Was it just me or were the holidays a little weird this year? I kept finding myself going through the motions of creating holiday cheer but not actually feeling it. So, for me, New Year’s arrived with a sigh of relief. This year, my dear friend Rob came for the weekend and my parents ended
January 4, 2011
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, beverages, christmas, dinner, family, food, success and disasterIn the Kitchen
Even though Christmas Eve dinner was lackluster, by Christmas morning, I was back on track. Over the years the composition of my Christmas morning menu has changed according to taste and adapted according to schedule. I used to make a killer raspberry coffee cake – until I lost the recipe. In fact, just the other
December 30, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, brunch, family, food, menu planning, seasonalBeverages, Breakfast, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
From a food standpoint, Christmas Eve started off badly. In short, I committed the cardinal sin of farmers market shopping – making a list. I think I’ve mentioned before that I am able to purchase roughly 70% of my weekly groceries at the Vista Farmers Market – one of the best markets in North County.
December 29, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, bread, cooking, dinner, family, food, ingredients, menu planning, seasonal, success and disasterDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Menu Planning, Seasonality, Winter
According to Wikipedia, The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is January 5th, with the celebrations of Christmas traditionally ending on Twelfth Night and is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. In some traditions the first day of Epiphany and the
December 23, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmasSeasonality
I recently took part in one of those email recipe exchanges, you know, the ones where you send one of your favorite recipes, (“the best ones are those you can recite by memory”) to 20 people in your address book. Then, theoretically, you sit back and wait for 256 recipes (or something like that) to
December 22, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, beverages, food, inspiration, recipes, seasonalBeverages, Ingredients, Inspirations, Recipes, Seasonality, Winter
When I’m planning a big holiday meal I love to sit at my dining room table with a steaming mug of coffee and a stack of cookbooks. This is where I often find my inspiration for holiday menus. I imagine the flavor of each ingredient and how different combinations will work with each other. And
December 21, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, cooking, dessert, dinner, food, ingredients, inspiration, menu planning, seasonalIn the Kitchen, Ingredients, Inspirations, Seasonality
Whenever I fantasize about becoming the next Top Chef, (“Heather has no classical training or real kitchen experience aside from four semesters in the university dining hall, but by watching a lifetime’s worth of cooking shows she’s managed to become one of the most foremost experts on cooking for her niece,) I’m grounded by the
December 20, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, christmas, cooking, dessert, food, ingredients, recipesDessert, Ingredients, Inspirations, Recipes, Winter
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
I could never understand why my mom DREADED making sugar cookies. We were just decorating them, right? I never realized how long it took just to get the cookies to the table. And because my mom was a former cake decorator, we couldn’t just spread frosting on the cookies and call it good. Nooooo, we
December 15, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, butter, christmas, cookies, dessert, family, food, frostingDessert, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Inspirations, Seasonality, Winter
I’m a sucker for a traditional English tea. Maybe it’s all of those classic novels I was forced, (yet now read by choice) to analyze in high school. Maybe it’s the fact that my mom – although born in California – exhibits oddly English behavior. (Although to be fair, she’s read the same novels I
December 14, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, baking, christmas, cookies, family, food, inspiration, seasonal, teaIngredients, Inspirations, Seasonality
Cooking For Madison 