Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch, Soups

Mushroom Medley Soup with Mini Potato Gnocchi

My dad used to make next-level soups. They were amazing. Number one by far was his New England Seafood Chowder, but second was his Mushroom Soup. Of course, first, he would forage the mushrooms, then spend hours painstakingly cleaning them, and then came the soup making. For a few weeks some summers, he would make and sell this Mushroom Soup (either Chanterelle or Porcini or both) at a farmer’s market and people would come watch him make it. He would sell out in under an hour.

This Mushroom Medley Soup pays homage to that soup. This is likely one of the best savory things that I have made all year (ok, ok, it’s only January 3rd…. let’s count last year as well). This is the most flavorful, hearty, homey and delicious thing to come out of my kitchen in a whole. And given the arctic temperatures outside, today was the perfect day to make it.

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Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Cranberry Meringue Pie

Every year at Christmas, I try to make a fancy dessert, and while a meringue pie isn’t all that fancy, it is a little more effort than an ol’ apple pie. So for this year, I made a Cranberry Meringue Pie, seasonally appropriate, I suppose, with candied cranberries. Very pleased with the outcome. Tart and sweet — and the sugared cranberries add a nice pop — and the meringue is very silky. It does take a bit of time to let things cool in between steps, but I think it’s worth it.

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Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Krampus Gingerbread Cupcakes

OK, here’s something a little different and I should have posted this a few weeks ago, on December 5-6 (St. Nicholas Day), but I was traveling at the time, so I’ll just post it now. In theory, these are just gingerbread cupcakes, but I made monsters out of them. Krampus monsters, that is. Now, thanks to the film that came out in 2015, most people know what Krampus is (think of them as Santa’s evil elves!) but it is a long-held tradition in Bavaria, Austria, the “Alpine regions” and part of Eastern Europe to have Krampus monsters kidnapping poorly behaved children during Christmas. All in good fun! Believe it or not, in Austria, they even have Krampus chocolates (like Chocolate Santa Claus).

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Candy, Sweet Snacks

Christmas Fudge 2024: Dark Chocolate Pecan Fudge and White Chocolate Gingerbread Fudge

As many of the people who have been following this here website for a while know, I often make sweets and treats at Christmas Time, and almost all of my Christmas Presents are homemade, so here is another Christmas Present waiting to be devoured: this year’s annual Fudge. This year I made two varieties, one a little more traditional and the other a little more unique. I’ll let you figure out which is which: Dark Chocolate Pecan Fudge and White Chocolate Gingerbread Fudge!

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