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 family’s 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 fair—goose, potatoes, and applesauce—with every bit of deliciousness her repertoire of cooking techniques has to offer.
My First Anniversary: The Story of My Wedding Ring
I love colors. Combine this with the fact that I have always been “just a little different,” and it’s not that surprising that my wedding ring has a blue stone instead of a diamond. I don’t really like jewelry, but I love this ring, even if it’s not what you would call perfect.
Mrs. Cratchit’s Sage and Onion Roasted Drumsticks
The roast goose or turkey is an icon of Victorian Christmas, and it’s clear that Mrs. Cratchit has a deft hand when it comes to its preparation. A full-size bird would have made a great entrée 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. Cratchit’s sage and onion goose. The end result was a set of juicy drumsticks with heartwarmingly homey flavor and crispy skin.
Oatmeal to Warm a Cold Heart
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?
Tis the Season for a New Book of the Month
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?
Katniss Cakes
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…
Thanksgiving Throwback
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…
The Mellark Family Cheese Buns
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:
The Capitol’s Lamb Stew with Dried Plums
In The Hunger Games, the Capitol offers some great dishes—chicken with creamy orange sauce, fluffy dinner rolls, and even pumpkin soup. These all sound delicious, but I knew the best entree for our menu would be lamb stew with dried plums, since it’s Katniss’ favorite Capitol dish…and Cesar Flickerman’s too!
Prim’s Basil and Goat Cheese Bites
So excited for our new Book of the Month: The Hunger Games! I’ve loved both the books and the movies, and since Mockingjay Part 1 is coming out later this month, it seemed like the perfect time for a Hunger Games menu. Luckily, the books feature so many recipes, any difficulty in developing a menu comes from the sheer number of options.