Posts filed under 'Recipes'
Welcome to today’s edition of Friday Favorites!
It’s sad but deliciously true: Sweets don’t last very long around the At Home in Arkansas office! But just as we’ve fine-tuned the art of consuming, as it turns out we’re also quite handy when it comes to baking. Here, a few of our very favorite holiday cookie recipes, which we hope you’re not afraid to indulge in over the holidays. Tried and true, they might just be your own family’s new favorites!
Happy Friday!
Imagery: www.marthastewart.com
December 4th, 2009
Featured in our November “The Best of the South” issue, the historic Fayetteville home of Julie and Mike Roetzel contains a beautiful kitchen worth special attention. Mike converted an antique hutch into a functional island with an ice maker, designed for easy entertaining. Especially this time of year, with holiday cooking and get-togethers on the horizon, we couldn’t be more charmed. In fact, if it were our kitchen, we’d never leave it. We’d just stay home and make desserts all day, which we would fool ourselves into thinking look a little something like this (courtesy of the Southern queen of cooking herself, Paula Deen).
This pumpkin gingerbread trifle would be a festive way to begin.
Followed shortly by a picture-perfect strawberry cake.
Topped off with a big heaping scoop of chocolatey goodness.
November 3rd, 2009
Recently, I met up with Jacqulyn Sexton who is the assistant manager at Crew Restaurant and Bar. My goal was to get a good photograph of their signature drink, the Crewtini, for our February issue. Doesn’t it look delicious? Once I got there she went right to work mixing, pouring and shaking all the ingredients into the drink mixer. She had to get it nice and cold! It was a lot of fun.
My favorite thing about the Crewtini is the lemon twist she added for the finishing touch on the edge of the glass. Jacqulyn moved to Little Rock from New York and can make just about any drink you ask for and is also a pro at mixing up new drinks to serve at the bar. Just another reason why Crew Restaurant & Bar is a great place to go. Check out the Recipes tab on the Web site for all the details about this colorful (and tasty) drink. I know next time the girls want to grab dinner and a drink, we’ll definitely have to go to Crew! Crew is located in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center in Little Rock, 501-223-3553.
January 17th, 2008
We are always looking for an excuse to have a brunch here at At Home. Mainly for Kelly to bring her world-famous cheese grits. Let me tell you, they are delicious. So, of course I had to get the recipe, however I managed to misplace it…twice. Anyway, yesterday Kelly gave me the recipe again, and I made sure to make multiple copies this time.
I had to give them the ol’ college try last night, just to see if I could make Kelly’s cheese grits as well as she does. Well, they were so good. So good in fact, my friend had to lick the spoon clean.
Now I am going to pass the recipe on and hope that you too can make these amazing cheese grits.
Kelly’s Cheese Grits
4 cups water
1 cup instant grits
1 tsp salt
1 roll garlic cheese
8oz. Mexican Velveeta
1 stick of butter
Bring water to a boil. Add grits slowly, stirring constantly, and simmer for 5 minutes. Cut up cheese into cubes and add to cooked grits, along with the stick of butter. Once melted and well blended, pour into 3 quart casserole. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!
January 9th, 2008
For us Southern girls, the holiday season always brings up two topics: food and tradition. When I married into the Fraiser family, I inherited a lot of traditions, along with bringing some of my own, like my mother’s Whiskey Ball cookies. But for my husband David’s family you can always count on finding Pumpkin Cheesecake at the Thanksgiving table.
This is truly a heavenly dessert, and it’s actually pretty simple to make. (I have to admit that no one’s sure where the recipe originated. It may have even come off the back of a can of pumpkin!) This year it’s our turn to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and one of my contributions will definitely be Pumpkin Cheesecake. I’m sure it will become a Jackson family favorite as well.
Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
2 packages of cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup canned pumpkin
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Dash ground nutmeg
½ cup whipped topping
Graham cracker crust (My mother in law usually makes her own with graham cracker crumbs and butter, but the pre-made crusts are tasty too.)
Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended, but do not over beat after adding eggs. Remove 1 cup batter and stir in pumpkin and spices.
If you’re not using a pre-made crust, spray a 9-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray and spread graham cracker crust in pan and along sides.
Pour reserved batter into crust first, and then top with pumpkin batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Top each serving with whipped topping.
November 15th, 2007
