It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s wonderful. It’s… Homemade white bread, and it only took a few minutes of actual work to make perfectly the very first time.  Trust me folks, if I can do this, so can you!  if you’ve got a stand mixer with a dough hook this is as simple as it gets, it contains no preservatives and it stores well. (The loaf pictured above spent a week in the fridge… It’s still wonderful and will be finished off tonight.)

This is probably one of the tastiest bread recipes I’ve come across for everyday use.  The recipe makes two full-sized loaves and my kids think it’s got the over the counter stuff beat by miles when it comes to a good PB&J.  If you figure up the cost to make it, it’s about 1/4 the price of any loaf at your local market, but twice as good, so even the tiny bit of effort required makes this cost effective as well as delicious.

Another plus of this recipe over other is that it’s a very firm crumb and easily handles duty as a sandwich bread.  I’ve tried several recipes that simply could not hold up to the role of sandwich bread.  This loaf does not disappoint in that regard.  It’s soft enough to be enjoyable, but firm enough to stand up to everything from peanut butter to hot roast beef without crumbling or turning to mush.  In short, it’s the perfect alternative to store-bought sandwich bread.  Give it a try, you’ll like it!

And if your wondering if this is the perfect bread to make your family his Thanksgiving or Christmas, the answer is YES!  It’ll make wonderful Turkey Sandwiches!

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Fall produce abounds at my local markets, leaving my head reeling with recipe ideas and the urge for more wintry fare.  These sweet potatoes were originally slated to be roasted with some other root vegetables, but I ended up trying this out to see if I could get my kids to eat something other than a regular potato with dinner.

I have an aversion to the standard candied yams served at most holiday tables, preferring something a bit more savory instead, but for this I thought that the combination of Five-Spice powder and coconut milk would give a nice flavor combination.  It did.  While there are things I will definitely change about this dish, it’s one that I will be visiting again while sweet potatoes are still on the shelves.

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When we invited our friends over for Christmas this year, I only asked for one thing.  I asked for the apple pie pictured above and the recipe that went with it.  The fact that the pie dish pictured was also given to us was a bonus (and a very nice one, thanks guys!) but the real gift is a pie that I will gladly make and share with friends and family for the rest of my life.

I know I say this all the time, but the simple things in life are usually the best.  This hods true with food as well.  Overcomplicating a recipe usually does little to enhance the flavors of the food, it just adds extra steps that are not necessary. (There are, of course, times when this rule does not hold true, but this is not one of those cases.)

This has to be just about the simplest recipe for a German apple pie I have ever seen.  There’s no fuss, nothing picky or finicky, just a good-solid recipe that tastes far better than you would expect for the ingredients used.  In my opinion this is true perfection.

I know that statement may ruffle a few feathers.  Everyone has their own favorite apple pie recipe.  Of those, I’m sure that 99% would be a pie that I would enjoy as well.  But for me, Brie’s German Apple Pie is quite simply the pie I will crave whenever I think of apple pie in the future.  I’ve been spoiled, but I’m not complaining.

The recipe as given to m is only for the pie filling.  I’m not sure if she made her own crust or if she used a prepared crust, so I’ll leave that decision up to you.  If you’re bent on making your own pie crust, the best recipe I’ve ever seen for one is here. I am not a baker by nature, so if my wife wants to make a crust from scratch, great!  If not, I’ll use what I can get.  With this filling adorning it, it could be shoe leather, I really wouldn’t care.

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Popularity: 26% [?]

Have you ever wondered what to do with a leftover ham, especially through the Holidays?  If you’re like us and prefer to have ham on the table for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as a turkey or roast beef (Or whatever your tradition happens to be), then this quick little throw together might be just what you’ve been looking for as a way to get a bit of new life out of some of your leftover holiday feast.

Almost everyone has a few boxes of mac-n-cheese stuffed somewhere in their pantries.  You may not use it regularly, but I’m sure its in there somewhere.  This recipe calls for two standard sized boxes, but hey, I’m not going to say you can’t make your own Mac and Cheese and make this up either.  It would surely be better, but I always have the boxed stuff, because my son doesn’t prefer homemade yet.

So with a few boxes of noodles, a bit of cheese leftover from an Antipasto platter that I made, a bag of frozen broccoli and a bit of this and that, you can have a beautiful comfort food meal on the table and go through some of those leftovers in the process.  Not a bad deal, is it?

And did I mention that this is freaking wonderful?  It really is.  We actually ate the leftovers of the leftover solution for lunch the next day…  Yup.  It’s that good.

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Day two of the Twelve days of Cookies finds this home paying homage to the Pecan.  (Honestly, you can’t be a Texan if you aren’t making something with pecans.) The cookie of the day?  The Pecan Tassie, from the era of big hair, heavy metal, Depeche Mode and Cindy Lauper.  Gourmet Magazine’s top cookie pick for 1985, and with good reason!

Gourmet stated that these little gems reminded them of pecan pie.  I don’t get that when I taste them, but what I do get is a mouthful of wonderful.  The texture and flavor of these cookies is a bit surprising.  The dough is a bit cake-like, but the topping is very crunchy.  The contrast between the two is wonderful.

The downside?  These cookies don’t hit their stride until they’ve had a chance to sit overnight and cool completely.  I tried them last night when still warm and honestly, I didn’t like them much.  But this morning… Ah, I’m singing a different tune altogether now..  How bout “Just can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode.  It’s fitting for the time, and I like the song!

So, my thoughts on these…  A definite thumbs up for us. We’ll be making these again, I guarantee it.

Now go make some.  Do it now so that you can enjoy them with your coffee in the morning!  Resist the urge to try them warm!  They’re soooo much better the next day it’s just unbeleivable.  Trust me on this.

And don’t forget to check out the other members of our crazy little group.  We’re all making the twelve cookies we thought we’d like most, so you can be sure that there are other great recipes out there for your cookie indulgence.  The list is at the bottom of the post!

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Thanksgiving this year was both a challenge and a pleasure. The pre-Turkey Day prep didn’t go as planned, which left us making a full dinner, both indoors and out in less than four hours. (And Thank God for smoker grills!)  I’m not totally used to our new oven, and there just isn’t enough room for the two of us in that kitchen.  Thankfully we’ll be looking to buy a home at our next duty station.

The meal, however frazzled its prep may have been, was fabulous.  I started things off with something that was traditional at all of my holiday gatherings as a kid.  Growing up in a predominantly Italian community, the antipasto platter was present at any large gathering, and I couldn’t have friends over without laying out one of my own.

This one featured Prosciutto, Mortadella, Sopresetta, Mozzarella, Italian Dry Salami, Garlic stuffed olives, ripe black olives, pepperoncini, pepper jack cheese (a nod to Sonoma, my home town and the place that pepper jack was invented) a variety of veggies and the ranch dip that came with the store-bought veggie platter. Poor thing never had a chance

From there we moved to an abridged version of my original T-Day menu, but really there was still more than anyone could have put a serious dent into.

This year’s dinner was turkey, ham, roast beef, traditional Southern cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, ham gravy collard greens, rolls and twice baked sweet potato casserole.  More than enough for four adults and 1 1/2 kids, wouldn’t you say?

The surprise star of the show was the ham.  Since I didn’t have enough time to cook it as I had planned to the night before, I fired up my smoker and tossed its spiral-sliced butt (pun intended) into a tray and into a 350 degree smoke box.  I’ve never had better, and it just became a hodidy prerequisite.  It’s simple and its fabulous.

After several hours of chatting and absorbing good company, we went our respective ways and a good portion of the food was packaged up.  The turkey I made the day before Thanksgiving, half the leftover dressing and the cranberry sauce was delivered to the dormitories for Airmen that could not make it home for the holidays.

My wife was showered with thank-yous and even a few tears. Good wishes sent to me through her and in the end, a few people that would have otherwise had a less than enjoyable holiday got to go to bed happy and full with a home cooked meal to warm them.  Whatever trouble I went through to make that happen was worth all the effort, and has already been forgotten.  I’ll do it again, happily.

And there you have it folks, a perfect day of giving thanks.  i’ll remember this one for a very long time.

Oh, and be looking for the perfect apple pie recipe to show on my front page very soon.  The one our friends brought is the best I’ve ever had.  Of course I got the recipe.

Popularity: 1% [?]

This is the third in a series of three white chocolate mousse tartlets for the holiday season, look to the end of the article for other recipes.

Although all three of the white chocolate mousse tartlets in this series have the same simple base, the toppings (or additions, if you would like to mix them in with the mousse) make all the difference.  They elevate what is in its own right something magnificent.  This is my personal favorite among the three.

The cranberry compote contrasts wonderfully against the sweet silkiness of the white chocolate mousse in a way it never could against a milk or dark chocolate.  The flavors start out in-your-face, but then blend into something I can only describe as a symphony of flavors and textures unlike any I’ve had before, but I’ll be looking for it in other foods.

If I had to give a description of the way this tartlet tastes, I think I’d compare it to cranberry juice and vanilla bean ice cream, but that really does it no justice. It’s just so much more than that.  You really just have to make this for yourself and see what the end result is.  Trust me, you’ll love it.  I did, and i usually can’t stand white chocolate.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

This is the second in a series of three white chocolate mousse tartlets for the holiday season, look to the end of the article for other recipes.

This version of white chocolate mousse tartlet bears the same humble base of white chocolate mousse and mini fillo pastry shell as the others in this series, but the flavor combinations are most decidedly more refined.  Topped with toasted macadamias, macerated golden raisins and white chocolate chips, this tartlet is awash with subtle yet intensely different flavors and textures that will tantilize even the most fearsome food snob in your group of friends.

The silky mousse is contrasted wonderfully by the crunch of the white chocolate chip, fillo dough and macadamias, while the raisin packs a small but very potent burst of flavor that is beyond heavenly.

Note: this is an adult treat.  There’s too much alcohol in this particular version for the kiddies!

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Popularity: 2% [?]

I can usually avoid desserts, but cheesecake is my weakness.  I can’t be in the same room with a cheesecake and not just have to have some.  It was love at first bite for me, and it’s a love affair I’m happy to say is still alive and well. That’s why when I saw a recipe for Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake on the cover of a store circular, I knew I just had to make it.

I’m glad I did.  The result was an intensely mousse-like custard with the subtle flavor of a pumpkin pie covered in melting vanilla ice cream.  And you don’t need any ice cream!  This really is one for the “go to” list of recipes, especially if you’re looking for an alternative to pumpkin pie for the holidays.

A word of warning though.  This is a massive cheesecake.  You probably won’t want to make this unless you’ve either  got help polishing it off, or you’re addicted to the gym.  It’s good enough that you won’t be able to stop eating it, and according to the information on the unmodified version, each slice is going to cost you about a quarter of a recommended daily caloric intake. (My version is most definitely higher in calories.)

This thing is like pumpkin flavored crack.  It’s addictive.  You have been warned.

Now where’s my dessert plate?

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Popularity: 9% [?]

Holiday dessert season has begun.  It’s a fact of life.  You’ve just got to have sweets around for the Holidays, even if for the rest of the year you generally don’t bother with them.  We’re no exception here and we’re kicking off the sweetest season of the year with something that’s not only sinfully delicious, but amazingly simple to make. One of my wife’s personal favorites, Peppermint Bark, but with a little twist.

Peppermint bark is usually made in bars, or simply shattered off of a large sheet like a brittle.  This version is a bit more… Structured.  The bark is poured between a pair of tiny candy canes shaped into a heart.  Cute, yes?  We thought so too.  Unfortunately I can’t claim the idea as my own, we saw it in the Pillsbury circular.  It just looked like a really fun thing to do.

These take nearly no time to put together, but they definitely don’t suffer in appeal.  The kids can help put them together, though I’d leave the chocolate depositing to either an older child or an adult, but as far as decorating goes, let the little ones at it.  They’ll have a blast, and you get help with the candy making.

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Popularity: 4% [?]