Thank you Islay!!! Yes Sally they are. What they don't have in fragrance they make up for in exuberance!! I am glad you liked the pics. The buns are really not hard. I used to just use my Challah recipe but the sourdough is healthier. You could start with a Challah recipe. Use 100 grams per bun and flatten and shape like a hamburger patty. They rise well so need to start flatter and larger than you think. Brush with beaten/frothy egg white...not the yolks...the egg white gives a much nicer finish. Sprinkle with pre-toasted sesame seeds for the best flavor. I hope you will try. c

Here ya go, ajsmama. It's way too late to make anything but cookies, I think; there's no fermentation going on but the cake does need to age so the flavors meld. Right after baking it is kind of harsh tasting, but logically cookies would age more quickly. I never make it later than Thanksgiving and prefer to do it back around Veteran's Day to have it ready for Christmas/Yule. Mari's Fruitcake - Not For Children! makes 3 4x8 inch loaf pans or a 10 inch bundt pan The day before you wish to bake, combine in a big bowl: 2 1/2 cups chopped mixed dried fruit (the original recipe called for that weird candied fruit mix, and you can use that if you want, but I prefer actual fruit) see note 1 below 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted 1 cup chopped pitted dates - note 2 2-3 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger 1/2 cup chopped candied cherries, optional (DH insists that there must be at least a few of those nasty neon-green things in this, for sentimentÂs sake) 1/2 cup dark rum or brandy  note 3 (you will need 1 pint bottle total) 1/2 cup orange juice (approximately juice of 1 orange) grated zest of the orange Cover and marinate overnight, stirring when you remember to! On baking day: Grease pans heavily (I use Pam for Baking on Teflon pans, but Crisco's fine; butter sticks maddeningly). Preheat oven to 300F. Sift together and set aside: 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 tsp allspice In large bowl, beat: 2 eggs (sometimes I need a third egg if the final mix won't come together) 1 can sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle; NOT evaporated milk) 1 big (around 28 oz.) jar mincemeat (this is the secret ingredient) - note 4 Mix all the ingredients together. You'll have to work at it. Really work! Scrape it into pan(s), spread it out evenly, and bake at 300F for 1 hour 45 minutes for bundt pan or large loaves, less time for smaller cakes. Use the old toothpick test for doneness. Cool on racks. When cakes are cold, wrap them in clean, porous cloth (I use old linen or worn cotton dishtowels; plain unbleached muslin fabric is about $1/yard, just wash it first) wetted with more rum or brandy - use the same thing as you did in the cake. Seal in ziploc bags and refrigerate, or if you have a basement/attic/mudroom/shed that stays under 50 degrees but above freezing, put it there in a well-sealed metal or plastic container. Reapply rum/brandy once a week during the first month, then remove the cloth. Store airtight for up to 3 months. (I find it gets a little overly-boozy and tired after that. If you like it less strong, just do one or two applications.) Note 1: I usually use cranberries, cherries, dried apples, dried blueberries, finely chopped prunes, raisins (dark and golden), currants, pears, peaches, whatever looks good. I try for at least 5 or 6 different fruits. Not so much with the tropical stuff like pineapples and mangoes though, that just seems wrong. Note 2: DoleÂs prechopped ready-for-baking dates save much sticky hassle :-) Note 3: Those who do not consume alcohol can use 1 cup orange juice and 1 tbsp rum or brandy flavoring and skip the dousing routine, and the cakes will still be tasty, but the cakes will only keep about a week in the fridge and a month frozen before becoming stale. Note 4: I prefer Borden's Nonesuch mincemeat if I'm baking for nonvegetarians (it contains beef suet) or Grandmother's for vegetarians. I do not like Crosse & Blackwell's at all, I think it's far too sweet. If you can only get the little blocks of Nonesuch concentrate, use 2 packages and follow the label instructions for reconstituting it. I have not made these, but a relative recently imparted to me that you can make this batter into cookies by dropping tablespoons of it 2" apart on well-greased (I'd use parchment paper - NOT wax paper!) baking sheets and baking about 15-18 minutes at "325ish". :-) Makes about 5 dozen. ------------------------------ Per the almond filling on your grandma's stollen - it SHOULD be marzipan (almond paste) instead of the soft, spreadable almond filling, but you made a procedural oops more than a product oops. Don't even try to spread it. Use a rolling pin to whack and roll the firm almond paste between two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper into a long half-oval which you them fold the dough around. Or you could cheat like a bakery I once knew that used to make kick-@$$ stollen, almost as good as my stepgrandmother's. They chop up the marzipan into bits about 1/2" square, spread them out on cookie sheets and freeze them rock-hard before kneading them right into the stollen dough along with the fruits and nuts, so you get these little "surprises" of marzipan here and there in the bread. I adore marzipan so it was wonderful getting those little bits all through. Getting the gigantic stollen in the mail from stepgrandmother was a high point of the holiday season when I was young. We've made it several times but this year just too much chaos. No more baking this year here - DH is having his tonsils out (among other things) on Monday, and it would just be cruel to have the stuff around when he can't eat it. So we're doing Yule this weekend; Solstice is Monday. He's already informed me ;-) that when he's done with the liquid parts and has graduated to "the mushy stuff" I'm making him pumpkin custard (just pumpkin pie without the crust, baked in custard cups) and the "squishy parts" of banana/zucchini/pumpkin bread (no nuts but the squirrels get the crusts!). LOL

Alexa, my good friend with whom we all had Thanksgiving last year moved to Hollywood this summer. Two of her daughters, my two children, and two of the children of our mutual friend are also either in Southern CA or closer to Hollywood than here. So it's been decided that we will all meet there for Thanksgiving. The guest list is now at about 20. Her charming but smallish Hollywood Dell home will be bursting at the seams. The division of labor isn't completely decided but we have concluded that it will be simpler to order a couple of turkeys from a market in her neighborhood than to try to cook turkeys and all the trimmings. Several of us will stay in a hotel near her. I will cook a small turkey ahead of time to have drippings and broth for stuffing (Silver Palate Grand Marnier Stuffing) and gravy. I will make both ahead of time. The stuffing I will assemble and freeze to be baked there. The gravy I will make a day ahead but not freeze. My gravy is basic, a roux from turkey drippings and some butter and flour to which I add turkey broth and white wine. Whisk like crazy. I make Silver Palate Thanksgiving potatoes which are sacrosanct in our family. I am extra excited because I invited an old friend from boarding school to join us. I haven't seen her since we were 17. She moved from Wisconsin to Scottsdale this month and is game to come to Hollywood for Thanksgiving with her daughter who is 18. The spare turkey I make here will become Thanksgiving dinner for my house bound ex. He is learning to cook and can make his own sides. So dat's da plan.

French Vegetarian Feast Field Mushroom Caviar Three Layer Vegetable Loaf Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Saffron Rice Provencal Vegetable Bake Mexican Vegetarian Feast Zucchini & Hominy Soup Carrot Salsa Green Chile Enchiladas Three Cheese Lasagne another family pleaser: luscious ricotta and mozzarella cheeses between layers of pasta, with fresh herbs, and topped with more cheese and a flavorful marinara sauce tossed baby greens salad garlic french bread Appetizers/Starters Relish plate of sliced vegetables (Crudités); White wine. Guacamole An Easy Cheese Hors-d'oeuvre Pumpkin Soup Main Course Home-made bread; Salad; Steamed carrots and green beans; Mashed potatoes; rolls; Bread stuffing; Red wine. Vegan Bisquits Vegan Nut Roast with Stuffing à la PeTA Vegan Gravy Simple Cranberry Sauce Dessert Coffee, tea, hot cocoa; Champagne. Vegan Pumpkin Pie Butter Tarts