October here in Portland can be a mixed bag of weather changes. One day the sun is out and we’re blessed with Indian summer warmth. The next day may bring overcast skies and rain showers. Some days we even get to experience a potpourri of all that: sun, clouds, rain, fog. Yes, the weather here is fickle…some might • Read More »
I love trying new ways to make cranberry sauce. You can easily have several different types of cranberry sauces, relishes or chutneys at a holiday feast because they’re so easy to make. This recipe for Spiced Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce is flavored with a hint of cinnamon, cloves and a double hit of orange (Grand Marnier and freshly-grated • Read More »
Tags: Bandon Cranberries, Christmas, cranberries, cranberry, cranberry sauce, cranberry vinaigrette, holidays, Oregon cranberries, spiced cranberry sauce, spiced Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce, Thanksgiving
Since the holidays are are upon us, here’s a great side dish that will compliment a potpourri of menus. I love the combination of chewy wild rice, roasted butternut squash and sweet corn…delish! This dish goes well with just about any meat, and much of the recipe can be made ahead of time — making • Read More »
Tags: Bon Appetit Magazine, butternut squash, Christmas, corn, holiday recipes, holiday side dish, holidays, Thanksgiving, vegetarian, wild rice
Pumpkin admirers will love this moist pumpkin cake. It’s easy to make, not too sweet, and tastes pumpkin pie-ish (only better)! The cake took longer to bake than the recipe states. I had to turn my oven down a bit so it wouldn’t brown too much. Check the cake at 30 minutes and if it’s • Read More »
Tags: autumn, cake, Christmas, Cook's Country Magazine, holiday baking, holiday dessert, pumpkin, pumpkin bars, pumpkin cake, pumpkin dessert, Thanksgiving
If you’re looking for a creative stuffing/dressing recipe for this holiday season, you’ll want to give this one a try. I had never tried rice stuffing before and was intrigued by the list of ingredients in this recipe from best-selling author Debbie Macomber: crunchy water chestnuts, toasted hazelnuts, tart apples, and sweet raisins. Hazelnuts (filberts) are grown • Read More »
Tags: Christmas, Christmas recipes, Debbie Macomber, Debbie Macomber's Christmas Cookbook, dressing, filberts, hazelnuts, holiday recipes, holidays, Oregon hazelnuts, rice dressing, rice stuffing, stuffing, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving recipes, water chesnuts
In honor of National Sandwich Day (November 3rd), here’s a perfect Autumn sandwich: shredded turkey, sweet pears and creamy brie all grilled to melty goodness on whole grain bread. Yum! And with Thanksgiving right around the corner, this sandwich is a great way to use up leftover turkey after the big meal. Use a panini grill • Read More »
Tags: brie and pear sandwich, Fine Cooking Magazine, grilled cheese sandwich, leftover turkey, lunch, National Sandwich Day, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving leftovers, turkey and brie sandwich, turkey and pear sandwich, turkey sandwich
I’m always on the lookout for new coffee cake recipes so I was intrigued to find this one for Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping. The cinnamon-spiced cake is moist and filled with apples…perfect for cool Autumn morning gatherings, and great with a cup of coffee! The recipe calls for making a brown sugar glaze which I • Read More »
Tags: apple cake, apple coffee cake with crumble topping, apple desserts, autumn, coffee cake, streusel
Here’s a fun twist on the classic grilled ham and cheese sandwich using a combination of smoky, salty, tangy and sweet ingredients. It’s really good! You’ll definitely want to use a good quality bread…something sturdy (I’ve found that normal sandwich bread can be too soft for paninis). I used Portland French Bakery’s Sliced Rustic Wheat Bread because • Read More »
Tags: autumn, cheddar cheese, grilled ham and cheese sandwich, ham, lunch, panini, panini grill, panini press, pear, Portland French Bakery, sandwich, Williams-Sonoma
In honor of the first day of Autumn, here’s a good comfort food recipe for Braised Chicken with Mushrooms. This simple yet flavorful dish will definitely be making it onto my dinner table throughout the comfort food months! The medly of mushrooms and a little Madeira (or dry sherry) make a delicious, earthy sauce for the • Read More »
Tags: Autumn dinner, braised chicken, Chicken, Comfort Food, dry sherry, Madeira, mushrooms, wild mushrooms
To me, fresh apple cake is the epitome of autumn! A friend gave me a bag of apples from her backyard tree recently so, of course, I had to find something new and delicious to make with them. What I settled on was this recipe for Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting. It’s moist, • Read More »
Tags: allspice, autumn, Baking, brown sugar frosting, cake, cinnamon, Dessert, fall, fresh apple cake, nutmeg, potluck