

From our table to yours wishing you, your family and friends a most wonderful Holiday.


Roasted Red Potatoes

Holiday Suggestions

Roasted Red Potatoes

During the Holidays my home is pleasantly filled to the brime with family and delicious food. Thanksgiving Day revolves around one big meal but overnighters are hungry long before this meal is served. Here I’ve included several quick recipes to satiate those appetites until dinner is served. Sausage and Navy Bean Soup, a simple soup satisfying both young and old, can be made ahead. Tex Mex Migas, Austin’s fav, is everyone’s when you have multiple toppings to add. The Hot Chocolate Bar is fun for all. Shave your favorite chocolate bars for spooning into heated milk and don’t forget sweetened whipped cream and marshmallows. These Roasted Red Potatoes are simple but tangy tasty. And the perfect accompaniment with red meat. Continue reading for this recipe.

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Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread CookiesFun and Spicy Delicious! This recipe goes way back. During our family’s lean years we decorated our tree with Gingerbread Men, popcorn garland and candy canes. The children loved adding character to these guys but would grow weary after the first two or three … This recipe makes two dozen 4-inch cookies. Dad would get into the decorating too but had to be watched just like the children or we’d come up short. You might imagine the house smelled wonderful!

We haven’t always used icing alone to decorate Gingerbread Men & Women. On occasion we’d use raisins, red hots, and little decorative candies. Helpful Hint: Choose your decorating icing carefully. Make your own thick butter cream if you have the time and decorating tools. It’s just easier to handle. Many pre-made decorating gels and icings have corn syrup and this makes them sticky and stringy. You may need to test different brands to find the one that works for you.

This recipe makes a great sandwich cookie with buttercream filling too. Enjoy!

Decorated Cookie Cakes

You might also like to try these Decorated Cookie Cakes 

 

 

 

 

 

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Simple Desserts To Make

Family Favorite Baking

Simple Baked Desserts

Time intensive? There are only two recipes here that can’t be whipped up in minutes. Nothing like a fresh dessert in minutes. You might be able to tell just by looking which two require a bit more time … soo worth it.

I’m reintroducing family favorite recipes to have on hand during this busy season. So Delicious! Bottom Left: Best Coffee Cake, one of my popular recipes, can’t be beat for ease of preparation, satisfying texture and delicious flavor. Bottom Center: Don’t let the apple shape throw you. Use a baking dish if you’d like instead of this apple mold for this Apple Dessert or Apple Coffee Cake. Bottom Right: One bowl mix for this rich and moist Banana Spice Cake. Center Left: Caramel glaze makes this Banana Nut Cake amazing. Center Right: Pecan Pie Tartlets with a butterscotch surprise. Top Left: Provide a little more time for this Kolacky, a delicious pastry recipe. Top Center: Simple with ingredients and preparation, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies. Top Right: A very popular cookie recipe, chewy and moist Coconut Cookies.

All are very delicious! Give them a try!


Chicken & Dumpling Noodles

Looks like a noodle but don’t let it fool you. Positively a dumpling. A different take on Chicken with Dumplings worth trying. Herb, parsley-sage-rosemary-thyme, rich ‘gravy,’ with loads of chicken and dumpling noodles in every bite. A winter-time dinner to warm you.

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Easy Cinnamon Toast

Holiday Style

Company Cinnamon ToastOne of Will’s favorites for breakfast! My oldest son is a little more particular now that he’s decades older. This doesn’t mean the taste of this favorite has changed. BUT the presentation has. The white bread has been replaced with any number of breads depending on our mood or availability. Cranberry Nut and Raisin Bread are favorites. Really dress this up with sanding sugar or pearlized sugar crystals (not too many) for that special brunch or breakfast. This is really simple and on the table in about 15 minutes. That’s pretty important especially for those Holiday breakfasts when you need to get family out of the kitchen fast, and move on to dressing the turkey. Enjoy!

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Portuguese Sopas Recipes

Portuguese Sopas RecipesWhat do you do on a gloomy day? I make sopas! Usually my brother’s recipe, here. But today I’m trying a new recipe. I like the idea of this one … It’s full of red wine, my favorite flavor. And it’s a manageable recipe for 12 or so. Both recipes are delicious and revolve around fond family memories. You really can’t get better than that! Thank you Julie for sharing your Great-Grandmother’s Recipe. I love it! Here’s where Julie & I met, right on my Portuguese Sopas Pin. Thank you again Cardoza Family.

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Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookie

Brown Butter Sea Salt CookieThis is a great cookie treat for the Holidays! Yes, they can be shipped! Let me tell you why I believe these are a great treat and Holiday gift. If I’m going to invest (calories) in a homemade cookie it’s got to be fresh! And it goes without saying, taste delicious. You might have noticed most of my cookie recipes are of small batches … to be eaten immediately. There’s nothing better than a hot from the oven cookie, or at least hours within baking. There are few exceptions to this but here’s a delicious surprise. First, I’m not saying these aren’t fresh! And you certainly can get these fresh from the oven at two Central California Coastal Locations, the Acorn Building in Paso Robles and at a “humble cookie factory in the beach town, Cayucos.” But what I am saying is this: These homemade-style cookies are always, the company gives a four week shelf life, fresh in texture and taste! How can that be? Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t tasted anything like them. The lighter appearing of the two pictured here is the Original Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookie. The flavors are many now, not just the original and the chocolate version. Give this family owned cookie company a try, www.brownbuttercookies.com You’ll be hooked.

You might want to try making these yourself. But I warn you the duplication isn’t that easy. It’s the texture with the delicious taste that makes this recipe exceptional. Those that have tried have fallen a bit short in the smooth appearance. Here’s one such recipe and I admit I haven’t done a taste test. The recipe looks worth a try, Yummy Mummy Kitchen.