Good Dinner Mrs. Mellen

I love Red Velvet cakes, cupcakes, and cheese cake, anything red velvet.  So I said why not take one make these delicious Red Velvet Cookies and top them with a Hershey's kiss.  My Red Velvet Kiss Cookies was born! So good, so festive for your holiday cookie tray.  Did I mention easy too! 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, I like Ghirardelli 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon red food coloring 1 3/4 cup flour In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with a electric mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, vanilla then red food coloring until combined.  Stir in flour mixing until flour is all mixed in and batter is red.  Chill for about 1 hours to make dough is easy to handle. Preheat over to...

Everyone loves Cheesecake!  Instead of a sweet cheesecake I made this savory dish for a book group meeting and it was a big hit.  This cheesecake is extra savory with 10 cloves garlic and fresh herbs. (You can use dried too!)  Oh did I mention tangy feta cheese? Cheesecake savory or sweet is very, very rich so just eat a small slice with this deliciously creamy texture so satisfying.  And you can change up the ingredients very easily to match the season. For Christmas try I'll use sun dried tomatoes or in the summer use sauteed vegetables   Savory Mediterranean Cheese Cake Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare Parmigiana crust. Parmigiana Crust: 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese 1 cup toasted Panko bread crumbs 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted Mix cheese, bread crumbs, rosemary and butter in a small bowl.  Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan.  Ch...

Sometimes you just want to make something that is quick and easy.  Fast to the table but still healthy full of delightful flavors.  My quick and easy Kaleslaw is a family favorite that I can get on the table without any fuss or bother.  What I love about this dish is that you can change it up to fit what you have in your pantry or to your personal taste.  Don't want to use Chinese noodles, then use unsalted, shelled roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.  Want to add snow peas to the blend, go right ahead.  Experiment with different taste and textures.  I like to make this differently each time! Kaleslaw 4 ounces chopped kale, washed and dried 1 package(14 ounce)  classic coleslaw 1 bunched sliced green onions 1/2 cup finely snipped Italian parsley 1 can(15 ounce) Mandarin Oranges, in light syrup, reserve 1/2 cup light syrup 1 can(15.5 ounce) Garbanzos beans, rinsed and drained 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon...

My earliest memories are of my love of Christmas and the Holiday Season. Our family tradition growing up was that while we children sleep, Santa came bringing us our presents piled up under the biggest Christmas tree that I ever saw, we had twenty foot ceilings in our home. After we went to bed our parents would work into the early morning decorating our tree and putting together all our toys so that we awoke to a magical Christmas morning.   As a young child I could not contain my excitement anticipating waking on Christmas morning to the joy that filled our home.  My parents were just as thrilled as we children to share our happiness on that special day.  After opening our presents, having breakfast, we piled into the family car off to visit all our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, finally returning home for a Christmas feast that my mother loving prepared.  Thus started my love of Christmas and Christmas traditions.   Even as I grew older...

Sometimes you just want to shake things up. So tonight instead of a big Sunday dinner I opted for a casual, easy Bistro dinner.  It was so delicious and simple to make I have to add to my list of favorite quick meals. Mussels, cheese plate, steamed artichokes and french bread. Oh I almost forgot Stonewall Kitchen Fig and Ginger Jam. Mussels Two pounds mussels scrubbed and de-bearded,  I love P.E.I mussels, so sweet! 2 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 shallot, chopped 12 rainbow heirloom cherry tomatoes 1tablespoon chopped fresh thyme. 1tabelspoon chopped fresh basil 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano 1/4 cup dry white wine Saute olive oil, garlic and shallot for 5 minutes, don't brown. Add tomatoes and fresh herbs continuing to saute for another five minutes. Add wine,  cook on low for another five minutes.  Add mussels, stir, cover, continue cooking on low for ten minutes until until mussels open. Artichokes 4 sprigs parsl...

How do I start to write about my daughter Mandi's wedding.  One year and a half in the planing plus putting all my heart and soul into creating just the right wedding to fit the couples personality and the venue. The wedding had to be dramatic, classy, fun, young, traditional with a modern flair.  Wow!  A gigantic task but I was more than happy to tackle the project.   First, a little background: Mandi and Dan are two young actors living in LA pursuing their dreams of making it in the entertainment industry. Mandi is beautiful, bright, fun loving, wacky at times, with an iron will that can overcome all obstacles. Dan is handsome, smart, caring, the straight man to Mandi, so focused and supportive of their goals. Their love beautifully glows radiating out into the universe. Mandi and Dan met while attending Boston University with one of their special memories of their early romance attending the BU Ball at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Having their wedding i...

I love to add fall fruits to my holiday stuffing to capture the smells and flavor of the season. My Savory Fruit and Nut stuffing combines apples, pears, and cranberries with toasty pecans.  A wonderful addition to my stuffing favorites. You can either stuff the turkey or bake to serve.  Savory Fruit and Nut  Stuffing 1/4 cup butter 2 cups chopped onions 1/4 cup celery 2 apples 2 pears 1cup fresh cranberries 12 cups dried bread cubes 4 eggs 2/3 cup chicken broth 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh snipped thyme 2 teaspoon dried sage or 2 teaspoons fresh snipped sage 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook about 5 minutes until tender but not browned. Add apples, pears and cranberries; cook for 5 minutes more until apples are tender. Remove from heat. In an extra large bowl toss together onion mixture and bread cubes. Let stand 1...