Tater Tot-cos | Gilmore Girls

It's coffee klatch Wednesday! Sorry I missed a couple of weeks, but life threw me a couple of curve balls recently. So, let's talk A Year in the Life. Although I've watched all four episodes a couple of times, I'm only going to discuss one episode at a time. Here we go!

Slow Cooker Ham Stock

If you're making a ham for the holidays (or anytime), don't throw away that bone before make a batch of ham stock. You could do it in a pot on the stove top, but if you have a slow cooker or crockpot, why not let it do all the work for you—set it and forget it!

Add the bone (I like leaving a little bit of meat attached) to the slow cooker insert along with a few veggies and herbs, plus water...then cover and leave it for at least 18 hours, but up to 24. Then you simply strain it and it's ready to use in soups, stews, and other comforting dishes to sustain you through the cold months.

Slow Cooker Christmas Ham

To be fair, this ham can be made any time of the year, but I think it fits the holidays perfectly with the red, tart lingonberry jam and the scent of allspice and cloves. The best part is that the ham itself cooks up nice and tender in the slow cooker, all by itself, freeing you up to do other things with that much coveted resource—time!

A jar of lingonberries, some honey, and a little bit of warming spice are mixed to make a beautiful and festive glaze. One thing that you might notice missing is whole cloves. While I adore clove-scented ham as much as the next person, I don't adore having to pluck picking them (and usually missing a few) of the cooked ham.

Caramel Shortbread Squares, guest post by author RaeAnne Thayne

Please help me welcome bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne to the blog today as part of the Winter Holiday Recipes (and reads!) event with TLC Book Tours. RaeAnne will be introducing her new release and sharing a recipe inspired by her latest Haven Point book. Plus, enter for a chance to win a baking-inspired prize pack further down in this post!

Join us in the kitchen with Krampus | #FoodnFlix in December

It's December and this month I'm excited to be hosting the current edition of the Food 'n Flix club right here on All Roads Lead to the Kitchen with my movie pick and challenge for those who wish to participate, the 2015 Christmas Comedy-Horror film, Krampus!

As folklore has it, in Germany, Austria, and many Central European states, St. Nicholas and Krampus were partners. On the eve of St. Nicholas Day the two would work together, St. Nicholas would fill the boots of the good children with fruits, sweets or other treats, and Krampus would kidnap the naughty children, often beating them, and drag them away from their homes.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Barbecue Turkey Meatballs + Instant Pot #Giveaway

Tis the season for parties and get-togethers, and today I'm joining The Redhead Baker and a handful of other bloggers to help Coleen celebrate her 5th blogging anniversary. Along with sharing recipes fit for a party or celebration, we also have a great giveaway (an Instant Pot + $50 Amazon card) - just scroll down to the giveaway widget to enter.

Cranberry Cobbler | Frankenstein

It's time for the November edition of the All Vampire Book and a Movie Challenge. I'll admit that I was a bit thrown for a loop when I heard that this month's assignment was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I'll admit that while I know the basic story of Frankenstein (I mean, who doesn't), I'd never actually read the book or seen this movie adaptation. And the whole "vampire" portion had me stumped.

Soft, Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls | A Gilmore Girls Thanksgiving Coffee Klatch

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I know that's generally reserved for the Christmas season, but as far as I'm concerned, it starts with Thanksgiving. I mean, I'm hip-deep in meal prep and dirty dishes today—and I'm happy about it. I plan and look forward to Thanksgiving dinner all year long.

But part of my permagrin has to do with the fact that in 48 hours, I'll be watching A Year in the Life on Netflix—which is what prompted the weekly Gilmore Girls coffee klatch in the first place! The past two months have just flown by. Since I'm not choosing random episodes to cook from and discuss, what better theme for the day than Thanksgiving?

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings | Love Literary Style

If I could describe Love Literary Style in a few short words, I'd say it is a fun, meta romantic comedy. Yes, I said meta. I rarely say meta, because for some reason it bothers me—I think because it was way overused in the last few years. But also because I don't think I completely understand how to use it properly. Although in this case, I'm pretty sure that I've gotten it right. That's just to say, that if I'm using the word, it's for a legit reason (and somehow, "legit" doesn't bother me).

This rom-com, written by Karen Gillespie, not only follows the traditional rom-com formula, it also explains that formula in the book, since one of the lead characters, Laurie Lee is a romance writer. Our other lead character, Aaron Mite, is a college professor who has spent the last 5 years writing his novel.

Oyster Stuffing (or Dressing) | Burnt #FoodnFlix

This month we've got a hardcore foodie movie as our Food 'n Flix inspiration. Burnt is the story of chef Adam Jones, who we learn fell from his perch into a world of alcohol and drugs. As the movie begins, he is finishing his self-imposed penance of shucking 1 million oysters at a little New Orleans bar, hidden away from the world he was once a part of.

He makes his way to London, where most of his former colleagues from his Paris glory days are now working and living. He barges his way into being the chef at the restaurant in a hotel owned by former friend (who has always had a crush on him, which Adam totally exploits) Tony's father, which Tony is now managing. He rips Helene away from her sous chef position at a restaurant owned by a friend, by convincing him to fire her, so she'd basically have to work for him. He taunts his rival Reece, at his restaurant, just to let him know that even though he is majorly successful, he (Adam) is setting up shop in town.

Pineapple Cranberry Chutney + Eat Like a Gilmore Cookbook Review

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to this week's edition of the Gilmore Girls coffee klatch! In anticipation of Netflix's Black Friday release date of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Chef Sarah Elizabeth and I have been binging and the discussing the original seven seasons and sharing recipes inspired by the show for almost 2 months now.

Since I binged like a champion, I've been done for a couple of weeks now. So, while I may have shared my thoughts on the series finale last week, my Wednesdays are reserved indefinitely for hanging with the girls. I'll pull ideas from random (and often seasonally appropriate) episodes and share other random Gilmore Girls inspired fun.

Green Beans with Sesame Dressing (Ingen no goma-ae) | #JapaneseHomeCooking

I used to believe that Japanese was somewhat of an elusive entity to me; it existed, but just beyond my realm of understanding. I've made a few Japanese recipes over the years, almost always something very basic. But here's the thing I've started to realize—Japanese cooking isn't as out of reach as it sometimes seems.

Like anything, a solid knowledge and skill base builds a foundation and unclouds vision. That's what (Iron) Chef Masaharu Morimoto offers up in his new cookbook, Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking. While admitting that this book does not, and could not, contain "every dish in the Japanese grandmother's repertoire", it does feature ones that he whip up in your kitchen if he could...his favorites.

Brown Butter Garam Masala Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Do you have a certain ingredient that you have to stock up on during the holiday season? For me, it's butter. Both my fridge and my freezer are piled high from October through December, and I still find myself dangerously low sometimes. While a fair share does go towards baking and sweets, I love the richness it adds to savory dishes.

Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Einkorn Porridge

Let's talk hot cereal for a moment. I grew up with Cream of Wheat, Malt-O-Meal, and oatmeal...and I liked them. Warm, comforting food that made a cold, midwestern morning a little more bearable. And the "new" microwavable oatmeal packets of the day? It was a toss-up between apple-cinnamon and maple brown sugar for which was my favorite.