This is another of Bruce Aidells’ recipes from the December 2011 issue of Bon Appétit that I used for our Christmas dinners last week.

One important tip when roasting a whole beef tenderloin is to tuck under the tail end. Because the tenderloin narrows at one end, the thin portion must be tucked under itself and secured with a little kitchen twine, so that it will cook at the same rate as the rest of the roast.

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Happy New Year’s Eve! I offer up a toast, to you, followers of this blog. Thank you for another wonderful year and here’s to an even better 2012!

We are having a NYE Brunch today, I’ll post some recipes and pictures next week. Until then, please stay safe… and if you live in Arizona and are going out tonight, remember that AAA Arizona offers a NYE “tipsy tow” service. It is a free one-way ride and tow home, up to 10 miles, for drivers and one passenger, who have been drinking. It is open to everyone, not just AAA members. CLICK HERE to learn more!

This delicious pork roast recipe and the beef tenderloin recipe that I’ll be posting in the new year, are both from the fabulous Bruce Aidells and were featured in this month’s issue of Bon Appétit.  I did make one major and one minor adjustment to the pork recipe. Mr Aidells’ version used a double rack of pork and I used a boneless pork roast. And the original used oranges, whereas I’ve used tangerines.

Wishing you a safe and festive New Year’s Eve!

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You may recall that I used a bunch of pie pumpkins in my Thanksgiving table setting and on my kitchen island fall display. Soon after Thanksgiving, I roasted those pumpkins and froze the flesh – with the knowledge that I’d be making pumpkin soup for Christmas.

This recipe serves eight, so you will only need 2 small pumpkins, but since I had five to work with, I more than doubled the recipe.

For the garnish I used THESE sweet and spicy pepitas, but toasted pepitas (readily found at Trader Joe’s) work just as well.

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I found this recipe in an issue of Bon Appétit three or four years ago and tucked it away. When I stumbled upon it right after Thanksgiving, I knew it would be a perfect side for the pork roast I planned to serve on Christmas Eve. Not only because the flavors would compliment the pork so well, but also because I had a kabocha squash and a butternut squash laying around that I had used in my Thanksgiving table decor. I’d also used several pie pumpkins in the decor that I’d already roasted and frozen for use in a pumpkin soup I planned to serve. It is so gratifying when you can use such gorgeous vegetables twice… first to decorate and then to eat!

Just as with yesterday’s post, this dish my also be prepared a full day in advance. Assemble completely in the baking dish, cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before baking.

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This is one of the two side dishes we had for Christmas Eve dinner to accompany a pork roast.  I also served a pumpkin and chipotle soup. The soup, the second side, and the pork recipes will be posted in the next couple of days, but this corn pudding was, by far, the favorite dish of the night!

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Merry Christmas

I usually post a vintage image for each holiday, but for this Christmas how, about a photo recipe? Only a photo… no actual recipe to needed.  I’ll be serving this during our appetizer happy hour today. Isn’t it pretty and perfectly festive? [Read more →]

Bake Sale

Yesterday’s Les Dames d’Escoffier International bake sale at the Phoenix Public Market was a grand success! Yeah, we made $744.00!!!! Man, we can bake! But I must say, a whole lot of credit goes to Gwen, my sales partner, that girl can sell! I would even buy a beet from her, and I HATE beets!

I took pictures of the tables right after I set up my cake pops and by the time I got down to the end were I had set them up, there were only 5 left for sale! I was making a few sales down at the other end for a moment or two… but wow!

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Weekly Tip #9

I think I may have missed a week of “tip time”.  We did have “game time” last week though. To make it up to you, an extra tip this week.

Holiday Baking Special Edition

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Although it has taken me much longer than usual to get into the Christmas spirit this year, here is what finally motivated me to just “do it!”  It is an essay written by my daughter, Marissa, when she was in elementary school. It used to hang in my bedroom, but was taken down quite a while ago.  Luckily, I ran across it yesterday, just in time. I hope it warms your heart, it certainly did, mine!

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… your homemade vanilla extract.  That is, if you made it back on October 1st when I posted THIS.  Even if you were a few days or even 2 weeks behind me in getting yours in the bottle, don’t worry, go ahead and package it up today.

Here are the six little bottles I made. I used a small funnel to transfer the liquid into each container then folded each of the vanilla beans in half and stuck one into each container before closing. 

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