In a flurry of powdered sugar and a blink of the eye, this holiday season sure seems to have gone by. Fine, I'll stop rhyming. I've put my kitchen to the max these last few days and let me tell you, nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit quite like baking for hours on end in an apartment with continuous uncontrolled heat when it's sixty three degrees out. Yeah, global warming sucks.
Read MoreHi there everyone! I'm back after a two week holiday hiatus. If you follow me on Facebook you'd see it wasn't so much of a break; I was up to my elbows in trout dip and candy cane cookies. After all the eating (there was SO much eating, I know people say that but I mean it), I came away with some spectacular foodie gifts and found my new addiction #somuchforresolutions. Now, let's talk about some of the new additions to my kitchen. Every year my aunt buys my parents a cookbook. Every year I steal said cookbook from my parents. In order to remedy this my aunt gifted me with my own copy this year, hooray! There was also a rectangular present that I thought might be pottery (my aunt is a genius at the pottery wheel) but it was too light. Once the tissue paper was discarded, a handsome wooden serving board lay before me.
Read MoreHi everyone! I've been plenty busy in the kitchen this weekend with my holiday baking. One of the most well received items to come out of my kitchen this time of year are the Chipotle Rosemary mixed nuts. They are sweet, smoky, crunchy and literally everyone loves them. Example: my mother generally avoids foods with even the slightest bit of heat but she raves about these nuts. I handed her a bag last night, "The nuts!" she joyfully exclaimed, genuine delight spread across her face. "I was just about to ask you when you were making them!" See? Everyone.
Read MoreWelcome everyone! I've spent most of the last week putting final touches on Christmas decorations and writing out holiday cards, which means I can stop licking envelopes and start licking my fingers/plate/spatulas. Christmas is celebrated differently throughout the world and every culture has its own variation of Christmas eats. East coast to West, arctic to tropical, I'm a fan of global Christmas cuisine. I am particularly fond of German Christmas sweets and traditions (Krampus, now that's a tradition) If you have a hankering for some German Christmas specialties, well then you barked up the right Tannenbaum. I'm not sure how or why I became so interested in German food and holiday traditions but I'm going to attribute it to having a German best friend for the last twenty two years. Thankfully, the Upper East Side of the city still continues to host a smattering of German shops where I can find some near authentic items, including some Christmas specialties. My first stop was Schaller und Weber with the hopes of picking up some fine condiments and sausages but I was a tad a late in getting there, alas, I was locked out. I'll be back for you, wurst.
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