The Bride Becomes a Mama

And that means a baby shower for a sweet little girl!  The menu for our afternoon tea will include family favorites, cream puffs, brown sugar pound cake and brownie bites (packaged fudge brownie mix baked in mini-muffin tins, and topped with out favorite frosting.)  The gluten-free among us will enjoy  chocolate chip-walnut blondies,  peanut butter cookies, and my version of Starbuck's lemon loaf.

This is the first time I've tried the chocolate chip blondies which are made with almond flour and I was so pleased with the results! Meaningful Eats has  a lot of good recipes if you are living gluten-free.

Seafood Bisque

This is a family favorite, served each Christmas Eve at my cousin's open house. When I asked for the recipe, I was shocked to find out it was dressed up canned soup.  It was also popular at our church's annual soup  ssale and when I asked for the recipe, I got the same story.So the search began for seafood bisque from scratch.  I am not sure where I got the basic recipe, but I did make enough changes in the seasonings to suit our family and to call this recipe my own.

Ingredients:

·       6 tablespoons butter

·       4 tablespoons chopped green onion (or minced onion since I never remember to buy the green onions!)

·       4 tablespoons minced celery

·       6 tablespoons flour

·       5 cups milk

·       3/4 teaspoon pepper

·       1 tsp. granulated onion

·       ½ tsp granulated garlic

·       ½ tsp  Old Bay seasoning

·       ½ tsp ground thyme

·       4 tablespoons tomato paste

·       2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream

·       16 ounces crab meat

·       16 ounces small cooked shrimp or other seafood

·       4 tablespoon sherry (rice vinegar)

Scott added a bit of cayenne and Tabasco Sauce to his bowl of soup.

Preparation: Heat butter over medium-low heat; add green onion and celery. Saute until tender. Blend in flour; cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk, cooking and stirring until thickened. Add seasonings, tomato paste and heavy cream. Stir in the crab, shrimp, and sherry. Bring to a simmer. Serve hot.

Serves 4 to 6.