Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. white sugar

Cream Cheese Filling:
3 8-oz. pkgs. Philadelphia Cream Cheese (NOT lite, NOT low fat)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (not imitation, please)
1 cup canned pumpkin (Libby’s is the best)
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the cream cheese and eggs on your counter for at least 30 minutes while the oven is preheating. Wrap the springform pan in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil - you will be baking the cake in a water bath (no cracks) and this will prevent spillages.

Make the crust by combining all the crust ingredients into a medium bowl and stir well with a fork. Press the crumbs into the bottom and about two-thirds up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 5 minutes then set aside to cool. Place the wrapped springform pan inside a large pan with high sides (such as a roasting pan).

Now make the filling - in a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and the vanilla. Mix until smooth - about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin, eggs, and spices and continue to mix for about 1 more minute.

Pour the batter into the pan. Slowly and gently fill the larger pan with hot water until it comes about halfway up the sides of the spring form pan. Place the whole thing into the oven and bake for 60 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. After 60 minutes, turn off the oven and let the cake sit in the closed oven for 1 hour.

Remove spring form pan to a rack so it can cool - takes about 2-3 hours. Then cover (remove the foil and place spring form on a plate, then place another plate on top of the pan; I used to cover with plastic, but moisture droplets formed and plopped on top of the cheesecake, so I improvised) and place in the fridge at least overnight so it can set.

5-6 pound beef roast
1 small onion, peeled & diced very small
2 Tbsp. minced, fresh parsley or 2 tsp. dry
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. fresh rosemary or thyme
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Paprika

Place meat, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting pan about 2 hours prior to cooking; preheat oven to 500 degrees after 30 minutes. In a small bowl mix together the onion, parsley, garlic, rosemary/thyme. With a small, sharp knife, make 1-inch deep slits, about 1-inch long all over the meat, then with your hands, take blobs of the onion & spices mixture and push into the slits - use all the mixture.If you can’t get it all into the slits, just rub the rest all over the meat. Then sprinkle salt, pepper & paprika liberally all over.

Place in the 500 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes; turn oven off but don’t open the door! Leave in there for another 90 minutes. Take out, let sit for 10 minutes, then slice & serve.

Container (about 6-8) Brussels sprouts
Extra virgin olive oil (Please do not use any other type)
Salt (I use Kosher)
Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the sprouts in half lengthwise.

Spread them in a single layer on a rimmed cookie-type sheet. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over. Sprinkle salt & pepper over. Mix it all up with your hands right on the tray- messy but fun.

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes; stir once during roasting

With a spatula, scrape out onto a serving plate, or we just serve them from the tray on the stove.

8 - 12 thin chicken cutlets
1 pint or 1 1/2 cups of creamer
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning, or Bell’s seasoning
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4-5 eggs
1/2 - 3/4 cup cold water
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

Rinse & pat dry the cutlets then place in a large bowl. Pour the creamer over, cover, then place in your fridge for no longer than 2 hours. After 2 hours take out of the fridge and place on the counter as you prepare the dippings.

Get out 3 pie plates or wide bowls. Into one of them place the flour and all the spices then mix gently and thoroughly with a  fork. Into the second bowl, place the eggs and water and whisk them well. Into the third bowl place the breadcrumbs. In addition, get out 1 or 2 sheet pans and place waxed paper, parchment paper, or aluminum foil on them. Now you’re ready. . .

With a fork (or your hands) lift up a cutlet from the liquid, gently shake off excess, press down and dredge in flour, then dip into eggs - shaking off excess, then press firmly into breadcrumbs, making sure it’s coated evenly throughout all the steps.  Then, place the cutlets on the trays. Place the trays in the freezer for about 30 minutes. You don’t have to do this step, but it really helps keep the seasonings adhering nicely to the cutlets. During the freeze time, start preparing your frying pan.

You can fry them one of two ways: either, deep fry them in vegetable oil, or pan fry them as follows:

In a large frying pan place 3 Tbsp. butter and 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, when hot place a cutlet in and cook on med-high for about 6 minutes on each side or until done and crispy.

1 - 2 bags of pre-shredded cabbage (or shred your own)
3 Tbsp. white vinegar
3 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise (use Hellmann’s please!)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Place cabbage in large bowl. Whisk all other ingredients together then pour over/mix into the cabbage - mix very well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.

Turkey Pan Ingredients:
10-14 lb. turkey, innards removed & used however you wish
2-3 Carrots, cut into large chunks
2-3 Celery ribs, cut into large chunks (use tops too)
1 Lemon or orange , zested then cut into 6-8 chunks - set aside the zest
1 cup chicken stock or water (you may need more stock later, during cooking)
1  onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 whole garlic bulbs or heaping Tbsp. of minced

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse turkey in cool water and pat dry; place in roasting pan on a rack if possible. Add all the pan ingredients. Now begin the herbed slathering.

Herbed Slathering:
1 cup fresh parsley (please don’t use dried)
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. fresh sage
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1  onion, peeled and cut into chunks
The left over lemon or orange zest from above pan ingredients
1 heaping Tbsp. of minced garlic
3 Tbsp. extra virgin (or just regular) olive oil + more for brushing
A pair of latex or latex-free gloves if you wish - this gets messy!

Place all these ingredients in a food processor or blender then give it a blitz. Put on the gloves if using. Gently lift up the skin of the bird (you may need to separate the skin from the bird with a small, sharp knife) and spread blobs of the slather in. You will probably have some left over, if so then place in and on bird and spread around. Remove the gloves then pour a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup or less) of oil into a small bowl and brush all over the bird.  Now you’re ready for the sprinklings.

Seasoning Sprinklings:
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black or white pepper
Sprinklings of poultry seasoning
Sprinklings of garlic powder
Sprinklings of paprika

Now, cover loosely with aluminum foil and place on the lowest rack of your oven for about an hour before you open the oven door for the first peek. Keep checking the bird at 30 minute intervals because you want to make sure the liquid in the bottom of the pan has not all cooked away - add 1 cup of chicken broth or water at a time into the bottom of the pan to replenish and don’t forget to baste, baste, baste - every 30 minutes or so! If you don’t, you may have a sawdust turkey.

Take the foil off at about 1 hour until estimated done time - it’ll crisp up nicely. Discard/strain all the veggies in the pan if you will be using the drippings for gravy. Once you take the bird out of the oven you can let it sit for a good 30-45 minutes on a cutting board on your counter during which you make the gravy, heat the stuffing, etc. Don’t panic, a turkey can mellow on the counter for a little while awaiting you. Just enjoy the day!

4 cucumbers, peeled and sliced very, very thin
6 very thin, full, slices of a medium red onion
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. chopped dill (or 2 Tbsp. fresh, chopped)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Place the prepared cucumbers into a med-large serving bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine everything else; pour over cucumbers and mix very well. Cover with plastic and let marinate for several hours.

16 oz. box uncooked ziti (I use Barilla)
2) 24 oz. jars spaghetti sauce (I use Newman’s Own Marinara)
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Get out a large baking dish. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes, drain, then place into a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, empty the ricotta and add the Parmesan beaten egg, and the spices; mix well with a wooden spoon, then mix this into the large bowl with the pasta. Mix in 2 cups spaghetti sauce - set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, spread the pasta mixture evenly in the pan; top this off with 1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes - it will be bubbly and hot. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes.

1 packaged box cake mix - I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food
1 box (3.9 oz.) Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding
4 large eggs
3/4 cup black coffee - (cool to cold, not hot)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream (Not the lite variety)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a Bundt pan.

Into a large mixer bowl, place everything up to the white chips; with an electric mixer beat at high speed for two full minutes. Pour batter into pan and bake for about 40 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on rack to cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, combine the white chips and milk in a small bowl; microwave on high for about 1 minute, whisk, and you may need to do this for 25-second intervals one to two more times. Whisk until smooth then drizzle/pour onto cake. Let set 30 minutes.

1 cup, firmly packed, light or dark brown sugar (for this, try dark)
1 stick butter
12 slices white bread
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 large or extra large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk - (use half-n-half for extra rich)
2 tsp. pure Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Get out a 9 x 13 pan and grease lightly. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt the brown sugar and butter, stirring constantly. Pour this into the greased pan and tilt pan around to cover bottom.

Lay the six pieces of bread over the caramel mixture (you may need to squish them a tad); mix the sugar & cinnamon together and sprinkle over the bread. Place the other six slices of bread over the cinnamon mixture.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla & salt then pour gently & evenly over the bread; press lightly with the back of a large spoon then cover with plastic and place in the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Bake for 40-45 minutes; until golden and puffy.