Sylvia's Scenario

This is the drink we had for Thanksgiving this year and it was a big hit.  It is made with hard cider and apple brandy and goes down real easy. It makes for a very festive fall drink if you are having a special occasion with a large group of people.  The reason it is good for a large group of people is because you make it by the pitcher-full and people can help themselves.  We went through 1 pitcher for 3 of us and made a second pitcher when our fourth guest arrived. I love the way you put lots of slices of apples and oranges in it.  A perfect fall, festive beverage to quench that thirst of yours. Serves 6 2 thinly sliced unpeeled green and red apples 2 navel orange, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise 3 cup apple juice, chilled 6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 cup apple brandy Six 22-ounce bottles hard apple cider, chilled ( 1 six pack) ice 1.  In a pitcher, combine the apples with the orange, apple juice, lemon juice and brandy. 2.  ...

This Thanksgiving morning we will eat our "turkey coffee cake"  our new tradition ever since I bought those turkey cake pans a few years ago. I was lazy this year and just used a boxed mix for this breakfast bread but I've used it before and it is really yummy   especially when eaten on our cute turkey plates. I've got to keep everyone in a good mood this morning so I don't cause a riot because I've changed a couple of our traditional recipes this Thanksgiving.  That's what happens when I have lots of time to think about things.  Lauren's favorite pecan pie has been changed this year to an  old-fashioned version  which I think is going to be really good!  Hopefully, she won't even notice that it's different.  I won't say a word…The other recipe change I made this year is a new version of the cranberry sauce making a more  spicy version .  I'm sure people will notice this but people don't eat that much ...

I like this pecan pie recipe because it has molasses in it which is a real old fashioned ingredient and I love molasses in recipes, anyway.  I put it in my  meatloaf  for the drizzle that I top the meatloaf with and in my  health pancakes .  This recipe does not use the usual corn syrup but uses more of the old fashioned sweeteners like molasses and maple syrup.   1 cup maple syrup 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 Tbsp. molasses 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 tsp. salt 6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten 1-1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped 1 unbaked pie shell chilled in pie plate for 30 minutes Egg Wash: 1 egg beaten with a fork 1 Tbsp. cream or milk 1.  Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. 2.  Heat syrup, sugar, cream, and molasses in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. 3.  Remove from hea...

This version of cranberry sauce has a little more kick to it.  With a little bit of grated ginger, orange zest, cinnamon and star anise, it will put some holiday cheer into your otherwise traditional cranberry sauce but all the spices compliment each other that you'll want to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey every year. 1 12- ounce bag cranberries 1/4  cup light brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup water 1 tsp. orange zest juice from 1 orange (about 3-4 Tbsp) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 1.  Add all of the ingredients to a medium saucepan and place over medium-low heat 2.  Simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes, until the cranberries have burst and the sauce has reduced slightly. 3.  Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick and discard. 4.  Pour into your cranberry mold or into the serving bowl you plan to use at the table. The cranberry...

My job in our office this year was to make an Advent Calendar for the dietitians.  My boss came up with the idea and it seemed easy enough to me.  I immediately thought of the calendars that Bruce makes for our Mariner season ticket parties when he prints off the whole baseball season on big wall calendars so people in our group can select their games.  One month would be a cinch for him!  So, he printed off the month of December and brought it home for me to decorate. The question was how to recognize each day as it passes by getting closer to Christmas.  I had an idea that the dietitians could write something down each day that passes using cute little symbols of some kind.  I found these gift tags that are blank so they can be written on.  Those are hard to find because most tags have "To" and "From" on them but these are blank. I suppose we will tape them on the calendar each day until the 25th.  I am thinking about how to do t...

Now it's Sunday before Thanksgiving and I've done a lot this weekend in preparation for the big meal so my list is falling into place for the rest of the week.  Before I make my list, I make the menu.  Once I have the menu, I get out all the recipes I plan to use to make the items on the menu.  Then I make my grocery list.  That is a real chore because not all the items on my grocery list are at one store so I have to make a point of stopping at various places to pick up all the things I need.  Today, we actually got the turkey at Costco where they had fresh, organic turkeys. I wasn't planning on getting it there but they had them, so I got one!  We are going to  brine  the turkey again this year so we will do that on Wednesday.  I'm off work on Wednesday so I can get a lot of preparations done on that day.  I'm still deciding on what special drinks to make and will mix up whatever concoctions I'll need for the drinks on Tuesday. ...

Is it too early to set the table for Thanksgiving?  That's what I'm doing today because it's on my  list .   Actually, today I'm also making my list for the coming days ahead.  This is going to be an easy Thanksgiving because we have only 5 of us and the big eater, Nick, won't be here since he and Sachiyo are in Japan this year.  Nick always looked so forward to eating all this favorite foods during this time and Lauren does too, but just not in the same quantity.  I also have a lot of time off from work this year so I'm not in such a time crunch as I was last year so actually, I probably don't even need do a list, but I like doing one anyway so I will!  I also like setting the table so that's what I plan to do today for fun. I got new napkins and turkey napkins rings for half price this week so I'm eager to see how they look on the table, as you can see above.  I think they are quite effective!  I've never had turkey napki...

As I was reading magazines today at my hair appointment, I ran across a recipe of macaroni and cheese with squash.  Yummy!  I had two squash at home to use up so I decided us them up in macaroni and cheese which actually sounded really good to me. So, I call this Harvest Macaroni and Cheese and also added mushrooms and green onions to it. Makes 6 3 cups winter squash 8 ounces macaroni of choice or pasta, I used rotini 2 slices bacon 3 green onions, thinly sliced 8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced 2 Tbsp. flour 1 cup milk 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 6 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (1-1/2 cups) 1.  Bake the squash in the oven. I will put the whole squash in the oven and let it bake in one piece, then remove it from the oven and let it cool.  Depending on the size, it will take from 1-2 hours at 350 degrees.  It's done when it feels soft to the touch. While it cools, prepare the rest of the recipe. 2. Cook pasta ac...