A few friends have asked what my Thanksgiving menu will be this year. As you may recall, at my house we do an international twist on traditional foods. This year the country of choice is France, and it is amazing how “normal” one can get with French food. Just goes to show how we are influenced in our daily lives by the cuisine of other countries.
Following is our French Thanksgiving menu:
French Thanksgiving
STARTERS
Pate de Foie Gras aux Truffles *
Apricot Chambord Brie *
Chevre Cheese &am... Read Full Story
“I just need one more potato now that Cousin Johnny has come to share our Thanksgiving table,” said Ruth as she bustled about her kitchen, trying to fill in for the extra mouth to feed.
She had assembled an assortment of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables on the countertop, ready to drench with water and remove any unwanted residues and turn them into something delicious. She had potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, apples, apricots, cherries, and rhubarb.
What a pretty sight it was.
But all I s... Read Full Story
A regular reader of this column reminded me that my “Gifts from the Kitchen” blog a few days ago did not mention one of the best all-time holiday classics for gift giving from the kitchen.
Consider my forehead whacked.
The aforementioned all-time holiday classic for gift giving is Spiced Nuts. Unless one is allergic to nuts, these are perhaps one of the fastest “gone” items on any holiday table or buffet. Spiced Nuts are great for ladies’ teas, snacking while watching TV, special occasions... Read Full Story
Every once in awhile I take a break, sit down with a cup of tea, and re-read some of my favorite old cookbooks. The most fascinating thing about reading old cookbooks is the history they tell us about the people who lived in a certain neighborhood during a specific time period.
That is perhaps one of the beauties of making your own family cookbook – you have control over favorite heirloom recipes, as well as a time capsule of all the people in your family.
If you haven’t started your f... Read Full Story
I have a few recipes for homemade gifts from the kitchen in a special section of my family cookbook. Whenever I need an idea for a quick gift, this “Homemade Gifts” section of my family cookbook never fails to inspire me or solve my immediate gift need.
Even if I don’t have all the ingredients for a quick homemade gift from the kitchen, it is usually very easy to shop for the missing items since most recipes are made with standard measurements and readily-available package sizes.
My favorit... Read Full Story
Oh, d a r n. “They’ve” found frozen water on the moon.
Not unripe cheese (or even little green men).
Ho Hum. I was so hoping for cheese. Any color of cheese.
Yes, as I’ve mentioned before, I love cheese. My arteries probably have something to say about that, but, we’ll worry about that later….Meanwhile, it is time to stock up on some of the most favored cheeses in the U.S. for making holiday party spreads and holiday party snacking trays.
GREAT CHEESES FOR PARTY SPREADS
These softer cheeses ... Read Full Story
Cookbook author Kathryn Carriere with her second recipe book as shown on Amazon.com
We are so excited to report that our Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software has inspired one of our customers to publish her second recipe book and sell it on Amazon.com.
That’s right! High school English teacher Kathryn M. Carriere of Houston, Texas, published her second recipe book in July called Spirits for the Mind and Body: 2101 Cocktail and Alcoholic Beverages. It is a whopping 548 pages and features t... Read Full Story
Cookbook author Kathryn Carriere with her second recipe book as shown on Amazon.com
We are so excited to report that our Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software has inspired one of our customers to publish her second recipe book and sell it on Amazon.com.
That’s right! High school English teacher Kathryn M. Carriere of Houston, Texas, published her second recipe book in July called Spirits for the Mind and Body: 2101 Cocktail and Alcoholic Beverages. It is a whopping 548 pages and features t... Read Full Story
We are getting closer to the holidays, and before you know it, we’ll all be planning our simple-to-elaborate menus. For some of us, selecting wines to go with our menus can be a bit of a challenge. Narrowing down the food selection helps, especially when whining about which wine to serve with what.
There really is no reason to whine about wine. Over the years, I’ve found that most people (aka guests) enjoy whatever a host or hostess chooses to serve (or they bring their own!).
Here are some... Read Full Story
We are getting closer to the holidays, and before you know it, we’ll all be planning our simple-to-elaborate menus. For some of us, selecting wines to go with our menus can be a bit of a challenge. Narrowing down the food selection helps, especially when whining about which wine to serve with what.
There really is no reason to whine about wine. Over the years, I’ve found that most people (aka guests) enjoy whatever a host or hostess chooses to serve (or they bring their own!).
Here are some... Read Full Story
