Cinnamon Sugar Butter

Flavored butters really add an extra something to a meal.  They’re super easy to make, as long as you remember to take the butter out in plenty of time to soften.  They have a big impact, and are a great way to add a little something special and extra.

Some people say that you should use unsalted butter if you’re making a sweet flavored butter.  I disagree.  I tend to view unsalted butter as the anti-butter.  It rarely makes its way into our house.  Most of the time I use salted butter, even if a recipe calls for unsalted butter.  I do not enjoy unsalted butter, and I don’t like having it sitting around in the refrigerator.  Salt helps to enhance flavor, and I really don’t think the butter tastes salty if you use salted butter for this.

Cinnamon Sugar Butter

4 oz. butter, softened

1 packed Tbsp light brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well.

Enjoy! 

Music Monday: Jewel - Hands

I’ve been a fan of Jewel ever since her first album came out.  One of my favorite songs of hers, though, is Hands. I think she has an incredible voice, and I absolutely love the lyrics. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Throw Back Thursday - Nutmeg Graters

Like the teapots from a few weeks ago, these are pictures from last year’s visit to The Charleston Museum.

It’s always interesting to me to learn about what was popular to serve guests during certain time periods.  Apparently nutmeg graters were quite the thing back then.  

I can’t help wondering how much nutmeg they were adding to their food.  Nutmeg certainly enhances some recipes, but a little goes a long way.  

It kind of makes you wonder what people might have to say about avocado toast in about 200 years.  

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

You may have noticed by now that I love Thanksgiving, and get really excited about it.  It’s a holiday all about cooking for and spending time with the people you love.  What’s not to love about it?

Sometimes, though, searching for good recipes can be a little overwhelming, so I thought I’d share links for some of my favorites.  Some of them are my recipes, and some are from other places. 

Obviously, the turkey is the main part of the traditional meal, so here’s my turkey recipe: 

Practically Fool-Proof Turkey

And you can read about my various misadventures with turkey here, in case you’d like a guide for what not to do. 

Some might argue that the side dishes are the most important part of the meal.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Green Bean Casserole.  I can’t stand this one, but Nick loves it, and I think it’s one that most people have come to expect at Thanksgiving.

Creamy Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese.  It’s creamy, delicious, and incredibly easy to make.  It’s also very helpful that it’s made in the Crock Pot since that frees up more oven space. 

Heavenly Mashed Potatoes.  This link is actually to The New Southern Garden Cookbook by Sheri Castle.  I don’t feel right posting a recipe if the author hasn’t made it available online.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  It has lots of great recipes, but it’s worth having for the mashed potatoes alone.  I didn’t think I liked mashed potatoes very much until I tried this recipe.  They are out of this world good, which I suppose is why she named the recipe Heavenly Mashed Potatoes.

Kale Salad With Red Grapes.  Don’t let the fact that this sounds fairly healthy turn you off.  It’s delicious! 

Watergate Salad.  I think is technically a dessert, but it does have salad in the name, so classify it however you want.  No judgment here.

Speaking of desserts, it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them.

Pumpkin Pie.  It’s probably the most traditional Thanksgiving dessert.  It’s also one of my favorites.

Cherry Crunch.  This was a surprisingly big hit last year at Thanksgiving, so I’ll be making it again. 

Apple Crisp.  This is delicious and easy.  Perfect for a day when there’s already a lot of cooking and baking going on.

Fresh Apple Cake.  This cake is amazingly delicious, and just seems like the ultimate dessert for Fall.  The link mentions cream cheese frosting, but don’t do that.  You’ll want to use the Browned Butter Frosting.  Trust me!

Browned Butter Frosting.  This is the end all, be all of frosting.  If you’ve never had browned butter frosting, do yourself a favor, and make it.  Right now!  It’s amazingly good!  It’s rich, creamy, decadent, has a slightly nutty flavor, and pairs perfectly with the apple cake.  

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake & Frosting.  I can’t personally vouch for this one, since I don’t like chocolate.  I can tell you, however, that everyone seems to love it.  I make this cake (or the cupcakes) several times a year, and it’s always very popular.  

Apple Cake & Browned Butter Frosting on Back Left

Banana Pound Cake.  It may not be a very traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but it’s still delicious, and always a crowd pleaser.

So what about you?  What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes?  Is there a certain dish that’s always on your Thanksgiving menu? 

The Cookbook Winner

I’m sorry I didn’t get the cookbook winner posted earlier.  You’d think falling back and “gaining” the extra hour would have made it easier to get things done yesterday.  It didn’t.  If anything it seemed to have the opposite result.  But, that’s not what this post is about. 

To help make up for being late in announcing a winner, I decided to choose two.

And the winners are:

Betty from A Bench With a View

Jeanie from The Marmalade Gypsy

Betty and Jeanie, please send me your addresses at sweetteareadz@gmail.com so I can get your cookbooks in the mail. 

Congratulations Betty and Jeanie!  And thanks to everyone else who entered and commented.