'Tis the Season to be Baking

I find that at this time of year, if you really want to get into the spirit, bake! Along with Christmas carols and holiday shopping, Christmas cookie baking seems to bring with it lots of holiday cheer. Most people seem to have, at least, that one cookie recipe that has become their annual Christmas tradition. You make them at this time of year, and this time of year only…but that’s what makes them special.


So what better way to pass on one’s holiday baking tradition then by hosting a cookie bake-off? Here are the rules (per my colleague and friend, Christine):

1.You will need one contact person to run the bake-off

2. Have friends/family bake their most famous holiday cookie

3. Cookies are submitted to contact person who will assign a random number to each cookie in order to keep baker’s identity confidential

4. All cookies should also be plated the same, again, to promote baking confidentiality

5. When displaying cookies, a voting bag or cup should be placed alongside the cookie with an image and description of the cookie

6. Each cookie taster will receive 2 ballots to vote as they please for their favorite cookies

7. And lastly, at the end of the event, votes are to be counted and the winner announced

As a great take home gift for all involved, gather all the cookie recipes before the bake-off and assemble them into a cookie cookbook. This is a great excuse to enjoy some great holiday treats, to showcase your baking talents, and last but certainly not least, to bring together friends and family

Tis the season! And Happy Holidays everyone! (Stay tuned for my holiday cookie recipe)

Take the "Thyme" to Enjoy!

Normally Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. A whole holiday centered purely on good food…how can you go wrong? But this year’s Thanksgiving was unlike any that I have experienced before, and not in the best of ways.

Every year my mom hosts Thanksgiving, and trust me when I say this, she is a pro! She has the table set about 2 weeks ahead of time. She labels each serving dish with its corresponding food item so on the day of, she knows exactly which dish goes with which serving bowl, plate, etc. She makes homemade chicken soup which is usually made in October and then frozen until November. And she is able to pull the rest of the meal off with perfect precision and excellence throughout the entire week before the holiday, right up to the day of the blessed event.

And the menu…well it’s fantastic. To start we have soup, and this year we also began with a garlic and white wine artichoke dip. Then we moved on to the main meal. Turkey of course, which is accompanied with the traditional stuffing, sweet potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, bread sticks, gravy, and cranberry sauce (and cranberry jelly). As an added bonus this year, we brought in 2 new menu items, a corn bread stuffing (courtesy of my sister-in-law) made with corn, white bread, cheese, and scallions (Yum!) and teriyaki honey glazed green beans, made with bacon, red bell peppers, onions, and cashews (courtesy of yours truly). And last but certainly not least, dessert! Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cinnamon coffee cake, cheesecake, all of which can be topped off with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Again, one of my favorite holidays!

So why, do you ask, was this year so “unappetizing”? The guests at our table consisted of some older relatives who don’t seem to understand how important it is to not rush through a meal like this. We started eating at 3 in the afternoon and by 6:30, we were done with dessert, and the table was free and clear of any and all remnants of a Thanksgiving dinner. I have never eaten so fast, and had so little time to enjoy the wonderful flavors of our Thanksgiving dinner.

So this post is really a message that I am sending out to the masses…Please take the time to enjoy your food, because the longer you sit and enjoy what you’re eating, the longer you can sit and enjoy the people you are surrounded by at this festive time of year.