Gingerbread Lane
The Cookery was at its best this afternoon with 13 kids working their magic. They decorated cookies and gingerbread houses and taste tested a few gum drops. Worth the fuss of clean-up? Yes! This is the fifth year we’ve participated in a neighborhood gingerbread decorating fest which generates nothing but smiles.
Straw and Hay from the Frugal Gourmet
If you want to celebrate simplicity around your table this time of year, you may like breaking bread with The Magi, The Camel and the Little Lamb. I’m browsing “The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas.” Though I don’t own this cookbook (it’s currently on loan from the Austin Public Library) and never really knew much of […]
Catch Cookie Madness . . .
with Anna in Austin. Check out Anna’s live chat today! http://www.cookiemadness.net/
Ring in Cookie Season
It’s high season for cookie baking and the real treats often roll out in December. If you’re looking for an oatmeal-cranberry take on cookies, sample this recipe. Cookie cheers to Cookie Madness for exactness in preparation–fantastic batch served up in Austin! Drop by Cookie Madness http://www.cookiemadness.net/ and from there, skip on over to Oatmeal Cookie Guy’s […]
Time to refresh those pantry shelves
Are your pantry items beginning to look a little tired? Maybe it’s time to clean off those shelves. Join me in December and get honest with expired canned goods, dated spices and vintage herbs.
Happy? Try this ending with your next feast.
This Texas Two-Step will bring any meal to a happy ending. Adorn that pumpkin pie with a scoop of Blue Bell Ice Cream: Homemade Vanilla, right out of Benham, Texas. www.bluebell.com
On a roll
Kids love rolling dough. As long as we keep the rolling to a minimum, we turn out great pie crusts. For your single layer crust that I hope you’ll be serving up pumpkin-style, stick with the basics: 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup lard 3 tablespoons icy cold water Mix dry ingredients and […]
Just Plain Flaky
The masters at preparing pie crust know the secret of keeping the crust flaky: handle with care. If there’s time for pie baking around this cookery, it’s Thanksgiving time. I’m testing pie crust recipes this week in preparation for an early celebration with guests on their way soon.
Get personal . . . with your own cookbook
TasteBook has unveiled a hard copy cookbook that gets very personal. It enables you to personalize a collection of recipes in a cookbook, enhanced far beyond many of the “photo memory” books on the market the past few years. Who doesn’t appreciate the convenience of borrowing recipes and ideas from food sites and blogs? Electronic copies free up […]
Celebrity chefs inspire with dates
Jack and Annie dropped by the cookery this weekend. These two children’s literature characters are always cooking up curiosity with young readers. Mary Pope Osborne planted the seed for our next cookery adventure with dates. In her Magic Tree House series #34, “Season of the Sandstorms,” Jack and Annie shake the delicate fruit from date palm trees in the desert. […]