Tonight is our kick-off for Advent, and out comes the Advent candle wreath with the four candles, one for each week until Christmas. It is also the night that I hand out the Christmas jammies to the grandkids. I know some of you save those for Christmas Eve, but my philosophy is to let them wear them for the month of Advent, so they can get nice and worn in and out for Christmas Eve. If I hit the sizes right, they’ll be wearing them till Easter!

But what about dinner? Who wants to cook a big meal two days after Thanksgiving? Who wants to eat a big meal two days after Thanksgiving? But it is Lizzy’s birthday as well as our first Sabbath in Advent. However, since she has always been a very flexible girl, she doesn’t mind something easy, so we are having sub sandwiches to celebrate her birthday and the first Sabbath of Advent.  Think paper plates (festive red plastic ones) and the bright green Christmas oilcloth (with poinsettias all over it) to cover the table. Goodbye acorns and fall colors and hello red!

The idea with the Advent candle wreath is to light one candle tonight and let it burn through the whole celebration. Then next week I light that one first and then light the second one for week two, and so forth for four weeks. Then Christmas Day we light one in the middle.

Next week I’ll hand out the ornaments to each of the grandkids, and the following week….hmmmm….I haven’t gotten that far!

But a Merry Advent to you all! And Happy Birthday, Lizzy!

We are plum into Spring today, and we are having a lovely sunny day today in celebration of the fact. We are also going to grill some London broil for Sabbath dinner, which means it’s a very simple meal for me.  I had this at a friend’s house years ago, and it is still one of our favorites, so I feel I should pass on the favor. The marinade is what makes this so delish.

I am pretty sure I overachieved on the poundage of London broil I bought, but it’s always hard to gauge because I have big beef-eaters at my house. But the recipe calls for 3 pounds. If you use more, you really don’t need to double up the marinade. Anyway, here’s the scoop: Score the meat diagonally, both directions and rub it down with some dried thyme. Then mix up your marinade: 1 cup dry red wine, 1/2 cup worchestershire sauce, 1/4 cup soy sauce. Simple!  (I cannot resist throwing in a little chopped garlic at this point.) Then let your meat soak it up overnight in the fridge (a ziplock works great, but set it in a dish in case of leakage). If you don’t have that Read More

This past Saturday night for our Sabbath Dinner, I was looking for something simple (coming right on the heels of the Winter Feast the night before). So I turned to what has become one of my favorite cookbooks (right behind Hot Providence). It’s called Perfect Recipes for Having People Over by Pam Anderson.

It is organized in a simple, helpful fashion, with tips on what beverages or side dishes to serve with the main dish (with the recipes for them), how far ahead to make it, what to do with the leftovers, and when to serve it. For example, a few weeks ago I made her recipe for a very simple stew, and it was delicious. Not your average stew at all, and it only bakes for an hour and fifteen minutes (at 450 degrees). Earlier this winter, I Read More

Tonight is the first Sabbath Feast of Advent, and coming hard on the heels of Thanksgiving, it is hard to think of cooking much. So we are having a spiral-cut ham which simply requires heating, and a large vat of homemade mac and cheese. We will light the Advent candle and I will give the children their Advent calendars (one per family, not one per child), and we will rejoice together at the coming of Christmas.

Today is also the twins’ second birthday, so it is a triple celebration: Sabbath, Advent, and birthday. This is another reason for the kid-friendly menu. Expect pictures of the cupcake extravaganza, and Happy Advent to you all!

Due to the request to see an actual picture of my baron of beef,  Bekah took some random photos of last night’s Sabbath dinner and put them into a slide show for you. (View them here.) We are particularly fond of the one of Daphne with the ladle on her head, and the sequence of Chloe on the clean up. Hope you enjoy!

One of the things my dad loves to do is cook a large piece of meat, and I have called him more than once for tips on how he does it. When we would all gather at the lake for a family reunion, a baron of beef was usually on the menu, and the leftovers are perfect for french dip sandwiches.

So when round steak goes on sale, I try to get the butcher to cut me a baron. Now the definition of a baron is sketchy, so some butchers look at me blankly when I ask for a baron, and some knowingly nod and say they’ll be right back. I have a thirteen-pound baron which will make a public appearance on our Sabbath table tonight. And it’s the easiest thing in the world to roast, which explains why I love to prepare it. On top of that, it makes the house smell wonderful, and all my family will say happy things when they see Read More