Spiced Apple Sidecar

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It is always a mystery to certain members of my family what cocktail I might order when we are out to dinner. Most of my family have their drink and that's it, year round.....Borrrrring! To me there are certain flavors that are really only appropriate at certain times of the year. For example, a passion fruit and coconut swizzle is just not done in November. A wonderful drink, for sure, however, not when it's cold out. On the flip side, eyebrows would be raised if you were to offer a maple and cinnamon Old-Fashioned in July. To me it's just not right. So, now that the evening is bringing us a little chill in the air and daylight's a fleeting thing, lets make a Fall drink that will warm us up. Thanksgiving is around the corner quickly followed by Christmas, this is  when those rich, warming spice flavors come in favor. 

Salted Caramel Creme Brulee

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I've written before about my Mother's love for creme brulee. She is crazy about this delicious dessert. So the last few dinner's we had together, before Wee Bear and I left for Scottsdale, I made her creme brulee. She was in heaven with delight, in fact one night she devoured TWO!! 

 Of course who wouldn't likes this? We all rejoice at the fun in cracking the sugar on top and the caramel is the quintessential trademark of smooth, creamy, vanilla custard, foiled by the ever-so-slightly bitter burnt sugar. 

Five Pepper Cookies!

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I still remember the first time I made these remarkable cookies. I was in my late 20's. My father had taken the Summer to go to Montana and find where he was born. He had given us a address to write letters to him, so, I not only wrote letters, I sent him cookies. This cookie was the one he talked about the most. He described his first bite like this, " ahhhh, this is nice- then, without warning his entire mouth was on fire!" However, he couldn't stop, he told me, "these cookies are addictive"!

Super sticky royal icing for - Haunted Ginger Bread House!

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A gingerbread house is only as good as it's glue. If you want an A+ on your gingerbread house, you need the best gingerbread house icing. When planning your gingerbread house, the icing is the most  important part. Gingerbread houses are a great way to set the scene for the holidays and WOW visitors to your home, whether it be Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Penuche Frosting

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Penuche was a popular frosting when I was growing up. So last week end when my Grandchildren and I made a "Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread" I thought the perfect frosting for it would be one of my old favorites, Penuche frosting. My Mom made a version of this recipe, however, I have changed it up, making it richer for "Julia and Emma's Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Quick bread"!

Beecher's Tomato Soup!

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I have told you many times how I shop at the Seattle Public Market, well friends, there is this fabulous cheese maker.............Beechers. Beecher's is a local favorite cheese, restaurant and snack shop! Beechers started as a idea right here in our Seattle Public Market in 2002, by Kurt Beecher. Beecher's opened it's doors in November of 2003 Beecher's has two cheese making locations now, Seattle and the Flatiron District in New York.

Risotto with leeks, shitake mushrooms and freshly shaved truffles

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The truffle is well-loved in our family and gets featured quite often, when any one of us can get our hands on them. My daughter-in-law, Amy and son Dustin were able to purchase a black truffle at the Seattle Public market last week and oh boy, did we have a feast!! Dustin shaved the fresh truffle over his perfectly grilled steaks and I created a new risotto using shitake mushrooms, shallots and leeks. Making mushrooms and truffle the hero of your dish means big bang for your buck because they were made to ooze flavor, and are best friends with good old staples such as pasta, risotto and ciabatta. And also, risotto is made for feeding people you love, and that’s just what we needed when we had a merry rabble of family round for dinner and a Seahawks game on Sunday afternoon.