Festive Holiday Salad

Few starters are simpler than this one! Simply chill a plate. Next, top it with some mixed greens.  Any salad greens will work but an assortment is desirable for an interesting mingling of flavors. Slice a Fuyu persimmon and decorate the greens with those brightly colored slim slices. Dot the persimmon with crumbles (or globs [...]

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Mini-Morsels for Thanksgiving

Each year as summer’s heat fades and fall’s cooler air moves in, I begin planning my Thanksgiving menu.  It is finally cool enough to use the oven a bit more as I experiment with recipes to test which yield just the right flavor ensemble, which recipes freeze well, and which ones fit my meal courses [...]

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Frequently Forgotten Details of Holiday Entertaining

Holiday entertaining creates stress and chaos in many homes. Magazines offer tips to help with organizing menus, food shopping and seating arrangements. Turkey hotlines* answer cooking questions, butter and flour companies offer hotlines for baking questions and adult children around the country bombard parents with phone calls begging for recipes and advice. After several decades [...]

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Holiday Etiquette: Don’t Be A Dirty Mike

PLEASE, DON’T BE A DIRTY MIKE An invitation to share a holiday dinner in the comfort of someone’s home, compliments you as an invitee.  Whether your host is a family member or a friend, through the invitation to share conversation, food and festivities with you they extend hospitality. As a guest, your host invites you [...]

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