TIP OF THE DAY: A Brownie Sandwich Party

For a party dessert, offer several spreads and let guests fill their own brownie layers at the “brownie bar.” You can ask others who want to pitch in to bake different types of brownies. In addition to the original chocolate brownie, consider blondies, butterscotch brownies and peanut butter brownies. Guests on gluten-free diets can bring…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Thanksgiving Table Decorations

Use grocery store items to decorate your Thanksgiving table. Photo courtesy Foragers Market | Brooklyn.   Some people like a flower centerpiece for their table. Others take out the silver candelabra. We’ve done both, but realized that they can interfere with sight lines across the table. They’re also very 20th (and 19th) century. So in…
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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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