Many years ago, my family sat around the table at Thanksgiving, finishing a delicious turkey dinner and anxiously awaiting a selection of pies for dessert. With this holiday, as with all others, I wasn't going to choose which kind of pie to devour; why choose, when you can have a piece or two of each?
Long story short, the homemade apple and pumpkin got to stay on the table, while the French Silk Pie met an unfortunate end. That's right - after it was cut, plated and set in front of us, my mom took it away and wouldn't let us eat it: "raw egg is dangerous." And yes, this pie contains not one, but two raw eggs. Of course, pregnant women or people with compromised immune systems shouldn't eat raw eggs in any form. However, at the time, my brother and I were young, strong and hungry. To this day, we can't hear the words "French Silk Pie" without thinking of that horrific day. And of that delicious pie.
Here is the recipe, so it can live long on the internets. I stole the recipe right out of my grandma's recipe box because my mother, bless her heart, would have thrown it away.
Ingredients
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. white sugar
1 square baker's unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Tools
Mixer/hand mixer
bowl
prepared pie crust (graham cracker or chocolate works well)
Spoons
Steps
Cream together the butter and sugar; melt the chocolate, and add to the butter/sugar mixture when cooled.
Add the vanilla to the mixture.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 5 minutes each. The only way to describe the final texture is - it looks like the inside of a three musketeers bar, but it is not nearly as gooey.
Chill in the 'fridge for a few hours. Garnish with (fresh) whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or plain old chocolate sauce. Or oreo crumbs. Or nuts. Go wild.

My mom, while not Italian, makes a mean spaghetti sauce. As with any recipe, you may use fresh spices instead of the dried variety, just adjust the ingredients as needed.
Ingredients
1.5 lb. ground beef
1 can tomato puree
2 cans tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
(cooked pasta of your choice; I like regular spaghetti with this)
Tools
Large saute pan/fry pan
Large pot with cover
Spoons and knives
Steps
Brown the beef in the fry pan, seasoning with salt and pepper.
When the meat is almost done, add the cans of tomato to the large pot, followed by the spices. The spices can be adjusted to taste; I go heavy on the garlic, and adjust the other spices up accordingly.
Heat the tomato mix on medium, and add the ground beef. Keep the heat on until it's warmed through, then turn the heat down to a simmer for another 20 minutes or so. I never know how long to leave it on there.
This recipe freezes well.

(for theecarey)
These are based on a Martha Stewart recipe for Candy Cane cookies. The premise is the same, but I just roll them into sticks, as my dough is always too sticky to make into the full hooked candy cane.
My married name will be Kane, so Kara Kanes seems appropriate.
Ingredients
2 sticks butter (unsalted if you have it)
1 c. conf. sugar
1 egg
splash of peppermint extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups ap flour (you may need more)
several drops of red (or any other color) food coloring

Tools
2 bowls
mixer + bowl
many spoons
cookie sheet or pizza stone
potholders
timer
parchment paper

Steps
Cream the butter and sugar together; beat in the egg, vanilla, peppermint and salt, then add flour cup-by-cup until you have a smooth batter.
Running the mixer at high for a few seconds allows most of the batter to spin off the whirly beater things.
Divide the dough in half and color one of the halves with the red food coloring. Use a spoon or a pastry mixer to distribute the color evenly.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the bowls from the fridge; preheat oven to 350F.
Line the cookie sheet and/or pizza stone w/ parchment paper.
Take a teaspoon of (red) dough and roll it into a 3+ inch long cylinder. Do the same with a teaspoon of plain dough. Place the two side-by-side, twist - candy cane stylin' - and place on the parchment paper.
Bake 8-10 minutes, and do not allow them to brown.
I think this made at least 30 cookies, but I don't remember how many I ate before they made it into their airtight containers.
Give the recipe some flair by creating Kara Kane wreaths, letters, and other shapes. Though the true candy cane is red and white, imagine cookies that were red and blue (for Bills fans). How about hot pink and green? The more imaginative you are, the bigger your cookies can be. In my book, big cookies are good cookies.

I've been making these every few weeks using a slightly different variation each time. Here are the basics.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar (any kind, though I haven't tried it w/ 4x sugar; you can use less, if desired)
1 cup pumpkin (about 1/2 of one of the smaller cans)
2 eggs
1/2 cup water (I've also tried milk)
several energetic dashes of cinnamon, with a few smaller dashes of cloves. (You can't have enough of these. Believe me, I've tried.)
dash of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1 1/2 c ap flour
chopped nuts, choc chips or raisins (if desired)

Tools
large bowl
spoon(s)
pastry blender, hand mixer or regular mixer
muffin tins and/or bread pans
butter spray
potholders/oven mitts
timer

Steps
Cream together the eggs, sugar and pumpkin in a largish bowl. I use a pastry blender when getting out a mixer will be too much of a hassle. A potato masher will work in a pinch.
Add the dry ingredients to the liquidy mixture. Make sure that the b. powder and b.soda aren't clumpy.
Preheat the over at this point to 350F
Add raisins, nuts or choc chips.
If the batter looks too runny, add in a few more tablespoons of flour.
Pour into a greased muffin tin; fill each muffin mold about 2/3 full.
This mix will make about 12 mini muffins and 6 mini muffins. You can also pour the batter into 3x6 bread loaf pans.
Wipe off extra batter from the sides/top of the muffin/bread tins.
Bake for at least 20 minutes, or, until it passes the toothpick test. I start checking mine after 15 minutes, because I've eaten my share of burned baked goods.

Let them cool for a few minutes before eating. Keep sealed in a ziploc bag or airtight container. I think they'd freeze well, but they generally don't last long enough here to make it to the freezer.

Any requests from the (e:) peeps as to the next type of recipe I should post? A side dish? A hearty meal?