Category — Holiday

Turkey Day is only 6 days away!!! Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline.

I was going to call these appetizer ravioli “Mascarpone-Spiced Pumpkin Ravioli.”  But upon Marissa’s first bite, she declared them “Pumpkin Pie Ravioli” – a new and improved name is born.

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Turkey-Day is only 7 days away!!! Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline.

Shhh, don’t tell my family, but I am going to make different rolls this Thanksgiving. This is a big deal!  There will be whining, complaining, moaning, crying, and even a possible revolt, but I’m still going to do it! Our traditional roll is the absolutely delicious and addictive James Beard Potato Bread Rolls that I made each year. The thing is, I also make these rolls only a short 4 weeks later for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas day dinner, and use the same dough for my killer Cinnamon-Pecan Rolls on Christmas morning. So… these people, who I have to feed every single day, (sometimes up to 3 times a day!) can try something different on Thanksgiving this year! That something different will be cloverleaf rolls.

Cloverleaf rolls sometimes have tiny crosses marked on each of the three sections, referring to the Holy Trinity, which in Ireland is often compared to the clover. I’ll save that little embellishment for Easter. You may also dip the balls in melted butter after forming and before placing in the muffin cups, that makes for one very rich roll!  Another option is to brush the tops of the rolls (after rising in the muffin tins) with and egg wash or melted butter and then sprinkle the tops of the rolls with sesame, poppy, or mixed seeds. Do so if you wish.

The composed butter that accompanies the rolls calls for pomegranate molasses, which I’ve posted about before and you can get the recipe for by CLICKING HERE. You can make a full 1 cup recipe or reduce it by two-thirds, which will produce exactly 1/3 cup, as called for.  And finally, I’ve added a pumpkin variation for this recipe, just in case, you too, want to mix things up next week. That and the measurements for a scaled down amount of pomegranate molasses are found at the bottom of this post.

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These little pigs-in-a-blanket, dressed up as Halloween mummies, will disappear before you eyes!

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When we visited Connor in Flagstaff last weekend, of course, we made a couple of the required trips to Target to load him up with the “necessities.” On the first trip through the doors, I stopped at the $1 bins and spotted a little Pillsbury cookbook called Halloween Fun. The recipes for today and tomorrow’s posts are directly from the booklet, they are just too cute and easy not to share!

The decorations needed for the eyes of the owls are the Brache’s candy stars that I always used to see hanging on the pegs at every grocery store around. I visited Fry’s and they no longer carry Brache’s, only their store brand of “Brache’s” candies and there were no stars. I went to Safeway and although they still carry Brache’s, no stars there either. Finally, I went to Walgreens, feeling 100% confident they would have the disappearing stars… no!!! What’s up with that? I was forced to whip up my own chocolate frosting (or you could purchase a ready-made can) and pipe on the eyes using a pastry bag and a star tip.

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Halloween is exactly one week away, so if you don’t have a fun punch idea, here you go. You’re welcome!

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Happy 4th of July!

The recipe for Red, White and Blue Red Velvet Cupcakes follows,

but first…

What is your happiest or earliest memory of celebrating July 4th? Mine is standing in my maternal grandparents’ backyard, holding sparklers with our big extended family all around. That would include my grandparents, mom, dad, brothers, sister, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

There could be up to 43 of us at any one time, given that my mom is the oldest of eight. We would either barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers or there would be big buckets of KFC scattered around, and always huge watermelons … and … soda! We were allowed to drink soda – at my grandparents’ house! [Read more →]

For Mother’s Day, Dave and my adorable son, Connor, made me not only breakfast but dinner as well! So when our Phoenix Suns swept the Spurs to advance in the playoffs, it was as if I hit the jackpot yesterday!

Breakfast was thick-cut bacon, mimosas, and cinnamon-pecan waffles with fresh strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream! And for dinner, they made lamb, chicken, and beef kabobs (picked up at Whole Foods), our favorite parmesan asparagus, toasted garlic-olive bread, and sea salt roasted fingerling potatoes with whole fresh herbs.

Since the asparagus has been featured here a couple of times already, we’ll share the very easy potato recipe. You can use the fingerlings as the recipe calls for, or if fingerlings are hard to find or too costly, just use russet or Yukon gold potatoes cut into wedges. Both choices are pictured below.

Today I send blessings and love to all of the wonderful mothers out there. Just like all of you, I am grateful for all the joys that have been given to me by my own amazing children. Thank you my darling Marissa and Connor for making me the person I am. I love you both more than words or actions could ever express. xoxo

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I was inspired to make chilaquiles for Easter brunch after learning about them at FnB, a fabulous new restaurant in downtown Scottsdale, (click here for link) where Chef Charleen Badman traditionally makes them on weekends for the late-night crowd.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish. Red or green sauce is poured over the tortilla triangles, called “totopos.” Scrambled eggs and/or shredded chicken are sometimes added. The dish is topped with queso fresco and crèma.  Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover or stale tortillas.

I’ll be using two of my favorite “convenience” items – 3 garlic cubes (purchased at Trader Joe’s) and 4 chipotle cubes(homemade using empty garlic cube trays – see this previous post on how to do so).  You can too, or just follow the recipe for the “traditional” method of peeling and mincing.

Marissa, Sloane, and Connor in the shade at Easter Brunch

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