Yes… I had “two side dishes” for our family Christmas meal. So my second offering was a casserole dish full of baked beans… my step-Grandma Rose’s recipe! Yum… and I’m glad there were a few leftovers for my lunch today!!!

So typically I’m the “dessert guy” at my family holiday gatherings. But this year my sister Jen mixed it up and I became the “two side dish” guy. New culinary terrain for me to tackle. As our family meals are frequently a bit “beige”… I decided to go with a colorful & loaded kale salad! Full of yumminess like grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes & brussel sprouts, wild rice, apples, goat cheese & nuts!

Looks like it went over well with my family… healthy & beautiful in a handmade pottery bowl!!!

Prepping in the kitchen for our Christmas meal… thinking these will go into a nice salad?! And then maybe back into the same serving bowl when it’s ready to go?! I mean, we all know that homemade food tastes even better in handmade pottery!

Looks like Kristy is enjoying a little Sundae Sunday in a cute little purple bowl. Cute, yes…but my question is “why so small?” That just looks like a “starter-sundae” to me… MORE IS MORE!

Thanks to everyone who came to my place for a little holiday shopping today! I figured I would make one of my Mom’s favorite treats… Pumpkin Squares with Cream Cheese Frosting. She made them few times for my holiday shows, so I thought it would a nice touch to do it again in her honor!!!

Don’t worry… I have another pan of them ready for tomorrow’s shoppers too!!!

Looks like another yummy one… a Peoria Pumpkin Pie!!! Homemade pie in a handmade pie dish… the perfect combo!!! As we know everything tastes better in handmade pottery! Thanks for sharing Kristy!!!

So yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family… and I made the pumpkin pies. It was the first time I have ever “blind baked” the crust first so it would be nice & flaky… no soggy bottoms. Thanks to my friend, former student & baking show winner Martin Sorge, he “coached” me through the process… crust, crimp, chill, poke, line with foil, fill with dry beans, bake, fill & bake again! And it WORKED!!! Yummy pies with nice crispy bottoms! Thanks Martin!!!

So it seems as though I might have a little Christmas Elf wreaking sweet havoc in my world?! It started with some goodies randomly appearing on my Teacher Shelf at Lillstreet. And then more sweet treats appeared at my condo this weekend!!! You know I love a good OREO & a good Scavenger Hunt. I’m not quite sure who the Elf is… but they obviously know me too well… and I’ve narrowed it down to two Elfish suspects!!!

While this is the last week of classes at Lillstreet, both of my classes celebrated with a fun potluck. Monday we did a Thanksgiving theme… but sadly, this one didn’t make it to the party?! Apparently it didn’t turn out quite right??? So Kristen’s “Pecan Pie Upside-Down Cake” may have been a little too much down?… and not enough upside???

I said I would have still eaten it. Looks good to me!!!

I’ve always said that I have the best students! But when these two boxes of yumminess showed up in class last night… let me just say, “Nick is my favorite student ever!” My own custom OREO’s … how cool, how thoughtful!!!

Okay, so maybe favorite EVER is a stretch?! So let’s just say favorite student this session?… favorite this week?… well at least favorite last night!!! Either way… NICK, YOU ROCKED IT!!! Thank you, thank you!!!