One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is making offerings from kitchen and heart for friends and family. A consistent favorite among recipients not just for gifts but also gatherings is my cashew bark, a confection of chocolate, salty nuts, butter, and sugar. Heat transforms the butter and sugar into a crisp toffee. [...]
Archive for the ‘Christmas food’ Category
Chocolate Cashew Bark: sweet, slightly salty, decadent toffee
Posted in almonds, baking, butter, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas food, dessert, Food, ice cream, nuts, recipes, sweet things, vegetarian, tagged baking, dessert, Food, holiday, holidays, recipes on December 12, 2010 | 8 Comments »
My favorite jelly: a teaser
Posted in chile, Christmas, Christmas food, Cooking And Baking, cranberries, Food, frugal living, fruit, gardening, organic food, organic gardening, peppers, peppers, preserving the harvest, recipes, red pepper, red peter pepper, sweet things, tagged Food, recipes on October 11, 2010 | 9 Comments »
Like a brilliant jewel, pepper jelly made with red chiles and cranberry juice tantalizes for fall feasts and Christmas presents. I’ll post the full recipe in a couple of days. It’s incredibly easy and oh-so-delicious with cream cheese and crackers, on cornbread, or even as a sweet-sour-and-hot drizzle sauce for chicken, fish, or [...]
Turkey and Dressing Croquettes: more leftover solutions
Posted in cast iron, celery, Christmas, Christmas food, comfort food, Cooking And Baking, farmer's market, Food, frugal living, locavore, organic food, Southern food, turkey, Uncategorized, whole grains, tagged celery, Christmas, cornbread dressing, Food, leftovers, stuffing, Thanksgiving, turkey on January 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Okay, so I had two servings of turkey breast left, some Southern cornbread dressing, and some other odds and ends I didn’t mind parting with for this meal. After thinking about eating plain turkey again, I decided that turkey croquettes were the best solution. Croquettes combine cooked flesh (turkey, chicken, salmon, tuna) with bread of [...]
Shepherd’s Pot Pie: Using Holiday Leftovers
Posted in butternut squash, carrots, cast iron, celery, Christmas food, comfort food, Cooking And Baking, CSA, farmer's market, Food, frugal living, locavore, onions, organic food, potatoes, turkey, tagged carrots, celery, Food, green beans, leftovers, mashed potatoes, onions, pot pie, shepherd's pie, turkey on December 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Tonight I’m just not sure what to make for dinner. We have few things that “have to” be eaten except for leftovers. I thought of making turkey pot pie, but that would leave the potatoes. I thought of making shepherd’s pie, but I’d prefer to make it with ground meat. So I’ve decided to make [...]
Merry Christmas!
Posted in Christmas, Christmas food, comfort food, Cooking And Baking, economy, Food, frugal living, tagged Christmas, Food, holiday on December 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We are visiting family outside the Ozarks tonight, but we are getting snow here and expect to find snow at home too. A white Christmas is always a beautiful gift! I want to wish all of my readers a merry Christmas. Thank you for visiting the blog! If you, like so many Americans, are suffering [...]
Make Christmas Morning Easy: Breakfast Casserole
Posted in breakfast, cast iron, cheese, Christmas food, comfort food, Cooking And Baking, Food, frugal living, turkey, whole grains, tagged breakfast casserole, cheese, comfort food, eggs, Food, holidays, turkey sausage, whole grain on December 23, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I first had breakfast casserole in 1980, when my great-grandmother died. It’s hard to believe that it was three decades ago. I’d love to know more about the bigger history of this dish, but for now I’m content with the family history. Dear family friends brought the casserole to the house, and it became an [...]
Chocolate-Chip Gingerbread: It’s Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas!
Posted in chocolate, Christmas food, Cooking And Baking, Food, frugal living, organic food, whole grains, tagged chocolate, easy baking, Food, gingerbread, holidays on December 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Two smells from exotic places make me think of the holidays: ginger and chocolate. Neither product is local, and wars were fought over both of them as the world learned of their culinary power. Nonetheless, if I use all other local, organic ingredients, I’m happy to use ginger and chocolate in moderation, just as my [...]
Holiday Gifts from the Garden: It’s not too late to make some!
Posted in canning, Christmas food, cucumber, Food, frugal living, gardening, organic food, organic gardening, Pickle, pickling, tagged apple butter, Food, holiday gifts, organic gardening, pepper jelly, pickles on November 29, 2009 | 8 Comments »
I enjoy sharing gifts from our garden for the holidays. I always make lots of extra jars of pickles and, when we have a good apple harvest, apple butter. I share our garden bounty as hostess gifts for holiday parties. At this point in the year, though, with summer veggie season over, if you didn’t [...]
Homemade Old-Fashioned Gravy with Quick Fixes for Problems
Posted in brine, Christmas food, Cooking And Baking, Food, frugal living, gardening, gravy, organic gardening, turkey, winter gardening, tagged Food, old-fashioned gravy, rosemary, sage, turkey, winter gardening on November 26, 2009 | 9 Comments »
Homemade gravy is one of those joys of life. True, the turkey, dressing (stuffing with cornbread made in a pan, for the Yankee readers), vegetables, and pies bring a wonderful scent and flavor of home and family, but the gravy ties everything together. Okay, I don’t use gravy on pie, but a little gravy may [...]
My Turkey Brine
Posted in brine, Christmas food, Cooking And Baking, Food, frugal living, onions, turkey, tagged allspice berries, brine, Food, holidays, juniper berries, peppercorns, Thanksgiving, turkey on November 25, 2009 | 4 Comments »
My turkey brine is quick and easy. I just put it together in a few minutes, and you can too. Start by putting 1 cup of salt without anti-caking agents added, like canning salt, in a medium-sized pot. Add 1/2 cup (or a little more) of honey, brown sugar, or molasses. Use what you have! [...]
