LOVE kendra scott jewelry!

love her sample sales even more! fabulous deals for amazing, stunning pieces. her jewelry is always eye-catching. i get lots of compliments when i wear them. best of all, the sample sale prices are a fraction on what you'd pay at boutiques all over the world. they also make wonderful christmas gifts :)

so stop by her showroom at 3601 S. Congress Avenue, Suite B201 on Thursday 12/3 from 10am to 7pm, Friday 12/4 10am to 6pm, or Saturday 12/5 11am to 3pm.

and bring a food donation for the capital area food bank and receive $5 off your purchase!

so make plans to be there and be ready to hunt for some great deals!

thanksgiving turkey courtesy of mommy!

mmmm...turkey....

in fact, i am eating some of that yummy turkey right now for lunch. and secretly, i prefer the leftovers...tastier :)

i love fall desserts. i always look forward to the first cold front and thanksgiving so i can make my all time favorite cookies, ginger spice cookies. so this year for thanksgiving, i made a batch of the lovely cookies and decided to throw in a cake too. currently, my favorite blog for recipes is smittenkitchen.com. everything i've tried from deb's blog has been amazing. and this time it was no different. i made the gramercy tavern's gingerbread that i found on the blog for the family thanksgiving meal. ginger is a favorite among the family, so the cake sounded perfect. and the fact that the cake requires Guinness beer, made it even better. (Guinness is my pau pau's favorite beer...i learned to appreciate it from her!) i was nervous making the cake for such a big meal since i've never made it before, but as always the recipe was flawless! The house smelled of fall and the holidays as the cake baked. and the cake was a huge hit...it was spicy, chewy and yummy! i will admit, it did taste better the second day, not as sugary sweet. i cannot attest for how it taste the third day as the cake was completely devoured by then. This is one recipe i will be making over and over again. (also, the cake was cut into and eaten before i remembered to take a photo of it...so the below photo and recipe is courtesy of smittenkitchen.com. i will try to remember to take a photo of the next one before it is consumed.)

Gramercy Tavern's Gingerbread from Claudia Fleming

1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout

1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cardamom

3 large eggs

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Accompaniment: Unsweetened whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess. (She is not kidding about this. I used a nonstick pan with a butter/flour spray and still lost a chunk of cake. I will be more generous next time.)

Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugars. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream.

Do ahead: This gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. It will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature. I am sure it will keep well-wrapped in the freezer even longer.

so i hope you and yours had a wonderful, blessed and fulfilling thanksgiving holiday. may the rest of this year and the new year to come be full of hope, peace and joy.