Cranberry Sauce, and a Stylish Blogger Award

It  is Hanukkah, and it officially started at sundown on Tuesday, and will last for 8 days. We just left Thanksgiving behind, and here comes all the holidays one, and before you know it, it's the New Year.
Well, for Hanukkah, all we do is just keep frying the nice and aromatic shredded potato latkes=pancakes. The best way to do them is to just pass it through the shute of your food processor with the shredding disk, and you'll have a big bowlful to work with, a super messy kitchen, and the aroma of fried potatoes, and onions...and before you know it, your batch of latkes are gonna be eaten up in less than 10 minutes.

Will post some photos about the latkes, my granddaughter took the photos with her camera, mine just totally went blank...no screen. Will be getting my new camera this weekend. A present to myself!



Christmas is around the corner too, but we're still in the Hanukkah celebration.

Here's the recipe which I used from Chef Ris La Costa that was featured in the Fine Cooking magazine from 2009.
The only change I made, was that I used Gran Marnier instead of  Creme de Cassis liqueur


Cranberry Sauce with Vanilla, Maple Syrup, and Cassis


6 cups (about 1-1/2 lb.) fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over and rinsed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
1/3 cup crème de cassis (black-currant liqueur)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange)

Half a vanilla bean, split and scraped
Put 3 cups of the cranberries and all the remaining ingredients in a 3- or 4-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped and broken down and the juices look slightly syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 cups cranberries and cook until these have popped, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate if not serving right away.

Now, it's time to thank Wendy, from The Weekend Gourmet whom I received the wonderful
Stylish Blogger Award.
Wendy, certainly has a Stylish blog, and is truly deserving of receiving the award. She graciously passed it on to me, and 14 other great bloggers. I truly appreciate it, Wendy, you're a sweetheart!

*To accept this award, there are 4 rules:*

1. Thank the person who gave you the award: 

2. Share seven things about yourself

3. Pass the award on to bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.

4. Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

Here are 7 things about myself, that I'm sharing with you!

1. I excelled in art from elementary school all the way through high school, but did not pursue it afterwards.

    I majored instead in business administration with an associate degree...moved to S. Florida in the seventies.

       

2. We opened up a "turn key" " mom and pop" pizza and pasta restaurant-- I then pursued a culinary degree. 

 

4 Our 2 children, both decided to use their

  scholarship attend college in Europe...daughter in the South of France, and Italy, and son

  in Florence, Italy, and Israel.

5.I  worked for a large catering company...I had 

  quite a few clients encourage me to start my own little business, which I did.

6 I used to live a very private life during my work years, until I started to work in a beautiful country club
for the last few years.

7.I am very close to my two children, my ex husband, but mostly my daughter, and son-in-law.





1. Barbara-Cucina di Barbara 


2. Marie-   The English Kitchen

3.Carolyn- All Day I Dream About Food

4..Joanna-ChicGorgeous

5.. Gourmet Getaways

6..Luna-  Luna's recipes

7..Ping- Ping's Pickings

8. Biren.Roti n Rice

9. Nancy-Kitchen Gypsies

10. Evan-Sweets by E

11. Mia- Bright Morning Star

12.Veronica- The Enchanted Cook

13.Swathi-Zesty South Indian Kitchen
14.Monet Anecdotes and Apple Cores

15.Aipi US Masala

16.. Kavita-Kavita's Kitchen

17. Lora-Cake Duchess

18. Priya Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes

19. Chef Dennis-More than a Mountfull
20. Jennifer-Jane Deere

21. Veronica-Quay Po Cooks

22-Lizzy-That Skinny Chick Can Bake

23.Kitchen Boffin


CONGRATULATIONS  to the Stylish Blogger Award winner...well deserved!

Unfortunately, we received bad news, last night...my son calling me sobbing, and screaming...I was at my daughter's watching my two grandchildren, while my daughter was attending a school function dinner.  She left her work and was walking to a nearby function to attend an award, and was struck by a hit-and-run driver, and left on the road, never even stopping. Another car came speeding through and she was struck again.
Sheryl was a beautiful angelic lady, only 59...she had plans to celebrate her 60th. birthday, next month, and she never made it.

I cannot begin to tell you, how important it is to appreciate your loved ones, because in a "split second" you could lose them.

What really is comforting, that they all celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family, just last week, and they kept in touch by phone, every single day.
Sometimes illness is not the one that takes a toll, to end a life...a sudden weird and freaky accident could take a person's life!


Sheryl died on the first day of a joyous celebration; Hanukkah! She will always be remembered with kindness, and love, and will always live in our hearts, forever.
May your memory be a BLESSING Sheryl...and MAY YOU REST IN PEACE!