I was telling a friend I was going to make Tahini shortbread cookies to use up the tahini I had leftover from the Tahini Walnut Rolls (recipe here). She asked if it was dairy free, because she’d like to make shortbread, but was avoiding dairy.
The original recipe wasn’t, but I thought I’d give it a try with just tahini. And then because I Iove coconut, I thought I’d do the same thing with coconut oil. So both of these are dairy free. Continue reading
Bixby really loves these
Scout’s training has really taken hold. While we’ve trained since day one, puppy brain limited her ability to focus completely. As she’s matured, training has grown with her. She had a very good week and I thought it would be good to have some really tasty training treats to reward her.
Bixby would do almost anything for these treats, so time to give it a try with Scout. I haven’t made them forever and had forgotten how easy they are. And how many they make. These should last us for quite a while. Continue reading
I have included a little Turkish Cafe in my newest novel Underway (available in June) and I wanted to try out a few pastry recipes to use in the book. This was one of the simpler (and not deep fried) that I decided to give a try.
This is not the definitive recipe – if you Google Tahini Rolls you’ll find dozens of variations. Everyone’s grandma must make her own version. This one seemed the easiest to replicate.
These are much different than I expected. Light, crisp, flaky and not too sweet, they go great with coffee. I really liked them. This recipe makes about 2 dozen: Continue reading
I was doing some recipe searching for a project I’ll post about later and sesame seeds were heavily featured. That put me in mind of Sesame Brittle. I thought it might be nice to have it to crumble over ice cream on the Sundae Bar on Christmas Eve.
Such a simple recipe. No candy thermometer needed. I always use oiled wax paper, but I’m wondering if oiled parchment would work better. The heat of candy on the wax paper melts it in places. Difficult to peel off.
Sesame Brittle
saucepan, wax paper (or parchment) and baking sheet Continue reading
Every year, around Thanksgiving, I ask my Christmas Eve guests what they want at our annual soiree.
This year we settled on fairly simple, yet tasty menu:
Oven Fried Buttermilk Chicken
This will be a tweaked recipe – kind of combining two of my favorite recipes. I’ve done a couple of practice batches – can’t have too much oven fried chicken! – and once I have it perfected, I’ll post.
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
I’m doing my no boil mashed potatoes (recipe here) and serving it fully loaded with sour cream, bacon and cheddar cheese. Also gravy.
Cajun Gravy
This will be a spicy mix of sausage, bacon, minced chicken hearty gravy.
Bacon, Tomato, Green Beans
Pretty simple – tossing green beans with bacon (and bacon grease) and sliced grape tomatoes in a skillet until tender.
And finally, dessert will be the ever popular Ice Cream Sundae Bar
Premium vanilla bean ice cream served with choice of toppings – caramel, chocolate, peanuts, walnuts and sliced bananas
Photos and recipes to follow.
Any cookie requests? The annual cookie bake may not happen this year, but I’ll still be baking and posting recipes. Even if it’s alone. 
I’m not cooking this year, so it gives me some time to put together a list of recipes links for Thanksgiving.
Starting with the turkey here are some of my favorites:
Spatchcock Turkey is the only way I make it anymore and you can find the recipe here.
Stuffed Mushrooms ready to go into the oven just before company arrives
Want something different for Thanksgiving? Stuffed mushrooms might fit the bill. I searched around for recipes, but I had an idea that I wanted to use wild rice, so I just went from there. Who needs a recipe? I used large button mushrooms because they were appetizers, but I think it would work with portobello mushrooms for a main course or nice side.
Pop Quiz: Is wild rice actually rice? Answer: Nope, it’s a grass.
The best way to cook wild rice, is to bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil add salt and (well washed) wild rice, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 60 minutes, or until the rice is cooked. You’ll want it chewy, try not to overcook it, because then it just gets mushy. Drain as you would pasta, don’t rinse.
Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
Preheat oven to .
Butter a shallow baking dish.
Snap stems off mushrooms and chop. Place the mushroom tops, bottom up, in the baking dish.
Melt butter in a medium size skillet. Add garlic and mushroom stems. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Add rice and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese. Spoon wild rice mixture into the mushroom caps. Top each with two or three leaves of rosemary.
Bake in a 400°F oven for 10-15 minutes or until hot. Serve warm.
You can put the mushrooms together ahead of time (I did it the night before), cover and refrigerate and bake just before company arrives.
