Pie in the Sky – Heavenly Lemon Meringue

~:: Flour Arrangements ::~

During a recent kids’ soccer game, my friend Laurie mentioned that she was making a lemon meringue pie for a catering event that evening.   Instantly, I began obsessing as I described to her an amazing version that I hadn’t made in years.  I vaguely recalled it as a somewhat unconventional recipe;  one that used brown sugar rather than white and involved heating the egg white mixture before spreading it onto the pie.

What I remembered distinctly was how impressive the pie looked — something about precooking the egg and sugar allows you to get some serious height on the meringue.  And as far as taste,  I’m pretty sure I always licked the filling bowl whenever I made it.

At the end of the soccer game, Laurie left the field to go bake her pie;  I left on a mission to track down my coveted recipe with the hope of making it again as soon as I possibly could.

ABOUT SUZANNE:  Suzanne focuses on food as centerpiece for both everyday routines and special occasions. Each recipe featured on Flour Arrangements, from simple loaves of bread to fondant decorated birthday cakes, comes with a story that blends life with cooking. You can find Suzanne on Facebook.

Butternut Squash Crostini

~:: Home Skillet Cooking ::~

The poor appetizers. Everyone fawns over the roasted turkey and the mashed potatoes and the gravy… and the parker house rolls… and the cranberry sauce… and the pumpkin pies. There isn’t a lot of love given to the starters and appetizers though, our dear friends that keep our appetites at bay while the rest of the Thanksgiving meal comes together. So, we put together these crostini to nibble on while we make the feast. We topped our toasts with butternut squash puree, sliced carrots, arugula, toasted walnuts, chopped rosemary, and a brush of maple syrup and orange juice. Yay for appetizers!

ABOUT SETH AND JENN: When not animating computer generated characters, or playing video games, Seth can be found obsessing over food.  When Jenn is not chasing around our toddler, or reading, she too can be found obsessing over food (and chapstick).  Over the last few years, our joint passion for food has taken on a life of its own and manifested itself as the blog, Home Skillet. We have no culinary training, but we spend most of our free time reading cookbooks and magazines and experimenting in the kitchen.  Seth works as a character animator in the video games industry, while Jenn has a master’s degree in Science and Technology Studies, and is now a stay-at-home mom to a toddler and two cats.

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Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte

~:: Farmgirl Gourmet ::~

Being a food blogger here at farmgirlgourmet.com is a fun, rewarding and delicious job. We rarely eat the same meal twice around our house. With that said, there are those rare recipes that you just can’t help but make over and over again. Well, this Pumpkin Spiced Latte is just that! It is so easy and doesn’t require starting your car and driving across town to the green colored coffee stand – where you will no doubt, drop $5 or more for a latte.

 

 

 

ABOUT HEATHER: Heather is the author of the food blog Farmgirl Gourmet.  An avid home cook, amateur photographer and organic gardener.  She lives in Spokane County, Washington where she develops family friendly recipes from her 100 year old kitchen.  Follow along at www.farmgirlgourmet.com

Follow Heather on: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+

Common Kitchen Measurements “Cheat Sheet” {Printable} . . . Just In Time For Holiday Cooking!

~:: One Good Thing by Jillee ::~

I have been wanting to make something like this to hang up in my kitchen for a long time! I don’t know why…but I can never remember how many teaspoons in a tablespoon and how many tablespoons in a cup, etc.

Yesterday I was working on a cooking post that required me to make several changes to the recipe amounts. I kept having to go to my phone and double-check on the measurements. I became so annoyed by the situation that last night I decided if I was ever going to make it through the holiday cooking and baking season with my insanity intact then I’d better come up with something helpful I could hang in my kitchen.

 

 

ABOUT JILL: Jill Nystul is the creative force behind One Good Thing By Jillee. She started the website in June of 2011 and has enjoyed a meteoric rise in readership since that time. She attributes this success to savvy readers that desire to enrich their lives while recognizing the need to conserve time, money and resources. Her background in broadcast journalism and television talk show production have proved to be the perfect compliment for her blogging career and website mantra: “Sorting through the beautiful clutter of life to find that One Good Thing each day and sharing it with you.”

Follow Jillee on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and RSS.

<<< Check out Jillee’s original post for Bonbon Break in last week’s issue. She reflects on her life’s path and the resulting feelings of gratitude for the ups as well as the downs. >>>