Not your average Cranberry Sauce

When my sister Brooke tried to find "her thing" to make for Thanksgiving dinner, she went to a trusted, reliable source.  And not her usual fall back, Martha Stewart; she turned to Williams-Sonoma.  She serves this recipe over cream cheese with crackers and it's usually half-eaten before dinner is even served.  Please enjoy another favorite recipe from our family's menu!

Apple Cranberry Sauce

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 granny smith apples
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Sort the cranberries, discarding all the soft ones and removing all stems. Peel and core apple, then dice into small pieces.
2. In a saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine all ingredients, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, partially covered, about 15-20 minutes. The sauce should have thickened, the apple tender and the cranberries burst.
4. Cool before serving.  Serve over cream cheese, at room temperature, with crackers. 

My Thanksgiving Specialty

Every year since I can remember, we've always celebrated Thanksgiving at home (my parents' home) with my Granny, aunts, uncles, cousins and whoever else wanted to come along.  It seemed like everyone had their own special thing that they always made, and since there were so many people, we always had a lot of food.  Chicken (Mom prefers it over turkey), ham, sweet potato casserole (the kind with nuts and brown sugar - yumm!), green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce (homemade!), cole slaw, rolls....not to mention all the desserts!  I'm salivating just typing it all.  So once I was old enough to pitch in, I had no idea what to make.  After looking through recipe after recipe, I finally decided on corn pudding.  I prefer a sweet corn pudding and think this recipe is perfect!  It is now "my thing" to make every year :) 
In an effort to add more to the blog and get into the Thanksgiving food mood, I'm sharing it with you and hopefully a few more family specials! 

Corn Pudding
3 Tb butter
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup whole milk
3 cups corn
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter molds or casserole dish.  Beat eggs; stir in sugar, cream and milk.  Add corn and salt.  Mix thoroughly with wisk; pour into baking dishes and sprinkle with nutmeg.  Bake in a water bath for 45 minutes or until custard is set.

Fall Projects

From October:

finger painting to copy Eric Carle's style in "A House for Hermit Crab"

leaf designs:  painting, stamping, crayon rubbing

our own Halloween "party" because we missed the one at the library

making caramel corn with chocolate!

finger painting a pumpkin patch