Thanksgiving Recipes

The day after Halloween I saw a Christmas commercial on TV. Macy’s (my home away from home) had their tree up on Oct 12th. Oct 12th!! Is it just me, or is Christmas coming earlier and earlier each year? Not, mind you, that I’m complaining. I am a total Christmas junkie. But I feel bad for poor Thanksgiving, kind of like the middle child getting lost between the creepy little brother Halloween and the sparkling older sister, Christmas. I love Thanksgiving. The idea of taking a moment each year to truly be thankful for all that you have. So much of our lives is spent reaching for the things we don’t yet own, haven’t yet achieved, aspire to be. Once a year it’s just nice to look back and realize how grateful we really are for what we have.

Oh yeah, and I love the food, too. :) Gemma’s diet does not exist on Thanksgiving. Or the days leading up to it, filled with pre-holiday baking. Or the leftovers days afterward. Okay, pretty much all of November. Sadly, my idea of cooking is reading the heating instructions on a frozen dinner, so in my family I usually get the task preparing the drinks and snacks. I know it’s a little early, but in honor of giving poor neglected Thanksgiving a little face time, here are a couple of my favorite recipies:

Sugared Pecans:

INGREDIENTS

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

1 pound pecan halves

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease one baking sheet with butter.

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.



Hot Butterscotch Chocolate:

INGREDIENTS

2 oz. Butterscotch Schnapps

0.5 oz. Amaretto

1 Instant Hot Cocoa Packet


DIRECTIONS:

Make hot cocoa in a coffee mug according to the packet directions. Add the other ingredients and stir well. Garnish with a layer of Whipped Cream if desired and serve.



Cranberry Craze Cocktails:

INGREDIENTS

3 oz. cranberry juice

2 oz. orange juice

1½ oz vodka

dash of lime juice

lemon lime soda

frozen cranberries


DIRECTIONS

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine cranberry juice, orange juice and vodka. Shake sharply and strain into a glass filled with ice. Top with soda, then squeeze a dash of lime juice and sprinkle with frozen cranberries.

To make them virgin for the kids, just leave out the vodka!



Anyone else have recipes to share? Hey, if they’re simple enough, I may even give them a whirl this year.


~ Gemma “Trigger Happy” Halliday


P.S.

Don’t forget about the great contest we’ve got going on. I’m giving away a signed copy of UNDERCOVER IN HIGH HEELS along with a set of high heels shoe themed wine charms – perfect for entertaining this holiday season!

Bring a friend to play on our blog and you’ll be entered to win a fab prize from moi! We’ll be drawing one winner at random from our prize hat on November 16th. Every time you comment on our blog between now and Nov 16th, your name will be entered in the hat. BUT, if you tell a friend and she posts on our blog that you sent her here, you’ll both be entered in the hat TEN TIMES! Good luck!!