I gave a baby shower yesterday for one of my favorite people, Beckie. What a labor of love! Before I got so old, I used to give a LOT of showers and parties. Although I have slowed down, I still just love the planning, the cooking, and (some of) the decorating. The decorating part is … More Beckie’s Baby Shower and Praline French Casserole!
JOSEPHINA’S (PRONOUNCED HOSA-FEENA’S–SO YOU WILL SOUND SMART!) Sometimes the very simplest things are the best. At our Paint and Sip party (we call it Paint and Guzzle for obvious reasons), everyone brings a dish to share. I get so many wonderful recipes this way, and Debbie brought these delectable little French bread slices, covered in … More JOSEPHINA’s (HOSA-FEENAS)
BISQUICK (OR BAKING MIX) 6 cups all purpose flour 3 Tbs. Baking Powder 1 Tbs. salt 1 Cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco) The easiest way to do this is in a food processor. Mix all together until it’s smooth like cornmeal. Keep in a tightly sealed jar. I put mine in a ziplock baggie, label … More Make your own BISQUICK…. (or baking mix)
Whenever you tell someone that a recipe can take 24 hours to make, they automatically turn off their brain and decide, “Ooooh. Too hard!” but this is one of the easiest breads you will ever make, which should appeal to non-bread makers! There are so many different types of breads–one of my favorites is Ciabatta. … More Artisan Bread (no knead from Sandy)
How would you like to find this cute guy on your doorstep sometime? Yesterday the grandkids and Mom showed up at our White Mountain Home and totally surprised us. I can never resist getting in a cooking lesson whenever I have my kids held captive in my house, so I’ve been wanting to teach Aaron … More Garlic Knots….You’re Gonna Love These! Aaron does…
I am not ashamed to say that I steal ideas from the Food Network. We professionals call it “Inspired by…..” As my husband would say, “heh heh heh…” Anyway, on Guy Fieri’s Diners Drive Ins and Dives I saw an Italian Deli in New Jersey where the owner makes everything from scratch–I can hardly wait … More Italian Bread with a Twist
For a long time I have been wanting to simply write to you some party ideas. I catered for one 20 years, specializing in wedding rehearsal dinners. Most of my brides and grooms were on a budget, so they hired me to cook Mexican, Italian, American, or buffet because I was cheap. I was so … More How to give a party….
Whew! I finally learned how to spell Hawaiian!!! One of my favorites on Food Network is Valerie Bertinelli. I don’t know why, but it seems like every week she makes something that I want to try. Last week she made these, and I immediately went to my pressure cooker to put my “spin” on it. … More Beef/Onion Hawaiian Slider!
I got the idea to do this at one of our favorite restaurants, Brio. They serve it before your meal. A few years ago, Costco carried something similar. One nice thing about this bread is that you leave it out (yes, Alyssa–OUT). It gets harder and crispier day by day, and that’s what you … More “Crunchy” Thin Snack Bread…..gosh we love this! (and so does Ethan!)
I know that’s hard to say, because there are so many hundreds of good things in the world, but this is a lovely one: Christian gave me a cookbook years ago (the kids knew you could always be safe giving Mom a cookbook for Christmas…..now, not so much. Cause I have the internet and I … More Praline French Toast Casserole…. one of my favorite recipes of all time…
