Posts tagged as entertaining/holidays
Challah with Honey-Rosemary Butter
Tender, egg-y challah bread is lovely on the Thanksgiving table. Not only is it pretty, but it harkens back to my mom’s yeasty homemade crescent rolls, but for about one-tenth of the effort. The honey-rosemary butter plays nicely with turkey, squash, and stuffing. And everything. Challah Makes one large loaf 4 c. bread flour (unbleached…
Dutch Apple Pancake
This pancake is meant to be served with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, which is lovely, but I’ll be honest…a generous drizzle of Sapsucker Farms maple syrup, with a tidy pile of crispy bacon, is a very, incredibly awesome way to usher in fall. For my gluten-free friends, I did a little experiment using gluten-free,…
Using a Pot of Beans Part III: Lentil Hummus

This is the same Creamy, Fluffy Hummus – The Way It’s Supposed To Be recipe I posted a few months ago, except substituting black lentils for the garbanzos. That’s the thing with hummus – you can make it with whatever bean you have on hand and it will always be lovely. As true as it…
Spiced Pork Stew with Roasted Vegetables & Gremolata

Recipe for Spiced Pork Stew with Roasted Vegetables & Gremolata – over Polentahhh! – at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.
Bagna Cauda

I’m a salty girl, always, but I think my cravings are even more intense in the winter. Lately I’ve been plucking little balls of fresh mozzarella cheese from their whey bath, sprinkling them with salt, and popping them in my mouth like cherries. Good Lord they’re good that way – who needs tomatoes and basil?…
Swedish Meatballs (Gluten-free)

Swedish meatballs make a scrumptious main dish or festive party appetizer – your call. Tender, fragrant with allspice and nutmeg, and bathed in a lightly creamy sauce, everyone goes wild for them. Only you need to know that they’re not complicated to make, and as a bonus, they’re pretty cheap eats, too. If you serve…
On the Lighter Side
I am stuffed to the max from rich holiday foods. Even though I was successful in avoiding gluten and grains, the salt really catches up to me. Puff city. And after a week of heavier foods, salads, fish, and brothy soups just sound so right to me. While these recipes aren’t new, I thought you…
The Prep Ends, Eating Begins!

To me, it’s not Christmas without my mom’s fabulous 1970s appetizer platter. I use it all the time, this time for fondue vegetables. The smooth, tangy cheese… …and rich beef tenderloin fondue were both amazing. Fried beef. Yes. But I think my very favorite were the crispy cauliflower fritters – ridiculously good. I used two…
Yet Even More In Progress…
The table is set. The Alice Medrich chocolate souffles – not too rich, nicely chocolatey – are ready for the oven. They’re both gluten-free and do-ahead. If they washed dishes, they’d be perfect. (That giant one in the back is for John!) Cauliflower is blanched. It still needs a coating of breadcrumbs, then it will…
Even More In Progress…
Ooh, here’s another quick crowd-pleaser from the lovely blog Jenn Cuisine: Pan-Roasted Almonds with Thyme & Truffle Oil. They take mere minutes to make and whoamygoodness, they are insanely delicious. I’m putting these away now so there are at least a few left for my guests. Yikes. The skaters arrived! And both sauces are now…