It is a Brand New Year!

I finally made it back. I fully intended to get back to work last week. However, I found myself distracted by some more personal research projects. And yes, motivation has been at an ebb. Vacations are wonderful. You get to just relax and let your mind fly free and it can be difficult to regain focus when the vacation is over. Maybe if we got to have more frequent vacations, we would not be so reluctant to return to work...Even when you love your work, it is still work.

Above is the photo of the "Eggnog Fudge (Recipe)" I said I was going to make in previous post "Shopping for Holiday Recipes". As you can see, I did make it and it was delicious! It was slightly softer than I expected, but oh so yummy.

I don't have a lot of experience with making candy of any kind. (This is my second attempt.) The first time I attempted to make candy was back in 1980. I tried to make "Divinity" because my grandmother used to make it and I loved it as a child. I did not have a candy thermometer and apparently I did not cook it long enough. It would not set no matter how long I whipped it. I ended up with some very tasty "Divinity Syrup"! I highly suggest having a candy thermometer. This time I had one and everything went perfectly.

I also tried the "Olive and Onion Tapenade". It calls for picholine olives, but I have never heard of this kind of olive. I looked for them at my local grocery store, but I live in a very small town and they did not have anything that even resembles these olives. So I substituted plain old black olives. Perhaps I should have tried calamata olives instead. The tapenade was okay, but Sweetie and I both felt it was missing something. Rather than waste it, I thought to make some hummus and mix the olive tapenade with it - "Olive Tapenade Hummus". It was definitely an improvement, but if I ever make it again, I will find out what picholine olives are. If I cannot find any, I may try the recipe with calamata olives and use it to make Olive Tapenade Hummus.

I also made the "Swirled Cranberry Cheesecake". I had to improvise as I found myself without enough eggs. I know, I am losing it. I am getting old and my memory is not what it used to be. It can be frustrating, but there is an upside - I don't worry as much because I can't remember what to worry about!

So, here is what I did.

As planned, I substituted Basic Cranberry Sauce for the "topping". (I had an unopened jar left over from Thanksgiving Dinner.) To save time and labor, I used a prepared chocolate cookie pie crust from the grocery store. Then, I found a recipe for "Cheesecake" in "The Joy of Cooking" that did not call for nearly as many eggs. It turned out quite well. I think I may make this one a yearly tradition. Sorry, we ate it before I remembered the camera.

For the "Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms", I basically used the recipe as inspiration and then abandoned it. I used regular mushrooms and stuffed them with spinach and Swiss cheese seasoned with garlic and just a little bit of tarragon. I served them as a side dish and although no rave review, we did enjoy them.

I never got around to the "Lime Zingers". Since Sweetie loves these cookies, I will have to make them soon. I will share my recipe with you once I have made some and have photos to share as well.

I hope everyone had as peaceful and joyous Holiday Season as we did.