We did it, folks! We made it all the way through 2014. With 50 recipes under our belt, I’d like to take this opportunity to look back on the recipes that have made the biggest splash. In true New Year’s fashion, feel free to mix yourself a drink before we get to reminiscing. I recommend the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster:
Do you have your drink? Ok. Time to reveal this year’s most popular posts! The winners are…
Given the classic Victorian theme of our menu thus far, you might have been expecting Christmas pudding for dessert, and I’ll admit I considered it. However, I couldn’t get Scrooge’s favorite exclamation off my mind. I knew I’d probably have many opportunities to make Christmas pudding on the site, but how many books can claim a connection to humbug candies?
I love a lot of things about Mrs. Cratchit: her energy, her spunk, and the obvious love and respect she has for her husband. However, more than anything, I love how Mrs. Cratchit sees her familyâs financial status not as a burden but as a challenge to be met. Scrooge notes that the Cratchit meal is quite modest in its size and components, almost inadequate for a family of that size. However, to Mrs. Cratchit, this simply means that the quality of the meal is that much more important. She spares no effort in infusing the basic fairâgoose, potatoes, and applesauceâwith every bit of deliciousness her repertoire of cooking techniques has to offer.
I love colors. Combine this with the fact that I have always been âjust a little different,â and itâs not that surprising that my wedding ring has a blue stone instead of a diamond. I donât really like jewelry, but I love this ring, even if itâs not what you would call perfect.
The roast goose or turkey is an icon of Victorian Christmas, and itâs clear that Mrs. Cratchit has a deft hand when it comes to its preparation. A full-size bird would have made a great entrĂ©e for our menu, but I could hardly justify roasting 10 pounds of turkey for just the Mister and myself. These roasted turkey legs were a nice compromise. I got the preparation technique from The Pioneer Woman, but I used my own blend of spices to match Mrs. Cratchitâs sage and onion goose. The end result was a set of juicy drumsticks with heartwarmingly homey flavor and crispy skin.
Thanksgiving is over and December is here, which means it’s officially acceptable to start thinking about Christmas! As you may have guessed, our new Book of the Month is A Christmas Carol. Seasonally appropriate, yes?
I had so much fun making the Hunger Games menu this past month, especially the lamb stew (it’s one of my favorite recipes now). Last week’s Katniss Cakes marked the end of the menu, so it’s time to welcome December with a new Book of the Month! Your photo hint is below. Can you guess it?
 When I first decided to make a Hunger Games menu, I knew I wanted to go all-out on dessert. Cupcakes immediately came to mind, but I wanted more than just Hunger Games decorations. I wanted each cupcake to exemplify a key story element. After tossing around dozens of ideas, I created three kinds of cupcakes…
As a holiday based entirely around food, Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart. Yet as much as I love it, deciding what to cook can be a little intimidating. If you have a potluck-style dinner like my family, pretty much every relative has their “thing” that they make every year. Finding something traditional and festive that someone else isn’t already making can be a challenge. However, a great way to circumvent this problem is to make a dish that uses iconic Thanksgiving flavors in a new way. I’m making Deeper ‘n Ever Turnip ‘n Tater ‘n Beetroot Pie for Thanksgiving this year, since it’s one of my favorite AWR recipes (and TOTALLY tastes like stuffing). In fact, after looking through the archives, I realized we have loads of Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes…
Buns are a great side dish to accompany a hearty stew, like our Lamb Stew with Dried Plums from last week. Plus, bread in general plays a huge role in The Hunger Games, so it wouldn’t be right to have a Hunger Games menu without it. It was hard to choose between all the great bread recipes featured in the books, but I finally settled on these cheese buns for two reasons: