Tuesday ~

Flour, flour everywhere!
Since these items need to be refrigerated for hours up to 2 days, today is the day for all things requiring flour. I went through 1 five pound bag.

dinner roll dough and music

Apple-cranberry pie crust, music and a drink

the original test kitchen recipe

never fail pie crust dough for pumpkin pie

 

more dishes to be done

the bunny is exhausted

3 hours later ~ the rolls

 

 

 

 

Best American dinner rolls

This is a favorite time of year because:
The light outside changes and gets dark early
More family meals
Hockey
Smartwool socks
Cook and bake different foods
 I use all the tools in my cupboards

I have faithfully followed one of the 10 Laws of Thanksgiving set forth by Sam Sifton: butter.
So far I have used butter in everything I have made. Not a time for diets indeed.

Monday Monday ~

cranberry for pie

 

veggies for gravy

make ahead gravy

 

dirty dishes

La la la la la la...singing a tune by The Mamas and the Papas...that dates me!

Today I will be preparing the make ahead items for our Thanksgiving Day Feast ~

cranberry sauce for the Apple Cranberry Pie &

Make ahead gravy

Now I vowed never to make the apple-cranberry pie after the first one. I was a test kitchen for Cook's Illustrated and in the summer months they sent out the recipe for the pie. It took longer than stated, dirtied every dish in my kitchen and I made me tired. I gave it a bad review and stated all the reasons why. In the mail came the winter quarterly magazine and in it was the very pie recipe that I hated. Since then, I have figured out how to like it, you see making the individual components ahead of time is the perfect solution. (They state this at the beginning of the recipe. Always read your recipes first.) It has been a family favorite since the very first time. I too love the flavor combination. It is a great pie for Fall celebrations.

I know it sounds weird to make the gravy days before...but it is so good and the secret is to add the juices from the turkey on the big day. It is quick and delicious. Carrot, onion and celery, butter, flour and chicken broth, yum. I do not know where I found the original recipe I use but you can find it everywhere in blog land.

Another reason to make things ahead of time is the 'dish factor'. The picture above is the second half of what I did today. whew!

I can take the rest of the day off?

What do you prepare ahead of time to make your life easier?

Tomorrow is Tuesday and 2 more item to make ahead...

yum ~

 

 

A sweet treat for the weekend

 Fall has arrived, the weather is cooler, the breeze is nice and the light has changed ~

 Time for cookies

This is my third batch of delicious cookies. The first time I tried the recipe, found at Momofuku's site,  I followed the recipe exactly as stated. But I like a plumper cookie so I tried the special ingredients in our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, Cooks Illustrated Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, but still not quite right. So this third batch is using, half a recipe of the cornflake crunch, 1 1/2 cups marshmallows, and 1 cup regular sized chocolate chips. I love that the marshmallows melt and caramelize.

 Hope you like them too!

it's good to have friends ~

with blackberry bushes!

 

 

 

The first time I made this recipe was with a bag of blackberries my brother brought down from Washington. I thought if the recipe called for blueberries why not blackberries. It is delicious. Be forewarned, the blackberries break down no matter how gingerly you fold them in and it required a bit more cooking time at a lower temperature for the middle to cook. I did not have enough blackberries so I added blueberries and homemade apple pie filling. This is a lovely summer dessert. Even with 'June Gloom' lurking about, it is time to bring out the summer recipes.

Happy June!

G ~

G is for ~



Gingerbread cookies

Cooks Illustrated recipe

girls creativity 

  

Gifts ~
to my swap partner

mug rugs inspired by Material Obsession
zipper pouch tutorial found on A Spoon Full of Sugar
picture taken by SDMQG member

and gifts from my swap partner
A table runner

love the grey, pinks and pattern
picture taken by SDMQG member

Happy Friday

the expected cookie ~

Since I have responsibilities tomorrow that take me away from 6 AM till sometime late into the evening, I had best make the 'expected cookie'. I only make this cookie during the month of December and since tomorrow is the 1st, I had better get on it. This is a cookie from my childhood that my family enjoys too, I didn't expect that!

It is not a hard cookie to make, just very messy. They are Russian Tea Cakes, not a cake but a cookie. A round ball of cookie goodness studded with walnuts and rolled twice in confectioners sugar. These are also know as the 'watch out' cookie, don't inhale as you bite or you will inhale powered sugar.

Yesterdays I made cookies was from the Milk & Cookie cookbook and the family really liked the flavor and texture. Maybe this is the perfect gingersnap cookie. We will see if the dd #2 asks for it again.

My finished Friday projects are my project bag and inside contain all the goodies I made for the SD Modern Quilt Guild scrap swap. A little zipper pouch, two mug rugs and earl grey tea.

A little recipe for you ~ I think I have had this recipe since the big kids were in pre-school, a long  time ago

Gingerbread Playdough

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

Sift together dry ingredients

1/2 cup shortening melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup molasses

& 1 egg

Mix well and let cool

Add half of dry ingredients to shortening mixture blend then add the remainder and mix well

Shape like playdough or use cookie cutters

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes

Enjoy.

Thanksgiving ~ the shopping list

While editing the cupboards I discovered there were a few items missing for our upcoming feast.

The List ~
Turkey, of course
sausage and apples for the stuffing
I have end of bread loaves to chop into cubes, dry and rehydrate
Potatoes
Canned sweet potatoes ~ I know with everything else that is homemade you wonder why!
Marshmallows, a throw back from childhood
Cranberries for the pie
Carrots, celery, garlic, onions and white wine for the gravy
Whole milk, shortening, flour and brown sugar

The Plan ~
I normally do the shopping on the Monday before Thanksgiving but we will be traveling back from the Bay Area. So Tuesday it is.

There are several items for our family feast that I can make ahead. It makes Thanksgiving with the family so much more enjoyable. Tuesday, after the shopping, I make the 'Make Ahead Gravy' then store it in the refrigerator. On Thanksgiving all I have to do is reheat the gravy and add the juices from the turkey. I also make the cranberry pie filling for the cranberry-apple pie. Since I have lost my 'Monday' I will be making the pie crust dough and rolls too.

Wednesday I bake the pumpkin pie and cranberry-apple pie, set the table and chill the sparkling cider.

The big girls and I are leaving today for a debate tournament. So to take care of myself I have planned a little detour to the Purl Bee in Tustin. Who knows what trouble I can get myself into today.

Have a lovely weekend

WIP ~ cook, sew, bake

cook ~ skillet macaroni

sew ~ 9-patch & 4-patch quilt from leftovers of Modern Workshop quilt
Inspiration found on Pleasant Home blog

stitching ~ Little Leaves
8 down 8 to go

sewing ~ Halloween costume

bake ~ transitional whole wheat raisin bread

transparency ~

Not everything thing I attempt turns out well. For instance ~ my attempt at making a genoise sponge cake turned out to be a dense, eggy, dry, squat...I could go on. It took all morning and after reading and re-reading the directions and careful following times and temperatures I got that!

Everyday my kids ask me how my day was. It was on this day I exclaimed that I had made the worlds worst chocolate cake. They looked at me in disbelief and told me, in the sweetest of voices, that I could never make a bad cake. Just you wait. The genoise was hiding on a cake pedestal. I sliced a sliver for each of them. They did laugh at how flat it was.There is a lot of protein packed into each crumb. Sweet as they are, they said 'yum'. I cut it up into cubes with the hopes that I can transform it into bread pudding

So back to the books ~

For my second attempt I chose a cake batter for the German Chocolate cake that I have made many times.

 

The sour cream, eggs, butter and chocolate waiting to come to room temperature

The batter ~

The cakes ~

The stabilized whipped cream ~

and cherries ~

All assembled and ready for tasting. It still needed the shaved chocolate and cherries for the top. I cut a slice for those kids who were so kind. They all liked it. Mostly the cake and whipped cream. I do not think we are big fans of jarred cherries. Now for the big test because this was only a small test. Our friend is having a birthday and his wife asked if I would make his birthday cake. Surprise!

I am so glad that it turned out. 

Off to a walk with my darling husband in the cool of the morning then to the San Diego Quilting Guild.

Have a lovely weekend