Every year since I was four the Christmas Elf has come to visit on December 1st, (well not every year – there was that 14-year stretch when there weren’t any kids around.) But for the past three Christmases, the Christmas Elf has come to visit on December 1st. During my childhood he would usually leave
December 16, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, christmas, cooking, dinner, family, food, frosting, recipes, seasonalDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Lunch, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
One of my favorite holiday activities is making cookies. Not just sugar cookies (which I’ll be devoting an entire post to later this week,) but cookies that evoke my favorite flavors of the season – citrus, berry and molasses. One of the earliest memories I have of being in the kitchen, (besides pouring a bowl
December 13, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, butter, christmas, cookies, family, food, ingredients, inspiration, recipesDessert, In the Kitchen, Inspirations, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
This past Sunday I had the entire house to myself. The weather was a little chilly, (for Southern CA at least) and I felt like cooking. Knowing that we had a busy week of holiday-oriented activities on the calendar, I decided to make all of the dinners for the week which was relatively easy (I
December 9, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, bread, christmas, cooking, dinner, family, flour, food, ingredients, inspiration, local, menu planning, protein, recipes, seasonal, starch, vegetableDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
This is actually the first year I’ve experienced my town’s Christmas Parade and let me tell you – it’s everything you would expect from a small town parade. The whole town lined Main Street (yes, it really is called Main Street) and I think there were at least 12 fire trucks, 10 marching bands, every
December 8, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, christmas, cooking, family, food, menu planning, protein, recipes, roasting, seasonal, side dishes, starch, vegetablesDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
I had leftover lasagna today for lunch and it was SOOO much better than it was for dinner the other night (which really, I didn’t think was possible.) But before I begin singing the praises of my (sorta) own lasagna recipe let me give you a little back story about my history with lasagna. As
December 2, 2010
Short URLcooking, dinner, family, food, lasagna, pastaDinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes
Yesterday I waxed poetic about the similarities between the Super Bowl and Thanksgiving. And as much as I would really love to create another analogy for my Thanksgiving feast, I really just want to get on the road. We’re taking Madison to Knott’s Berry Farm for her first time today. But, I also don’t want
November 23, 2010
Short URLcooking, dessert, dinner, drinks, family, food, ingredients, menu planning, seasonal, side dishes, Thanksgiving, vegetableAutumn, Beverages, Dessert, Dinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Menu Planning, Recipes, Seasonality
It dawned on me as I spent hours combing through cookbooks, blogs, tweets and websites that Thanksgiving – more than any other holiday – could be considered the Super Bowl for cooks. Like a championship quarterback, cooks exert a lot of energy just preparing for the big day. We spend hours imagining the perfect menu.
November 22, 2010
Short URLbaking, cooking, dinner, family, food, menu planning, recipes, roasting, seasonal, side dishes, starch, Thanksgiving, vegetablesAutumn, Dessert, Dinner, In the Kitchen, Menu Planning, Recipes, Seasonality
I come from a long line of emotional eaters and feeders. Good food was the cure-all in my family when I was growing up. (Unless of course you’re throwing up every 15 minutes – then good liquids were the cure-all.) As I’ve mentioned before my mom always had something yummy on the stove or in
November 17, 2010
Short URLdinner, family, food, recipesDinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes
This is one of my favorite holiday cooking stories. Ever. Last Christmas my “gift” to my family was 10 days of gourmet meals – really. (More on that in future posts, promise!) Anyway, on my one night off from cooking an entire meal, (I was still responsible for popping the popcorn – stovetop NOT microwave
November 11, 2010
Short URLdinner, fail, family, flour, food, pizza, success and disasterDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes
I first saw this recipe on season 4 of Top Chef. One of the Best. Shows. Ever. I’ve been a die-hard fan since season 3 when Trey was sent home for restaurant wars. This past Christmas I received the Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook and immediately read it cover to cover. (I don’t usually do
November 10, 2010
Short URLdinner, family, food, ingredients, inspiration, recipes, top chefDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Inspirations, Recipes
Cooking For Madison 