Let me begin this post by saying how excited I am to share this
doughnut recipe with you. What can I say? Doughnuts are exciting. They remind me of my childhood.....and my children's childhood, all fuzzy and warm with loving family. Long story short: the doughnuts I’m sharing with you today are perfect for a child's Halloween party, a memory making activity with your children, or a gift for a neighbor or friend. Doughnuts are fun to make!
I enjoyed this hearty salad for lunch last week, and it was a triumph for the taste buds! It was soooooo
tasty! I thought I would share this salad in prelude to the Halloween Sweets, which will be featuredthe rest of this week! My favorite salads have lots of
different things going on: some kind of fruit, some kind of nut, some
kind of cheese. And almost always a little hint of sweetness in the dressing. There’s a little bit of prep involved, but the best part is that
you can do all of it in advance! So perfect for dinner too! You will be delighted at how easy each step of this salad is!
Almost always, my favorite part of a meal is....DESSERT! For the Octoberfest party I made JJ's Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake. It was delish and not much was left over at the end of the night. I still have a slice or two tucked away in my freezer for a rainy day when a chocolate pick me up is in dire need!
Originally taken from 'Gourmet|March 2000', this has been a family tradition for many years. As explained in the recipe, the chef uses Valrhona cocoa powder in her cake, but other Dutch-process cocoa powders work equally well. The filling is made from sweetened condensed milk that is cooked in a water bath in the oven until it caramelizes. I think it adds a wonderful richness to the rest of the cake. I could eat the milk/coconut filling alone, it's that yummy!
Who among you is coughing? Who among you is sneezing? Whose throat is
so sore, it’s like you gargled sand? I’m here to heal you and me, with homemade
chicken soup. You may think to yourself: “Heck no! I haven't got time for homemade chicken soup! I’m opening a can!” But you’d be wrong, my
friends, you’d be dead wrong. One whiff of this Godly creation and
you’ll be better restored than the Sisteen Chapel. Behold the vision:
Pin it! Onions are one of my favorite foods and these roasted onions are so tasty and easy to make. While I was looking for side dishes for my steak tenderloin, I remembered making these for a side last Spring with ham. I wrote the recipe, took the picture, but, did not deliver to you! I really enjoy roasting vegetables of all sorts and I was looking forward to roasting onions. This recipe is pretty straight forward, no muss and no fuss. Roasting the onions brings out their natural sweetness and are a perfect side for steak, ham or any of your Fall dishes. I am pleased to offer another really tasty way to enjoy onions!Roasted pearl onions are rich in flavor and nutrients.
My husband and I had a successful Octoberfest party over the weekend. Most of the neighbors attended along with some family and friends. JJ and Wee Bear are back from their cruise so JJ and I split the menu and planned out decorations and set up. She has a great knack for planning and decorating plus she has so many wonderful decorations to use! I rented a beautiful farm table from a local family owned business. We got so many compliments from the neighbors on it and glad we opted for that instead of the basic buffet tables you cover with a table cloth. This table was gorgeous!
We also rented the plates and silverware from the same company, which made for an easy cleanup. You just wipe the food from the plates and place them back into the crate they came in...no washing and no drying!
The first part of this blog series, I will be telling you about the appetizers and share with you some of the recipes. A lot of these you can use for any occasion, in fact, many are create options for football/sports entertaining.
These little gems were created by "Tink". They are easy to prep and taste so good straight out of the oven! We ask her to make these often for family gatherings.
While on our cruise up
the east coast of the United States and Canada, we were looking for new and
different dishes that we could share. We were directed to a pub in
Quebec for the best lobster rolls, as it turned out we didn't have
lobster rolls, but, we had a terrific meal starting with Pepperoni
pinwheels and deep fried pepperoni.......trust me, this was all Wee
Bear!! We loved the pinwheels and I decided to recreate them.
With football season here and the holiday's on their way, this is a quick, easy, and make-ahead appetizer. These delicate little pinwheels are
absolutely delicious, positively addicting, and devoured by adults and
children alike. Oh, and the smell of these while they are baking?
Pizzeria comes to mind.
This
appetizer can be made in advance (perfect for the Holiday rush). Just
roll them up and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag
for up to one month. Defrost the rolls in the freezer before slicing
and continue with the recipe.
Two roll Pepperoni
1 package puff pastry
That's it! Easy Squeezy!!
Normally
I like to make my own puff pastry, however there are a few acceptable options in the freezer section at the grocery. If you can find Dufour, it is a all butter puff pastry that bakes up nicely with tremendous flavor. I found it at my Whole Foods. Most stores have Pepperidge Farm, and with the strong flavor of the pepperoni in this recipe....I think it will be fine.
I prefer the taste of log
pepperoni and used that in my recipe, however, you could use the slices. I just peel off the casing, give it a rough chop, and then
throw it in my food processor to finely mince the pepperoni.
Spread the pepperoni mixture over the puff pastry, and roll up!
This picture is the other mixture I used, bacon and cheese. Same technique.
Bake
the pinwheels just before your guests arrive and serve warm and within
the hour. Any leftovers can be refreshed in a 350º F oven for 5
minutes, but I doubt there will be any leftovers. Perfect for a Holiday
get together and lovely for a cocktail party. Give this a try, you won't be disappointed!
These golden brown rounds are everything you want in an appetizer, lots of pepperoni flavor, everything you want in a recipe!
I also made bacon and cheddar cheese pin wheels, using the same technique above!! Cook the bacon and chop, shred the cheese and mix together. ~~~
As promised here is the clip of Sweet One and TT's Oktoberfest! Enjoy!
I have had a ball with I movie and am looking forward to improved tutorials on the blog!
