I've adapted this recipe from one I cut from the newspaper and a similar one from a magazine. It looks like a xmas wreath and is just elegant on a Holiday Buffet! WARNING -- JUST READING THIS RECIPE CAN CAUSE YOUR COLESTEROL TO SKYROCKET! PARIS BREST Puff Ring 1 Cup Water 4 Large Eggs ½ Cup Unsalted Butter 1 Teaspoon Sugar ¼ Teaspoon Salt 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour Sliced Almonds Egg Yolk Wash Red and Green Candied Cherries Combine water, butter, sugar and salt in heavy saucepan and bring to boil. Add flour all at once, then beat with wooden spoon over low heat 1 minute or until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a mixture that does not separate. Remove from heat and beat about 2 minutes to cool mixture slightly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until mixture has a satin-like sheen. Butter a 9" circle on cookie sheet. Drop paste by ¼ measuring cupfuls just inside circumference of circle so that it forms a ring. Top with sliced almonds and brush top and almonds with egg yolk wash. Bake in preheated 400 oven 40 minutes or until puffed and well-browned. Cool on wire rack. A few hours before serving, carefully slice ring crosswise with long, sharp, thin-bladed knife and gently lift off top. Fill with Crème Patisserie see below -- (or other filling) and replace top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and place red and green candied cherries at intervals around the ring, decoratively spaced. Bottoms of the cherries may be touched with a drop of cold water to make them stick to the ring. Crème Patisserie Filling 2/3 Cup Sugar ½ Cup Flour 2 Eggs 4 Egg Yolks 2 Cups Hot Milk 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Flavoring 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream In heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix sugar, flour, eggs and yolks. Gradually stir in hot milk and cook over medium heat, stirring continually until smooth and thick. This custard MUST NOT BOIL. Remember: you are going to add a cup of shipped cream so be sure the custard mixture is thicker than usual. Add the vanilla flavoring. Cool, stirring occasionally. In a separate cooled bowl, whip up whipping cream until stiff. When custard Mixture is cool, fold in whipped cream until smooth. Fill puff ring. It tastes as good as it looks. Enjoy!

Here's a couple thumbprint cookies that are tried & true. Imake them every year. Chocolate Caramel Treasures Cookie type: formed These are another variation of thumbprint cookie. This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999. Ingredients For the cookies: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teas vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tbsp whole milk 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teas salt 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts For the filling: 10 (1 x 1/2 inch) plain caramels, 2 tbsp heavy cream For the drizzle: 3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Directions For the cookies: Beat together butter, yolk, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, and roll in nuts. Place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of the balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again with a spoon. Let cool. Make the filling while cookies are cooling. Heat caramels and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely. Make chocolate drizzle one hour before serving. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to form a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes. *I never bother with the drizzle. I also usually use walnuts and not hazelnuts. ***************** Austrian Jam Cookies Cookie type: formed My mom originally got the recipe out of a magazine years ago. I don’t know what magazine. These cookies nowadays go by the name thumb print cookies. I like to call them Austrian Jam cookies because they sound more sophisticated that way. I usually double the batch. A single batch will make about 15-18 cookies. A double batch, you will get closer to 3 dozen. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (not melted) 1/2 cup sugar 1 teas vanilla* 1 egg, separated 1 1/4 cup sifted flour 2/3 cup chopped almonds** your favorite flavor of jam Directions Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a medium bowl until fluffy. Stir in flour. Gather dough into a ball, cover and chill for several hours. Roll level teaspoonful of dough into balls. Dip the ball into a slightly beaten egg white. Roll the ball into the almonds. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Space cookies 1 inch apart. These cookies will not spread very much. Press an indentation with your thumb in the middle of the cookie, careful not to go all the way through to the pan. Fill with jam. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. *Almond extract can be used in place of real vanilla. ** Generally, I think the almonds are a little too hard for the rest of the cookie. I usually use walnuts or pecans. I like using Polaners preserves for the jam centers. I have also used Smuckers as well as homemade jam.

I've had this meatless lasagna in my "want to try" file for a while - it gets excellent reviews at epicurious.com. Becky Lompoc, CA * Exported from MasterCook * BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND HAZELNUT LASAGNE Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- For squash filling 1 large onion -- chopped 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 lb butternut squash -- peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage 1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz) -- toasted, loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped For sauce 1 teaspoon minced garlic 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 5 cups milk 1 bay leaf (not California) 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper For assembling lasagne 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella -- coarsely grated (2 cups) 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz) 12 sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb -- (7- by 3 1/2-inch) Make filling: Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling. Make sauce while squash cooks: Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.) Assemble lasagne: Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese. Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Cooks' note: Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling. Makes 6 servings. Gourmet December 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Faye-BINGO in the Fotess group is 10 words, I got mine confused the other day too. Only 2 more words for BINGO. Sheri-If you will take Jan. that would be great and thank you. 2015-I can't believe how fast 2014 went. Melinda-So glad you received your get well card. I'm thinking of you daily and hope God will touch you and help the Dr's. to help you. December - Ruth (In progress) January - Sheri February - March - Erica April - May - Shirley June - July - August - Sept. - Oct. - Nov. - Dec. - Erica-I plugged you into the month of March....thanks. What a job getting all this Christmas STUFF stored away. I can't do a whole lot with my foot so I worked on it yesterday and some today and still not finished. Yes my Uncle lived here in Franklin, my Dear Aunt will probably have to go to a Nursing Facility now because she can not take care of herself. I now have my Mom, two Aunts and a Cousin in the Nursing home. I guess there will be three Aunts now very soon. My Cousin will be going home after she has physical therapy and can walk again. I'm fearing I may be there for physical therapy after I have this second foot surgery.....sure hope not. Shirley