Happy New Year to Everyone and Welcome 2015!

Holidays are all about the family, and this year was no exception for us. This year we gathered at our house. Our daughters Jenny and Beth were here, as well as our son-in law, Anh, and our grandchildren, Chloe and Liam. They all came from Hiawatha, Iowa!

The girls and I spent the whole day on Christmas Eve pampering ourselves with manicures at Ann Le’s Nail Bar, hair styling at Salon Paragon, lunch at DiMillo’s, and make-up applications at The Regency Spa. Then we all went home to change before meeting back at The Regency for a lovely dinner at 20 Milk Street. Then, back home to open all of our gifts. What a night!

On Christmas morning, we had our traditional breakfast of my French toast with warmed pure Maine maple syrup, filet mignon, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and chocolate-dipped strawberries and champagne.

For Christmas dinner this year, we had ham, scalloped potatoes and northwest blend vegetables with lovely rustic rolls. For dessert, we had buche de noel and carrot cake.

But the highlight of the week was watching Chuck and Chloe (now 13 years old) work in the kitchen together. The teacher in Chuck sure came out! He taught Chloe how to make caesar salad, chicken parmesan, and angel hair pasta. He wanted to teach her how to make pasta from scratch, but there was not enough time. Chloe served all of us, down to the pouring of the wine. Look how she holds the punt of the bottle! That’s my girl! Maybe we do have someone interested in taking over the business when we decide to retire… just not ready for that yet!

Try my french toast recipe and Chuck’s caesar salad dressing recipe. You will not be disappointed! YUMMMMMMM!

Nancy’s French Toast

NOTE: Must be prepared 24 hours in advance.

1 loaf of 2-day-old baguette

1 quart of heavy cream

4 eggs

Dash of nutmeg and cinnamon

¼ cup of confectioner’s sugar

Mix all together well, sprinkle ½ cup of confectioners sugar over the mixture, and refrigerate covered at least overnight. Deep fry until browned and crispy and serve immediately.

Chuck’s Caesar Salad Dressing

Mix together with a whisk or place into a mason jar and shake vigorously:

6 TB EVOO

1 beaten egg

4 minced garlic cloves

2 TB mayonnaise

3 TB red wine vinegar

2 TB balsamic vinegar

1 smashed anchovy

1 TB Dijon mustard

4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

What are you thankful for this year?

Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (or do you call it dressing?), green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (the one with the marshmallows!), and pumpkin pie… YUMMMM my favorite Thanksgiving dinner! What’s yours?

I cannot get past it, it has to be this every year—no ham, no beef tenderloin, and Chuck doesn’t even like turkey!

I don’t know about you, but I long for this meal with family every year. It’s true of others because we cook Thanksgiving dinners for many people and this is essentially what they want!

So are we creatures of habit? I guess I am because I rise in the morning and follow the same procedures everyday… often at the same times. AND I make the same Thanksgiving meal every year with only a few tweaks on the recipes…

Every Saturday, Chuck and I go out to breakfast (time and schedule permitting), and we have been going to the same place many, many years—not because of the outstanding food because it’s not really about that (not that it isn’t great!). It’s about the “Cheers” factor. You know everyone knows your name, etc., and they do! They also know my special drink recipe created by my husband and can pretty much tell us what we are going to eat! The minute they see us walking in, they get it going. It makes me feel special.

Thanksgiving makes me feel special. My mother taught all of kids how to pitch in and make everything. Even my Dad created his own stuffing (NOT dressing)—a recipe that I know my sisters and brothers and I recreate every year.

Thanksgiving is about family and special memories and being thankful for both—and of course the dinner. Maybe football too!

And I feel special and thankful because I have a man who loves me for what and who I am, AND he gave up his career to help me pursue my dream of owning a catering business. He is the literal wind beneath my wings, and he works his butt off every day to promote our cause.

I feel special and thankful because we have great loyal customers, and with your help we have grown this business in just 15 years. We have great loyal employees that have helped us grow this business in just 15 years as well.

I feel special and thankful because of my mother, sisters and brothers, children, son-in-law, and grandchildren. And my friends.

Chuck just told me this morning that he does not need a camera… his memories are in his head!

What a great Thanksgiving, I look forward to this year… maybe I will add black garlic to the mashed potatoes! And I am thinking of making pumpkin cheesecake instead of pie… Yummmmm! Stay tuned!

Have a Happy and Thankful Thanksgiving!