SpoonGood

From Scratch Caramel Sauce

Make this and keep it on hand throughout the holidays. This is the caramel sauce that was drizzled on my brownies, then sunk in and created Molten Caramel Lava Brownies! What to do with it? Serve it with fruit, ice cream, floats, pie and cake. Stir it into coffee or hot chocolate. Or just eat…

My Family’s Italian Wedding Cookies

These cookies were on every family wedding table and every family Christmas table when I was growing up. In my family, they are Italian Wedding Cookies. Each cookie I consumed ~ and there were many, represents some of my best and earliest food memories. Billowing clouds of frosting topped off by (sometimes overly ornate) sprinkles, shredded coconut,…

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

This recipe has been a standard in my family since it came out in the Bon Appetit December 2002 issue. We adapted it a little bit and it is my son’s favorite recipe for Christmas cutouts. They are great decorated with melted chocolate or buttercream frosting. We like a simple confectioner’s sugar glaze that is easy…

Light Sugar Syrup Recipe

I decided this recipe needed it’s own post. I had posted it previously in Homemade Marshmallow Fluff, but as I’m preparing for Christmas baking, I’m remembering how much I used it last year. While I make no claims that this is a healthier alternative to store bought Light Corn Syrup, I like being able to make…

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

Make this recipe and you’ll never by store bought marshmallow creme again! I like to use vanilla paste to flavor this because I love the vanilla flecks visible in the fluff. You may substitute vanilla bean when you are making the light sugar syrup, or simply use vanilla extract. Homemade Marshmallow Fluff 3/4 cup granulated…

Yankee Cornbread Stuffing

Do you have stuffing or dressing for Thanksgiving? My family has always had traditional stuffing. What is known in the South as Yankee Stuffing. Of course, my Mom makes the best Yankee Stuffing ever! Dried bread cubes with aromatic veggies, herbs and broth; baked in a casserole dish. Cornbread Dressing is traditional in the South…

Countdown to Thanksgiving Tip ~Bake Ahead

Today was bread baking day. I wanted to get cornbread and loaf bread baked for my stuffing recipe. Cornbread is easy, I use the old stand by recipe in my red checkered Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (27 years old). You can find that recipe here: BHG Cornbread For the sandwich loaf you can use…

Countdown to Thanksgiving Tip ~ Turkey Stock

I woke up early this morning with anxious thoughts of Thanksgiving in my mind. What is it I need to do today to get ready? Turkey stock! Thanks to my brother-in-law and his fabulous turkey smoking skills, I will not be roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving. Yay! So today, I roasted some turkey thighs and…

Dried Sugared Cranberries

These are like little gems of sweet, tart candy! Eat them out of hand, or use them in granola or to decorate holiday cookies, cakes and candies. Note: I let these go too long the first time I tried them and ended up with bitter browned cranberry nuggets. That batch went in the trash. Watch them closely…

Blue Cranberry Jam

It is officially cranberry season! I love them but I am the only person in my house that will eat them so I stash them in the freezer when they are in season and use them here and there all year long. For this recipe, I’ve combined them with blueberries for a tart jammy variation…

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Yes, pumpkin again! It is fall and while I admit I am getting quite pumpkin’d out I have some pumpkin fanatics in the family. Today we made Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles. My son scarfed down two of them before I could blink an eye. He is now burning off the sugar playing! The addition of pumpkin…

Countdown to Thanksgiving ~ Pumpkin Puree

This is the first year I have tried roasting my own pumpkin puree and I love it! I really didn’t think I would be able to tell the difference, but I find home roasted pumpkin more flavorful and less watery. If you try this, make sure you buy the Sugar Pie variety of pumpkin for…

Drying Blueberries ~ Blueberry Powder

When your freezer becomes overtaken with summer crops you learn to experiment with preserving. Jams and jellies soon become boring. One of the ways I have experimented with preserving my blueberry crop is drying. With dried blueberries, or blueberry powder in the freezer, I can have blueberry flavor all year long! While the flavor of…

Blueberry Treat Timeline ~ Garden to Table ~ Georgia Grown

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Treat.” Blueberries are my favorite fruit, mostly because I grow them at home and they are absolutely beautiful to watch go through their growth cycle. They really are a treat to grow and eat! Click here for my Easy Blueberry Jam/Compote/Pie Filling

Wine Poached Apple Tart

There are photos of pink apples all over the internet! And I can’t get my hands on them, because they aren’t local. What to do? Create my own pink apples by poaching them in red wine! I love the variation of flavor in this apple tart, it is a distinct departure from apple and pumpkin…

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds ~ Fall Flavor

Roasting pumpkin seeds is very easy! Just toss 2 cups pumpkin seeds with one teaspoon olive oil, salt and whatever other spices you want to add. I used rosemary and sundried tomato salt today. Roast in oven, or toaster oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-35 minutes until light golden brown and you can hear…

Pumpkin Apple Cider Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup

Pumpkin Apple Cider Waffles ½ cup unsweetened pumpkin 2 eggs 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter 1 ¼ cups apple cider, milk, or water (warm this in the microwave, not hot, just fingertip warm enough to melt the sugar) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour* ½ cup whole wheat flour* 1…

Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Boundaries, No Boundaries

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Boundaries.”

Applesauce Crazy Cake with Apple Cider Lemon Curd

Remember Crazy Cake? A.K.A. Wacky Cake? This is a take on that depression era cake made without eggs. You can make a gluten free version of this cake by substituting any gluten free baking mix for the all-purpose flour. You can make a vegan version of this cake by using canola oil or another lightly…

Hot Sauce!

A simple recipe to make hot sauce at home! I used a variety of green peppers for this, as it lends a depth of flavor you wouldn’t get with just jalapeno. For this batch I harvested the remainder of my cowhorn, jalapeno and dragon cayenne peppers. Place one half pound of clean stemmed peppers, cut…

Cowhorn Pepper Harvest ~ Cowhorn Recipes

Today’s garden harvest included Cowhorn peppers. Cowhorns are named for their tendency to curl at the ends and resemble the twisted horns of a cow. They can get 8 to 10 inches long and turn from green to brown to red when allowed to fully ripen. 2017 Update: I’ve just begun my third year growing…

Salted Caramel Frosting

Happiness is… Salted caramel frosting! No, this is NOT health food from a diet standpoint. Yes, it is health food from a mental health standpoint. One spoonful of this frosting will have you singing even on your worst days. If you are watching your diet, just don’t eat too much of it! I adapted this…

Dried Dragon Cayenne Peppers

Two weeks ago I posted about harvesting my Dragon Cayenne peppers. They have been sitting out on my kitchen counter, covered by a piece of parchment and are in the drying process. I needed some red pepper flakes for a recipe today, so I chose the peppers dry enough to crush, placed them in my…

Cornmeal Buckwheat Crepes

These crepes are a quick and easy option for busy back-to-school schedules. Fill with sweet or savory ingredients for breakfast, lunch or a snack. They also just happen to be gluten free! Serve them for breakfast with fruit and yogurt cream (one cup of Greek yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup of light cream or half…

Heirloom Yellow Tomato Jam

What to do with all those yellow pear tomatoes of summer? Make Jam! This one is based on the old fashioned spiced tomato jelly recipes made in home kitchens for years. My Mom got me hooked on it several years ago when she reminisced about my Grandmother’s tomato jelly from her childhood. The basic recipe…

Peach Hand Pies

The best peach hand pie I ever tasted was a Peach Fried Pie from a roadside stand in the North Georgia Mountains on an amber autumn afternoon. A friendly older farm couple, skin etched by the sun, were lounging on aluminum lawn chairs under a large blue and white striped beach umbrella, waiting patiently for customers. They…

Cayenne & Sage Harvest

Cayenne~ It’s hot here! The part of summer when the garden starts to dry out and look mangy no matter how much water you give it. The time when the peppers and herbs thrive and take off! Cayenne peppers are easy to grow. They like our summer Georgia heat and mine have done well even…

Homemade Mustard ~ Marsala Mustard

July 4th weekend is upon us. Coleslaw, baked beans and potato salad. Hamburgers and hot dogs with onions, relish, ketchup and mustard. Do you have a container of store bought mustard in your fridge? Check the expiration date. Is it expired? Past the expiration date and still at least half full? Are you going to have…

Citrus Marsala Sangria

A lovely Friday Refresher to fortify you for the weekend! 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ~ I used Turbinado sugar 1/3 cup freshly squeezed citrus juice (a nice variety of lemon, lime and orange) orange, lemon and lime slices 1 cup Marsala wine* 2-3 cups sparkling mineral water or selzer Combine all in a pitcher or…

Muscadine Vines ~ Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden, Callaway Gardens, Georgia

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Off-Season.” Recipe for Making Muscadine Wine published in the Athens Herald, Athens, Georgia, 1853: To one gallon of Muscadine juice, add three pounds of good sugar and a half pint of water. Let it remain open until done fermenting, then strain and cork it up. It…