Festive Floof! Resolutions!
amylou321
last year
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (22)
Related Discussions
Festive Floof! Fathers Day
Comments (25)I'm on the verge of no father. He has a degenerative disease, that he wasn't supposed to live 6 months past, but he's been surviving well past. He started declining in December. He lost 20 lb in a month. His appetite is gone. The last two events I've attended with him, just walking from the car to the building he's as white as a ghost. There's absolutely no blood in his face. He's exhausted. His disorder is a breathing disorder, and he's able to carry his oxygen around, but not for much longer. He spent the last hour of today's interaction sitting on the couch sleeping while the rest of us were laughing and talking. He has a favorite book. He gave it to me, and I read it constantly. When he comes to visit me it's here on the shelf. He always picks it up and reads it when he's here. So I bought him a larger version with the actual illustrations that were in it first publication. I gave that to him yesterday. I'm going to miss him so much. I hope today brought him much joy, with all of his children, except one of the six, and many of the grandchildren, were there to see him. Doesn't happen often because there are so many of us and we are so far flung. He knows I love him. All I can hope for in his last days....See MoreFestive Food Floof! The perfect plate!
Comments (27)My plate of favorites would include white and dark meat turkey, rustic (made with unpeeled potatoes that are not mashed until they no longer resemble potatoes) mashed potatoes with a bit of whole milk and butter, kasha (buckwheat) stuffing, fresh green beans with mushrooms, turnip puff, cooked carrots with a hint of maple syrup and browned butter, turkey gravy for the stuffing and potatoes, and a raw fruit salad with a touch of lime juice and honey. I’m not much of a dessert eater, but I like a creamy lemon pie with a crushed animal cracker crust, usually called North Carolina lemon pie, I think. I may have to make one tomorrow. I first had the kasha stuffing when I went home with a college friend for T-day and have made it since then. Wonderfully flavored with everything you’d put in a bread dressing, it is a delicious alternative to a festive feast. Buckwheat is gluten free for those that are interested, by the way....See MoreFloof! Festive Tableware!
Comments (25)I have a set of rather informal Christmas dishes that I use daily starting after Thanksgiving. The holidays are mostly at my kids houses now but back in the day we would always have a huge New Years Day Brunch of sorts......starting after midnight! There were times we poured the last one out the door about 5 AM, so I have tons of white Ranson china plates both Haviland and Bavarian....and enough sterling to set 50 places plus extra forks. Am passing on some of the silver to the grands now. When I did do Thanksgiving I usually used my Mason's Vista with Ruby flashed King's crown...festive but not strictly holiday. And for a few years we had a "Kick off the holiday" cocktail party the night before Thanksgiving. That was back in the days when a turkey had pinfeathers and you would spend an hour plucking pinfeathers before you could cook it! Not sure how i managed all that....but I did!...See MoreFestive Food Floof! Do you dare?!?!?
Comments (30)While I've been baking bread and challah (brioche type dough) all my life, the only yeast pastries I've made often are hamentashen in a sweet version of my mother's challah recipe. Last week, I had this sudden thought, "Pumpkin babka!" This has been a great year for pumpkins. So instead of figuring it out myself, I searched for recipes on the 'net, and found a chocolate with pumpkin dough, and one more like what I'd had in mind, which was pumpkin-pecan filling in a rich, soft dough. I usually have great results with blog recipes, and I was sleep deprived, so even though I reviewed the ingredients before saving the recipe, I didn't actually read them through for quality. BIG mistake! I don't know if it's meant to be a sabotage (the comments were useless, only discussing the pretty pictures in the post). It sort of reads, to my bread self like it was partially scalled with oopsies. I've done that scaling a recipe for myself in my head, without writing it down when I was tired. I don't know, for sure, but looking back, it also doesn't match the instructions in the demonstration. It's, um, whack! There were plenty of places where I had warning signs and should have stopped and read it over and quit, but I didn't. I was tired beyond thought. When I started the first step, and it said 2 1/2 TBSP yeast to 3 -4 cups flour, I should have stopped. I just figured she meant teaspoons, and adjusted accordingly. Then I read the gigantic amound of sugar and salt. I always adjust those to taste anyway, so I kept going. When it said 8 eggs and half a pound of butter, I just figured she knew something I needed to learn. Um. No. The result, as you who bake know, was a glutinous cake batter. I added about a cup of flour and ran it with the dough hook and let it "rise" (not that any rising was happening). Good thing I've learned so much about high hydration baking. I poured it out onto the baking mat. There was enough gluten development at this point that it didn't spill away, just made a stable lake. Much as I would have liked to use my big steel bench scraper, one can't on silicone, but a big bunch of cast flour on it, scrape up some goop with the small plastic bench scraper and push it over, led to a more stable mound. Still too soft for even a stretch and fold, but holding its shape as a mound. I covered and let it rise. And it did! And when I heavily dusted with more flour, it was manageable and rolled. It was too soft to twist nicely, but enough so that the middle has a nice distribution. You can't see the layers, though. The dough was still too soft and smushed together. And it was so soft that the outside was almost burning before the inside was done, and the corners were dry because of that. The filing was good. That's a keeper. So is the butteriness of the dough. The end result was fine eating, though not exquisite. I think if I added a little extra butter to the hamentashen dough it would be more like what one needs, and I think more filling proportionate to the dough. I had been surprised that it didn't call for toasting the pecans, but they came out great from raw. Because of the restriction I put on the excess sugar, it's really good with cranberry sauce! While chatting, i mentioned it to the Thanksgiving cousin, and that I'd put the second loaf in the freezer. She asked me to bring it, but I don't know if anyone ate any. At least I don't have to find someone to feed it to! Which is why one tests recipes ahead. I also tried to make the handkerchielf rolls. I don't think there's any saving that one. I mean, they're rolls but they have a kind of gummy mouth feel, and that's after I overbaked them a little! Nasty. The recipe was designed to sell the baking dish. I'm thinking I could rescue them with custard. Pumpkin bread pudding is in the offing. Maybe with a cranberry hard sauce. The worst breads make the best bread puddings!...See More
Related Stories
LIFE6 Easy Design Resolutions That Can Bring You Joy
Try one of these pain-free changes to mark the start of the new year
Full Story
HOLIDAYSShow Us Your Diwali Celebrations at Home
We’d love to see how you’ve prepared your home for Diwali. Your photos could appear in an upcoming Houzz feature
Full Story
HOLIDAYSHouzz Call: Share Your Personal Holiday Traditions
What winter rituals mean the most to you and yours? Post your stories and pictures
Full Story
ARCHITECTUREAn Architect's Wish List for the New Year
Have a better relationship with your home and neighbors this year with these forward-thinking ideas
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDES6 Rockin’ Red Plants for Winter Gardens
Use the bright berries or branches of these cold-climate favorites for outdoor garden interest or container arrangements anywhere
Full Story
DECORATING GUIDES10 Popular Design Trends to Carry Into the New Year
A designer shares the looks that are likely to stay in style in 2016 and beyond
Full Story
HOLIDAYSCelebrate! And 5 More Ways to Make the Most of This Weekend
Say goodbye to 2017 with a decluttering sprint and thoughts about what you really want from your home next year
Full Story
LIFEThe Polite House: How to Deal With Noisy Neighbors
Before you fly off the handle, stop and think about the situation, and follow these steps to live in harmony
Full Story
HOLIDAYSChristmas Cleanup Tips for the Not Naturally Organized
Dreading the postholiday chores? First let yourself unwind. Then grab some boxes, a few supplies and this easy guide
Full Story
ARTNew Digital Art Frame Gets Put to the Test
Our writer sets up the EO1 at home, then invites artist friends over for a look — at images of their own work. See what they have to say
Full Story
salonva