Thursday, November 20, 2014

Bon Appetite - A Weekend Treat: SOUTHERN PECAN PIE




Southern Pecan Pie

4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
l cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoonsalt
3 tablesppons melted butter (or
         margarine)
2 ½ tablespoons dark rum
1 cup (about 7 ounces) shelled
         pecans

1. Prepare unbaked 9-inch pastry shell, following recipe.

2. Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, corn syrup,
salt and butter, mixing just to blend. (Do not overbeat.) Stir
in rum and pecans. Pour into prepared pastry shell.

3.  Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) for 40 minutes or
until filling is golden brown and firm to the light touch.
Serve at room temperature with a bowl of lightly sweetened
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

A Salute to November

November in Pennsylvania is the month of dry leaves swirling in a brisk wind. The green landscape of summer has turned to a dull brown except for the pines and hemlock dotting the hillsides. The oaks struggle to hang onto their leaves as they await the first snowfall while the bare arms of the maples shiver under cold gray skies.

This is a time of smoke curling from chimneys, wild geese winging southward, and once fertile fields stretching out barren and vacant. The last roses still cling to their stems along with the red berries of the mountain ash. Marigolds and geraniums defy the first light frosts of the season and stand proud in the chilly wind. Along sidewalks and on porches, golden pumpkins are piled in clusters or are marching in a line, showing off their many shades, shapes, and sizes. Dried corn stalks surround the lamp posts on our main street through town, and winter wood is stacked in perfect rows along buildings, awaiting fireplaces and wood burners. Deer enter the backyards now and scour the fruit trees for the last apples and pears.

November is a time for apple and pumpkin pie, nuts, hot chocolate, a book and a cozy chair. It’s a time for reflecting on the past year and being thankful for the beauty of our world that will slowly fall to sleep under a blanket of white, yet awake again when spring’s warm breath blows across the land.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Last Chance to Win $25 Gift Certificate

This is the last chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate!

Next week, I will finish my last blog stop with Goddess Fish Promotions for my historical romance, UNDER STARRY SKIES and its Book Review Tour. 

For a chance to win a $25 amazon email gift certificate, join me on November 11th at these sites:

Journey of a Book Seller - http://bkfaerie.blogspot.com
Undercover Book Reviews - http://undercoverbookreviews.blogspot.com

                    A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Bon Appetite - A Weekend Treat: PUMPKIN COOKIES

This is the time of the year when everyone thinks autumn and the harvest season as leaves change from green to gold, vermillion, and orange. It's the time of pumpkins-- pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream and coffee. . .and pumpkin cookies with that distinctive cinnamon flavor. Here's a recipe for moist, sweet pumpkin cookies with a simple confectioner's sugar glaze.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

1 cup canned pumpkin                                               
1 cup sugar
½ cup shortening or salad oil
1 egg beaten
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup nuts - optional
1 cup chocolate chips – optional

Combine pumpkin, sugar, shortening and egg. Shift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together; add to pumpkin mixture alternately with soda dissolved in milk. Add vanilla—and if desired: nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonful on greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. Yield: 4 dozen

Glaze: If you desire a glaze, use a simple confectioner's sugar glaze with a dash of vanilla and enough hot milk added to make it spreadable.