Pam Anderson's Blog, page 26

Holiday Eats!

We’re taking a little break this week to celebrate, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy a little R&R, but thought I’d post a few photos starting with my Christmas Eve appetizer spread. With mom out of town, I was on my own – but I’m proud to report that I pulled if off

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Perfect Flan

I didn’t think I was a flan person, until I had this one. While I find most recipes to produce a flan that’s gelatinous in texture and wan in flavor, Mom’s recipe uses cream cheese. The result hits the sweet spot that’s somewhere between a flan and a cheesecake with just the right level of

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Grapefruit-Orange Ambrosia

My mom had four sisters and five brothers, and she was the baby of a family. All of her brothers and sisters lived in Alabama, so Mom, Dad and I would always travel there for the big holidays. Back then there was no such thing as drawing names for gifts. Everyone exchanged presents with everyone.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bark

The temptation of sweets is everywhere this time of year, but there are few as dangerous as bark. Unlike a cookie (where someone would notice if you ate half) you can keep breaking bark into smaller and smaller pieces, eating it bit by bit, until you realize you’ve eaten way more than you intended! The

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Quick and Fresh Green Bean “Casserole”

With canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup and canned fried onions it’s hard to compete on time and ease with the classic Green Bean Casserole recipe. My recipe has fresh green beans, mushrooms, and shallots, but the extra time I spent preparing fresh ingredients I made up in cook time. The classic dish

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Holiday Side Dishes

For my latest AARP December column, I gave myself the challenge of updating some of our favorite holiday side dishes like creamed spinach, broccoli-cheese casserole, and green bean casserole. I wanted to lighten these stodgy classics, but not to the point of austerity. I wanted them to still look and taste familiar, just a tad

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A Better Broccoli-Cheese Casserole

Until my Holiday Side Dish experiments, my experience of Broccoli-Cheese Casserole was frozen broccoli–a few drowned florets surrounded by a lot of tough stem—blanketed in a rich, but bland cheese sauce. My first change: flash-steamed broccoli crowns, resulting in vibrant practically stem-free florets. For the cheesy custard I rely on one of my frequent tricks—subbing evaporated

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The Best (and Simplest) Creamed Spinach

Of my Holiday Side Dish trio, I’m most proud of The Best (and Simplest) Creamed Spinach. Several years ago I developed a reduced calorie creamed spinach by substituting a light but highly seasoned white sauce for the heavy cream and butter, and that’s the way I’ve been making it ever since… until recently when Dreamfields

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The Gift of Food and a Harry & David Giveaway (Winner Announced!)

Congratulations to Shelley who has won the Harry and David gift basket. She says, “I love baking with my kids! We love to make plates filled with treats and deliver them to our friends.” Well Shelley, the table has turned. It looks like you’re gonna get some treats delivered to you! When it comes to

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The Gift of Food and a Harry & David Giveaway

When it comes to Christmas presents, our family has always given (and received) the gift of food. When Sharon and I were young and our lives less busy, Mom and Dad would spend weeks planning, shopping, and cooking for our elaborate holiday food baskets. Sharon and I would help assemble them and decorate the cards,

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