Upcoming Cooking Classes

German Santa Breads

Stay tuned for January and Febuary Cooking Classes

Meanwhile, head down to the Nov. 7 post for information on this December class and open house:

Wednesday, December 7th, 6:00-9:00pm $45  
Hide N' Bake: Special  Holiday Refrigerator Cookies and Savory Crackers  

A Jiggly Wiggly Thanksgiving

This year, Wayne and I traveled to Richmond, VA for the family gathering and feast. And speaking of feast, sometimes you just have to start with dessert first. I made a couple lovely candy roaster pies with a bittersweet chocolate ganache under the pumpkin custard. And that was all fine and dandy.

I had to make those pumpkin pies because I always make the pumpkin pies, and my sister Laura usually makes her beautiful and delicious black walnut cake. But this year, she didn't make her cake because we were expecting a special guest dessert. This year, my dad's friend, David, was coming to the Thanksgiving feast and bringing something that took 6 hours to make.

That's David on the left and my dad, Leon, on the right in one of their usual deep conversations.
What dessert could take 6 hours to make? I'll tell you what. This is what.

I've done a lot of makin' fun of Jell-O in my days, and the book that contains my anti-wiggly foods rant is even in the Jell-O museum. But those days are over because this was the most entertaining dessert I ever ate. Ever. Twelve separate glistening jiggly layers of fun. And if anybody wants the recipe, you can ask me to post it, because it's rather long. But I guarantee that if you make 12-layer Jell-O for your friends, you will be the life of the party. The making of this dessert is an act of LOVE!

 For example, several of the well-fed cousins, expressing ... uhh ... something. Yea Thanksgiving!

Fall Cooking Classes

To Register for Classes: 

Contact Barbara at logcabincooking@gmail.com

Class size limited to 10, so don't delay!

We are located 5 miles east of Asheville in Haw Creek

Locally grown heirloom pumpkins

Aunt Barb's Thanksgiving Pies    

Wednesday, November 16, 6:00-9:00 $10

This one is an "Aunt Barb" class, meaning that it's informal, in my own kitchen next door to the teaching cabin, and affordably intended for the young-ish (between 21 and 40 or so). But anyone who wants to learn to make a pie for Thanksgiving is welcome! The fee covers ingredient costs. I'll serve some seasonal snacks when you arrive, and if you'd like to bring beer or wine to share, you'd be very popular. We'll start off making a flaky butter pie crust and then we'll craft two totally-from-scratch pies: Bourbon pecan and heirloom candy roaster pumpkin pie.
Then we will eat our pies. Oh boy!

Candy Roaster Pumpkin Pie

Hide N' Bake: Special  Holiday Refrigerator Cookies and Savory Crackers

Wednesday, December 7th, 6:00-9:00pm $45 

"Spumoni" Chocolate, cherry, pistachio cookie dough

  
     For some of us, hiding the cookie and cracker dough in the freezer is like “out of sight, out of mind.” For others of us ….well, raw dough is a treat all by itself. Hey, this is a class for all of us! We’ll make a bunch of festive cookie and cracker doughs that can be frozen into logs or portions and baked off in small batches for you or popped in the oven as needed for holiday parties, visiting or gift-giving. (A selection of unbaked cookie dough logs also makes a great gift!) 
     Cookies include a variety of  pinwheels (date walnut, orange cranberry, and chocolate/mocha), vanilla/chocolate checkerboards, dried cherry walnut layered cookies, buttery sugar cookies that can scream “decorate me!”, lemon cornmeal, paperthin gingersnaps (you can eat a LOT of these), sesame whole grain crackers and the favorite of all the men I know…Aunt Mary’s crunchy spicy cheese things. We’ll sample our wares in class and participants will leave with a variety of cookie dough logs for freezer or tummy. Many ingredients such as sorghum syrup, cornmeal, and eggs will be sourced from the Asheville area. We’ll have prosecco and healthy appetizers to start, but it’s cookies for dinner. All levels welcome.

Log Cabin Cooking & Native Ground Music Open House Holiday Sale 

Saturday, December 10th 1:00-5:00pm

Shop local for the holidays in Haw Creek! I'll have my 10 cookbooks for sale and hubby, Wayne Erbsen has a bazillion old-time and bluegrass music instruction, civil war, railroad, etc. books all at a 10 % discount. There will be a live music jam, kitchen gift making demos, raffle door-prizes, hearth-side old-time food and beverages from my cookbooks. Bring the whole family! I'll post directions in December.

Saved from the stew-pot: The perky carrot family ...

I want to be more well-behaved. Really, I do.

But when I pulled these carrots up, I just knew they were, er .... special. They looked so innocent, buried in the dirt with their green furry fronds poking up so nice and vegetable-like. But it looks to me like they've been havin' some fun down in the nether-regions of my fall garden. I'm thinking seriously of leaving the rest of their buddies in the ground so I don't have to buy any carrot seeds next year!

I put them back out in the garden, it's where they belong. Don't let the kids see this picture, or you'll have some 'splainin to do! I'll make the photo little.
(I swear this is how they came out of the ground!)