Y'all, Meet Country Bumpkin

I'd like to introduce y'all to my brother-in-law's wife (though we just cut straight to the chase and call each other sisters-in-law).  Her name is Jessy LIT (or Jess to us) and you can find her over at Country Bumpkin!  Jess and her Husband live back home in the great state of Kentucky, right near my in-laws and they love country living!  You might remember their wedding.  I've known Jess for as long as I've known Husband.  She and Patrick were best friends even in middle school so, in my mind, Husband's family has always included Jess.

Jess now works full-time and her Husband is an attorney.  Until they're ready to have kids (hint, hint), they spend their time cooking, shopping, crafting, decorating, hunting, building, traveling, gardening, Kentucky basketball....you name it!  And Jess blogs about it all, including fashion (my favorite subject)!  One thing about the two of us....we both love to craft, decorate and shop while the men love to build, hunt and fish. 

The only real difference between us is that she cooks....and actually enjoys it! Me...not so much.

If you recall, a while back I posted about my MASSIVE recipe collection.  No, I do not enjoy cooking, but I do LOVE to read and collect recipes.  It's an obsession really.  I have cooked a few of them.  After all, I do enjoy eating and feeding my family (actually, it's kindof a technicality). 

For Christmas, I copied the entire recipe book of over 600 recipes and then left it at home.  Woops!  I FINALLY mailed it out to her a couple weeks ago and being the super crafter and even more organized than I, she went right to work putting her collections into a neat little binder.  Hers is much prettier than mine.

I think Jess has given me a little direction and inspiration on how to spice up my collection.  Now, where do I get a laminating machine?  Hmmm....

Please hop on over and check out Country Bumpkin.

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Southern Strawberry Shortcake Desert

One thing you've gotta love about the south is the deserts!  We Southerners don't mess around with fat-free, sugar-free and gluten-free.  Nope, just give us the lard and full fat butta cause that's what makes a desert!

I'll admit, about the only thing I've ever baked successfully (yep, a southerner that doesn't bake, c'est moi...) are my Kentucky Derby Pies (or Museum Winner's Pie since technically, the Derby Pie is copyrighted...or is it patented?)  I work really hard on these pies making sure the eggs and butter are room temperature and then time my blending as to not beat the batter into complete submission.

 

My prior baking experiences, other than a cake-in-a-box (GASP!), include Bisquick biscuits where I actually did beat the batter intocomplete submission resulting in rock hard outsides and battered insides (no I am not exaggerating one bit, it was a travesty.)

And I call myself a Southerner! 

In our home, the resident baker is Husband.  Peach cobbler, brownies, strawberry shortcake...you name it, Husband makes it.  And from scratch.  In fact, Husband made peach cobbler for me at least three times a week during my pregnancy with Lallie.  One night, when Husband didn't have any peaches, I asked "Can you just make the cake part?"  I craved it with a passion.

Last night, it was Strawberry Shortcake.  Husband's Granny's recipe with slightly (and I mean ever-so-slightly) sugared drop biscuits.  A fluffy little piece of heavenly goodness, right there on my Grandma's Corning Ware plate.  Trust me, this little desert will cool the fire left in any Southern girl at the end of the day (and trust me.....it did!)





Happy Thursday Y'all!

Trike-A-Thon, Want It? Get it! and Drying Oregano

How about a hodge podge today?

First up, Lallie's Trike-A-Thon results.  Thanks to friends, family and blog friends, Lallie raised just over $400!!!  She only reached half her goal, but it was a lofty goal and she only 4 years old, so we are SUPER proud of her!

Ready, Set, Go!

Rounding the curve!

Bringing it home!

Way to go Lallie!  Mommy and Daddy are super proud of you!

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Want it?

Colored jeans are all the rage right now.  From pink to green and everything in between, you can find these all over the place.  I love them.  What do you think about the colored jeans?



Worth Straight Jeans - Lilly Pulitzer $148





Bisou Bisou 5 Pocket Skinny Jean - JCPenny $15



Can you tell the difference?  I really can't.  Of course, I haven't been in the store to see the Bisou Bisou jeans yet, but I've heard good things about them.

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Drying Oregano

I have a huge oregano plant in our garden.  A slower growing herb, we planted this one at the same time as some of our cilantro and basil, which have both exceeded their prime and had to pulled and re-planted.  I don't use fresh oregano very often and dont' want to waste the plant, so I pulled some off to dry and have on hand for when I make dishes, such as my Easy Chicken Cattiatore). 

If you don't have a plant and have to buy it at the store, the likelihood that you'll use the entire bunch is slim.  So you can do this with your store bought herbs as well, as to not waste money.

There are a couple different ways to dry.  One is to hang the sprigs upside down in a bunch inside a brown bag for quite some time.  I chose the quicker version.

Snip off the herb at the plant and then wash and dry thoroughly.  Place the stems on a baking sheet and bake in your oven on its lowest setting for one hour (I set on 170 degrees).  Turn off the oven and leave the herbs inside the oven, overnight, for 24 hours.

When done drying, remove the herbs from the stems (crunching them between your fingers), dispose of the stems and store your herbs in an air-tight container.

Happy Wednesday Y'all! 

Herbed Butternut Squash Apple Soup

About 16 months ago, the lovely Suburban Princess posted her recipe for Butternut Squash Apple Soup here at Southern Living: Preppy Style.  Recently, I tried out a different Squash Apple Soup and here is this recipe, which varies quite a bit from Suburban Princess'. 

I was introduced to the recipe through a friend a couple month's ago.  I had been invited to a home cooking girls' night out where several girlfriends get together at my friend's mother-in-law's home.  Mother-in-law then taught us to make a couple of dishes, this one being one of them.  She purchased all the ingredients, each one of us chopped and diced and we enjoyed each other's company over a glass of wine and hot pot of Butternut Squash Apple Soup.

I later gave the recipe a whirl of my own at my in-laws over Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

1.5 quarts chicken stock

2 lbs. butternut squash (one large squash)

2 tsp butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 medium Granny Smith apples.  Peeled, cored and cut into 2" pieces

1 large onion.  Diced.

2 medium shallots.  Diced

1 tsp finely chopped rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried

2 tsps finely chopped thyme or 1 tsp. dried

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Creme Fraise

(Ignore the lime juice, that was for a completely different recipe and I accidently added to this picture.  Oops!)

Directions:

Heat chicken stock in 6 quart casserole pot until simmering.

Cut squash, remove seeds and roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes with 1 tsp. butter and 1 tbsp brown sugar per side.  

Meanwhile, add cut apples, onion, shallots and herbs into chicken stock and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.

Cut roasted squash into pieces and add to the soup.  Simmer for a few minutes.

Puree the soup with a stick blender or in a food processer.  Return to pan if used food processor.

Add the half and half, salt and pepper and simmer a few more minutes, tasting for seasoning.

Garnish with spoonful or creme fraise and extra herbs and enjoy!

Now that it's cold in Florida, this is warming my bones just thinking about it!

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

Recipe: Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but for those new readers.....I don't like to cook.  I won't say "hate" because every once in a while, I do get a whim and cook up a storm, but it's rare.  But I do LOVE collecting and reading recipes, an obsession of sorts (read HERE).  I even have a spam email setup for newsletters from Real Simple, Cooking Light etc., etc.

Via Real Simple.com

Well, Friday night I cooked!!  (I hadn't cooked all week....Body Back, Junior League, Bible Study...there's always an excuse.  No worries, Lallie always gets fed a nutritious meal and we DO sit down and eat with her, it's just "scrounging."  Felt I should throw that in so you don't worry that she's starving).

Moving on.  Real Simple sent a newsletter on Simply 5 Ingredient Meals and this was one of them.  Husband and I really enjoyed it so I thought I would share. 

I really thought that the lack of spices would make this not-so-good, but it was really good and we ate too much.  Our tummies felt it later and we decided we should not eat that much in a sitting, we're not used to eating like that.  Once in a while, okay.

 

(Lisa - Body Back trainer, I know you're reading a rolling your eyes saying All that CHEESE, all that SALT....ack!...if and when we eat this again, I will be trying to make it a little healthier.  I did us about half the cheese they suggested, bu I will NOT do diet cheese or low-fat cheese.  I just can't handle the taste. For those of you who do....Kudos!)

Any suggestions on homemade enchilada sauce so I can cut down on the sauce? Need to research this.

Anyhow, I guess you'd like the recipe?

• Four  - 6 oz chicken breasts (I used two and cut them in half lengthwise.  There's only two of us)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1.5 cup Cheddar cheese (I used 3/4 cup - so around 1/3 cup per person and we didn't eat it all....almost).
• 8 - 6 inch tortillas (I used 12, but they kept breaking, only 8 ended up in the pan)
• 2.5 cups enchilada sauce (I used 1 can mild and 1 can medium and whoa!  It had a kick!  I didn't use the full 2.5 cups as I didn't want to open another can and waste half of it)  Since it's poured in the pan for flavoring, you don't actually eat all 2.5 cups.
• Cilantro for garnish
• Addition of mine - 1/2 cup chopped onions.  Though Husband suggested I use this a a garnish next time instead of inside the enchiladas.

Sorry for the extra notes....just letting you know my experience.

Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until finished.  Shred the chicken.  Mix the shredded chicken with 1 cup (I used 1/2 cup) of cheese (and I threw in the onions here too).

Take the chicken mixture and roll up in the tortillas.  Place in the pan seam side down (mine kept breaking but that's okay, they all still tasted the same, it just wasn't pretty).

Pour the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining 1/2 cup (I used 1/4 cup cheese).

SERVE!

Enjoy!! 

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes - My Collection

I have to apologize in advance for my pictures.  It is really bright in my office making picture taking quite difficult. 

After all this time blogging, y'all are going to start thinking I actually do cook!  I do cook, I'm just not a big fan of it and the mood usually has to strike me.  But I LOVE recipes.  I love reading them, clipping them, collecting them and sharing them. 

Just not cooking them (okay, well maybe I cook a few).

Actually, I'd just love someone to come into my house and cook the pre-selected and researched recipes I lay out for them. 

Oh, you mean like an in-house chef? 

Exactly.

In.......my........dreams!

Where am I going with this?

My recipe collection.  My MASSIVE recipe collection.

I clip from newspapers, blogs, magazines, friends, recipe swaps.  You name it, I clip it (as long as it sounds good).  And I have organized them by dish, with an index, in my recipe binder for 10 years now.  To date, I have collected over 600 recipes with those that I've tried highlighed in yellow (on the index) and those that have gotten the boot marked out and deleted from the index.

I am currently updating it so I can make a copy for my anxiously waiting sister-in-law.  Depending on how much it costs for me to copy this massive recipe binder, I just might have a blog giveaway.  It's a whole other cookbook without any themes (i.e. The Big Book of Beef, How to Cook Raw or Meat-N-Potatoes).  Nope, it's just plain ole recipes I thought sounded good over the years and have made the cut.

How do y'all organize your recipes?
(PS - I know you ALL are blowing up the pictures in your browsers to jot down all these recipes. How do I know?  I would do the same thing!)

Happy Friday Y'all!

Recipes! Mexican Shrimp Cocktail & Hot Spinach Dip

Good morning y’all!  Yesterday was a big day in the SLPS household.  Lallie went off to school for her first day of pre-kindergarten!  She was the class’ best cutter, line drawer and name writer.  We’re so proud!  Lallie has always been in a learning environment, Montessori since she was 18 months old.  However, this pre-K classroom was slightly daunting…..it looked like, well, a classroom!  They will be learning so much and it’s hard to believe that she will be reading words and maybe some small books by the end of the year! It’s a lot for a recently turned four-year old (and mommy and daddy) to digest! 

Over the weekend, Husband and I attended a friend’s 60th birthday party.  This family is very close to us, so I offered to make a couple appetizers for the party to assist with the planning.  These are both Southern Living recipes and are absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!!!  In fact, Husband called the Mexican Shrimp Cocktail One of the top ten things he’s ever eaten!  A big hit and definitely worth sharing!  Enjoy!

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL

• 2 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
• 6 cups water
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup minced sweet onion
• 1 tsp hot sauce (I used Louisiana hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Peel and devein shrimp.  Bring 6 cups of water and next 4 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.  Drain shrimp RESERVING 1/2 cup liquid.

Stir together reserved liquid, ketchup and next 3 ingredients.  Stir in shrimp, tomatoes and cilantro.  Chill and serve with avocado slices, lime wedges and saltines, if desired.  (We enjoyed on it’s own, maybe even as an actual dinner dish over risotto).

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HOT SPINACH DIP

• 2 (10-oz) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained with ALL water removed
• 2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese
• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (14-oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Drain spinach, press between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.  Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Spoon mixture into a 2 – 1/2 quart baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until barely browning around the edges.

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Tuesday Y’all!

New Foodie Blogger and My Personal Friend: Keene In the Kitchen

 I know I said I was taking the summer off, so consider this a PSA!  :-)

I want to introduce you to my very good (and in-real-life) friend, Candi!  She is an AMAZING chef and baker.  She loves to cook and baking is her passion (she went through 12 lbs of sugar last week, she's a serious baker y'all!). 

We have been friends for years starting just before the 2004 Hurricane Frances that hit south Florida.  She was one of the ladies that threw my baby shower when Lallie was born and if you've ever seen sandbar pictures on my blog, her family was most likely alongside of us!

Going back to the 2004 hurricanes: Candi and her husband had JUST found out they were pregnant with her first child; the first to be born into our little group of friends.  After the hurricanes of 2004, she was one of very few that had electricity (Husband and I....we were out for two weeks) and Candi so graciously opened up her home to several people (stinky and non-showered) and cooked and baked for all of us. 

She also introduced Husband and I to one of our now favorite foods, Conk Peas.  Don't know what they are?  If you follow her, I'm sure you'll find out! 

Since that time, her boys have grown and are in school and she's starting to share her wonderful wealth of cooking and baking knowledge with all of us!  Seriously, the woman has more cookbooks in her collection then I've ever seen.  The other day, someone on her facebook asked a question about bread and she pointed them directly to the cookbook that should be used in that particular instance!  She is very knowledgeable!

So, if you love recipes, cooking and baking, head on over to Keene in the Kitchen!  Both her BLOG and her FACEBOOK!  I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Happy Summer Y'all!

Let's Eat Y'all!: Blackened Scallops over Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo

 Good morning y'all!  I know I have been absentee the last few days and I apologize!  Lots going on with work, visitors and Lallie's new school, it's been tough to keep up.  But I plan to be back to regularly scheduled programming next week! Husband and I tried blackening our own scallops this week.  We have this guy we call "Ron, the meat guy."  He comes to our house every couple of weeks and brings us individually wrapped chicken breasts, steaks of all sorts and he also has fish and some of the biggest scallops I've ever seen!  Everything is restaurant quality, so the chicken is never rubbery like store bought can sometimes be and the steak are so thick and juicy with just the right amount of marbling for fat flavor. A couple weeks ago, we bought some of his scallops.  We've never worked with scallops before and weren't quite sure what to expect.  We decided to play it safe and blacken them using the same blackening recipe as on my blackened chicken HERE.  Though I will point out that you need to double the salt, the blackening was a little bland without the extra salt.  This time, it was PERFECT! 

 So, how do we do this?

• Thaw your scallops under cool water, this won't take long, so don't water log them (yes, run the water directly over them).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix up your blackening season and coat each side of the scallop.
• In your cast iron skillet (and on your outdoor grill burner as this will smoke up your house).....blacken the scallops for about 1 minute each side.
• Transfer the scallops, in the skillet, to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Serve!

We served our blackened scallops over angel hair pasta mixed in some Alfredo sauce with some added sauteed onion (LOTS of onion, we LOVE onions in our house!) This whole thing from start to finish, including the thawing, took about 30 minutes!  Can't beat that! I hope you enjoy this recipe and I look forward to reading all of yours! Have a great weekend y'all!

Let's Eat Y'all: Macaroni & Cheese with Proscuitto

Y'all remember this scrumptious pasta I made for our Memorial Day Picnic?  Well here's the recipe.  I promise it will not disappoint (and y'all know that when I make something and post a recipe, it's good.....especially if I took the trouble to shred cheese and make homemade cheese sauce!)  This is fabulous for leftovers too!  Enjoy! 

Macaroni & Cheese with Prosciutto

(I would recommend reading the recipe in full before starting and also, gathering all ingredients, measured out, in advance)

Ingredients:

(IMPORTANT:  Notice I have all my ingredients ready to go....that is because once you start the cheese sauce, the process goes FAST and you MUST have everything ready).

1 lb cavatappi or other spiral shaped pasta (I used ziti, it turned out the same)

6 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk (2% or whole)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper (ground)

2 cups Gruyere cheese (grated and divided)

1/2 cups Gouda cheese (grated)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

*NOTE* If making large sums or a double batch, like I did, Gruyere and Gouda can get expensive (we're talking $40 worth of cheese).  So you can substitute sharp Cheddar for the Gruyere and Monterey jack for the Gouda.  It's still amazing!

STEPS:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease or Pam a 13x9 baking dish (glass) or 8 ramekins.
• Cook pasta according to directions
• Cook prosciutto in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stirring often (6 minutes) until brown and crisp.

*NOTE* - I take the deli sliced prosciutto and tear into pieces the night before and lay between the sheets of deli paper on a plate.  Prosciutto tears quite easily.  And this way, it won't stick together.  Also, if having people over, it's okay to either fry it in advance (to get the smoke smell out of your house as it is potent) OR use a side grill burner outside (recommended).

NOW - this next part is going to go fast (and thus the reason I don't have pictures).  You MUST whisk constantly, don't stop or your mixture WILL burn!

• Melt butter in dutch oven over medium-high heat (if don't have a dutch oven setup, you can do this right in the pot on lower heat)
• Add flour, WHISKING CONSTANTLY, for 1 minute
• SLOWLY whisk in milk, whisking constantly, five minutes until the mixture becomes smooth and starts to thicken.  You will know when it's ready because the milk will start to foam and boil.....when it starts to boil, take OFF the heat immediately (it will boil over if not careful, so pay attention).
• Add 1 cup of Gruyere, whisking until smooth
• Add the Gouda and Parmesan, whisking until smooth
• Add Prosciutto and pasta to mixture and stir to combine
• Transfer mixture to ramekins or glass baking dish
• Top with remaining Gruyere
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until bubbly.

Quick and Easy Blackened Chicken Alfredo Recipe

 Happy Monday Morning Y'all!

I am linking up with Daphne over at Flip Flops and Pearls for the Recipe Swap.  (Shocking, I know, as I rarely post recipes because I generally don't cook recipes worth sharing.  But I'm trying....in the sake of being healthy and not eating out as much).

Saturday night, I made Blackened Chicken over Alfredo.  Yes you heard me....I made my own spice, blackened the chicken without burning the house down (okay, Husband had to open EVERY window in the house).  And it came out really well!  It tasted great!

My original plan was to serve it over linguine with alfredo sauce.  The Husband said, that's not very healthy.  So, I suggested over fresh greens from our garden (which would be great too!)  In the end, our tummies won over our healthy heads and we ate alfredo and boy was it gooooooo...ooooo....oooood!

And, it only took about 30 minutes from start to finish, always a plus! 

Mix Your Spices:

1/2 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I didn't have any, so I used red pepper)

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried thyme (I used ground thyme)

1/8 tsp ground white pepper

1/8 tsp onion powder

(I was really quite surprised that I actually had the spices!)  This makes enough spice to cover four 4-oz chicken breasts.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet.

Pat the chicken dry, rub in a little olive oil and rub on the spice.

Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove until smoking hot.  Blacken each side of the chicken for one minute each.

Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet and bake until done (5-15 minutes depending on ovens...mine took about 12 minutes).

While baking, boil your noodles and heat your jar of alfredo sauce.  Pour the alfredo sauce over the finished noodles and toss.   Slice blackened chicken and serve over the noodles.

Enjoy!

You've Got Answers, I've Got Questions!

You've got answers, I've got questions. Everyone seems to be doing the Q and A however asking the blogg"er" the questions and then they answer. Well, I'm the opposite, I've got the questions and I want YOU to answer. In the meantime, if you want to ask me a question...go for it, I'll answer in future posts! I look forward to your Q and A's!!!

1) Where is a great place to buy fantastic bed sheets with high threadcount for a reasonable price?

2) What cleaner do you use on your white Corian sink to keep it nice and white? I'm struggling with this.

3) Lallie's hair is so long compared to most kids her age. We love it and will never cut it! Ever! But, I'd love some great ideas of something to put in her hair besides just ribbons and bows. Know of any great tutorials or etsy shops?


4) I really want to go back to wearing some of my closed toe heels and pumps now that my hip is feeling a little better, but I can't walk in them, my feet slide and my toes crunch. What insert do you all recommend? (like I assume Dr. Scholl's foot pads? - I don't know the name).


5) What Twitter texting app do you use for you Blackberry?


6) What pens do you use for your Mom Agenda? I don't like the ones I bought at all! Need something bright!


7) I'm going to be starting the Couch to 5K soon. First I need a jogging stroller. Any suggestions for your runners with kids?


8) In regards to running, running shoes???


9) I need a GREAT website or cookbook for easy crock-pot meals. Lallie n
eeds to eat more veggies, we need to eat healthier, but as a working mom, I just don't have time for full meals and we need to spice things up.


10) Under the eye dark spots. My mom let me try some Oil of Olay regenerative eye cream for the daytime the other day, it worked great, for the one day. But, before I go out and buy, any other possible recommendations or reviews of the Oil of Olay?


11) What is your absolute "must read" of the season? Lately, I've read, Overnight Socialite, reading The Help, American Wife, loads of others!

What Are you Serving on Christmas and/or New Years

There was a conversation on Twitter earlier today about what people are serving on Christmas Eve, New Years, Christmas Day (or whatever day or holiday you celebrate). I don't know what we'll be having as I'm not the one cooking the meal, but every year is something different depending on where we are located.

I thought it would be fun to post of few different meal ideas and I'd love to hear about what you're planning.

My mom has baked cornish hens, one for each person, in the past and the presentation has been gorgeous, much less eating it. Martha Stewart has several recipes (the one with the 40 cloves of garlic being my favorite, but you might not want to serve that the multiple people - hold our nose!) This lemon and herb recipe looks fantastic!

What about Terducken? This dish has always fascinated me. Husband and I love to watch the Food Network and we've seen everyone from Paula Deen to Guy Fieri show off this dish. It's just fascinating to watch it being made. Are any of you brave enough to try it? HERE's Paula Deen's recipe.

Someone on Twitter mentioned Beef Wellington! Yummmm....that sounds fabulous to me. Tyler Florence has a great recipe for this dish. (I'm telling you, my mouth is simply watering!)

Of course, there are always the old traditional stand-bys, turkey (you all know what a turkey looks like) and ham, depending on your traditions.

For a pre-baked ham, no one does it better than Honey Baked Ham. We didn't have a Honey Baked Ham in my hometown. But I worked at a llittle bakery called Dumplin's in the mall and the calls for Christmas ham reservations started well before Thanksgiving. We had one cooler completely filled with hams to the rim (organized by weight) and we would carmelize them by hand with a blow torch. We sold them ham for sandwiches during the lunch hour and man, those are the best!!

Of course, we must remember our vegetarian guests. I've never hosted a vegetarian, so I had to do a little research. I came across the Vegetarian Society website and found this dish. I think it looks fabulous. It's completely vegetarian, yet has the feel and presentation of a full-blown holiday dish. It's a Festive Fillet with Orange and Pomegranate Sauce (made with turkey-style fillets).

So, now that your mouth is watering, I want to know what you are planning on serving at your holiday meal this year?