What I love most today is FOOD!!!!!

I cook almost every night of the week, a mostly homemade meal for my family.  I also make a good breakfast for my family most days and they can have cereal during the other couple of days.  Since my kids are at home, there are so many of them and a couple of them are still babies, I don't have much time for extra cooking and playing around in the kitchen.

For months I've been collecting recipes that I have really wanted to make.  And I have a funny personality because I have been waiting for a perfect moment to make these recipes.  Except no time is ever perfect so I had to just do it.  Gwyneth and I made four recipes, two of which are appetizers I think would be great on Turkey Day and the other two are treats that just appealed to me.
 

I got this recipe from Val So Cal.  I looooooove figs.  My great grandmother lived in Santa Paula, near Ventura in Southern California.  She had a fig tree on her property and when we would visit I would gather as many as I could, sit in the sun by the tree and eat them all.
 

This is so easy because it's a no cooking required recipe.  Just throw the ingredients together.  It calls for figs, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, (I used pecans), endive leaves and a drizzle of honey.  What in the world is there that's not to like here?  It was soooo good.  Gwyneth and I polished that plate off.
 

 

This next recipe is found in the current December issue of In Style Magazine as their feature appetizer for Thanksgiving.  Most of you know I love yams and sweet potatoes, (sorry Jill).  I had to try this!!!
 

You cut the yams into medallions.  Roast them at 450.  Meanwhile you make a little salad of celery, minced cranberry, pecans, parsley, shallots, 4tsp of red wine vinegar and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.  Mix it, pull out the yams and top them with the salad.  They were like little poppers.  (next time I"m using balsamic vinegar.)
 

Top it off with Goat Cheese and it was excellent.  Kalen and I ate most of these, he liked these over the figs and endive.
 

Next...I've made plenty of pumpkin muffins.  But, when my friend Jill posted these I thought I wanted to give them a try because I've never been super thrilled over the pumpkin muffins I've made.  These are the ones for sure.
 

I'm not sure why they are better than others, since the ingredients don't seem too different but they are so moist and flavorful and look how beautifully they puff up, my others never did this.  For the flour content I used half whole wheat and they were still moist and fluffy.  And actually, Gwyneth saw these on my friends blog about a week ago and made them that day.  So this is the second time making them, courtesy of Gwyneth.
 

While we were marathon cooking a battle ensued in our kitchen.  And it always starts out funny and fun and then it ends with me yelling....I really hope I'm not the only one here.  After I can't handle the "fun" chaos anymore I ask for them to please stop.
 

  But then I realize I've said it fifty times and it dawns on me that I'm totally being ignored.  So I yell,  "HELLO!!!!!! WHO AM I?!  And they respond, "Mom", in unison.  And then yelling again, I say, "DOES THAT NOT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU PEOPLE ANYMORE!!!!


I'm always giving the lecture, "IT'S FUN UNTIL IT'S NOT FUN ANYMORE...FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!"....................  Dang kids, and their ways.......
 

 

Finally, are you surprised I am making one more tart?  I got it from Kendra's blog here.  Hers turned out better looking, I didn't use enough Phyllo dough.  But, it was still great and the kids ate it up after dinner no problem.
 

Seriously, if you're looking for something to bring to Thanksgiving but you don't make pies or cakes or you just don't want to, this is easy and really good.
 

Alrighty then...today was marathon day in the kitchen and that's the only way I think I can try the recipe's I want.  I just have to do it all at once, crazy kids and everything!!!!  I loved it all.  I'm doing both appetizers for Thanksgiving and we will be eating the muffins tomorrow with our breakfast, since the tart is already gone..... :) What I love most today is FOOD!!!!!!!