Afternoon Open House

Hot Spiced Cider with or without Rum (Pum Pum Pum)

    An afternoon open house is the perfect party ...  No main course.  Everyone's gone by dinner time...  And folks show up because  other commitments are for evening.  Few dishes to wash.  Food that's easy to prepare ahead. Your goal:  everything out and ready for guests to help themselves.  Your reward:  To be able to enter your own party! 

Ginger cookies, Chocolate Snowballs, Date bars--Made ahead and frozen

Fave Cookies-A Repeat Post

 Raspberry Shortbread Sandwiches and Valrhona Chocolate Shortbreads 

 Last Year on Christmas Eve, I posted the recipes for these cookies.   As they are among my favorites, I thought them worth posting again!  Happy Cookying, my friends.

Merry Christmas, Friends, Family and other Loved Ones

Homemade Tomato Soup and Fried Cheese on a Snowy Night or How's the Second Week of Advent Goin' for Ya?

The story goes that tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches....  Actually, I don't know that story.  If you do, tell me.  I just can't remember when I didn't eat that comforting, homey classic Saturday noon meal.   My kids grew up eating it, but mama's got a brand new bag.

This time around, I made the tomato soup myself.  No sugar, sweetheart.  Just a drop of honey to counteract the acid in the tomatoes.  And...no grilled cheese sandwich.  Not for me.  Dave had one.  Instead, I fried my cheese and gently topped my soup with it.

It was creamy, crunchy and fulfilled all those grilled cheesey longings while I skipped the bread on a cold, cold night with the snow flying across the piano window: