Memorial Day

Our usual family barbecue grew by leaps and bounds this year until we ended up with a guest list of seventeen wonderful friends and family getting together for a casual Memorial Day lunch. The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind of cleaning, cooking, and decorating. I pulled out all my WWII memorabilia for a quick and easy theme along with a CD of period music and old wartime Disney cartoons for the kids to watch during the meal.

Target provided the great picnic utensils and food baskets.

My husband barbecued hot dogs and bratwurst, and everyone contributed side dishes.

The dessert table was by far the biggest hit of the day, featuring a make-your-own-brownie-sundae bar. My mom made her famous homemade chocolate sauce, and because I love you all, I'm sharing the recipe here with you. It's a snap to make and tastes absolutely divine.

Easy Chocolate Fudge Sauce

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 can of evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the sugar and cocoa in a saucepan. Use a whisk to stir in the milk and add the butter. Bring to boil over medium heat. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will be -- just be sure to keep stirring so it doesn't burn! Reduce the heat. Cook and stir for one more minute until the mixture is slightly thick. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, cool slightly, and serve. To reheat, just place the saucepan back on the stove and return the mixture to a boil again, stirring until smooth.

Happy Memorial Day to all of you!

Delicious

Christmas was a perfectly lovely day for us yesterday, and I hope it was the same for all of you. I haven't had the chance to link up with Debbie's Tuesdays at the Table this month, so I figured that I'd better get this post written while I had the chance. Some of my all time favorite cookies are the simple but delicious Rich Roll Cookies from The Joy of Cooking. I always roll them out a bit thicker than the recipe calls for -- half an inch instead of a quarter. Rather than mess around with cookie cutters, I usually just pile the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll it into a log, refrigerate it for ten minutes, and then slice and bake. The large amount of butter involved makes them taste almost like shortbread. We usually top them with buttercream icing and sprinkles for a fun treat -- my family loves them this way.

I always bake a huge batch every Christmas, drizzle them with melted dark and white chocolate, and then sprinkle chopped Heath bar pieces all over them. Once they are cooled and packaged in cute holiday bowls or plates from Target, they make a perfect gift for friends and neighbors.

Have a sweet afternoon!

Linking up with Tuesdays at the Table.