HAPPY NEW YEAR IN MY KITCHEN!

Posted in In My Kitchen by

This post is dedicated to Kathy McMorrow, who left us on October 19th


In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from  Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, considering taking part of this fun event. It is chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier. 

Many gifts this time and a few things I bought myself, so let’s start this virtual walk,
shall we?

From our friends Tanya and Jamie…

When they came to visit us, they brought us this amazing honeycomb! It is like honey on steroids, I had never tried it before. Absolutely lovely!

They also gave us a bottle of honey which I used to make London Fog in one of my favorite tea cups… Thank you, TANYA & JAMIE!

From our friends Marijo and Vlad…

They sent us a huge basket of oranges and grapefruit… my beloved husband made this special treat for me every morning until the grapefruits were gone! He is a keeper, but you knew that already…

From my friend Jennifer…

All the way from California, a set of PERFECT kitchen towels, I just adore the border at the bottom, what a cute detail! Thank you, Jennifer!

From our friend Dave…

Most amazingly juicy pears, they were at perfect stage of ripeness when the family visited, and everybody loved them!

From our friends Pat and Bill…

A nice soy candle and a Christmas-y kitchen towel…. We love them!

From our friends Hal and Becky…

A huge box of Leonidas chocolate…. OMG in chocolate form!

From our friends Ines and Ben…

We are addicted to this delicacy from Siena, and they made sure we enjoyed it again this year! THANK YOU! If you’ve never had panforte, you NEED to try some.

From the beautiful Hayden family…

The world’s coolest apron! Thank you so much, the fabric is perfect and wipes clean like a dream (not that I am a messy cook, of course NOT!)

From our friends Keith and Sarah…

The most exquisite Christmas tree ornament… we made sure to place it high, so that the real Dalmatians would not hurt it…

As if all that amazing honey wasn’t enough, Tanya and Jamie sent me a total beauty of a Bundt pan for Christmas!

I intend to put it to use this coming week with a special bake for Friday! Tanya (and Jamie) I don’t even know how to thank you, but Jamie, expect a constant flow of nice puns (wink, wink). It is the MINIMUM I can do!

And now my unexpected special Christmas gift from the best husband in the universe…

MEET HELEN, my new Breville mixer!

I named it Helen, as my friend and virtual mentor Helen Fletcher was the one who got me interested after she wrote this great review about it. I was not sure if I should get it, as I have some KitchenAid attachments that obviously don’t work with that mixer, but Phil splurged and I must say I adore it! Thank you Phil, and thank you Helen!

Moving on… some home improvement stuff

Speaking of a real keeper of a husband! Phil built this set of shelves for the garage and organized all his tools. It is a French cleat system, in which the little things can be moved around freely. Super awesome!

We got a new rug for the kitchen, as a certain puppy damaged the old one pretty badly. Now that she outgrew the chewing phase (fingers crossed), we felt we were ready for the upgrade.

We also got a new rug for the living room, as ours was almost 20 years old and getting really beaten (and chewed by a certain female Dalmatian). Oscar approved the color scheme!

In our kitchen…

Two pretty nice ingredients to play with: Chestnut honey from Italy (I do have a weakness for honey), and Stem ginger from the UK.  Stay tuned for adventures with both.

In our kitchen…

A set of bell shaped cookie cutters. I also have a weak spot for shapes in different sizes. I needed a large bell for a recent project (featured here), and this was the best option.

In our kitchen…

A new turkey-size roaster. Ours was super old, and I wanted to make sure we had something nice for this year. Guess what? We ended up roasting NO bird at Thanksgiving and NO bird on Christmas. Oh, well. There is always 2024.

AND NOW, LET’S SEE WHAT OUR FURRY FRIENDS HAVE TO BARK…

We simply cannot get over the funny ways in which Ziggy Star Barker sleeps or gets comfortable…


Funny, who me????

Hey, I can be funny too!

Yeah, let them be funny. I am FIERCE. POWERFUL. 
THE ONE AND ONLY ALPHA-DOG!

The dogs were absolutely spoiled this holiday season, as we had two of the stepsons here with the kids (and one bun in the oven, to be born on March). 

Here is our crowd at dinner, our house had never been so full!

.

Did the pups love their visit? Judge for yourself….

Hi, this is my friend Campbell! Guess what? He was a little scared of doggies, but I made sure to be super nice and gentle so that fear is now history! We are buddies for life!

Hi, my name is Sutton, and this is my big furry friend Oscar… he loves to be hugged and even though I am a little too small I do my best!

This is our friend Star, she loves to cuddle on the sofa to watch TV. She had a blast with The Grinch Who Stole Christmas…

Prince is actually partial to 101 Dalmatians…

My name is Greenlee, and Prince is my best buddy, he does tricks for me and I give him treats. Is that going to spoil him? I hope so!

All pups were absolutely gentle with the kids, in this picture Sutton was crying and Star did not know what to do to console her… it was super sweet….

Unfortunately, contrary to our pups’ expectations, their visit had to end…

.

.

But what matters is that we had a ton of fun together. Undoubtedly, dogs and kids are a match made in heaven… We wish you a wonderful New Year, and we will see you again in the Spring for another chapter of In My Kitchen, aka Life in the Kingdom of Tatarrax.

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, January 2023

TWO YEARS AGO: Happy New Year in My Kitchen!

THREE YEARS AGO: Happy New Year in My Kitchen!

FOUR YEARS AGO: Happy 2020 In My Kitchen!

FIVE YEARS AGO: Happy 2019 In My Kitchen!

SIX YEARS AGO: Happy New Year In My Kitchen!

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Happy New Year In My Kitchen!

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen: Happy New Year!

NINE YEARS AGO: And another year starts…

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen: January 2014

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Tacos with Pork in Green Sauce

TWELVE YEARS AGO:  Maui New Year!

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Natural Beauty

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Sunflower Seed Rye

33 thoughts on “HAPPY NEW YEAR IN MY KITCHEN!”

  2. Have laughed out loud and trickled a tear . . . one cannot surpass kids or animals, can one? Thank you, Sally, for sharing your wondrous Christmas of family togetherness . . . looking at your final family photo I was so pleased for Phil also . . . after a year of so many tragedies around the world it was so heartwarming to see pictures of how things were meant to be . . . Blessings to you all . . . and wicked grins at the three ‘bereft’ puppies who thought this would be an ongoing picture of their lives 😉 !!! Oh, you have some beautiful gifts there from friends, but . . . but . . . hugs and plenty of tummy-rubs for the poor four-legged dears . . .

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  3. What a beautiful Christmas you have had, and your lovely dogs will be feeling quite bereft with everyone gone. Love all your new treasures and the beautiful honey strikes a chord with me, as we have had a beehive until recently. Happy New Year to you.

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  4. This post is my favorite of all the quarterly ‘what’s in my kitchen’ updates. I’ll only comment on a few photos or I fear using up too much bandwidth. 😉

    First up: those grapefruit!! look absolutely divine. I happen to love them and these really made my mouth water. Thankfully, there are dozens of grapefruit trees where I live and always have plenty during winter season. They’re perfect. Is that powdered sugar? Never have I seen that before…

    Second: Panforte. OMG do I love that stuff. It’s pretty easy to make and David Lebovitz’s recipe is fantastic. I’ve made it several times. It’s a great treat with an afternoon cuppa. ♥

    Third: The Christmas tree ornament melted my heart until I saw all the puppy photos. It’s really beautiful and such a great gift for you. Enjoy.

    Lastly: The pups (and family) photos are just adorable. I love the compilation of Star sleeping. She is a handful, that dog, but so worth it.

    Nicely done Sally. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  6. All the best to you and yours in 2024, Sally. Love the new rugs, the goodies for the kitchen, and the continuing doggie saga that cheers me up every time you post. 2024 has been an especially terrible year for our family, so every time you show us a happy part of your day, you’re helping all of us cope. Thank you!

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    • Paula, I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I often wonder if you will ever drive by Kansas on your way to Colorado and we’ll get a chance to meet…. I hope things improve for your family…

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  7. As always, I really enjoy your posts, especially your “In my kitchen “ posts. If I may ask, who is the maker of your turkey roasting pan. Love the placement of handles and the sturdy rack!

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    • well, there is no brand name written on the pan. I am 99% sure I got it at Target – I did look at the website and it seems to me that Faberware might be the brand…. sorry, not much help, I am afraid…

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  11. so many good things sally. love the paul hollywood mug! and all those fab pup shots. they are so cute. how lovely to have your family all around for christmas. sadly we are not in contact with either side so it was just me and hubby on christmas day. Your new (?) banner is really nice too. That breville mixer looks the bomb. i might have to give hubby lots of hints for my june birthday 🙂 Have a fab 2024, and thanks for being part of IMK. cheers and best wishes, sherry

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  13. I absolutely adored this edition of Bewitching Kitchen! So much delight in it to read and savor — and so much love!!! You are incredible in your zest for living, and in your appreciation of all that life has to offer — and then, you offer it to us! You are a jewel, and I treasure you!❤️

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  14. Definitely a match made in heaven. Great happy photos! And once again, I need new friends. I think I say this every year! I need to be more proactive in finding them. Great to catch up – Happy New Year!

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  15. Happy New Cheer! Wow your loved ones know how to spoilt you at Christmas – the dalmatian tea towel wins my vote though 🙂 And I love your bundt tin – if I had a bigger kitchen, I’d definitely collect them. Your dogs are the cutest – life is better with dogs in it, don’t you think?!

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  17. I don’t know where to start! Let’s start with Happy New Year!

    I have never tried panforte. I was interested in the comment above about being able to make it, so I am off to look for the recipe!

    I have that bundt tin, and I love how the cakes turn out in it. I am planning to do a bundt cake this week but in a different tin.

    Love all the photos of the dogs.

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