Cooking with Candi

Completely decadent and totally ridiculous in calories and richness, and I love it. It’s so very delicious. My daughter Jennifer has made this dessert numerous times over the last few years. It is actually a subtle taste of bananas, but I wouldn’t make this if I didn’t like bananas. I happen to just adore bananas and I absolutely love love this pudding. I cannot have it in the house because I will continually find an excuse to go into the fridge and eat it till it’s pretty much all gone. Jenn made it for dessert on Thanksgiving, it was one of 3 majorly desserts and it is really over the top. As full as I was and swearing I wasn’t going to eat another thing for at least a week, when I saw this  pudding I knew I was going to eat it.  She left the uneaten portion of it in my house and I couldn’t…

Michele sent me this as her entry for my CWC Thanksgiving Contest. Wow! they are amazing and before I keep eating them they are going in the freezer for Thanksgiving. Michele always makes these for her fabulous Christmas party. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, so the plan is to make ahead for Thanksgiving, because these have to be on my table.  I didn’t get dried cherries, but I had craisins so I used them. They cooked up in 17 minutes at 325 degrees and were just beautiful. I am happy that I went to the gym this morning that’s all I can say. Thanks Michele for participating and for your support of my blog :). These are going on my Thanksgiving dessert table without a doubt.  These are decadent, but if you’re eating a cookie shouldn’t it be? These were so amazing that everyone who ate them fell in love with…

It’s almost Chanukah if you can believe it!  These tasty little pancakes are perfect for the holiday and really any day.   Most perfect of all is that you can cook them, freeze them and have them for whenever you want. They make a great appetizer or side dish. My experience with latkes is that they never really taste as good as when you first fry them, but that’s such an impossible task with people waiting to eat and having fifty million other things to do. Latkes are the ultimate comfort food. This is just a little twist on the traditional potato latke .  Usually about 2 – 2 1/2 inches in diameter is the right size, but it’s up to you. Not sure where this recipe hails from. The original from my Grandmother, but the zucchini was added later. My grandmother didn’t own a food processor and it’s a game changer, just makes it so much simpler to…

I saw this recipe in today’s New York Times Dining Section and I think I may make it instead of just plain old mashed potatoes. For those of you who don’t get the Times , I am giving you the recipe. Sounds super easy, and I like that you can do some of it 3 days ahead. Very appealing to me.

Ingredients:

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, and more for the pan– this gets divided into 10 for inside the casserole and 4 for the topping

6 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, and cut into chunks , as you can see in this photo I have been known to leave the skin on , it’s entirely up to you how you like it better. Skin is very thin on Yukon Gold potatoes, so if you enjoy the skins in your mashed potatoes leave it on or remove if you don’t…

When I think of the ultimate in comfort foods, Mac and Cheese always comes to mind. Now that there is a slight chill in the air we’re ready for this recipe. I have made it for big crowds, and just the two of us. Not the neon orange kind from the box (although when I make it for my grandkids it’s really not all that bad) but the creamy homemade oh so soothing one. I love the creaminess and the richness. You can’t really eat too much of it because of the richness. I just love the crunchy burnt pieces on top, and the smooth texture underneath. I also love it cold from the fridge, which can be a very dangerous thing to have around. So invite a bunch of people over (this recipe is perfect for Sunday get-togethers) and it will disappear. You’ll have just enough left…

It’s the elephant in the room and I’ve put off discussing it but the time has definitely come to start talking turkey. Thanksgiving is upon us, yes we have plenty of time to get it together but menus need to be planned so we don’t get caught unprepared. My menu is almost always the same because everyone has their favorite dish that they look forward to eating every year.  Last year I skipped mashed potatoes in favor of something else and the first thing one of my nephews said was “where are the mashed potatoes?” that was his favorite thing. So I try to please all but need to add a few new items every year. Haven’t really decided on all the items but will give you a list of some of my oldies but goodies so go and look them up on my blog. Just put in the title of recipe and it…