Happy New Year !

My friends and I wish you a wonderful and happy new year!

Honey Rosemary Cherries and Blue Cheese Crostini

This wonderful appetizer takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

You can also make up single-servings and present this as a first course.

This appetizer is a great start to a celebratory meal~it is a really beautiful pairing of ingredients.




Recipe~adapted from Southern Living Magazine


1 thin slice of garlic and 1 shallot, sliced very thin.
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 12 oz. package of frozen(thawed) or a large can of sweet, dark pitted  cherries. I used cherries from Oregon Fruit Products,15 ounce can.
2Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
2Tbsp. of honey
1/4 tsp. of chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups of loosely packed arugula
1/8 tsp. of pepper
1/8 tsp. of salt
1 loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 1/4 inch toasted slices
8 ounces of blue cheese, room temperature

Saute the garlic and shallot in the olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add cherries,vinegar, honey, rosemary, salt and pepper.  I also added three tablespoons of the cherry juice I reserved from the can. Cook, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes. Let this mixture stand for 10 minutes. Place the arugula on the toasted bread slices. Top each with the cherry mixture and 1 slice of blue cheese.

Icicle Ornaments Cookies from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

I have been procrastinating for a few days trying to come up with some clever ideas for cookies and up pops "Savoring Times" recipe just in time! I loved the idea of having a cookie you could eat and also hang on a tree! I have been hanging these cookies all over the house just for fun.....

Savoring Times blog suggests these are great to go with coffee, especially with the hole at the top to use for dunking the cookie into your coffee!

Icicle Ornament Cookies ready for my guests tonight!

These cookies were positioned around my Magnolia wreath.