If I were to select the one cooking question that we are asked most often it would be, “how do you prepare your Thanksgiving turkey?”
While I have brined, roasted, smoked and deep fried with great results, my go-to-recipe for a fail-proof, moist turkey is to bake the turkey in a roasting bag. This is what I recommend to my friends who are more or less afraid to step in the kitchen and tackle Thanksgiving dinner. [Read more…]
“Surviving the Holidays.” Do you ever feel that is your mantra this time of year? Too many years that is my thought—and each year I try so hard to change it to “Enjoying the Holidays!” I actually cherish holidays—and really do love the baking, decorating, cooking, family time with laughter, gift giving, worshiping, and partying—it is just that some years, time slips by and it is a struggle to get it all done. I count on recipes, like this one for Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, that you can make head, freeze, and serve as a show stopping dessert or gift. It is the perfect dessert to take to that Thanksgiving gathering and the pumpkin, brown sugar and pecan flavors make it ideal to serve anytime throughout the holidays.
Grab the slow cooker—and get ready for compliments. It is so easy. Last summer I talked about making an appetizer cheesecake in the slow cooker (Pesto and Bruschetta Cheesecake). The only challenge to baking a cheesecake in the slow cooker is to find the 7-inch springform pan. Once you get the pan, you are ready to go! Make it now—and freeze it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, the Holiday Open House or as a gift for friends and neighbors. [Read more…]
My vote has been cast and I am feeling very patriotic and nostalgic today. What better way to feed my soul than to prepare a soup that screams Americana to me!
This Tomato Basil Soup was inspired by a recipe in Ina Garten’s newest book, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. The recipe goes together very quickly and you can have dinner on the table in no time. If your children have already drawn the line that they do not like tomato soup, I would suggest you simply rename the soup with a more enticing title. Perhaps Italian Pasta Soup would be just the rename to provoke tastes and squeals of delight from your family. [Read more…]
I love to make scary, funny Halloween foods. In fact I love all holidays and love to bake and decorate, but sometimes, I get busy and suddenly I can’t get all of the treats baked. Do you ever feel that way? I am guilty. I admit it. Never fear! Even with just a couple days left before Halloween, you can make these bloody eyeballs—a super tasty, but quick and easy appetizer!
Yes, Halloween is for kids, but it seems that at neighborhood gatherings, the adults enjoy the day as much as the kids and savory treats are especially welcome. These appetizers will be perfect to take to that party and since they bake in the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker in just 5 minutes, you can be in and out of the kitchen so quickly you won’t miss any of the fun. This appetizer is so darn cute, no one will ever guess that you were in the kitchen at the last minute.
This is absolutely my favorite time of year for so many reasons. This year I have been blessed twice to be gifted with apples. The weather in the Midwest has created a bumper, delicious apple crop. A few weeks ago I shared a favorite apple pie recipe and today it is my husband’s favorite–apple butter.
Apple butter makes a wonderful gift for teachers, neighbors and a fun way to say thank you to that special someone. We’ve mentioned before that Kathy and I started working together in the test kitchens at Rival, the Crock-Pot people. A test that we executed on many a day was preparing apple butter in the Crock-Pot, slow cooker. It was designed to determine the approval for plastic lids when they were first introduced. We would simmer the apple butter for days to insure that lids were top quality. [Read more…]
