Where did the last two months go?

Someone stole the last two months from me! It couldn't possibly have been that long since I last posted a blog entry. But seeing is believing and indeed it has been two months. Sheesh! Since several holidays have passed, I wish you a belated Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

Here's a brief synopsis of my cooking forays since early November.

Christmas cookies are always baked beginning in mid-November. I have a dear friend and business associate to whom I always deliver a tin of cookies on December 1st so I have to be ready. Others deliveries are made throughout the month, but the December 1st delivery is the most critical.  I made 8 different kinds of cookies and three kids of candy. Here are pictures of some of my goodies.

 

Next came Thanksgiving.  I offered a dessert preparation service to my clients and I had a couple of takers. I made pumpkin pies, three-apple pies and Kentucky Derby pies. My pie crust recipes are from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Pie and Pastry Bible. These are great recipes, but they are not quick to make. You really have to plan ahead if you are going to make one of her recipes. I used her "Great Pumpkin Pie" recipe for the first time and it will now be my go to recipe! Gingersnaps are sprinkled over the pie crust and it gives the pie another layer of flavor. The filling is made from scratch...no cans of evaporated milk in this recipe.

We had a fabulous feast for 15! Of course I was too busy to take any pictures of my table but it was stunning. I dare say it would have made Martha Stewart proud.  Since I don't have pictures of the table or food, I'll slip one in of my favorite son, Jack. He flew home from Ft. Bragg that morning. The beagle boys, Bud and Miller, welcomed him home and quickly made themselves comfortable in his lap. Did you know that beagles are lap dogs?

Jack, Miller and Bud

Quickly following on the heels of Thanksgiving was Christmas and my busiest time of the year. I had private events the three weekend's before Christmas, and one weekend had two events! It was great! 

Madori and melon shooters, Bacon wrapped stuffed dates, Assorted cheese spreads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas day was a treat! Spending time with family and NOT having to cook was great! I did add an appetizer, cucumbers topped with wasabi mayo, pickled ginger and shrimp, and a mincemeat pie with hard sauce to the feast.

Our sweet Carol and me.

 

 

 

 

And lastly, New Years! New Years is pretty low-key for us. Sometimes we go to a party and other times we don't. This year we did not. However, our New Year's Day feast is always the same. Growing up in the south, our New Year's Day meal was always, ham, greens of some sort, and black-eyed peas. I tried those foods the first couple of years I was married, but my hubby wasn't all that taken with the fare so I adopted his family's traditional meal, curried beef over rice with lots of condiments. I love this dish! 

Regis, the husband, and I have differing opinions, as you can see by the pictures, on how we are to place the condiments on our plates. He's a 'piler' and I like mine around the curry and rice, like a clock face. I keep telling him that presentation is important, but when it comes to his plate of curry, he could care less! He just wants to eat it not admire it!

Okay, that's it. I know this was a bit disjointed, but quite frankly that's the way I have felt these past two months. Now on to January!