USVI-On-Line

Here is the Cranberry Liqueur we made a couple of years ago:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recip ... 0000554718

Hmmm... not much mention of turkey for Christmas or Thanksgiving?

LiamsAunt, can you share the recipe for the Jamaican cake? It sounds wonderful. I make a steamed pudding for Christmas, served with a thick homemade rum sauce. It's not a complete Christmas dinner without it. But soaking the fruits for months beforehand sounds so much better.

Someone sent us a gift of these handmade bourbon balls last year and they were incredible. I ended up buying more boxes to give as gifts. Can hardly wait to have one again! Definitely a holiday treat.

http://www.gethappyballs.com/store.php

Liamsaunt the rum cake sounds amazing! (And intoxicating!)

Your mention of croquembouche made me smile. Long ago DH and I saw an episode of Martha Stewart with Julia Child as the guest. They made croquembouche. Martha's was painstakingly, anally symetric and perfect. Then they showed Julia's - kind of a haphazard heap - and Martha said "oh, yours is country style." We laughed and after that everything that turned out a bit messy and random was "country style."

Made Beef Wellington a few times -- two giant roasts once and a few times using individual filet mignon. Delicious and the guests were impressed (althought I cheated and used frozen puff pastry.)

Last Thanksgiving I had a crowd, so did 2 turkeys: one in the oven (herb brine), one on the grill (maple brine.) The smaller bird on the grill got done MUCH sooner than expected... before guests arrived! So I put the whole thing in a cooler and shut the lid. OMG it was so moist and perfect; I think I'll do the cooler trick every time now!

This year my sister is hosting for Thanksgiving and we'll probably have DH's extended family the weekend before. Not sure what to make but now you've given me some ideas! I'm hoping to host Christmas. (No vacation for us this year so we're planning on having a big party with the neighbors. The guest list is nearing triple digits so it will be almost as fun as a vacay.) First time in 4 years we won't celebrate New Years on an island. (Last year we got to party on STJ with the loria family!) We will find our own way to celebrate and look forward to a happy and healthy 2011.

I'm making these for Thanksgiving. Mmmmmmm tasty!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... res-351019

had these at a friends house last night. soooooooo good. I'm making these some time soon!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina- ... index.html

I thought there was a cookie thread going but can't find it. Anywho this is my new cookie this year. Orange Ricotta cookie with dark choc. drizzle. They came out flatter than they should but they taste good.