Gale Gand has a recipe for Tiny Lemon Angel food cakes on her show "Sweet Dreams" on the Cooking Network Tiny Lemon Angel Cakes with Lemon Confit ingredients CONFIT: 2 large lemons 1 cup granulated sugar CAKE: 1 1/8 cups sifted cake flour 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups egg whites (from about 12 eggs), preferably at room temperature 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 lemon, zest finely grated 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract GLAZE: 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar Special tools: pastry bag with a large plain tip, 1 large or 2 small mini muffin tins, ungreased . Directions To make the confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You now have several 1 inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each one into long strips, about 1/4 inch by 3 inches each. Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil add all the lemon rind, and boil for 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse the rind under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time. Combine the sugar and 2 cups of tap water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the rind until tender, about 1 hour. Drain the rind in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let them cool and store them in an airtight container. To make the cake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sift the sifted cake flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar 3 times (this is to aerate the mixture and make it lighter). Set aside. Whip the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites are stiff and the sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds more. Fold the sifted flour-sugar mixture into the whites by hand just until incorporated. Fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Spoon or pipe the batter into the cups of the ungreased mini muffin tin, filling the cups until almost full (they will not expand much). Bake until the cakes are light golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the tin, then run a butter knife around the edges to cut the cakes free, leaving the browned walls and bottom of the cake in the pan. Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. To finish the dessert, stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth, Turn the cakes over to the brown top becomes the base. Dip the new top (the white side) of each cake into the glaze, then carefully place it on the wire rack, glaze side up, to set. Chop the lemon confit (you may not need all of it) and make a little mound of chopped confit in the center of each cake. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes before serving the cakes. And Sunny Anderson does a great little mini Pecan Pumpkin Pie in mini cupcake tins that I've made often-- good taste & nice presentation. Here is a link that might be useful: Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

bob_cville, I'm happy to post the recipe. It came from the New York Times in 2009. Fiery Sweet Potatoes Time: About 2 hours 5 pounds sweet potatoes 1 cup coconut milk 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon salt. 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake potatoes on a baking sheet until very soft, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash. 2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk with curry paste over low heat. Mix coconut milk mixture, half the sugar, half the butter, and salt into potatoes. Keep warm until ready to serve, or cover and refrigerate up to two days. 3. At least 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover potatoes, dot with remaining butter and sugar and broil until brown and crusty on top, checking often to prevent scorching. Yield: 10 to 12 servings. Notes: I've made this, the full 5lbs, following the recipe up through step 2. I've frozen it in portions at this stage. If I'm serving it to guests, I'll finish it with the butter and brown sugar because it makes a prettier presentation. If it's just for DH and me, I skip this. It's good enough as is. Cheryl

I bought the mascarpone at my local market (Albertson's) where it's actually cheaper than at TJ's (which is right across the street). It's mediumly chocolate. And decadently rich and moist. I baked mine the day before (almost two days before). I've baked it in the past and it's lasted (refrigerated) more than a week. Couldn't tell you if it got better or worse; probably the same. Joe

Yes, my stress level went way down when I started viewing Thanksgiving as just "time off work" and the gathering as whatever it was or I wanted it to be, not what society markets it as. And my meals became way more fun. If it's just hubs and Dad and I, keep it as simple as possible, a roast bird, mashed potatoes, plain ol' dressing and salad and whatever vegetable I'm in the mood for and looks good at the store. We actually like the frozen mixed vegetables, kind of covers all bases. I like cranberry sauce but I wait until after the holiday to buy cranberries fresh, the price goes way down, so I'm likely to serve an old canned sauce on the actual day of. Tastes just like mine anyway and can be doctored. Hubs makes pumpkin cheesecake. Bam, done. Very occasionally, if we have guests over and I'm still cooking before dinner, I might serve an appetizer like guacamole or spinach artichoke dip and I don't feel guilty about buying it pre-made in the store if I have the money. I don't even bother making mulled wine like I used to, just buy it already made which you can get now. Cider for the tea totalers. I've had the big fancy Thanksgivings with all kinds of dishes and appetizers and all day partying over food, and frankly they just leave me mostly with indigestion. One exception is cherry cranberry crumble I made one year, that has both fresh and dried berries and cherries. It is fab and worth the trouble making. I don't make it for Thanksgiving though, because hubs insists on the cheesecake and one dessert is enough. Again, i used to do two plus cookies, but who needs all that sweet stuff and the left overs? Not us. I'd rather savor one nice dessert at a time. Double the topping if you're wanting something more traditional and aren't as concerned about the "low fat." That's how it manages the "light" moniker, by skimping on the topping. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-cherry-crumble