easy peasy pasta with ham and peas

christmas is over...the kids have gone back to jobs and school...the house is pretty much trashed with christmas clutter and bailey is depressed.  i needed a quick dinner to use up some of the mad surplus in the fridge and soothe the soul.  i made this with left over ham. it is warm, creamy and satisfying.  it takes about 15-20 minutes....it was the perfect recipe for the day!

yummy creamy and screaming hot

recipe after the jump

Christmas cookies; lemon brown sugar christmas doggies and such

the cookie recipe is already posted with the easter shapes on the blog....kelsey works her magic with the royal icing.......they are too beautiful to eat.....but trust me they taste really good.

bailey, butch and sport

martha's lemon brown sugar christmas doggies, ponies, hamsters (talbot) fa, la, la, la, la.............

 

Christmas cookies ginger cocoa crisps

ginger cocoa crisps

20 years ago brit got off the school bus with a baggie of cookies and an illustrated recipe.  she was really excited to tell me how they had made cookies in class and colored a picture of the finished cookie on the recipe.  she wanted to show me how to make them...so we made them together that year...and every year at Christmas......sappy and sentimental...yes but these are some awesome cookies!!!! *and perfect for little hands to help with...... chocolaty with just the right kick of ginger.
recipe after the jump

Christmas cookies lillian's almond cookies

this is one of the christmas cookies i remember watching my norwegian mother in law lillian bake....the recipe is hers.   it is simple but wonderfully delicious.  it took a little trial and error on my part since my copy of the recipe was kind of cryptic....i have made some mistakes.....any way this version works.   when i bring mixed platters of cookies to work or to friends inevitably these are the cookies that people ask about.  i have done some research and this combination of ingredients is rare among the various norwegian traditional cookies you can find.  they are crisp...buttery...nutty....goodness and fairly easy!

recipe after the jump

lillian's almond cookies

Thanksgiving favorites part 2 ciabatta stuffing

stuffing is one of the stars of the thanksgiving meal....i make my own ..... i don't put it in the bird and i don't grind up any of the giblets and sneak them in either......for many years i bought the bag of pepperidge farm seasoned stuffing and added all of my own veggies...then i  saw enough chefs on tv put so many different things in stuffing that i decided why not branch out...i love really good bread...so why not start out with great bread?   Giada De Laurentis made a stuffing with ciabatta bread that sounded really good to me...but I don't like chestnuts and parmesan cheese just doesn't say thanksgiving to me.  so i started with some of the basics in Giada's recipe and made some changes, ...replacing the chestnuts with apples. losing the parm and adding bacon..

kelsey made this beautiful pumpkin for the table decoration
 (hand carved and lit with battery operated lights. 

 recipe after the jump

Thanksgiving favorites: Parker House Rolls

thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays for as far back as i can remember and that is pretty far.   tilly always cooked for thanksgiving...she had a big ritual...(thinking back i don't know how she was able to afford all of the fruits and nuts and the turkey, pies and trimmings)...i remember how she worked in the kitchen for the whole week... i thought it was amazing......it was the highlight of the year for me to sleep over at gramma's the night before thanksgiving and participate in the process.  there was the grinding of all the disgusting turkey parts with the metal meat grinder bolted to the counter...the peeling of the mini onions....fascinating.   tilly's kitchen was tiny, so we always had thanksgiving on a big folding table in the living room...i  helped set the table and carried out the appetizers and all of the dishes as tilly got them ready to go.  she used cut glass bowls for the cranberry sauce, gherkin pickles and olives....   i cook at home every thanksgiving that i possibly can.  karen makes a few dishes and brit and kelsey also participate ...finding new recipes...making new traditions and keeping some of tilly's.....  those cut glass dishes are on the table every year.. 

tilly in the kitchen on thanksgiving

Parker house rolls recipe after the jump

zucchini blossoms stuffed with cheese and fried in olive oil

we visited the food market in florence.....taking in the beautiful sights...fruits, veggies, cheeses, meat, fish, fresh pasta  all of it insanely gorgeous with no yucky smells.  we went into the city for the day by bus...so we were limited to what we could carry around.  yes like idiots we bought a melon...but damn it was worth it....one awesome melon.  we saw the zucchini blossoms and knew we had to try to get them back to the village to stuff and fry.  the lovely older woman that ran the fruit shop spoke quickly in italian...we knew enough not to touch anything...we pointed and gestured with our hands how many we wanted.  she carefully selected them and wrapped them safely for us......lots of grazie, grazie

beautiful blossoms

recipe after the jump