Chutney and Cheese Stuffed Dates | Friday Night Bites

Happy Thanksgiving Day Everyone!  What a special day in our country’s history.  It is a day where we gather together with our family and friends to reflect on what we are thankful for along with enjoying great food, laughs and restful moments.  Hubby and I head to my parents house for a day of food, fun, and laughs with my family.  As you can imagine there is an abundance of food. 

It is a day to see my sister, brother in law, brother, sister in law and my four adorable nephews and my lovely parents.  My parents just remodeled their kitchen and it should be fun to cook the turkey and sides in the newly updated kitchen. It just got finalized last week and I had a sneak peak last weekend. It is simply stunning and makes me want to remodel my own kitchen, yet it really doesn’t need it – perhaps in a few years. Smile. Believe it or not, I have never cooked a turkey.  I know – “shut the front door”!  It is probably time for me to take the plunge.  I look at the turkey roasting task as being simply a roasted chicken on steroids.  Smile.

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Mushroom Pizzettas with Reduced Balsamic | Friday Night Bites

Over the last couple days we FINALLY had our first real rain storm of the season.  The Bay Area has been extremely starved for rain and now we hopefully have the start of a good rainy season to prevent a drought come summer.  It is a funny thing, once it rains people forgot all the things they have learned about driving.  It is like they have driving amnesia. There are more accidents along with more bad drivers – it just amazes me while I commute to work each day.  Perhaps after this first rain, folks will adjust.  Smile.

With rain, the air is crisp and fresh smelling along with the hills begin to blossom with green foliage versus the dry brown landscape – that is a welcomed sight.  It is time to pull out the various boots for winter and put away my beloved sandals, unless the weather becomes mild enough, which we do have even in the winter months.  The nights have been quite chilly as of late and our fire place, albeit gas, has been on every night.  I am beginning to settle into the fact that fall and soon winter is here.  Oh and not too mention the holidays are quickly approaching. Are you enjoying the fall season?

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Chocolate Chip, Pecan and Coconut Brittle Cookie | Secret Recipe Club

This is my last Secret Recipe Club post for 2013.  How did the year whirl by so quickly?  It is almost unfathomable, huh?  In any event, the group I am in will reconvene in January and I am excited to see who I will be assigned to.  This month I was matched with Denise from Creative Kitchen Adventures.  If you feel out of the loop and want to learn more about Secret Recipe Club and how to join in on the fun, simply click here to learn more.

In the meantime, I enjoyed browsing through Denise’s food blog and learning more about her.  She met her hubby while they were both in the Navy and is now a Mom to three wonderful daughters.  She lives in suburbia but enjoys the outdoors and the beauty of nature.  She enjoys cooking, baking, travel, bike riding, blogging and reading along with spending time with her family and friends. She began her food blog a few years ago after discovering the joy of browsing and commenting on the vast beautiful food blogs in the blogosphere.

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Spicy Goldfish Crackers | Friday Night Bites

Don’t you just love the “easy breezy” appetizers?  I certainly do.  Lately I have been snacking on those little golden nuggets that we have all grown to love – the iconic “gold fish” crackers.  They are portable, tasty and extremely satisfying.  On the way home from work one evening, I was contemplating my next Friday Night Bite and then it came to me.  I love those gold fish, so why not elevate them to the next level. 

I had the general concept in my head, just needed to put together the right combination of flavors.  Digging through my pantry, I stumbled upon a packet of Good Seasonings Zesty Italian Salad Dressing mix and that would become the base for this quick snack.  The result was a delicious and straightforward treat.  The recipe makes quite a generous amount, so I brought some to my office and saved the rest for hubby and me to snack on.

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Roasted Red Pepper & Manchego Pinwheels | Friday Night Bites

It has been quite chilly in the Bay Area the last week.  Our fire place is running each night and the warm fuzzy blankets are out in full force when hubby and I watch our favorite shows.  I have eased into the fall season, now I would love to experience a stormy evening.  I am sure it is coming soon enough.

In the meantime, we need to take the patio furniture cushions to the garage for storage during the winter, especially since I believe rain may be on its way soon.  It is just too chilly to sit outside – not too mention it is dark at 5:30pm.  I just have to remind myself that as quickly as the fall season arrived, that spring and summer will be here before you know it. How quickly time passes us by.

One of the small joys in life for me is entertaining.  The planning, the preparation and the actual dinner party just make me smile from ear to ear.  Luckily for me, I have a dinner party on the calendar for this Saturday.  My menu is set – yeah.  Everything is else will be done on Friday and Saturday.  If you follow me on Instagram, I’ll be sure to post some pics to share with all of you. 

In the meantime, it is time for Friday Night Bites.  I have a roll of these Roasted Red Pepper and Manchego Pinwheels in the freezer all ready to heat up this Friday.  I previewed a few with hubby on Sunday and he LOVED them.  Projecting to Friday, we will open a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and devour these little delights.  I can’t wait ….. big smile!

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Cinnamon Coconut Bread

Okay if you are like me, you love bread.  Say it – I LOVE BREAD!  Did you actually say it – if you did, I am giving you a virtual high five. How many bread lovers are out there?  Probably millions, right?  If you love bread, stand up and be counted.  Hands down, give me bread over a cookie any day and I am so happy.

I have to admit that I am not one of those artisan bread bakers.  In fact, it is on my bucket list to make that perfect loaf of bread that one might think I purchased from the bakery versus me actually making it.  Perhaps even mastering the art of bread making to where a master baker would have a hard time identifying in a “bread line up” behind a that one way mirror.  I can dream at this point, but will accomplish this goal of mastering the art of bread making.

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