I am here.

Barbados is fantastic so far.  Yesterday we took a catamaran cruise and swam with giant sea turtles, tonight we're going to the Oistins fish fry, and tomorrow is Mark and Rebekah's wedding!  In between, I'm slathering on sunscreen, zipping through novels, and trying to moderate my rum intake - difficult when happy hour is three times a day (really!).

Don't have a lot of time or inclination here to do a proper write-up, but I promise it'll be forthcoming once I'm back in a place where the weather isn't quite so inviting...

Adliswil Christmas Market

Every year our town hosts a lovely little Christmas market on the main square. After we had gotten the house back in order on Sunday following our Thanksgiving feast, Matt and I headed into town to check it out.  I meant to post these last week, but as usual, life just got in the way!

Natural wood decorations are very popular here.  I particularly like the cozy gift box in the lower left corner - some tinder and kindling to start a fire to warm your hands, and a bottle of wine to warm your insides while you enjoy the crackling flames. Perfect for a winter's night; now if I only had a fireplace...



After all that cleaning, we were ravenously hungry, so nearly our first stop at market was to get a belly-warming Käseschnitte Spezial - a slice of bread topped ham and pineapple, covered in melted fondue cheese and sprinkled with paprika. 



With full bellies, we continued our shopping and browsing...



...and climbed to the top floor of a public building to get a good view of the town and main bridge crossing the Sihl river.   It looks rather grey in this pictures, but so beautiful at night with all the trees and houses lit up in the traditional white lights!



Back home, we lit the candle on our Christmas wreath and took a long and well-deserved nap!

Thanksgiving Table Roundup

We threw our annual Thanksgiving potluck bash on Saturday evening, and truth be told, I cooked my little butt off.  I made six different things in a 24-hour period without any excessive stress or panic, and I must say that I'm really proud of that.  All that time I spend in the kitchen seems to be paying off - I'm much better than I used to be at preparing multiple things at once, cleaning as I go, doing what I can in advance, and generally finding my way around all sorts of recipes.   It's a good feeling.

So, with the pat on the back out of the way, on to the food! 


White Bean Dip with Mint and Cumin from Donna Hay - Flavors


Spinach and Sundried Tomato Pinwheels, made with leftover homemade puff pastry.


Sweet Potato Stuffing with Bacon, Thyme, and Peaches, adapted from a recipe in
Bon Appétit, November 2009.


The turkey, naturally!  My first roast turkey ever, using this recipe recommended by my friend Cathleen.


Triple Ginger Cookies, from Bon Appétit magazine, December 2009. 


And finally, this beautiful Maple Nutmeg Cream Pie, which is basically a densely flavored custard baked into a tart shell, shining like a small sun on the dessert table.   Not surprisingly for a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, this dessert was a hit and prompted one creme brulée lover to proclaim it on his list of Top 10 desserts, ever.

The contributions from our guests were just as varied and delicious, from sweet potato-plantain-apple mash to grilled aubergines to pineapple casserole to chocolate fudge cake with raspberry sauce. It was quite the fantastic spread, and with 50 people helping themselves to seconds and thirds, we didn't end up with many leftovers at all!   Most of the table pictures didn't come out well due to the low light and necessity of the unflattering flash, but here is kind of a funky one of some of our guests.  I like how Keith is in focus and everyone else is in action around him. 



Hope your Thanksgiving, if you celebrated, was equally fun and delicious!