Thank you all for the thank-yous and compliments! Jan, thank you for the lovely video - I do adore that quirky house. If I had someone else to do the cleaning, mind the garden, and pay the property taxes ;-) I would drop everything and move in tonight. hhireno, it would make a lovely gift for your doctors' office, although I think I'd bypass the brandy/rum "dousing" and aging - wouldn't do for the office to be reeking of booze, no? LOL (Most of the alcohol the fruit is marinated in evaporates during the lengthy baking.) Once I made this in "mini-muffin" tins (I love those things) and piped the cream cheese topping below on top with a star tip, which made an elegant presentation. I wonder how it would be made in cookie form, sandwiched with the cream cheese filling? (Fruitcake whoopie pies! Must try this!) We usually make four or five batches, in a range of different sizes ranging from the 1" diameter mini-muffins to the big bundt pan, which is how it gets so expensive (especially since these can be outright ghastly when made with cheap, harsh hooch!). Almost every baking pan we own is pressed into service, and thus we can tailor the size of the cake(s) to the recipient. This is way too acidic for the disposable foil pans, BTW. awm03, ah, Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory. :-) Mama says it was one of those old back-of-the-package recipes from the 1960s, from the mincemeat jar. I forgot to include the cream cheese spread I always serve with it in lieu of frosting, although you can use it that way if you like. This is enough to serve with the bundt-size cake for a party. You want the spread rather tart, not sweet like cream cheese frosting, because the cake itself is quite sweet. Beat together: 1 pound softened cream cheese, the best you can get finely shredded zest of 1 orange 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 tablespoon whatever rum or brandy you used in the cake (or a dash of the rum/brandy flavoring if you skipped the alcohol) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (and if I catch you using imitation vanilla I'll find you and turn you over my knee LOL) 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar, adjust to taste Plain old cream cheese is good on the fruitcake too. When leftover fruitcake is starting to get kind of weary and stiff, we pop slices in the toaster oven or under the broiler until warm, softened, and the surface is a tiny bit crusty and spread them with real butter (I'm addicted to Kerrygold Irish butter!) or cream cheese. My birthday is January 21 and sometimes DH will make me a birthday breakfast treat of toasted fruitcake with cream cheese and orange marmalade on top of that, with a cup of tea - lovely! BTW, one of our closest friends is allergic to nuts so we made one without nuts for him (portioned out his cake, using a special pan so it would be easily identifiable, before adding the nuts to the rest of the batch - luckily he is not so severely allergic that cooking something with nuts at the same time would make him ill) and it went over marvelously well even without the nuts. Halfway through his Yule party we had to snatch what was left of it off the table and hide it in the fridge so he would get some of the darn thing, people scarfed it down so quickly! This year, he'll get one of his own. :-)

Try this one, it's from a restaurant I used to work in and it's delicious. CHICKEN FRANCAISE 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves 1/2 Cup All-purpose Flour For the Batter: 3 Large Eggs, beaten 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice 1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Parsley 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 1/8 Cup Dry White Wine 2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced 2 Dashes Hot Pepper Sauce 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 1 Tablespoon Butter For the Wine Sauce: 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick) 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice Lightly pound the Chicken Breasts and dredge in the Flour. Make the Batter by beating the Eggs, Lemon Juice, Salt, Wine, Garlic, Hot Pepper Sauce and Parmesan Cheese. Melt the Butter in the Olive Oil in a heavy bottomed skillet. Dip the Floured Chicken in the Batter until completely coated and place in the heated skillet. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 5 � 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and cover to keep warm. Drain off any remaining fat in the pan and make the Wine Sauce. Melt the Butter in the pan, stir in the Wine and Lemon Juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the Sauce over the Chicken Breasts and serve immediately. Steve

If you don't mind a little extra work this is my favourite Chicken Pot Pie recipe. I adjust the filling depending on what I feel like. But I always cook fresh chicken breasts and use the broth to cook the rest of the ingredients. I don't like it made with leftover chicken. You can top it with , the or with . Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chicken Pot Pie With Herbed Crust ================================= Pie can be topped with herbed crust or with Puff pastry Dough 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1 inch pieces 1/4 cup cold solid vegetable shortening cut into bits 1/4 cup ice water Chicken filling 4 Large chicken breasts 5 Cups chicken broth 2 Teaspoons black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 4 springs fresh thyme 3 Large garlic cloves 2 Small carrots cut into 3/4 inch cubes 1 Small leek cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces (about 2 cups) 1 Large sweet potato 1 or 2 stalks of celery 2 or three large baking potatoes cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces 1 Cup frozen peas Sauce 4 Tablespoons butter 5 Tablespoons all purpose flour 1 Cup heavy cream 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme salt and pepper . Use any combination of vegetables. I have added fresh green beans cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook the chicken in a soup pot with the broth, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme and garlic. Bring to a boil over high head. Reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. Remove meat from bones. Strain broth to remove peppercorns and herbs. Bring strained broth to a boil and add leeks, celery and carrot. Cook a couple of minutes and then add sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Remove vegetables from broth to a bowl with the chicken and set aside. Make sauce, by melting butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add flour and then cooking stirring frequently with a whisk, until the mixture develops a nutty smell, about 2 minutes. Slowly add half the broth to the roux, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens. Add the rest of the broth along with the cream and chopped thyme. Increase the heat to moderate and allow the sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, until it is well steeped with the flavour of thyme. Remove the pan from the head. Add the vegetables and chicken to the sauce. Add frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon filling into the pan. Cover with pastry, trucking in edge to seal to side of pan. Reroll the dough trimmings and cut out several leaf shapes to decorate. Make small incisions in the crust to allow steam to escape. Bake in a 375 degree oven until crust in golden brown, for about 50 minutes.

This is the one I always made.....maybe added a handful of raisins.....maybe topped with some grated cheese or some dill seed....but this is basic beer bread. Linda C Beer Bread Here's the easiest loaf of bread you'll ever make. The beer gives it a deep yeast flavor. If you like, add your favorite herbs or seeds such as sesame, millet, etc., or even a bit of shredded cheese. 3 cups self-rising flour* 3 tablespoons sugar 1 (12-ounce) can of beer Preheat oven to 375*F (190*C). Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.