Working backwards, with the happiest news, our fourth grand daughter, Chloe, was born just before Thanksgiving;).
My favorite kind of selfie:
Tommy, Camille, and their close friend Sophie were here for Thanksgiving and we just loved having them here -
Leading up to all that and in no particular order - lots of kitchen time - a stash of granola to freeze for the weeks ahead -
We went to California for my niece Megan's wedding - here at the rehearsal dinner the night before - Megan, me, my step-Mom Denise:
They have moved to the "east bay" outside of San Francisco -
I had the walls painted SW Silvermist. Custom medicine cabinets in natural cherry -
Busy weeks, tip toeing around the bathroom renovation.
A couple of concerts thrown into the mix - Vampire Weekend at the urging of Tommy - and we loved it -
And Lake Street Dive - honestly, such a great band - warm up band was Tiny Habits, so good too.
Pizza weekend with our nephew Joey and his friend Paul -
Sophie Gee's Sticky Toffee Pudding 2024
Sophie - Madame Superstar! - is Camille's bestie and she joined us for Thanksgiving this year. The night before she left, Sophie made us her favorite dessert. We devoured it! Soooo good. Her mom got this recipe while living in England years ago.
Pudding:
1 C water
3/4 C chopped dates
2 tsp baking soda
4 T butter
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9" square pan.
In a saucepan, bring the water and chopped dates to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the baking soda and set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one by one, beating after each one.
Gently fold in flour and salt, then stir in the dates and vanilla.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes, until cake is done. The cake will be very dark.
SAUCE:
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C heavy cream
4 T butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Keep warm.
Serve the warm cake over a bed of the warm sauce, and topped with whipped cream. YUM.