Category — Holiday

This is the favorite of the six recipes I taught for my “Gifts of Food” class last week at Les Gourmettes.  It’s just so darn cute and has so many elements I love.

1. Cookies
2. Food in jars
3. Pretend snow (isn’t cold and doesn’t melt!)
4. Adorableness in abundance

I mean, seriously, how happy would you be if someone gave you this?  Not only cute, but yummy too!

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The third of the six recipes I taught at my “Gifts of Food” cooking class at Les Gourmettes was the gift of flavored salts.

You don’t need to be a wonderful cook to make these. But every wonderful cook you know would love to receive them!

The Wild Mushroom Salt is fantastic to use in soups and sauces and makes the perfect seasoning for all meats or for sautéing fresh vegetables.

Use the Smoked Paprika and Ancho Chile Salt in every Mexican, Spanish, and Southwest recipe you can think of! Or be adventurous and rim your margarita glasses with it.

Lime-Ginger Salt is also great to use to rim a cocktail glass and is fabulous to sprinkle on chicken or fish before grilling.

The most versatile of the four salts, use the Herbes de Provence Salt to season everything from meats and poultry to soups, vinaigrettes, and sauces.

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Last week I told you I had nothing new in the way of recipes for  Thanksgiving this year. On second thought, I do have a little something for you.

I made delicious pumpkin granola for my “Gifts of Food” class at Les Gourmettes. If you are looking for a last-minute simple and healthy Thanksgiving dessert, this granola, paired with poached pears, fits the bill. Plus, the granola doubles as a great gift to package and give at Christmas.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup Grade B maple syrup
1/3 cup pumpkin purée

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 ½ tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/2 cup toasted pepitas
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together salt, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, pumpkin purée, and sesame seeds until smooth. Stir in coconut oil.

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All y’all sure know how to make a girl feel good!   *I can use that fabulous Texas phrase because I have a daughter who lives in Austin, y’all.

Between the lovely and welcoming comments left here on the blog, the comments and “likes” on Facebook, the personal texts, phone calls, and emails – well, I feel the love and it makes me, even more, energized to be back. Thank you!

So … Thanksgiving is less than a week away and …

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For Valentine’s dinner, Dave requested a version of these potatoes, which he had seen in the food section of the Arizona Republic.

The original recipe did not call for the half-and-half or thyme, but I felt it needed both for extra creaminess and flavor.

They were divine!

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This post is part “throwback Thursday” since Christmas 2014 was on a Thursday and part craft project for Christmas 2015.

I meant to share this back in mid-December… but… I forgot. Even so, it’s still an easy and fun craft for next Christmas.

I made a few of them as gifts this year and I’m planning to make many more for next year.

Here is the back story:

I was in serious “purge mode” last Thursday. I had finally owned up to the fact that I wasn’t wearing at least 80% of the clothes in my closet and about 90% of the shoes.

So I went through it, with a very critical eye, and this is what I gathered up to give away.

That mess on my bed consists of:

• 26 skirts
• 22 dresses
• 11 pairs of dress pants
• 7 jackets and sweaters

and

• Over 13 DOZEN (that’s more than 156!!!) tops and blouses

plus…

… 53 pairs of shoes!

It is so freeing!

The dresser is my next target!

I did hold on to two really nice sweaters. One green and one cream for crafting purposes.

Here is what I’m going to make with them.

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Crust

• 1  1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• 1/4 cup plain, vanilla, or honey yogurt

• 2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick (I used 4 Granny Smith and  1 Honey Crisp)
• 1  1/4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
•  1  1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Vanilla ice cream

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I baked a couple of dozen cookies on Friday and the kids (OK, they are adults, but they are my kids!) and I decorated them on Sunday. A beloved and time-honored Christmas tradition.

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My beautiful friend and neighbor, Cheryl, held her 15th annual ornament exchange luncheon last Saturday.

Cheryl is an amazing cook…

… and the consummate hostess.

My idea of the perfect hostess is summed up perfectly in this excerpt from Woman’s Day Magazine – February 1957

“Many people say entertaining is an art.  More truly, it is an attitude.  It has to begin in the heart.  The hostess who has learned to open her heart as freely as she opens her door has learned how to make people feel at home in her house.  This is the hostess who does not look at entertaining as a chore or a duty.  She welcomes every guest with anticipation, knowing that there is an opportunity to share her home, her family, and herself with people who will enjoy whatever she has to give.  And while she gives her best she is secure in the knowledge that her best is good enough because she has learned that entertaining is not pretending.  Here we are, her welcome seems to say.  This is our house, this is our food, this is our heart.  The most wonderful thing that can happen is that you enjoy it with us.  While you are here, all this is yours.”   

That is the perfect definition of Cheryl too.

The 13th annual party, in 2012, was the first one I was invited to. It was wonderful, I had the best time and I couldn’t wait to go back again the next year. Unfortunately, I booked a class that same day, so I was unable to attend in 2013.

The moment the invite for this year’s party arrived, I began to ponder what ornament I would bring. I was disappointed with my choice from that first year – I knew I needed to up my game.

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