One of my great coups of Thanksgiving had to be this pie. I'd read about it in the New York Times several weeks ago, where it listed some ingredients in passing, but no recipe. I was totally intrigued and just had to give it a whirl.  After all, what's the worst thing that could happen?  A big fail, that's what, but, given that enough food to feed a small army was already prepared, I decided that even if it didn't work, no one was going to starve, so "what th' ?" as Mark Trail would say. I thawed one of my trusty no-fail dough balls that I've written about in a previous post, assembled my ingredients and let 'er rip.  What a wild success and a new addition to not just the Thanksgiving repertoire, but really, a new favorite apple pie.  I know the ingredients are a bit wacky, but give it a try anyway.   Salt and pepper aren't just for entrees anymore.

Just like your house, things are in a cooking frenzy here in preparation for the big day.  Felix returned home from college yesterday and I wanted to make something special for dessert that would be a foreshadowing of the delights to come, without stealing the thunder of the actual day.

In conversation with my sister, I remembered this old favorite which completely fit the bill.  I think it would be great for Thanksgiving too, as a matter of fact, but I'm obsessed with creating a salted caramel apple pie for tomorrow.  If that's a disaster, at least I'll have most of this in the kitchen and I can always dish it out in there, can't I?  What they don't know won't hurt 'em.

Today's dawn broke bright and happy around here in the shape of a cozy breakfast with our friends Chris and Lilla who were visiting from The Plains.  We had such a festive reunion after running into them last week in Charlottesville, and putting the wheels in motion for our long-overdue "hanging-out" visit which came to fruition yesterday.   We laughed, we reminisced, we ate, we looked at art, we had dinner with their wonderfulmusician-daughter and even went out dancing last night, like the raucous young things we were -- longer ago now than I care to remember.  We reminisced lots about eating (even about specific meals, like Chris' dreamy hazelnut pancakes that have been lurking in my heart for more than 30 years), and I was happily reminded of the ease with which one can pick right back up with good old friends, even when your separation has inadvertently been entirely too long.

Anyone who has spent any significant time with me knows that I am a big proponent of afternoon tea.  I guess it's my English mother and my years living in England, but every afternoon, at around 4, should you happen by, you will be undoubtably be offered a cup of tea.  I'm mad for just the right thing to go with that tea and am always on the prowl for good candidates.

Last week while I was on my apple brown Betty quest, I was perusing my beloved Richard Sax cookbook, "Classic Home Desserts" and stumbled upon this incredible recipe for "Grasmere Gingerbread" aka oatmeal shortbread squares.  I knew, just by reading it, that I was going to love it, and sure enough, they're possibly the quintessential afternoon tea dainty. At least this afternoon they surely are.