holiday

Crab and Mushroom Cheesecakes With Spanish Cava

This is a crazy time of year for everyone and I’m no exception. No matter how well I plan, it always seems to come down to the last moment and a million things to get done. Work to finish, dishes to prepare for the holiday, gifts for friends and family, shipping things out of state [...]

Read the full article →

Cranberry Cheesecake with a Gingersnap and Cranberry Crust

After letting my love of cranberries be known before Thanksgiving with Cranberry Liqueur, Cosmopolitan Cranberry Sauce and Turkey Sandwiches with Cranberry Sauce and Cream Cheese, I thought I would take a break, or rather, give my readers one. Me too I guess but still, after doing cocktails and more savory offerings I had a craving [...]

Read the full article →

Christmas Meringue Cookies with White Chocolate Decorations

Have you tried macarons? You know…they are ALL the rage. I have and I’m left nonplussed. I thought maybe it was me, you know, a novice at the craft. The French cookie that requires seemingly perfect ingredients, perfect proportions and I’m sure, perfect altitude. I tried, I really did but even if I mastered the [...]

Read the full article →

How to Make Cranberry Liqueur and the Perfect Champagne Cocktail for the Holidays

This is one of my favorite things to make over the holidays yet because I put it on my blog a couple of years ago, it has for the most part languished in the nether world of being there but no one knowing it. As I work to finish the batch for this year along [...]

Read the full article →

Cranberry Ginger Fizz Cocktail for #HappyHourFriday

I spied the original version of this cocktail in Bon Appetit magazine when I received their October issue in September of this year. Though clearly a fall cocktail, at that time we were having a hot streak and the notion of fall or cranberries seemed in the distant future. Fast forward and suddenly 95 degrees [...]

Read the full article →

Raisin Walnut Bread

A simple but satisfying bread with raisins and toasted walnuts that is an old family recipe. I already make Pecan Butter Ball cookies every year for the holidays and I attribute that recipe to my Grandmother Bathe. They are a favorite of mine and I recall fondly helping her as a girl and making them [...]

Read the full article →

The Best Sugar Cookies

For many years I would spend days each holiday season making decorated sugar cookies. I started the tradition in my twenties with a girlfriend and we made hundreds of cookies that we rolled, cut out, decorated and gave to friends. I continued on with that tradition for many years when my kids where small and [...]

Read the full article →

Beef Bourguignon, My Birthday with Julia Child and @ManPans Giveaway

A classic dish that is in no way trendy but just perfect for today; so soul satisfying and delicious…but trust me, this is not your mother’s beef stew! I’ve always loved Julia Child. Watching her on PBS was my first ‘Julia’ experience, cooking from ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ brought us closer together and [...]

Read the full article →

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

This recipe is from a cookbook called ‘Colorado Collage’ which is one of a series of cookbooks put out by the Junior League of Denver. I bought their first cookbook, ‘Colorado Cache’ which was spiral bound, when I moved to Denver 25 years ago. I had to replace it years ago as that spiral bound [...]

Read the full article →