Make the best with what you have. We dropped my loves at the airport on a frosty morning around 6:30, just as the sun was coming up over the ridge. I managed to hold back the tears until Thom and I drove away, trying my best to mask the sorrow I was feeling upon sending our son, his beautiful wife, and their new baby boy back to their lives in Los Angeles. Well, Christmas is over, and it was a great visit, I thought to myself. And, we’ll see them again in the spring. I took a moment to cajole myself into looking forward to an event months from now, hoping it would take away the pain of saying goodbye to my newest grandson, Gray.
Twenty-five minutes later, Thom rolled our car into the garage. Home at last, I headed straight for the kitchen. It’s always my solace, my comfort in times of sadness, and today I needed a distraction to help me move into creativity … or productivity … or something. Over the past five days, I had been cooking, cleaning, and cramming leftovers into the refrigerator along with many helpers, for which I am always grateful, but now my refrigerator called for a deep cleaning, a refresh, and order. I knew the work would help, and it felt good to be engulfed in pulling it all back together. After all, it was the beginning of the week, the time I usually set aside to meal plan, always pulling from my fridge and pantry first, deciding what I needed to use up or discard.
Taking every item out of the refrigerator, I began to see breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert ideas form as recipes came to mind. I grabbed my weekly calendar and scribbled the menu ideas, placing them on designated days, followed by a grocery list of items needed to complete each meal. With the glass shelves cleaned and the expired items purged, I returned the remaining usable items to the fridge and closed the doors pronouncing, “There!”
It’s a game really — what do you do with half a bag of fresh cranberries, a loaf of stale sourdough bread, two cups of milk close to expiration, and six egg yolks? Raised alongside depression-era grandparents, I was taught never to waste. Bread pudding came to mind — one of my father’s favorites. My culinary muscle memory kicked in as I preheated the oven, cubed the loaf, and combined the ingredients for the custard.
While cleaning up the dishes and waiting for the timer to go off, I took a moment to count my blessings — our precious home, bountiful food, dear friends. With a dessert ready to share, I extended an invitation to our neighbors to come over for a game of cards and a warm slice of heaven.
Bread Pudding
Makes 9 Servings
Ingredients
6 slices of stale or day-old bread
(sourdough preferred)
2 cups milk
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp. butter (melted)
1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
3/4 c. raisins (golden preferred)
3/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut the bread into cubes and place in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Drizzle melted butter over the top and sprinkle with raisins. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until combined.
Pour the mixture over the bread. With a spatula, press the bread down to soak each cube with the egg mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until just golden brown and the middle of the dish springs back up. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Mary Suzanne’s Cranberry Almond Cake
Makes 12 Servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. butter
3 c. sugar
3 c. flour
4 eggs
4 c. fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp. almond extract
1/2 c. pecans
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. With an electric mixer, cream butter with sugar, then add almond extract. (Yes, you read the ingredients right — 2 tablespoons.) Next, beat in four eggs, then add flour. Fold in cranberries and pecans. Pour cake mixture into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake cake for 1 hour or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle a little confectioners’ sugar for a wintry look. Serve warm.
Créme Brûlée
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp. of vanilla extract)
1/8 tsp. salt
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. granulated sugar (plus 6 tsp. for topping)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°. Add cream to a medium saucepan. On a cutting board, divide the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the inside. Add vanilla to the cream and then add the salt. Cook over low heat until bubbles start to form around the edges, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until light yellow. Slowly add the egg mixture to the cream mixture a little at a time while whisking to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Divide creamed mixture into six 4-ounce ramekins. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour water into the sheet pan until it reaches halfway up the ramekin, being careful not to get any water in the custard. Place the sheet pan with custards into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours. When ready to serve, top each custard with 1 tsp. of sugar, smoothing out to a thin layer. Preheat the oven to broil, then place the ramekins in the oven 2–3 inches from the heat source. Bake for 2–3 minutes or until sugar melts and browns. Chill the dish for 15 minutes to set the sugar.
These recipes originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of HomeLife Magazine. For more recipes, check out these three Christmas cookie recipes.
