Christmas has long been my favorite holiday. From picking out the tree to hot apple cider on Christmas morning, my parents somehow orchestrated a perfect Christmas every year. As I’ve grown older, I have come to appreciate our many family traditions much more. I’ve also begun to realize just how much work it takes to prepare for the world’s best Christmas. I’m not sure how my parents did it as just finding the time to make sugar cookies was tricky for me.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Baking, Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Food, Holiday Favorite
It’s that time of year again. You’re worried about roasting the perfect turkey and making gravy without lumps. With all the fuss over the bird, it’s easy to overlook one of the more colorful and delicious side dishes of the Thanksgiving holiday: cranberry sauce.
Not only can this recipe be made ahead, but it is also quick and easy. Don’t believe me? Check out my demonstration on how to make cranberry chutney on Charlotte Today by clicking here. Although be forewarned…with a recipe this easy there is no excuse to use cranberry sauce from a can this year.
Easter is just days away and recipes for lamb, tender asparagus, and, of course, eggs, have swamped my inbox. Consequently, I’ve had deviled eggs on the mind and couldn’t resist whipping up a batch this week. Normally reserved for picnic fare, I’ve noticed that deviled eggs have become a little more glamorous these days.
It seems the traditional deviled egg made with mayonnaise and mustard and sprinkled with earthy paprika is somewhat passé. Nowadays, deviled eggs strut their stuff with ingredients such as smoked salmon and crab and toppings of caviar and salmon roe. And while I certainly appreciate the culinary advancement of the humble egg, I’m not sure I’m ready to abandon the original comfort food favorite.
My husband North first became obsessed in December of 2005. He was spending Christmas with me at my parent’s home in Tallahassee for the first time. While the visit itself held lots of good memories, it was his first bite of the world’s best rum cake that seems to stand out most vividly in his mind.
The world’s best rum cake, unassumingly wrapped in aluminum foil, has been given to my parents as a Christmas gift for years now. In a move which is not surprising , considering the history of this type of deceit in my father’s family (see my post on Granny Ivey’s Strawberry Roll for details), as children we were never told how delicious this cake was. In ignorance, we nibbled on sugar cookies while my father slowly savored the rum cake by himself.
It’s official. The holiday season has arrived and already I find myself overwhelmed. From decorating the Christmas tree to buying gifts, there is so much going on that it’s easy to spend the holidays checking off your “to-do” list instead of sitting back and enjoying the season.
The chaos brought on by the holidays makes me appreciate the simplicity of mulling spices. Taking only seconds to make, when simmered in a pot of apple cider or red wine, these fragrant sachets will fill your home with the most wonderful aromas that entreat you to both enjoy the moment and this special time of year.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Beverages, Cocktails, Holiday Favorite, Quick and Easy, Spices
From the outside, it must have appeared picture-perfect. My brothers and I in flannel pajamas knelt playing in front of a warm fire. A record played Christmas carols in the background and our Christmas tree flickered merrily with lights. The seasonal favorite, “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” had been our inspiration. And my mother, wanting our first taste of chestnuts to be authentic, had ignored the oven for the real deal: our happily blazing fire. Playing the role of domestic goddess beautifully, she had carefully arranged about 2 dozen chestnuts near the flames.
It wasn’t until the second loud pop that our scene of domestic bliss became something out of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Like popping popcorn, it began slow, but quickly accelerated. Bits of hot chestnut shrapnel went hurtling across the room as the chestnuts began exploding in quick succession. As our living room became a holiday battleground, my mother screamed for us all to seek cover.
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