TIP OF THE DAY: Make Mulling Spice Sachets

TOP PHOTO: Individual sachets are best if only one or two people want a cup. Larger sachets are used to make a 6- or 8-cup pot. Photo courtesy McCormick. BOTTOM PHOTO: Empty tea bag “sachets,” used to fill with loose tea, are easier to make although less festive than muslin or netting. You can get…
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Pumpkin Custard Baked In A Pumpkin & The First Thanksgiving

We’ll soon celebrate Thanksgiving, a remembrance of a harvest feast that took place 394 years ago. Pumpkin may have been served at the Pilgrims’ first harvest feast, but it wasn’t pumpkin pie. The pumpkin pie we know and love first appears in cookbooks in the early 19th century. After a horrific first winter that saw…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Pudding Parfaits

If your crowd is elegant, use finer ingredients than crushed Oreos and M&Ms. Photo courtesy Gather By Damico | Minneapolis.   Add a special element to any small party, or even a quiet evening with the family, by putting together a mix and match pudding parfait bar. It’s a popular annual event at our place;…
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How To Host A Candy Apple Party

Is this your year to host a candy apple party for Halloween? Kids and adults alike will love the opportunity to customize caramel and/or red candy apples. First send out the invites, then start to gather the ingredients. You prepare trays of candy- and or caramel-coated apples, and guests do a quick re-dip and add…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Vermouth & Tapas, For Brunch & Cocktails

Vermouth is enjoying a renaissance. Vermouth (ver-MOOTH) is a fortified wine—one that includes a base spirit—flavored with a proprietary mixture of botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, spices). A glass of sweet red vermouth with an orange slice or twist was long a fashionable apéritíf for café society*. In Barcelona today, vermouth and tapas are…
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