making a list, checking it twice

The end of the holiday shopping season is almost at hand. I've been making lists and making sure I get things done on time and what needs to go my daughter's on Sunday. 

Since I had yesterday off, I accomplished some preparations for Christmas dinner. I made my daughter's favorite cookie, Italian sesame seed. It made a nice small batch of cookies that I'll share with her. 

Today I hope to make a batch of cocoa snowflakes cookies. They are a rich, fudgy, chocolately cookie that is to die for!

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One of the traditions we had when the kids lived at home, was to make a do ahead breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. Even though, it will just be my husband and I, I've decided we deserve to be treated to something special. Tomorrow I'll be preparing baked blueberry-pecan french toast with blueberry syrup. However, I'll be skipping the blueberry syrup and just topping the casserole with New Jersey blueberries that I froze last summer. The recipe is yet another from Gourmet Magazine June 1999. Instead of baguette, I'm using challah bread that I purchased earlier in the week from Delicious Orchards.

As I had a busy day yesterday, I needed a quick recipe for last night's supper. Earlier in the week I purchased pork loin bone in chop at Wegmans. I purchased the ones they refer as "from family farms near our store." They are a bit pricey at $7.99/lb., but oh are they worth it. 

I've had in my possession a Gourmet Magazine recipe (December 2000), for pork chops with sweet-and-sour cider glaze. Granted, I had frozen some Delicious Orchards apple cider in my freezer, which made this recipe doable last night. I don't think it will work substituting apple juice. It took under 30 minutes to prepare. My husband and I enjoyed the pork chops, which were absolutely tender. 

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