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
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
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
The 12 days of Christmas is one of my FAVORITE Christmas carols of ALL TIME. I love the repetition, imagery, and gift giving references. Plus, I can belt it out as loud as I want and I actually sound good! We even have an old Irish linen tapestry with a box for each “day” that
December 7, 2010
Short URL12 days of christmas, christmas, family, foodInspirations, Seasonality
Cooking For Madison 