MagicallyDelicious

At my new job I’m in an office for the first time in a while, and they have a Halloween celebration every year.  We did a sort of pot luck where everyone brought treats, part of us dressed up for the day and we had a costume contest.  I have to say I wasn’t sure how far to go with a costume, so I went minimal with a tiara and wand – Dollar Store princess

I took in a double batch of Caramel Corn Treat Bags which was a big hit, and also took pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.  There were a lot of pumpkin treats, but the caramel corn and pumpkin cookies disappeared really quickly.

The pot luck was an easy and affordable way to throw  a work party and everyone got into the spirit of the day.  Our costume winner was “A broken record” – he broke some records and attached them to his shirt, and kept repeating what he said all day, like a broken record.

The costume winner is top row left – broken record

All in all it was a really fun day, made more fun with treats

I’ve never made caramel corn before.  I assumed that whatever I worked and slaved to make could never touch the perfection that is Garrett’s popcorn.  And boiling sugar scares me a little if I’m being honest.  So why try?  Well, this month for our AllRecipes challenge, we had Karo recipes and caramel corn is one of them.  And even though I think it’s worth every penny, I don’t have $30 laying around for a bucket of Garrett’s.  So I figured it was worth a shot.

o.m.g.

This was pretty easy to make – pop popcorn, boil sugar, butter and Karo (I used the dark Karo for this), pour it on the popcorn and bake the goo for 45 minutes.  To make things easier I used a disposable roasting pan and just let it cool in there also.  The recipe calls for 4 quarts of popcorn but to make it extra caramelly I used about 3 quarts (1/3 cup of unpopped kernels).  It made the house smell a-mazing and it is definitely on par with the $30 tub.  Now if I can figure out how to make the cheese part of my beloved Chicago mix, I won’t have to venture downtown on a caramel corn pilgrimage anytime soon.

Make your own (because I’m not sharing!): Caramel Corn Treat Bags

Peppermint bark is traditionally a holiday treat, but it sounded good so I decided to just make a quick batch.  A whopping two ingredients and a few seconds in the microwave and this is ready to chill in the fridge.

No candy canes leftover from Christmas?  Just use some starlight mints.  It’s fun to smash the pieces up, and it’s a nice refreshing treat.  Grab the ultra-complicated recipe at AllRecipes.com and make a little batch of your own.

photo: Washington National Cathedral

I’ve heard of lots of names for this day of indulgence before lent:  Mardis Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Fastnacht, Paczki Day.  But pancake day was a new one on me – and I’m on board.  Any excuse for a nice tall stack of pancakes is ok by me.  And since I can’t get a decent version of my beloved paczkis where I live, I will have to settle for pancakes.

The traditions are all the same with different ways to celebrate.  The idea was to purge the house of all the thing you had to give up for Lent – so high-fat high sugar treats are the watchword for the day.  Pancake day is the same idea – make pancakes to get rid of the butter, sugar and flour.  But there’s an even more fun tradition for those flapjacks than enjoying their fluffy goodness on a plate.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as a ‘half-holiday’ in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell. On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. Legend has it that a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

The pancake race remains a relatively common festive tradition in the UK, and England in particular, even today. Participants with frying pans race through the streets running and flipping their flapjacks. In Olney today, a pancake race still takes place every year on Shrove Tuesday.

The tradition of pancake racing had started long before that. The most famous pancake race, at Olney in Buckinghamshire, has been held since 1445. The contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line while tossing the pancakes as they go. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain number of times. Traditionally, when men want to participate, they must dress up as a housewife (usually an apron and a bandanna).

And in the US, the national cathedral celebrates this tradition with their annual pancake race.  I can think of better ways to treat a stack of flapjacks, but it looks like fun to me.  As long as I get to eat some of those pancakes I’m totally on board.  Here’s my recipe for the best pancakes I’ve ever had.  Much like pancake racing, making these perfect is all about the technique.

Click for my favorite pancake recipe

I’ll write a little about why you’re going to want to make these right away, but I strongly advise that you just skip down to the recipe, skip off to the kitchen and get a batch of these praline-like pecans into the oven right now.  Go – I’ll wait.

Wow is really the best word I have for these.  They have a fantastic flavor, they make the house smell phenomenal, they’d make a great gift, and if you can keep them around the house long enough I think they’d be fabulous in and on lots of things – ice cream with caramel, cinnamon rolls, muffin topping, oatmeal, a heaping bowl that you eat until they’re gone…

Salty and lightly sweet, crunchy, nutty deliciousness.  I probably said that one already.  Why are you still reading?  Recipe.  Kitchen.  Go now.  Thank me later.

Thanksgiving carries a special meaning for all of us. Families across the United States of America celebrate in their own unique ways. But, one tradition seems to stretch across all cultures within our culture and that is our opportunity to show our appreciation and thanks.

Our panel of expert contributors wrote in, sharing their favorite Thanksgiving traditions and memories to prepare our hearts for this day of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving always seemed to be an extraordinarily fun, multi day holiday. While working at RH Macys I had opportunities to march in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The energy during the Thanksgiving weekend is upbeat–not chaotic like the Christmas season. People seem benevolent in contributing.

As I sit here I reflect on how I received a donation on nearly 700 pounds of free pumkins for pumkin soup recipes at the local soup kitchen where I volunteer. There’s several hundred dollars in FREE candy in my car trunk that I was given by my supermarket to deliver to this charity venue as well.

As a dance club street promoter I learned that Thanksgiving weekend is one of the biggest times in the entertainment industry. It’s about people coming together and hanging out and being “aware” of how fortunate we are.

TONY MARREN–Founder of Operation Just One Can 

The three best things about Thanksgiving for us as we grow as a family is enjoying our kids and seeing the blessings they bring to us, their grandparents, and their aunts and uncles.

My parents had three boys and we are all decent cooks, so we can all contribute. My brother Nate usually brings some type of shrimp appetizer dish. My older brother Rob brings slow cooked beans, and I will be making smoked Gouda mashed potatoes this year.

Lastly, with high unemployment, medical cost, and a suppressed economy, I try to put more of a focus on truly being thankful for having a job, good health, medical insurance and all the blessings those things can bring.”

Graham Munce, http://www.christiancontest.com

I think that the three best things are those that can be included year round. These Include:

Sitting Down together as a family at Dinner time.
There have been many studies showing that this one simple thing can improve the happiness, closeness and overall well being of the family and its members.

Focusing on being thankful for things in your life.
Most of us seem to spend so much time and effort focusing on the things we don’t have or don’t want in our life instead of the good things that we do want. When you find something in your life that you are thankful for and take a moment to enjoy it, you will begin to find more and more things that you enjoy. You will start to feel happier and have more and more to be thankful for.

Sharing the things you are thankful for.
By sharing it, you are admitting your thankfulness to yourself and sharing it with the people in your life. This is great for finding other things that you may have overlooked that are worth noticing. Everyone enjoys a genuine compliment. If they or something they bring is something that you are thankful for, telling them is an amazingly positive experience for both of you. And, this too will help bring more and more thanks and happiness into your life.”

Jeff Halligan, http://www.jhalligandesigns.com

Thanksgiving means eating, sleeping, and football. Immediately following our delicious feast, each member of our family settles into their favorite chair, couch, or pillow on the floor, directly in front of the television and we drift dreamily away to the annual family nap… until the Lions score a touchdown, that is.

At the end of every Thanksgiving day I vow to use better judgement and portion control the following year. So far, it’s a challenge I’ve yet to master. Our expert contributor and Author of But I’m Hungry!, Marie Suszynski, shares with us her favorite Thanksgiving traditions – including a leftover turkey recipe that may inspire me to leave a little extra in the serving dish this year.

My 3 Favorite Things

1. Knowing we can get through the holiday weekend without stuffing ourselves like we’re the turkeys.
2. Taking a few moments during dinner to look around the table and be grateful for our health, vitality, and bonds with family and friends.
3. Turning around from the biggest calorie-loaded day of the year and making healthy leftovers.

We use a recipe from the new e-book, But I’m Hungry!:

Marie Suszynski, http://www.butimhungry.net

We have a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition we celebrate each year. We have a model of the Mayflower boat that one of my parent’s grandchildren made. Each year everyone writes a little note about what we are thankful for and read them aloud after dinner. Then we write a new one and put them in the boat for next year. It is very meaningful and interesting to hear what all of the grandchildren, children and grandparents are thankful for each year.

We also do the Turkey trot each Thanksgiving morning together. Those that want to eat extra portions get up and go downtown to walk or run the 4 or 7 miles, depending on their health. We have a lot of laughs and it is a great bonding experience since we all come in from out of town for this special weekend.

To top off the day we indulge in my mothers famous pumpkin cheesecake, a family favorite… Enjoy!

Hazelnuts & Graham Cracker Crust

3/4 cup toasted ground hazelnuts (rub off skins)
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbl sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Pumpkin Filling

16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 16oz can unsweetened solid pack pumpkin
5 eggs
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Sour Cream Topping

16 oz sour cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of Frangelico
3/4 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts (rub off skins)

For Crust:
Mix ground hazelnuts, graham cracker crumbs and sugar in bowl, slowly add butter. Press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.)

For Filling:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Blend all ingredients in processor until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides of work bowl. Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Bake until edges of cake begin to pull away from sides of pan and cake begins to brown, about 45 minutes; center will not be firm.

For Topping:
Whisk together sour cream, sugar and Frangelico. Without removing cake from oven, pour topping evenly over hot cake starting at the edges. Spread evenly, continue baking cake until edges begin to bubble, about 10 minutes. Cool on rack. Refrigerate at least 12 hours. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.)
Sprinkle 3/4 cup of toasted hazelnuts on top of finished cake.

Lori Farris, http://www.arcodoro.com

AllRecipes user Crystal

Delicious dessert doesn’t have to be loaded with fat and sugar.  Enjoy this less-guilty version of the traditional pumpkin pie on your Thanksgiving table this year.

Your guests won’t even notice that a lot of the fat and sugar are missing.  Pumpkin brings fiber, potassium, vitamin A and beta-carotenes to this make-ahead pie.

If you’d prefer to not use Splenda, substitute one can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) for the evaporated milk and Splenda.