cathyboettner

Milk Chocolate Cheesecake

I always make whatever the birthday boy requests for their cake (and their dinner). I asked Chris what he wanted this year, and he chose a milk chocolate cheesecake from Cook’s Country. (Unfortunately, this is not one of their free recipes.) It isn’t a difficult recipe, but it bakes really low, so it takes aContinue reading “Milk Chocolate Cheesecake”

Gluten-Free “Lasagna”

For the family holiday celebration on my husband’s side, we are taking it easy by bringing in prepared lasagna and eggplant parmigiana (which will be delicious), but my oldest son’s girlfriend can’t have gluten, so I came up with the following as a substitute. The “noodles” Zucchini and Yellow Squash cut lengthwise into 1/4″ slicesContinue reading “Gluten-Free “Lasagna””

Gluten Free Black Forest Trifle

We made a double batch of a gluten free olive oil chocolate cake, and I had planned to make it into a black forest cake, but it was pretty crumbly and a little dry when I started trimming it, so I decided to use it to make a couple bowls of trifle. My husband madeContinue reading “Gluten Free Black Forest Trifle”

A Sparkly Table for Christmas

We used my toy table decoration for most of the holiday season, but I changed it up for Christmas day to a white and silver display. I cut white poinsettia flowers and sealed the ends by holding the cut end over a flame until no more juice came out and I put them in silverContinue reading “A Sparkly Table for Christmas”

Coffee Cakes for Christmas

These are wonderful to make as gifts, or to make for your family for the holiday weekend. Brioche dough (make the day before you plan to assemble the cakes) 1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 F) 1 package dry yeast 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup butter softened 6 eggs 4 1/2 cups of flourContinue reading “Coffee Cakes for Christmas”

Sweet and Salty Peanuts

I have been making these for a long time and have literally made hundreds of pounds of them over the years. This is another easy one. 4 1/2 cups raw spanish peanuts (you will need to buy 2 lbs.) 2 cups sugar 1 cup water Kosher salt Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine nuts, sugarContinue reading “Sweet and Salty Peanuts”

Homemade Limoncello–with Myer Lemons

I went to Costco last week and found that they had Myer lemons so I bought some. (Myer Lemons season is short, so you have to grab them when you see them.) I looked up various recipes for homemade Limoncello, and ended up going with the one from Cooks Country, because it was the quickestContinue reading “Homemade Limoncello–with Myer Lemons”

Toffee–No Thermometer required!

I am NOT a fan of fussy recipes. It’s not that I can’t do it, I just don’t want to. I have been making this particular recipe since I was in high school, so a LONG time. It’s great because you literally just cook it until it is brown–no thermometer, no testing in a glassContinue reading “Toffee–No Thermometer required!”

Chai Ginger Old Fashioned

Over Thanksgiving, my oldest and his girlfriend were here and I had batched up some of these and they were great to have in the fridge ready to go. These really are delicious! Chai Whiskey/Bourbon I started with a 1.75 of Wild Turkey bourbon for this batch. I poured it into a half gallon masonContinue reading “Chai Ginger Old Fashioned”

Our Christmas Table

I went back to the idea I had for the Toyland Table, but made some additions. I used the washed natural linen cloth and a woven navy/tan runner. On top of that, I used a bunch of vintage/vintage look toys. I added faux long leaf pine and a cute wooden bead garland and added theContinue reading “Our Christmas Table”