This little advance message from me for Thanksgiving is wholeheartedly in earnest. I repeat it here because it needs to be emphasized: Dears, gravy is not a beverage.

Thanksgiving gravy is meant to be served as an enhancement over mashed potatoes, turkey slices and dressing (often to moisten the overcooked latter enough to eat). However, gravy is not meant to be slurped in a coffee cup when no one is looking.  I once discovered a Thanksgiving dinner guest taking liberties with my gravy boat after the feast was over! I guess his action was a compliment, but a rather strange one if I do say so myself.

There are three key elements that make Thanksgiving gravy good enough to drink:

FLAVOR
Thanksgiving gravy has to have flavor and it usually comes from meat drippings. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in July, I talked about creating a timeline for completing your family cookbook in time for Christmas giving. The suggestion for November included taking any missing photos at family gatherings to include in the family cookbook.

Now that Thanksgiving is just over the river and through the woods, so to speak, let’s review some useful tips for taking those missing family photos for your family cookbook: Read the rest of this entry »

So many customers have been asking us for them, and they are finally here! We now carry cookbook binder kits in both half-page cookbook binder and full page cookbook binder sizes. Here’s the lowdown from our store:

Get everything you need to put together a family cookbook binder.

We start with a white 3-ring binder with “Recipes” printed elegantly on the front cover and spine. If you want to use a custom front and back cover (made by our software or on your own) simply slide it into the clear plastic cover protector.

We selected a white binder because it will go with any of our software templates, and we went with a 1.5″ spine, so it can hold literally hundreds of pages of recipes. The binder is slightly oversized, so it will protect the included 12 index tabs from harm. This blank binder is manufactured in the United States, and it has a rugged D-Ring. It feels solid and reliable.

Next we include our handy Kitchen Conversion Cheat Sheet. It converts cups to ounces, tells you how to cook a steak, measures spaghetti, and a hundred other handy tidbits you’ll want at your fingertips.

Our third clever idea was to include a label sheet of 80 different categories for your cookbook. Why should you lump all your cookies into “Desserts” just because a cookbook tells you to? Our software lets you categorize your recipes how you want, and with 80 different category labels, our binder does too! Just peel off the 12 categories Read the rest of this entry »

This post may seem a bit early for some, but serious fruitcake-makers are already eyeing ingredients for their favorite Christmas sweet…the omnipresent fruitcake everyone loves to hate.

Included with my cookbook software is a wonderful heritage fruitcake recipe called Christmas Cake (English fruitcake) that has been in the family for generations. My cookbook software also comes with quite a few of my favorite recipes, but you have the option to keep them or not, as desired, for your own cookbook. (During the software’s development process we decided to include recipes to share so users could better visualize the end product they were making.) The family recipe for Christmas Cake takes time, but the end result is stunning. Read the rest of this entry »

“Our homemade family cookbook software is going to be very popular as families buckle down for a long, cold, hard winter of scrimping and saving instead of elaborate budget-busting gift giving,” I said to Ruth a few weeks ago as we sipped a cuppa and planned our Christmas gift shopping excursions.

Traditionally, we select the same day and time each week beginning November 1 until the week before December 25 as our “shopping” day.  We always try to visit a different store, mall, or shopping center for variety and to keep our gift spending under control. We like to see the holiday decorations, have lunch, and get in the holiday mood.

“Yes,” Ruth nodded. “I’m afraid it is all back to basics now with our economy what it is. Your cookbook software not only makes a great gift at a reasonable price, it also builds wonderful cookbook gifts for others, too. It’s a gift that can keep giving!” Read the rest of this entry »

When making your family recipe cookbook, it is always a challenge to make the family cookbook recipe titles a bit more fun and exciting. This is because we get so used to saying “Grandma’s popovers” for the family recipe instead of something more exotic, such as “Miss Lucy’s Genuine Buttery Popovers.”

Likewise, “Grandma Harriet’s Blazingly Bold Riblets” is much more intriguing to family members perusing the family recipe cookbook than plain old “Spicy Spareribs.”

Basically, the family cookbook recipe titles should have three things in common: Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite ways to warm up, after crunching through snow or enduring a cold windy day, is to enjoy a hot comfort beverage that soothes and relaxes. After all, when you have a warm, full tummy, you are so happy and content that a nap just inevitably creeps up on you, doesn’t it?

Here are recipe ideas for five of my favorite hot comfort beverages. I keep ingredients for all of them in my pantry so they are easy to make, and easier still to add to your family cookbook. Just cut and paste them into your recipe template and feel free to tweak them to your own taste:

1. CHAI
This lovely Indian-inspired hot tea beverage is about the most comforting hot comfort beverage I know. It is creamy, spicy and very relaxing.
Key spice: Cardamom
Shortcuts: Chai spices, tea bags, evaporated milk

3 cups water
3 teaspoons loose black tea
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar

Place water, tea and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer a few minutes. Strain. Add milk and sugar, then return mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Serves 4-6 (I like this a lot).

2. HOT CHOCOLATE Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes I wonder who first tried to eat an artichoke (and why). Was it some hungry creature searching for moisture in the artichoke being watched by an equally hungry caveman (no offense intended to the Geico Neanderthals)?  Either one must have been pretty desperate to rip off all those prickly artichoke leaves.

Nowadays, most people use a very sharp knife to cut through the fibrous artichoke leaves to remove the thorny leaf tips. Personally, I like to peel off any scruffy outer leaves from the artichoke, and then snip off the remaining artichoke leaf tips with my kitchen shears. (I find that I have better control and won’t slice my fingers in case I have a senior moment.)

Here are two quick, simple, tasty (QST) artichoke recipes (most) anyone will like:

1. STEAMED ARTICHOKES & QST LEAF DIP
My favorite way to eat an artichoke is steamed. Honestly, they aren’t much of a stomach filler. Just a “green” taste, really, and fun for party conversation. Although lots of people eat the steamed artichoke leaves dipped in melted butter, my version of a leaf dip is richer and a good excuse to eat something more satisfying.

Here’s How:
Steam trimmed artichokes until the heart is soft (when you can easily stick a fork into the bottom and feel no resistance). The cooking time will vary, depending on the size of the artichoke. Drain and set aside to cool. Serve artichokes on a salad plate (or small bowl) with Leaf Dip, as follows, on the side. Read the rest of this entry »

Many years ago, it seemed such a clever idea to make my Thanksgiving pumpkin pies from the pumpkin I carved at Halloween.

I made sure the candle used to light my frightening Frankenstein-faced pumpkin did not singe or smoke, so the insides would be perfect for my soon-to-be Thanksgiving pumpkin pies. Proudly I scrubbed and cut up the massive carved pumpkin, and boiled it in a huge pot till it was soft and tender.  Then, after cooling a long while, I mashed up the cooked pumpkin. And mashed, and mashed. (By hand, mind you, as this was before Cuisinart food processors were invented.) Read the rest of this entry »

In my ever-present quest to clear out “stuff,” as the late George Carlin used to say, I found one of my old collective fundraiser cookbooks that had some serious baking tips and techniques nestled in the “Cake” section of the cookbook.

Although the collective cookbook was published a mere 31 years ago, some of the ideas must have come from still farther back in time. Yet, the basic helpful wisdom of the cookbook’s contributors, long gone by now, still reaches out across the decades to anyone who cares to be the best baker possible.

You might find these baking tips and techniques as fascinating and amusing as I did.

Baking Tips & Techniques

1. Creaming butter and sugar: A little hot milk added will aid in the creaming process.

2. After using the oven, leave the door open until the oven is cool so that moisture will not condense and rust the metal.

3. To decorate a cake without a decorator, cut an envelope from one of the top corners to the middle of the bottom of the envelope. Cut a little piece off the corner. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have as many cookbooks as I do, you know there usually is a section in the old-style family cookbooks called “Jams, Jellies, and Preserves.”  Nothing compares with the happy homemade goodness of fresh fruit jams, jellies and preserves made during the summer and spread on biscuits or bread right out of the oven. Read the rest of this entry »

With the 2008 Presidential Election just around the corner, it seems appropriate to plan some Election Night grazing to enjoy while watching those many happy voting returns.

What a perfect time to work on your do-it-yourself family cookbook!  Nothing else of consequence will be on television, or on the internet, to distract you. Why not take this opportunity to devote time to your important cookbook-making project (especially if you plan to gift your cookbook to friends and family for the holidays).

To help you spend more time using our cookbook recipe software, here are some simple Election Night menu ideas:

Election Night Snacks
These crisp no brainers get on the table fast and fill hungry stomachs quickly, so don’t refill the bowls until after dinner.  Think about Chips & Salsa, Popcorn, Pretzels or crackers & hummus dip, or Vegetables & ranch dressing.

Election Night Entrées
You’ll want something hearty and flavorful, as well as easy so you don’t have to spend loads of devoted time preparing (thus freeing your time for cookbook-making). Consider Chicken and Noodles, Hamburgers/Hot Dogs, Lasagna, Macaroni and Cheese, or Vegetarian Pizza (all winners available in your local supermarket).

Election Night Desserts
A great standby dessert on Election Night is apple pie or ice cream, but how about something lighter on your stomach, such as the favored cookie recipes of our contending First Lady candidates. As published by separate websites, here are links to both Cindy McCain’s favorite Oatmeal Scotchies and Michelle Obama’s favorite shortbread cookie recipes, as well as a link to the favorite cookie recipes of several former U.S. Presidents. When made up ahead, any of the cookie recipes are easy and delicious, and time saving.

Happy voting, cookie and cookbook making!

Matilda