Holidays celebrated, something to cook, and take a guess...

Good morning!

First of all, I wanted to wish my Jewish friends a very Happy Hanukkah. Though I am not Jewish, this holiday holds a special place in my heart as my very first friend, Debbi, whom I have known since I was three, is Jewish. My earliest holiday memories consist of sharing her holiday and mine between us. I would go over to her house to celebrate at least one of the days of Hanukkah, and she would come over to our house for "Santa's" visit on Christmas Eve. Though this blog will never become a forum for my opinions relative to religion and politics, I will go out on a limb here and state that in this day of world-wide strife, it isn't a bad idea to share and develop an understanding of celebrations that others hold dear. Enough said!

Pictured below are Debbi (on left) and I with Santa. I think we were about four years old. The older gal is my cousin, who now lives in Greece. Santa was actually my uncle (her dad). Can you tell by looking at this picture that I grew up in the 50's? Dig the decor!

Speaking of holidays, here is something you may like to make, say, for a Christmas brunch. It is "Seasonal Breakfast Frittata". I made it when my company was here this past week, and it was enjoyed by all. Pictures and scan of the recipe follow.

Eggs, heavy cream, spinach...

Browned sausage added in...

In the cast iron skillet cooking very slightly until set...

After coming out of the oven. Yum...



This makes about 8 servings (or 4-6 if your group is as hungry as we were!). Here is the recipe, which is from "the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook", also pictured below.

If you like cooking in cast iron, and have not yet seen this book, try to find it. I purchased mine at WalMart, and it is really worth the money. What makes it especially endearing is that the recipes are from many different people, and they are accompanied by stories of how the pots were passed down from one generation to the next. Incidentally, Lodge Cast Iron was founded in 1896 and continues to be a family-owned cookware manufacturer in the tiny town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Many of their employees are descendants of the original employees. How great is that!

On my parting note for today, can you guess what this is? I will let you know on my next post...

Have a great day!