Archive for December, 2007:

Looking for ideas on how to bring in 2008? Below are a few parties hosted by some of my favorite local restaurants that will be creating special menus for the holiday. From dry-aged rib eye steak with potato-garlic gratin and chanterelle mushrooms to all-you-can-eat sushi, you are sure to find a destination to satisfy both [...]

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5-Star Oatmeal Cookies Servings: 32 to 36 Prep. Time: :15 minutes Total Time: :30 minutes 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon. vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon. baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground [...]

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Christmas Hershey Kiss Cookies Also known as Peanut Blossoms Mix 1 ¾ cup flour 1 tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt Cream ½ cup butter 1/3 cup peanut butter Gradually add ½ cup sugar ½ cup packed brown sugar 1 unbeaten egg 1 tsp. vanilla Slowly add in dry ingredients Shape into balls. Roll in [...]

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Candy Cane Coffee Cake (from Betty Crocker’s Best Christmas Cookbook) Prep Time: 30 min Start to Finish: 1 hr 50 min Makes: 3 coffee cakes (12 slices each) 2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F) 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 2 eggs 5 1/2 to 6 cups Gold [...]

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Growing up in Colorado Rocky Mountains, it was a long-standing tradition that my family would literally take the “road less traveled” to find our Christmas tree. It was not enough to go merely to the local tree lot, instead we would trek deep into the White River National Forest and cut down our own. This [...]

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For the past 10 days, you’ve read a lot about the SacFoodies’ family holiday food traditions. Well, you won’t be getting that from me. Sadly, I don’t have one. No gingerbread house marathons. No spiced cider while caroling through the neighborhood. Not even a secret family cookie recipe. You see, it’s Christmas Eve, and while [...]

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As New Year’s eve approaches, expectations abound, pressures mount and kids yearn to stay up until midnight. For Bob and me, ringing in the New Year in style means staying home, building a cozy fire and sharing a delicious feast with great friends. With family on the East Coast, trips to Boston are frequent, as [...]

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During the holiday season it seems like everyone has some sort of tradition that they follow every year. I ask, why not spice it up a bit? Why not try something that you wouldn’t normally do during the cold of winter? Every year on the weekend before Christmas my friends and I like to take [...]

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One of my earliest childhood memories involves sneaking into the dining room hiding place where my mother stored her Christmas cookie tins. My sister and I would wait for the opportune moment when mom was upstairs and dive into the cookie tins looking for our favorite Christmas cookie; the one with the chocolate Hershey kiss [...]

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Harkening all the way back to the 11th Day of Christmas… as Maria noted, “’Tis the season for new traditions,” and I must second that. After all, a tradition had to start at sometime, right? Aside from the many existing holiday traditions my family has, this year, I’ve had the pleasure of participating in the [...]

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