Homemade Crescent Rolls

Homemade crescent rolls - buttery and soft on the inside and slightly crispy and flaky on the outside.

Crescent rolls always remind me of Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. While dinner rolls or bread were rarely a part of "regular" dinnertime when I was growing up, warm rolls slathered in butter were always a part of holiday dinners. Butter!

Jalapeño Cheddar Mini Muffin Appetizers

Jalapeño Cheddar Mini Muffins - fabulous as an easy appetizer, and delicious with a salad or a bowl of soup or chili for lunch or dinner.

These jalapeño cheddar mini muffins almost have the texture of gougères, those delicious little French poppable cheese puffs served at cocktail parties.

Triple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies

Triple chocolate chocolate chip gingerbread cookies - three kinds of cocoa and mini chocolate chips mixed into a gingerbread cookie and dipped in Swedish pearl sugar.

These cookies have all of the spiciness and chew of gingerbread cookies. Add three kinds of cocoa and some mini chocolate chips and you will have a pretty darn amazing cookie. Throw in the Swedish pearl sugar, and this cookie might be just perfect for Santa's cookie plate.

Afghan Style Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce

This Afghan Style Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce is rich and earthy. It features sautéed pumpkin and onions flavored with turmeric, ginger, and chiles, which is topped with a ground beef and tomato sauce, and then a garlic and mint yogurt sauce.

While we tend to think of desserts when we imagine cooking with pumpkin (usually from a can), pumpkin is served in sweet and savory dishes throughout the world.

Easy Slice and Bake Lemon Shortbread Cookies

These easy slice and bake lemon shortbread cookies possess the crumbly melt-in-your-mouth texture of traditional Scottish shortbread.

The dough for these lemon shortbread cookies takes just 10 minutes to measure and mix. Once you've mixed the dough, you wrap it and refrigerate or freeze it, where the dough sits ready to slice and bake when you have a cookie emergency.

Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

This Cranberry Sour Cream Pound Cake is about the richest cake I have ever made. And it's deliciously moist and loaded with fresh, tart cranberries.

This pound cake calls for 5 eggs, 1/3 cup sour cream, and 14 tablespoons (almost a cup) of butter. All of this richness with only 1 3/4 cups of flour.

Baked Scallops in Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, and Basil Butter

These Baked Scallops in Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, and Basil Butter are about the easiest and foolproof way to prepare scallops.

Baking scallops in butter just brings out the sweetness of sea scallops.

Komo Mio Grain Mill Review and Giveaway

In partnership with Pleasant Hill Grain, I'm introducing the new Komo Mio Grain Mill!

Disclosure, I received a Komo Mio Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain in exchange for an honest review. 

If you are a bread nerd like I am, you will love the Komo Mio Grain Mill. You can even win one by following Pleasant Hill Grain (@PleasantHillGrain) on Instagram - details below.

Mashed Potato Casserole with a Cheesy Breadcrumb Topping

This mashed potato casserole, topped with lots of cheddar cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs, is your answer to the question, "How do I get mashed potatoes on my holiday table without too much last minute stress?"

This mashed potato casserole is a truly great make-ahead dish that can go from the refrigerator to the oven. It is totally stress free.

Roasted Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Onion Soup

Chicken, butternut squash, and onion roasted on a sheet pan and then added to chicken broth for a great fall soup.

This roasted chicken, butternut squash, and onion soup has a deeper "roasty" flavor because you bake the chicken, squash, and onions on a sheet pan for about 40 to 45 minutes in a 425 degree oven before adding them to the broth.

Egg Bagels with a Sesame Seed Topping

Egg bagels are softer and sweeter than traditional New York style bagels. The dough includes the addition of egg and sugar. The eggs give the bagels a slight yellow color, kind of like challah.

The dough for these egg bagels is more like bread dough. It's not nearly as stiff as traditional bagel dough and is much easier to knead. It's also higher in protein due to the addition of the eggs.

Kung Pao Shrimp with Cashews

Kung Pao Shrimp is a classic Chinese restaurant dish with origins in the Sichuan province of southwest China. It's a spicy dish, getting its heat from ground Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilis de arbol.

Like most stir-fries, this Kung Pao shrimp has a fairly long ingredient list. Trust me when I tell you that it's worth it. All of the flavors come together to create such a depth of flavor. The sum is greater than the parts.

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

This make-ahead turkey gravy will take the stress out of managing to get your turkey dinner on the table without having to worry about making gravy as your guests arrive.

The broth for this make-ahead turkey gravy can be made up to 2 days before making the final gravy, and the final gravy can be made the day before your holiday dinner and then reheated just before you serve the meal.

Yeasted Pound Cake

This vanilla yeast-leavened pound cake is super moist and buttery, and is delicious served plain, with a dusting of powdered sugar, or with just a bit of whipped cream and macerated fruit.

This pound cake is leavened by yeast just like old time European cakes. Prior to the introduction of baking soda and baking powder in the late 19th century, all cakes were leavened by yeast.

Apple and Bacon Red Cabbage Salad with Pecans

Apple and bacon red cabbage salad with pecans and an apple cider and Dijon vinaigrette - a delicious way to enjoy fresh cabbage without smothering it in mayonnaise.

This apple and bacon red cabbage salad is fresh and light. The salad is tossed with a small amount dressing, which brings together the apple, cabbage, and bacon flavors.

Pull-Apart Garlic Rolls Baked in a Cast Iron Skillet

These Pull-Apart Garlic Rolls are loaded with garlic, almost one clove per roll. They are brushed with melted butter that has been infused with sautéed garlic, and baked in a cast iron skillet.

To make these rolls, you sauté 10 cloves of minced garlic in butter. Once you've sautéed the garlic, you press out the butter and set it aside.

Cranberry Walnut Rugelach

These Cranberry Walnut Rugelach are made with a buttery cream cheese dough that, when baked, becomes flaky like a pastry.

Rugelach are a Jewish cookie or small pastry. The dough is rolled around a filling (usually dried fruit and nuts) and are shaped into a a crescent.

Pork Chops with Cranberry-Maple Pan Sauce

These thick and juicy pan fried pork loin chops smothered in a sweet and savory cranberry-maple pan sauce are a wonderful way to enjoy the flavors of fall.

You can make these tasty pork chops in just about 30 minutes. Serve them with some rice pilaf and a salad, and you'll have a pretty fabulous and easy meal.

Asian-Style Chicken Dumpling Soup

Asian-style Chicken Dumpling Soup - a hearty and meaty flavored chicken, bacon, and shiitake mushroom soup filled with Asian chicken dumplings.

I have been experimenting with making my own Asian dumplings, including making my own wrappers. I've been trying different flavors, including pork, shrimp, as well as chicken.

Homemade Minestrone Soup

This recipe for homemade minestrone soup creates a hearty and warming bowl of vegetables in a delicious vegetable broth. The soup is delicious the day it is made, and even better the next day, when all of the flavors have a chance to meld.

This soup recipe as written is really tasty, but you can customize it to make it your own. While I used this vegetable broth as a base for the soup, you can use store bought vegetable stock, or even water to make this soup.

Cranberry-Almond Shortbread Tart

This cranberry-almond shortbread tart features a shortbread crust flavored with almonds and cornmeal, and filled with a tart homemade cranberry jam brightened with lemon juice and apricot jam.

This cranberry tart is easy to make ahead. First, you can make the dough and refrigerate it up to two days or freeze it for up to two weeks.