New Year's Eve 2011

Dale and I stayed in tonight. We made a chicken pot pie and had left-over Yule log cake for dessert. Some years it's fun to go out on New Year's Eve and some years it's fun to stay in. This was a year for staying in. It was wonderfully cozy. We even got some snow.

Holiday Entertaining - Yule Log Cake

My friend Noel had Dale and me over last night and I made another yule log cake to bring along. It turned out great. Here's the recipe that came with the Nordic Ware cake pan.

Marble Yule Log

1(13.25 oz) box yellow cake mix [I could only find a 15.25 oz. box so I left a little of it out.]

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup sour cream [An 8 oz. container did the trick.]

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted [To melt chips I put them in small microwave safe bowl, added a little half and half and nuked for 90 seconds stirring every 30 seconds.]

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour yule log cake pan [I used Pam.]; set aside. In large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, water, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed, 2 minutes, scraping bowl often [I didn't use electric mixer.]. Remove one-third of the batter and place in smaller bowl; set remaining batter aside. Stir melted chocolate chips into batter in the smaller bowl. Spoon half of the vanilla batter and half of the chocolate batter into prepared pan. Using a small spatula, gently swirl batters together. Spoon remaining batter into pan and swirl again. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick [I used a butter knife.] comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan; invert onto cooling rack and cool cake completely [I let it cool in the pan the whole time.] Decorate as desired [I used red and green "cake writing gel" for the berries and leaves.].

Holiday Entertaining

Last night we had our friends Warren and Gary over for dinner. Dale and I made lasagna and green beans amandine. For dessert I made a marble cake in my Nordic Ware yule log pan. Warren and Gary are also our neighbors and we found out that they are going to be moving soon. Thankfully not too far away.

Christmas Day 2011

Mom came over to our place on Christmas Day and we had Christmas dinner at about 5:00 p.m. We had turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans amandine and dinner rolls. It was all very delicious. Dale did almost all the dinner prep although I did help baste the turkey. I also carved the turkey and Mom made the gravy. We had chocolate roulade for dessert. It was all very delicious.

Christmas Eve 2011

Dale and I went to Mom's for Christmas Eve dinner. We started with some lovely hor d'ourves of brie cheese and jelly on crackers. For dinner we had cheese fondue and steak. Brownies for dessert.

Golden Hour - December 17, 2011

Delicious beef stroganoff for dinner tonight. Dessert was a roulade from Kowalski's. Divine.

Holiday Entertaining

Two couples that we know from the gym came over for dinner last night. Michelle, who teaches a spin class that Dale takes, and her husband Steve, along with Fred, who also takes the spin class, and his wife Linda arrived around 6:30. Appetizers included cheese, tapanade and crackers. Everyone drank wine except Steve and me who had Tanqueray gin martinis [Note to self: Steve loves Hendricks].

Dale made rigatoni and green beans amandine. Fred and Linda brought the most divine chocolate cake from Cafe Latte in St. Paul (see above photo).

It was a lovely group of people and a good time was had by all.

Thanksgiving Fiesta Ware

Thanksgiving 2011 Part 2

Usually when making a pot pie we make it with chicken breast and store-bought gravy. Thanksgiving leftovers allow us to make it with turkey and homemade gravy. Our regular pot pie is always great but the one after Thanksgiving is fantastic. We made the one shown above last night.

Thanksgiving 2011

Today turned out to be a beautiful, 59 degree, sunny day. Dale and I took the turkey out around 10:30 and got the neck and giblets out. That damn metal hook thing is always a bugger (you have to push down, not up, on it to get it out). Rinsed it all off and patted it dry. We let it sit for a couple of hours to bring it up to room temperature. Dale had the turkey patted down again, buttered, seasoned and in the oven by 12:30. Basted it every half hour. Made the cranberries at around 2:00. Got the giblets boiling at 2:15 to use in the gravy. Turned the turkey at 2:30. The turkey came out of the oven close to 3:00 so it could rest for an hour. Mom made green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. We ate around 4:00 and it was all delicious. I think it was our best turkey ever. Watched The Bishop's Wife later with Mom and ate pumpkin pie and had coffee. It was a beautiful, relaxing day.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I always get a kick out of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and have to watch at least a part of it every year. It always brings to mind the movie Miracle on 34th Street which Dale and I have watched during Thanksgivings past as the turkey bakes and fills the house with its intoxicating aroma.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Turkey Coloring Contest

This turkey, or a least a version of it, has appeared in the Star Tribune for at least 35 years. I think I did a pretty good job coloring it this year.

Thanksgiving 2011 - The New Roasting Pan

Dale and I bought this new roasting pan from Macy's about a month ago. This one worked beautifully. It also came with a couple of spears for turning the turkey and a baster too.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Basting the Bird

Basting the Bird

Thanksgiving 2011 - Cranberries

Cranberries

Top photo: Just after being put in a cup of water mixed with about 2/3 cups sugar.

Middle: Cranberries with breaking skin as they heat up.

Bottom: The finished product (which, by the way, we forgot to set on the table).

Thanksgiving 2011 - The Bird

The Turkey

It was divine. For the last few years we've used the recipe from Nigella Lawson's book Feast.

Thanksgiving 2011 - The Gravy

Mom always provides coaching when it comes time to make the gravy.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Stuffing

Stuffing. Yes, it was Stove Top and it was delicious, especially with gravy.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Corn

Corn. It's one of my Thanksgiving favorites.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Green Bean Casserole

It's a holiday favorite. Made by Mom.

Thanksgiving 2011 - Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes. Yum. Made by Mom. I've always liked marshmallows but this is about the only time I ever eat them anymore.

Thanksgiving 2011 - The Pumpkin Pie

Yes, the whipped cream was fresh.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving 2011

Dale and I hit Kowalski's at around 9:00 a.m. this morning and it wasn't crowded at all. We got all the food we need for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. Pictured on the stove is the food we bought. We forgot to add the dinner rolls to the display. Tomorrow Mom will bring the green bean casserole and the sweet potatoes.

Pumpkin Pie

Tonight marked a first for the season. It's the first time we've had pumpkin pie this fall. It came from our good friend Mrs. Kowalski and I love how she offers just half a pie. Dale whipped up some cream for the topping. He actually cut himself a quarter of what we bought. I had to make a bit of fun of him because I knew he should have just taken half as I did. Of course he went back for more pie after he finished! I know him so well!

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight called for comfort food and pot pie is just what the doctor ordered. For the pot pie we used the same recipe that's in the February 9, 2011 post but this time I added a little sage. Dale found a new recipe for green beans amandine that he made for a dinner party we hosted not too long ago. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and was submitted by Brenda DuFresne.

Green Beans Amandine

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring beans and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook almonds in butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and seasoned salt if desired. Add beans and heat through.

Everything was very delicious and also very comforting.

Meet Me in St. Louis

While eating our quiche this past Saturday night, Dale and I watched Meet Me in St. Louis. It's one of our fall favorites.

Quiche

On Saturday night I made a quiche for me and Dale. It was delicious. Here's the recipe we use. I got it from Mom.

Quiche

1/2 cup mayo

2 beaten eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup milk

Mix the above ingredients together and then flake in one can of albacore tuna, 2 cups shredded swiss cheese and 1/2 cup diced green onion. Add the finished mixture to a pie crust (we use Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crust) and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Test to make sure it is done - knife should come out clean from the middle.

Dinner with Lisa, Janine, Gus, Kathy and Kathleen

Last night Dale and I had over our friends Lisa and Janine and their son Gus. Also joining us were our friends Kathy and Kathleen. Dale made baked rigatoni and green beans amandine. Lisa and Janine brought over a salad and Kathy and Kathleen brought dessert. I served as drink mixmaster. We pulled out the leaf on the table for the first time since probably last December. Dale pointed out this morning that the table looks very inviting. I agree.

Our Steamer

Dale's mom and dad, Brenda and Irv, got us this steamer for Christmas in 1993. That's goin' on 18 years ago! My conservative estimate is that we use it 4-5 times per week. We love our steamed veggies!

Chili

Tonight we had chili. We've been making this recipe of Dale's for years. Here's the recipe we use:

1 lb. ground turkey

2 15 oz. cans beans

2 15 oz. cans stewed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

beer

Fry off the turkey and mix it into a dutch oven with the other ingredients listed above. Add the beer to taste. Red wine works well as an alternative to beer. Dish it up and add sour cream and grated cheese to your liking. Sometimes we chop up other toppings like onion and green pepper.