thanks for the post

Oh boy, holiday desserts are best desserts. I have a few family recipes, but my cookbook is at home. I will add to this post once I retrieve. Setting a reminder now!

Dirt cake variation -

Monkey-bread variation -

Butterfingers crumble -

okay the list is going to be long....

Pumpkin pie

pumpkin bread

apple pie

pecan pie

cheese cake

pumpkin cheese cake (think pumpkin spice)

coffee cake

and more to come....

My inlaws go nuts with thanksgiving desserts...it is not uncommon to see 15-25 pies/cakes/other goodies show up at the family gathering.

This is a great idea! I'll dig out the recipe for one of my favorites that my mother used to bake, an awesome cookie recipe

Watch this space!

Also, the steak and BBQ in Austin is incredible. One year I've got to attend the US Grand Prix, hosted at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, as I'm a MASSIVE Formula 1 fan. That way I can combine two of my favorite pastimes: good food and Motorsport.

Ok! Sorry for the delay all, here's the promised recipe. This was one of my mother's favourites to cook for my sister and I when we were little, and I share this as a tribute to her. She passed in 2016, and I'm sure she'd be happy to know that this recipe, which brought me so much happyness as a kid, has been shared with you all

Lillian's Golden Syrup Oatmeal Biscuits

Ingredients:

3 ounces of rolled oats

3 ounces of self-raising flour

3 ounces of sugar

3 ounces of soft margarine

1 dessertspoon of golden syrup

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in 2 teaspoons of full fat milk.

Preparation

Have a lightly greased cake tray ready before starting, as you'll transfer the cookie dough to this once it is ready.

Method

1. Mix the oats, sugar, and flour in a large bowl.
2. Heat the margarine and syrup gently in a pan until the margarine has melted.
3. Add the bicarbonate of soda/milk mixture to the pan and mix.
4. When this starts to froth, add immediately to the oatmeal mixture, and combine into a dough.
5. Roll the dough into 1 inch diameter balls, place each on the cake tray you prepared earlier, and press very lightly, ensuring you leave room around each for the biscuit to spread during cooking.
6. Cook on gas mark 4 for 10 minutes, or until the biscuits have lightly browned (180C = 350F = Gas Mark 4)

Variants

If you like your biscuits with a of fruit or nuts (or both!), I recommend the addition of chopped glace cherries and/or chopped walnuts to the mixture. Either with or without, these are gorgeously chewy

Being a native Texan, my family loves to have tacos and other such tex-mex food at some of our holiday dinners and even when we decide to have more "traditional" food, I am frequently asked to make this little slice of tex-mex heaven. Sopapilla cheesecake! My family isn't huge or anything, but we're a pretty close bunch and when we get together, there has to be a lot of food. Since there are usually anywhere from 15 to 20 of us, I typically have to make 2 of these, even when there are other desserts to sample too. I hope ya'll enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes.Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

*Note: sometimes you can find the cans of crescent dough sheets that aren't cut. Those are a little easier to work with if you can find them. You can just put the whole sheet directly into the pan without having to cut or shape it.

My Mom has made this for years, and I agree, it's delicious!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Adapted from A Good Appetite

• Butter for greasing pan
• 3 blood oranges
• 1 cup (200 grams or 7 ounces) sugar
• Scant 1/2 cup (118 ml) buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup (156 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups (219 grams or 7 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Honey-blood orange compote, for serving (optional, below)
• Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.

Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup; you’ll will have about 1/4 cup. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs and olive oil.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ones. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up. Serve with whipped cream and honey-blood orange compote (below), if desired.

Honey-Blood Orange Compote: Supreme 3 more blood oranges according to directions above. Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.

Christmas Nut Cake
Submitted by: Richard Reisner
"This nut loaf is all nuts. I have never met anyone who didn't like it - except for a few nuts!" Original recipe yield: 8 to 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds blanched whole almonds
• 1 pound Brazil nuts
• 1/2 pound walnut halves
• 1/2 pound pecan halves
• 1 1/2 pounds pitted dates
• 1/3 pound red candied cherries [We substitute dried cherries]
• 1/3 pound green candied cherries [We substitute pineapple]
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line two 5x9 inch loaf pans with greased parchment paper. [We did not use parchment paper. We used non-stick spray to coat the inside of the pans.]
2. Combine the almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, dates, red and green cherries; mix well.
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine with nut mixture and mix well. [We have done it this way and it works fine. However, we think combining the liquids in the next step with the flour and blending that prior to combining with the nuts.]
4. Beat eggs and vanilla, add to nut and flour mixture and mix well.
5. Press into 2 lined loaf pans and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Set aside for 5 minutes and remove from pans. Completely cool on wire rack.

Roasted Chickpeas & Pecans with Bacon & Maple Syrup

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 cup (250 mL) cooked chickpeas, of half a 19 oz (540 mL) can, rinsed and drained
• 2 to 3 slices of bacon, diced
• Handful of broken pecans
• 1/4 Cup (60 mL) maple syrup
• Sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

Spread chickpeas and bacon over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake, stirring once or twice, until the bacon is starting to brown and most of the fat has been rendered, about 30 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and add the pecans. Roast for 5 minutes and add the maple syrup.

Toss well and return to oven for another 3 to 4 minutes. The maple syrup should be thickened and bubbling.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and allow to cool somewhat before eating.

Great way to have beans for breakfast

​Fennel and Blood Orange Salad

​We have had several sources for this salad over the years, this one is by Emiko​

The classic Sicilian winter salad. This transitional salad changes from house to household. In it simplest version it has just blood oranges, sliced and seasoned with a pinch of salt and olive oil. In more elaborate versions, it can include green or black olives, anchovies, fresh chill, green onion, even smoked fish. This is somewhat in between.

Serves 4

• 4 small blood oranges
• 2 fennel bulbs
• a handful of good quality olives, green or black
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• pinches of salt

1. Peel and slice the oranges into small segments, removing the membrane when you come across it. Reserve half an orange to use for the dressing.
2. Slice the fennel, ideally with a mandolin, or as thinly as you can. Reserve some fo the green fennel tops for garnish.
3. Toss the fennel, orange slices, and olives in a bowl together.
4. In a small separate bowl, combine the juice of half an orange, the extra virgin olive oil and salt and whisk to form an emulsion. Dress the salad with this mixture and garnish with some fennel tops.