My son came home with his first hand-shaped turkey last week, so I knew it was time to take down the Jack-O-Lanterns and get out the cookbooks. My husband and I are hosting the meal again this year and we always have a good time planning a meal for about 16 people. Both my family and my husband’s get together this one day of the year, and we all have a good time together despite the broad sweep of political and religious ideas (everybody is always on good behavior!) But this year I have a new challenge: My in-laws are all very gourmet and like to try exotic new recipes. On the other hand, my dad (who has never liked exotic food) had a heart attack over the summer and is on a very low sodium diet. Argh! How can I make everybody happy?  Read the rest of the story...

Thanksgiving is coming up quick, so it’s time to start planning menus. One of my favorite staples for the meal is mashed potatoes. But not just any mashed potatoes, oh no! Mashed potatoes that, if eaten on a regular basis, could quite possibly kill you. I got this recipe from The Cat Who… Cookbook by Julie Murphy and Sally Abney Stempinski, a cookbook based on the Cat Who… mystery series by Lilian Jackson Braun. The series has been around for decades, and the main character likes to eat… a lot. Murphy and Stempinski wrote the cookbook based on the meals the characters eat in the book. This cookbook is filled with great recipes (especially the pies!) and this is one that shows up on my table every Thanksgiving. (Okay, I tried to be sensitive to some relatives’ cholesterol issues and skipped them one year: I heard about my oversight for months. Point taken.) In the cookbook, this mashed potato recipe is called Thanksgiving Potatoes, which is a fine name. But in my house, we call them Death By Mashed Potatoes.  Read the rest of the story...

I’m always flattered when a fellow foodie asks for one of my recipes and this is the one that keeps coming up.  While often thought of as a Summer BBQ favorite, the oven cooking method here makes Baby Back Ribs the perfect comfort food this Fall with only 6 ingredients besides the ribs, salt and pepper and it makes a homemade BBQ sauce from scratch.  It came from my grandma and I even submitted it to my Junior League of Boca Raton cookbook when I was on that committee eons ago.  It’s in there, “Savor the Moment” page 46, a gorgeous specimen of a coffee table book of which I am proud to have been a part.  Read the rest of the story...

One of the great things about having five Hens contribute to this website is that you are treated to a wonderful range of experiences, opinions and styles.  We’ll offer you everything from the gourmet to the cheesy, and since I grew up in Wisconsin, I proudly fall into the “cheesy” category!  Oh, I do try the simple gourmet (see Chocolate Memories) but I’m much happier when I can sit back and savor the wonderfully elegant creations of fellow Hens and Roosters!

So what cooking style do I enjoy most?  Fast, easy and especially at this time of year – FUN!  Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays, so these are the times I jump in with some festive snacks that are simple to prepare and will make the kids smile!  Two favorites that my youngsters always ask for at Halloween are Mummy Dogs and Bug-Eyed Blobs.  I have made these creepy treats “healthier” by using veggie hot dogs and a reduced sugar cake mix, but we also love making them the traditional way too.  These recipes have been around for a while and they are still a hit at our house!

Mummy Dogs

Ingredients
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2½ slices American cheese, quartered
10 large hot dogs
Mustard or ketchup, if desired  Read the rest of the story...

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Unroll dough; separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles.  Press perforations to seal.
3. Using a pizza cutter, slice each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough.
4. Cut cheese slices into quarters, making a total of 10 pieces of cheese.