Have you ever tried Figgy Pudding? Maybe I should ask if you have ever had plum pudding. It isn’t pudding, at least not the kind of pudding many Americans think of when they hear the word. In the UK, pudding is used as catch-all to describe any sweet dish served after a meal. Figgy pudding isn’t creamy or custardy, but it is a sugary cake, which qualifies it as pudding overseas.
Level:Easy
Total: 1 hr 30 min
Prep: 30 min
Inactive: 15 min
Cook: 45 min
Yield:4 servings
Ingredients
Sauce:
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add the dates, dried figs and water to a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then add to a blender and puree.
Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat well. Fold in the flour, the pureed date mixture and the chocolate.
Put the mixture into 4 buttered, 1-cup individual ramekins, filling halfway or slightly under. Put in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Prepare the sauce by stirring the sugar and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until incorporated.
Remove the ramekins from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. May be served in the ramekin or unmolded onto a small serving plate. With paring knife cut a cross in the top of the puddings for the sauce.
Pour the sauce into the cross in the center of each pudding, then pour more sauce over the puddings and it allow to soak in slightly. Top with fresh figs and vanilla ice cream or heavily whipped cream. Serve warm.
When I first did this article, I would not even think about it. But now I look forward to my BK coupons that come in the mail. I use the impossible burger coupon. I think that it’s better than the Whopper.
Top five ingredients: Water, soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil and natural flavors.
How Beautiful is this? Rare neon blue waves due to bioluminescence captured on camera in Newport Beach. To see something like this would be awesome.The beautiful ocean light show was caught on camera in the dark of the night earlier in the year. The appearance of neon blue waves is usually caused by algae in the water.
Grilled Salmon & Asparagus with Cream Sauce. If you love Salmon, you will love this recipe. This here recipe for Grilled Salmon & Asparagus with Cream Sauce is a big winner. It ´s a dish that is done in under 25 minutes from start to finish, yet it has the presentation that we all expect from a holiday dinner dish. Funny enough, I like to enjoy this salmon dish all year-round. This serves two.
Ingredients
-2 fillets fresh salmon
-sea salt
-black pepper
-1 tbsp extra virgin Spanish olive oil
-8 stalks fresh asparagus
-1 clove garlic
-1/4 onion
-1/2 cup white wine
-1 cup Greek yogurt
-1/4 tsp dried dill
Instructions
Grab 10 fresh asparagus, wash them and pat them dry and cut off about 1 1/2 inches from the root, finely mince 1 clove of garlic, finely dice a 1/4 of an onion, cut a lemon in half, reserve 1/2 cup of white wine, reserve 1 cup of Greek yogurt, and 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill
Season 2 fresh salmon fillets with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper on both sides of the fillet
Heat a small non-stick frying pan with a medium-high heat and a grilling pan with a medium heat, drizzle a kiss of extra virgin Spanish olive oil on the grilling pan, once the pan´s get hot, add the asparagus to the grilling pan and the salmon fillets to the frying pan, occasionally turn the asparagus and cook until your liking, I cooked them for about 7-8 minutes, after cooking the salmon fillets for 3 minutes flip them and cook for another 2 minutes, then remove from the pan
In the same pan with the same heat as you cooked the salmon, using the rendered fat from salmon, add the minced garlic and dice onions, mix with the oil, after 30 seconds of cooking add 1/2 cup of white wine, simmer for 3 minutes then turn off the heat, after letting it cool for 2 minutes add 1 cup of Greek yogurt, a 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, and season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, mix everything togethr until well mixed
Season the cooked asparagus with some lemon juice and sea salt, then decorate 5 of the asparagus per plate, add a fillet of salmon on top of the asparagus and drizzle the cream sauce on top of each fillet
Let’s get down with the Motown sound and other Christmas funky music. Give us your best Motown or funky Christmas music.
A Motown Christmas is a Christmas music compilation album, originally released as a 2-LP set by Motown Records on September 25, 1973. It contains various seasonal singles and album tracks recorded by some of the label’s artists from the 1960s and early 1970s
This rich, dense, elegant Chocolate Chevron Cake from Ina Garten‘s cookbook, Cook Like a Pro, comes from her catering days and is an illustration in how repetition makes you a better cook.
“When the baker didn’t show up, I had to make 50 Chocolate Chevron Cakes,” she recalls. “I learned the fastest and best way to bake a cake that looks impressive without a lot of extra effort.” It’s also a lesson in pairing ingredients to boost flavor. “Some ingredients need a partner to bring out their flavor, which is why I always put a touch of coffee in my chocolate dishes,” Garten explains. “You don’t taste the coffee, but it makes the chocolate taste better.”
Chocolate Chevron Cake
By Ina Garten
Makes
1 (8-inch) cake
Active Time
Total Time
Ingredients
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 (16-oz) can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp instant coffee granules
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8 × 2-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour pan, tapping out excess flour.
Cream butter and sugar the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add eggs, 1 at a time, then mix in chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add flour; mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes, until just set in middle. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Remove from pan, turning cake upside down on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Cool completely.
Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and 1 Tbsp water until smooth, thick and just barely pourable. When you lift icing from the bowl with the whisk, it should slowly fall back on itself in a ribbon. (You may need to add a few more drops of water.) Fit a pastry bag with a small, round pastry tip and fill it with icing. Set aside.
To make ganache, place heavy cream, chocolate chips and coffee in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat mixture until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Pour ganache evenly over top and sides of cake, tilting rack until ganache is smooth all over.
Immediately, before ganache sets, pipe parallel lines of confectioner’s sugar mixture about 1 inch apart on entire cake, stopping just short of edge. Lightly drag back of a small paring knife through ganache perpendicular to white lines also 1 inch apart, alternating directions (first left to right, then right to left, and so on) and covering the whole cake. Allow the ganache and icing to set. Cut in wedges; serve at room temperature.
Pro tip: “You can wrap and refrigerate the cake for a few days, but once it is ‘ganached,’ leave it at room temperature for up to 8 hours,” says Garten. “If you refrigerate it, beads of condensation will form on the ganache and damage the decoration.”
Your favorite vacation spot. I know it’s December and my part of the world ( Midwest ) it’s cold and the snow is coming. I’m not a winter vacation type person. For me it’s Spring, Summer, or Fall.
I love the water. I love Colonial sites. And I love the Fall foliage. So Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Niagara on the Lake, and New England would be my picks.
So give us your favorites or places you would love to visit or vacation at.
Koda Special. Big Band Music. For some it’s Monday. So let’s start with some big band tunes. Or if you feel that you want to post other types of music, feel free.
A big band is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term “big band” is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands.
Big bands started as accompaniment for dancing. In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. They gave a greater role to bandleaders, arrangers, and sections of instruments rather than soloists.
Favorite Snacks. I have a few. Yes I do have a few favorites when it comes to snacks. But only in moderation. I love chocolate and Potato chips. But on the chips, Salt and Vinegar. Chocolate I try to stay with dark chocolate. But a Hershey bar with almonds is to die for
Like so many people, Kelly Stewart Harcourt, daughter of late actor Jimmy Stewart, looks forward to watching the annual winter broadcasts of It’s a Wonderful Life, which her father starred in as George Bailey. “My father often said his favorite movie was It’s a Wonderful Life,” Kelly exclusively tells Closer Weekly in the magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands now.
Reexperiencing the story of kindhearted George, who in his darkest moment learns how much his neighbors in Bedford Falls love him, the 69-year-old recalls how her famous father, who died at age 89 in 1997, always made their family’s Christmas celebration extra special.
“Once my dad dressed as Santa Claus and came into our bedroom — my sister and I were astounded,” she remembers about a 1958 Christmas trip to Hawaii. Though they eventually realized who was under that costume, Jimmy, a consummate actor, never broke character. “I slapped him on the back and nudged him, but he just carried on as Santa.”
Like the lovable everyman characters he often played in hits like Rear Window, Vertigo, Harvey and more, Jimmy believed in honor, family, faith and doing the right thing. He was already a Hollywood leading man when World War II broke out and led him to enlist. His wartime experiences — although harrowing — would make Jimmy a deeper, more serious man and a better actor.
“He had seen dark things and internalized some rage,” Robert Matzen, author of Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe, explains to Closer. “After he returned, he sought more challenging roles. In It’s a Wonderful Life, George reaches a breaking point, has that flash of temper and destroys the models in his living room. I don’t think that scene would have been possible for Jimmy before the war.”
In the early 1940s, a gossip columnist christened Jimmy “The Great American Bachelor.” He romanced Mae West, Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland and many lesser known starlets, often double-dating with his great friend, actor Henry Fonda. “They were a couple of young, tall, good-looking guys on the loose,” says Jimmy Stewart: A Biography author Marc Eliot, who adds that Jimmy was as popular offscreen as he was on. “You can’t manufacture or learn likability, but Jimmy had it. And it took him everywhere.”
In 1939, the actor joined the A-list by starring in Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In 1941, he won a Best Actor Oscar — beating out Laurence Olivier — for The Philadelphia Story. Pennsylvania-born Jimmy had it all, but his sense of duty ran deep. Both of his grandfathers fought in the Civil War, and his father served in WWI. With the onset of WWII, Jimmy enlisted with the Army Air Corps and began flying bomb raids over enemy territory.
“During his toughest mission, an anti-aircraft shell detonated under the flight deck of his plane and a two-foot hole was blown out between his legs,” reveals Matzen. “He was looking straight down at Germany and they had to fly that plane four hours back to base with only three engines.”
Upon his return to civilian life, the Winchester ’73 actor was no longer the happy-go-lucky man of his youth. Troubled by nightmares, he sought refuge in his faith. “When he needed strength, help and comfort, he would pray and go to church,” says daughter Kelly. Because of his beliefs, Jimmy was drawn to the It’s a Wonderful Life script for its air of melancholy as well as its heartwarming message of love.
“I filmed a long scene with him, sitting on his lap, putting tinsel in his hair. He was a very nice man,” Jimmy Hawkins, who played his son Tommy, tells Closer. Karolyn Grimes, a.k.a. little Zuzu, adds that it was obvious that Jimmy loved children. “He was just a gentle, kind soul. He never lost his temper. Once time I missed a line and he told me, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll get it right next time.’ And sure enough, I did.”
Perhaps playing a family man in It’s a Wonderful Life got Jimmy thinking about his future. “He started to date around again, but he didn’t enjoy it as much as he used to,” explains Matzen. In 1947, he met his wife-to-be, Gloria McLean, at a Christmas party. “She was not pretentious and was a really good sport,” recalls their daughter Kelly. “She had an incredible sense of humor and was really beautiful.”
Jimmy continued to make movies, but Kelly and his three other children, Michael Stewart, 73, Judy Stewart-Merrill, 69, and late son Ronald McLean, became the center of his life. “Gloria and the children continue to bring me enormous pleasure,” he once gushed in a 1985 interview. “On the whole, it’s been a darn wonderful life.”
Looking for team players. Moderators wanted. Looking for one or two moderators. For one channel or all three. This channel here is non political. Fun stuff, music, food, and everyday feel good stories. No religion. News with Analysis and Looking at Today’s world are a mixture all that Koda has. But they have politics and no religion.
If you want to write articles, that’s fine also. Just drop me a line at the e-mail below.
German Christmas stollen. “Dresden is famous for her stollen—long loaves of sweetened bread with raisins and almonds galore; the rolled-up shape is supposed to represent the Holy Infant in its swaddling clothes,” notes a 1915 issue of Table Talk magazine (“the American authority upon culinary topics and fashions of the table”).
Slowly add in milk and continue to beat until smooth. Place dough in a large, clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for approx. 1 h.
Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F. Set aside approx. one quarter of the dough. Combine remaining dough with almond slivers, candied orange and lemon peel, and raisins. Continue to knead until well combined.
Place fruit dough onto the lower third of the oval and roll up. Tuck in overlapping sides. Transfer to a lined baking tray seam side down. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/355°F for approx. 40 min. until golden. Leave to cool for approx. 10 min. Before serving, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Still have left over Turkey? Turkey Soup. If like our family, you can only eat so many Turkey sandwiches. But a Turkey soup? Now that’s something. Trust me and use the chicken broth instead of Turkey stock. I have to go now, I need to shovel some snow then sit down and have a bowl of Turkey Soup.
The perfect meal to use up all that leftover turkey from the holidays! Packed with fresh veggies, herbs and noodles, this leftover turkey soup recipe is super filling and comforting!
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-heat. Add the carrots, celery and onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until onions are soft.
Add the water and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10minutes.
Next add the noodles, turkey, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder and bring to a boil. Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Every turkey is seasoned differently, so add salt accordingly. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Notes
You can also use leftover chicken for this recipe too. Tastes just as yummy!
This soup will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days if stored in an airtight container.
To freeze: Make the recipe without the noodles and store in an airtight container in the freezer. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator over night. Cook the noodles in a separate pot while you warm the soup. Once noodles are cooked, add to soup and enjoy.
Cyber Monday. Come and get it. Please follow the links after the article here. For the foreseeable future, all earnings go back into bringing better articles for all those who visit.
Songs about Winter. Let’s do songs about winter time or cold weather. We here in NE Ohio are looking for our first major falling of snow. You can also do songs about the snow if you wish.
You still have time to Black Friday shop. That’s right my friends. Now if you want to shop from the comforts of home, just go to the bottom of this page and check out the awesome deals.
You can follow the links to the home page and log into your account or create your account. I made some awesome purchases yesterday. if you don’t believe me, go look for yourself and see the awesome deals.
Great news. Major companies restored. More to come. I’m proud to announce that our affiliate program has been restored. You will see them on the bottom of the page. We erred when we put their links and logo’s in the article. That has been fixed. So if you will be doing online shopping, please visit our advertisers below the article.
