Sylvia's Scenario

I am in Savannah, Georgia accompanying Bruce on another one of his trade shows, this time it's the National Pecan Shellers Association, which seems like a logical place to have their winter convention. And last night I even had pecans on my sweet potatoes for dinner when we ate at The Olde Pink House, one of Savannah's great culinary experiences which we got to experience firsthand.   Savannah is so full of history, almost every inch of the city has another story to tell, including all the old buildings.  As soon as we walked into this one, we could feel the presence of all the stories this old mansion had within its walls.  The building is a Georgian mansion of colonial architecture built in 1789 made of pink stucco that covers it's old bricks.  It is  one of the few buildings to survive the fire of 1796. (Savannah has had two destructive fires in it's history, 1796 and 1830, both left over half the city in ashes)  We could  certainly fee...

You didn't think I would only post a  salad recipe  for Valentine's Day, did you?  Now that we've got our veggies in for the day, it's time for dessert...cookies!  I make these   every year  and then off they go.     Wouldn't you  love to receive a box of these in the mail on Valentine's Day? I enjoy giving more than receiving and I enjoy creating more than consuming, although Bruce does not let me give away 100% before he can consume some, too.  There's always enough to go around for everyone. Creating edible goodies for any occasion is my favorite way of getting in the spirit of things.  These Valentine cookies are the same recipe I use for the  Halloween cookies , Spritz cookies   and the   Super Bowl cookies .    That's because this recipe is the best sugar cookie recipe around so why change a good thing?  The butter cream frosting goes especially well with the cookies, although the co...

Here is a non-sugary Valentine idea for those healthy-minded individuals that you want to show your love for this Valentine's Day - a salad. Such a simple idea since we all eat salads regularly...right?  I got this idea from a blog called Jo and Sue , who always have fun little food ideas.  The trick for this recipe was to find the little, tiny heart- shaped cookie cutters.  I found them at the first place I tired, Michael's Arts and Crafts Supply.   These cookie cutters are actually 12 different shapes because each of the 6 cookie cutters have a smooth edge and a scalloped edge.   Once you have the cookie cutters, use your imagination on what foods to use.  For the red color, I used well-cooked, softened beets because I love beets. Red bell peppers are the perfect red color for Valentine's Day. For the white color, use cucumbers and mozzarella cheese.   You can also use radishes, daik...

It's still "soup weather" here - gray, cloudy and wet - so no better time than one of my favorite family recipes of pasta fazool. This is the ultimate comfort food (still in demand after the Super Bowl ) and this dish always hits the spot on a rainy day. Needless to say, we ate this often when we lived in Seattle, one of the kids' favorite meals.  It's a one-dish meal, although we usually have a salad and bread with it. Our version is thicker than a lot of versions you might get in Italian restaurants where it is called Pasta Fagioli but I've always loved our home cooked version the best. I think the macaroni in this recipe causes it to be thicker because it continues to absorb the soup as it cooks but I like it that way.  The Italian name means "pasta and beans" and was considered a peasant dish, made by those who could not afford expensive food with meat.  This is not an expensive dish at all but it is healthy with beans for protein, l...