Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This chocolate pumpkin was handmade by Schocolat, a chocolate shop in Leavenworth. They use some of the finest Belgian chocolate to make their chocolates. My favorite truffle, that they make, is the Brandied Pear Caramel in a milk chocolate shell.
So, what are you thankful for today?
I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband, and wonderful families, and wonderful co-workers, who have become like family, and a wonderful cat. I am thankful that I have a job that I really enjoy, a roof over my head, food to eat and my health. I am thankful for the beauty of where I live all around me every day.
I am thankful that I have this outlet to write my favorite recipes, thoughts, travels and other miscellaneous activities.
The holiday season has now officially started and I am sure time will fly by. I have to remember to stop every once in awhile and think about how much I have.

Gourmet Dinner Club - The Decadence

We just had our gourmet dinner club the other night and I must say this one ended up being the most decadent food we have ever had. Everything was delicious and very rich. I vowed to never eat again when the evening was done. We had already started on devouring the food when we remembered to take pictures so you will notice some of the pictures looking a little sparse. Believe me when I say NOTHING was sparse. I am missing one picture - the 2nd course - mine. This dinner brings the old ad campaign to mind - I can't remember for what but "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" is quite fitting. Without further ado, here is what we consumed....

For the appetizers, we had:

Sherried Pecan Gruyere Spread with homemade Pepper Rosemary Crackers

Gruyere Puffs

Artichoke Gruyere Crostini

and homemade Limoncello with or without strawberry lemonade

For the soup/salad course, we had:

Whiskey Sherried Crab Bisque with toasted croutons

For the main course, we had:

Scallops in a White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Sauteed Spinach Ovals

Sweet Potato Puree with peaches, ginger, craisins, and walnuts

For dessert, we had:

Asti with Chambord and Pomegranite Juice

A Chocolate cup with a orange yogurt whipped cream topped with a sugared orange peel knot

A Coconut cookie topped with a chestnut rum cream puree

An Apricot toast made with a cherry pound cake, apricot glaze, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, topped with a broiled apricot, some chesnut cream and pistachio pieces

A Cranberry Orange Truffle made with bitter sweet chocolate, cranberries dipped in white chocolate topped with craisins and almond slivers.

ARE YOU DROOLING YET?

Baked Goat Cheese

My sister-in-law reminded me of this baked goat cheese that I made at one of our parties in 1997 so I thought I would share it with you.

Baked Goat Cheese
1/2 teas. pepper
1/4 teas. dried thyme leaves
1/4 teas. fennel seeds
1/4 teas. paprika
1/8 teas. dried rosemary
1/8 teas. ground red pepper
1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons olive oil
11-12 ounces soft goat cheese

Crush spices. Toss with crumbs and olive oil. Store until ready to use. Crumble cheese into an 8" round pan, cover and chill until ready to prepare. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Broil 5-7" from the heat for 2-3 minutes until crumbs are light brown. Serve with crackers.

Sounds good doesn't it? Bet you can't wait to try it.

Cheesy Bread

Since I own a cheese shop, you can probably guess that I love cheese. It's actually surprising to me that after more than 7 years I still love cheese. A few years ago, we went to a party given by one of our neighbors. She had made this cheesy bread that was so delicious I had to have the recipe. Cheese and bread, two of my favorites. Here you go...

Cheesy Bread
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 package of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
1 large loaf of French bread

Combine cheese, mayonnaise and package of dressing mix. Slice loaf of bread in half lenthwise and spread mixture on each half. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and broil for the last 2-3 minutes, watching carefully so as not to burn the bread. Slice up and enjoy.

Hot Oriental Chicken Salad

I don't know if you have noticed but I do love to make things. I have come to realize though, that I like to bake, not cook. My DH, the Big Cheese, loves to cook and not bake. Guess we're a good match! Here is a recipe that I really like but haven't made for a long time. It was given to me by a friend many years ago.

Hot Oriental Chicken Salad
1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken, shredded
1 1/2 cups celery
3/4 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 cup French dressing
2 1/2 cups seedless grapes
2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups sour cream
1/8 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoons pepper
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
Chow Mein noodles

Mix together chicken, celery, water chestnuts and dressing. Add cheese and grapes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Mix together the sour cream, flour, mustard, salt and pepper and add to chicken mixture. Mix till combined. Spoon into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Garnish with chow mein noodles or serve over chow mein noodles. Enjoy!

Not Ready Yet!

This is what I woke up to this morning:

I am not quite ready for the snow. Actually, the first snow is always wonderful. It brightens up the stark, leafless trees and the brown ground. It makes everything look so clean. On the other hand, it means the snow blower and the shovels have to come out of storage. It means I have to get out the fleece and sweaters. It means Christmas is exactly 6 (yes, you read it right, 6) weeks away.

I always get a jump start on Christmas shopping and this year is no exception, I am probably 50% done. What I don't understand is no matter how much I have done early, I always feel rushed at the end. I have the day off today so guess what, I am going to do more Christmas shopping. Woohoo!

Yummy Carrot Cake Muffins

Doesn't that look yummy?

Yesterday, I made the most delicious carrot cake muffins (if I do say so myself) with a maple butter cream cheese frosting. Today, I am thankful that I work with people who will help me eat the things that I make. Overall, these were very easy to make. Grating the carrots was the process that took the longest and even that wasn't bad. You may notice that I labelled these for dessert and for breakfast. I came to the conclusion that due to the carrots, these are really good for you and are, therefore, fine to have for breakfast. Before starting, I researched a bunch of recipes and ended up making up my own with input from a few of them.

Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Butter Cream Cheese Frosting - makes 12 muffins

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

7 ounces canola or vegetable oil (equals 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups grated peeled carrots

1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarsely

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a 12 muffin tin with papers or spray with non-stick spray. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, mix brown sugar, granulated sugar and oil until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots and pecans. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool until you can handle them, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting them.

Maple Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup confectioners sugar

Beat the cream cheese, butter and maple syrup until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until incorporated. Chill for about 15 minutes, until it has firmed up enough to spread easily. Frost the muffins. Consume.

A Really Great Chili

This is a meat lovers chili and y'all, it is good. Once you read the ingredients, you will see what I mean. Warning: It is not for people with high cholesterol.

West Texas Hot Chili - makes 8 servings
6 slices bacon
8 ounces ground Hot Italian sausage
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounce can chopped green chilies, drained
6-8 slices pickled jalapeno (the kind in a jar), chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 1/2 cups water
12 ounce can tomato paste
15 ounce can chili beans (I use S&W Chili Beans in a Sante Fe Sauce)

In a large saucepan, cook bacon till crisp: drain, crumble and set aside. Discard drippings. Brown the ground sausage in the same pan, drain and remove sausage, reserving 2 Tablespoons of the drippings in the pan. In drippings, brown stew meat, onions, and garlic. Add the cooked sausage, green chilies, jalapenos, chili powder, salt and oregano. Stir in the water and tomato paste. Bring to boiling and then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the beans and simmer covered for 30 minutes more.
Sprinkle some shredded cheddar on top, make some corn bread and serve with some honey butter for a delicious side.
Oh drat, now my stomach is growling.

November 2nd is National Deviled Egg Day

Did you know that? I didn't. I just found out yesterday. It's weird, yesterday I was craving deviled eggs. I just had to have them. I found a recipe for Deviled Egg Dip so, I made it. It was so very delicious. My DH and I shared it for lunch. He loved it also. I found the recipe on the blog called Buns In My Oven (http://bunsinmyoven.com/). She has some good looking recipes on her blog. Here is the recipe (slightly paraphrased):

Deviled Egg Dip
5 large eggs
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon red hot sauce (like Franks)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
crackers for serving

Put eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil over medium heat. When the water starts to boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 20 minutes. Then drain and soak eggs in cold water until cool enough to handle and peel.
In the meantime, fry bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble into small pieces.
In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the grated cheese and bacon and mix well.
In a small bowl, mash up the hard boiled eggs with a fork and add to mustard mixture. Stir well. Serve with crackers.
Enjoy!

My Sweet Boy (Cat)

We moved here 7.5 years ago. Two cats, Tiger and Finnegan, moved here with us. They were my kids. Both of my boys are gone now, one at 21 and one at 19 years of age and I still miss both of them.
After being here for about two years, I kept noticing a young feral cat wandering around. In the winter it gets cold here and we always see coyotes in the field across the street. The cat would never come near me. I started putting food out and made a insulated bed for the cat. One day, I was sitting outside and this feral cat just jumped up into my lap. That's all it took - I knew he was mine and I named him Charlie. Why Charlie? He is a black and white cat, and he has a little black goatee on his chin. He reminded me of Charlie Chaplin. First things first though, off to the vet to get shots and neutered. I tried bringing him in, in the lower level room of our house, away from the other cats, but he would have none of it.
After my other boys were gone, we started working on getting him in the house at least at night. It's been about 5 years now and he has grown accustomed to being in the house most of the time.
Actually, you be the judge:
He goes out most days, he hunts and brings me gifts. If I am outside, and he sees anything moving, he starts growling and runs out to protect me. If I am inside, he is quite content hanging out with me. He has his own chair next to me when I work on the computer. At night, when we hear the coyotes howl, he'll perk up his ears and then stretch as if he doesn't have a care in the world. He is a sweet boy and I am glad he adopted us!