What...no GFC?

Hi again, folks. I guess today is an admin day, because I've got another bit of blog news to relate.

As many of you have probably heard, Google Friend Connect is going away for all non-Blogger blogs in March. This is sad news, especially for older blogs with a more established following, but there is a ray of sunshine - and it's called Linky Followers.

You'll notice that I have a new little follower widget on the right hand column...and you can have one, too! Just head on over to their website and sign up for their FREE service. Then you can start re-following all your favorite blogs with no need to panic, come March. So what are you waiting for?

For more info on how the new program works, check out this informative post at It's So Very Cheri.

Free JIFFY Recipe Book

Have you ever used Jiffy mixes? You know, that ones that come in the cute, 1950s-style, blue-titled boxes? Matt and I use their cornbread mix from time to time because it takes me forever to go through a bag of cornmeal and because, in this instance, I think the box tastes just as good (I can't believe I just said that, but it's true).

source

Well, today in my online wanderings, I came across an offer for a free Jiffy recipe book. It's true that in these days of food blogs and Google searches, it's usually easier to find a recipe online than to thumb through a cook book. Still, their recipe book is cute (you can see an online version here) and I like having these pocket-size books for camping trips or other situations where the internet isn't at your beck and call (well, at least for those of us who don't have iPhones!) All you have to do is fill out an online form and confirm your order via e-mail. Easy-peasy. Just like using a Jiffy mix!

As usual, I'm not sponsored by Jiffy, nor do I receive any benefits from this post (well, aside from a free recipe book, I hope!). I just like passing on good deals to my readers!

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies Round-Up

Christmas is just days away, and for those of you who've been following along with the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies Party, your cookie jars, dessert trays, and even your freezer are probably filled to the brim with tasty treats. Of course, if you're like me, you *might* have tasted a few too many (quality control is important) and now it's time to replenish your supply. The party ended last week, but for those of you who need a refresher - myself included - I'm gathering all my contributions here in one place.

To be honest, I prefer to do my holiday baking just a few days before the Big Day, not just because it keeps me from eating all my treats, but also because baking is one sure-fire way for me to get into the Christmas spirit. I love filling the house with warm vanilla smells and the tang of wintry spices like clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

For the past several years, I've spent Christmas at my mum's old farmhouse in western New York. The house is over 100 years old so, needless to say, it's pretty drafty and the heat from a working kitchen is a welcome addition. This year, we're celebrating the holiday in South Carolina with Matt's family, but even in these slightly-warmer climes, I stand by my tradition of last-minute holiday baking!

Whatever your reasons, if you still have some holiday baking to do, here are a few of my favorite recipes to get you started. Check out the individual posts for recipes and links to all the other delicious desserts that were shared that week!

Week 1: Browned Butter Oatmeal Cranberry Bars
Possibly the healthiest of my 12 Weeks offerings, these delicious bars are based on a Cooking Light recipe. Consisting of a creamy yogurt layer, studded with dried cranberries and sandwiched between two crunchy oatmeal layers, these bars get a richness upgrade with the addition of nutty browned butter. Best of all they're quick and easy to make.

Week 2: Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies (i.e. one mega-good cookie)
What can I say, these are just the Best. Chocolate, Chip. Cookies. Ever. After a pilgrimage to the famous Levain Bakery in NYC, I just knew I had to try my hand at recreating those one-of-a-kind cookies. This recipe isn't exact, but it's pretty close and, really, just as good. Plus, you can make them in your own home - and no need to fork over the price of a place ticket to New York!

Week 3: Easy Caramel Turtle Bites
If it's Christmas Eve and you still don't have treats for your cookie tray, look no further than these ooey, gooey turtle bars. This recipe has a few shortcut options that make it perfect for last-minute baking (of course, you can take the from-scratch options for a more homespun flavor). From start to finish, they'll take you minutes to prepare - but they taste like a long afternoon spent in the kitchen.

Week 4: Colonial Williamsburg Gingerbread Cookies
If I could choose just one cookie to make for Christmas, these simple spiced goodies would be it. They've been a tradition in my family for almost 20 years - but their true history is much, much richer. The recipe comes from Colonial Williamsburg and makes the most tender cookies, deliciously spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and rich with molasses. Shape the cookies into traditional rounds, or cut them into festive shapes for a touch of contemporary holiday flair.

Week 5: Midnight Chocolate Cake with Magic Ovaltine Icing
This simple, from-scratch chocolate cake is tall, dark, and oh-so-delicious, but the real star of this cake is the icing, which I stumbled upon on a whim. Rich Chocolate Ovaltine is the key ingredient, but the finished product tastes like Cadbury Mini Eggs, my favorite chocolate treat in all the world. Of course, the cake is pretty special, too (it contains coffee, Greek yogurt and buttermilk, for goodness sake!), but even if you don't make the cake, you must, must make this icing!

Week 6: Pumpkin Crunch Cake
Let me tell you, this unassuming little pumpkin cake has been the runaway favorite this holiday season. I've made it 4 or 5 times since posting the recipe, and I've been asked for the recipe every time. My mother-in-law brought it to a gathering, and she got asked for the recipe. I even passed out the recipe at Thanksgiving. All this is to say that this one is a real crowd pleaser, and a perfect choice for any holiday gathering - just be sure to bring along a few (dozen) copies of the recipe!

Week 7: All Butter Snickerdoodles
These Snickerdoodles are another holiday staple, and a true family favorite - they were included at the request of my 93-year-old grandmother! Most recipes call for a mixture of shortening and butter, but these are all-butter - which, I kid myself, makes them a little healthier. Add some colored sprinkles for an extra festive touch, or just eat them plain, in all their cinnamon-speckled glory.

Week 8: Chocolate and Peppermint Spritz Sandwich Cookies
Another Grandma-approved holiday treat, this recipe is a new twist on a old-fashioned favorite. Everyone loves spritz cookies, but I decided to do something a little different this year, and patterned them after Matt's favorite Cool Mint Oreos. The filling is pretty close to the real thing and the cookie are nice and chocolatey, even if all you do is sprinkle them with a bit of sugar.

Week 9: Czech Sugar Cookies
In all my years of cookie baking, I've never come across another recipe quite like this one. It's another heirloom recipe, with a nod to my family's Eastern European heritage. Of course, you don't have to be from the Czech Republic to find these cookies utterly irresistible. Full of vanilla flavor, and coated in a thin covering of powdered sugar 'icing' (the icing is formed while the cookies bake!), these are a great treat for cookie lovers of every kind.

Week 10: Seven Layer Magic Bars
I'm made these at Matt's request, but they're a universal favorite. Also know as 'Magic Bars' or Hello Dolly Bars,' these easy treats have all kinds of chocolatey, coconutty, ooey-gooey-caramel appeal. These were a hit at Thanksgiving with my sister's British in-laws, who aren't used to everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type treats, but be warned, they're incredibly rich so you'll want to slice them small (and make them often!!!).

Week 11: Saltine Cracker Toffee ('Crack')
This strange-sounding treat will appeal to lovers of the sweet-and-salty combo. It combines the buttery richness of English toffee with the smooth silkiness of molten chocolate, and the salty crunch of Saltine crackers. The use of Saltines gives it a 1950s-novelty-ingredient appeal, but the resulting candy tastes, and even looks, deceptively high-end and high effort! A box of this candy would make a great last-minute gift, and no one need know how little time you had to spend in the kitchen. We topped ours with coconut (our favorite), coarse salt, and chopped pecans, but the possibilities are nearly endless. Watch out, it's addictive!

Week 12: Best Sugar Cookies (and Icing)
This recipe comes from my little sister and it is my go-to sugar cookie recipe. It's consistent and delicious, and though the rolling, cutting and decorating is time-consuming, it delivers everything you could want from a sugar cookie. The icing is also pretty great - not cloyingly sweet in the way that powdered sugar icing can be, and the corn syrup gives is a great texture for decorating. It may not set hard like Royal Icing, but it tastes 50 times better! If you have time for only one festive cookie this holiday season, this recipe will give you the most Christmassy bang for your buck!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies 2011 line-up. You can browse the recipes, drool over the photos, and share your favorites in the comments!

All I Want for Christmas...

This is NOT the post I'd planned to share with you today, but since Blogger just ate the one I've just spent two hours writing, my cabbage soup will have to wait. So, while I re-create an entire recipe from memory, you can have fun shopping!

Well folks, it's that time of year again. The time of year when Christmas shopping ceases to be proactive and becomes almost last-minute. This year, I've managed to get most of my list covered, but I'm no stranger to the last-minute dash. In fact, I'm sure we've all been there at some point, so if you're still searching for the perfect present for a foodie friend, here are some hot kitchen ideas:

Cooking Classes - Whether it's sharpening your knife skills or picking up some new baking tips, there's a cooking class for everyone. Check out your local community college (even better if there's a culinary school nearby!) or community events center. In some areas, you need look no further than your local Whole Foods or Williams-Sonoma.

Photo from Williams-Sonoma.com

Le Creuset Cookware - Speaking of Williams-Sonoma, this high-end store is one of my favorite places to browse. Notice I said browse, because unfortunately, their beautiful high-end items also have high-end prices - which is why it's doubly awesome that they're in the middle of a 25%-off cookware sale! I've been in love with the silky enamel finish of their Le Creuset cookware (which comes in all those gorgeous colors) for years, and I guarantee you there isn't a wannabe chef on your list who wouldn't be thrilled by finding one of those under the tree!

Pocket pie maker (photo from Williams-Sonoma.com)

Pocket Pie Mold - This is another Williams-Sonoma favorite (I promise I don't get sponsorship), although I'm sure you'd be able to find similar products elsewhere. The good news is that it's a lot more budget-friendly, and still makes a great food-centric gift. For those who follow the culinary zeitgeist (where all things molecular are becoming all things miniature, and cupcakes are supposedly making way for pocket pies) this gift is right on trend. Look for other shapes which could be used with savory pies, or gift a whole set for the true pastry lover in your life.

The Flavor Bible - I've reviewed this book before, but I can't say enough good things about it. Innovative and encyclopedic, this volume really changes the way you think about food and will free you up in the kitchen like you never imagined. If that's not a good enough sell, read the review!

Measuring spoons by Fred (photo from Amazon.com)

Basic Utensils - After working my way through several vegetable peelers and surviving numerous unpleasant wooden spoon incidents (I'm convinced wooden spoons leave the nastiest splinters), I can't overemphasize the importance of having a really good set of basic tools. Peelers, can-openers, kitchen timers, graters, wooden spoons, measuring spoons, and measuring cups are the workhorses of the kitchen, so you may as well invest in good ones. And you don't have to sacrifice form for function anymore; companies like Fred offer whimsical kitchen gadgets (like the Russian Nesting Doll measuring spoons above), while others like Blomus offer sleek, stainless steel style. That being said, my drawers and cupboards are full of cheap-and-cheerful items that I'll use to death - but I'm sure I'll pay the price for my penny-pinching stubbornness in hands full of splinters.

Free Kindle Cookbooks!

I've sung the praises of my Amazon Kindle before, so I'll spare you the fan-girl excitement and cut to the chase: if you have a Kindle (and even if you don't - the books can be read on your PC or mobile device after a simple software download) hurry on over to Amazon.com because there are dozens of free e-cookbooks available right now!

For the price of a few seconds of your time, you can download cookbooks for a whole host of cuisines including:

Hungarian

Egyptian

Brazilian

Mexican-American

We're Back...with Biscoff!

Our vacation is over, and though we're still clearing out suitcases and finding sand in the oddest of places, it feels good to be home. Unfortunately, we have to hit the ground running, which means that all the restaurant reviews and recipes I gleaned from our time in the Lowcountry will have to wait until after the dentist appointments, interviews, unpacking and other fun stuff is done. Until then, I'll leave you with an exciting bit of news...I'm finally joining the ranks of the Biscoff Spread fan club!

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

Thanks to the creativity of other bloggers, I've been hearing wonderful things about this elusive, sweet spread for months, but I couldn't locate a single jar in East Tennessee (that might be an exaggeration, but I did search several stores over the past few weeks!). We finally unearthed a jar in a South Carolina Publix, and though I haven't done much more than just taste it at this point, I'm already dreaming of the possibilities!

Of course, I could eat it straight out of the jar, but I'm excited about it's potential for transforming baked goods.  I've rounded up a few of my favorite Biscoff ideas from around the Web, but I'd love to hear your ideas, too. What should I make with my Biscoff? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Carrot Cupcakes with Biscoff Cream Cheese Icing - Lotus Bakeries

Biscoff Candy Bar Fudge - Shugary Sweets (I always love Aimee's recipes, but these look ridiculously good!)

Biscoff Oatmeal Pancakes - Lotus Bakeries

Biscoff White Chocolate Chip Blondies - Two Peas & Their Pod

No-Bake Biscoff Oat Bars - Sugarcrafter

Biscoff Swirl Gelato - Gingerbread Bagels

For a little background on this trendy treat, visit this page.

Lots of Food and Travel links!

I don't often do link round-ups, but I'm always collecting articles and links that I think might be of interest to my readers and, since things have been so busy lately, I just know that I won't get around to sharing some of these in greater detail. Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy them and check them our for yourselves!

Food:
Ever wonder why grocery stores use those chalk board-look signs? Here's an interesting look at the psychology behind the supermarkets.

Can't get enough of those fried strips of starch? All you ever wanted to know about French Fries, you can learn at the Frietmuseum in Belgium.

Schedule some gastro-tourism with help from the Tasting Table's new site,  U.S. of Eats: An Atlas of America's Best Food Travel Destinations.

Travel:
How creative are these train ticket-style invitations? Have party, will travel!

Destination: Dessert! Lonely Planet details their favorite spots for sweets around the globe (I particularly enjoy reading everyone's opinions and contributions in the comments!)

Budget Travel's 15 Places Your Kids Should See Before 15. How many have you seen?

Lonely Planet uncovers the World's Best Long Walks. What are you waiting for? Lace up your boots and get going!

What's Better than Free Books?

It's no secret that I love books. When our movers delivered our goods just a few weeks ago, they remarked that they'd never seen someone with so little furniture and so many books! I guess it's all about priorities, right? I've been accumulating books for years (my first real job was shop-girl in a second hand bookstore in England) and love them all - old ones, new ones, fat ones, skinny ones...and especially free ones.

Food at Your Fingertips!

So, I had planned to post something else today...and then I stumbled across these adorable fake food rings and thought I'd share them instead! I've always been captivated by miniature things and these rings are just so extraordinarily detailed.

All pictures courtesy of Sou Zou Creations

Sofia of Sou Zou Creations sells these amazingly realistic and unique rings in her Etsy store and they've been popping up in various blogs for a few weeks now. You can tell she's based in Japan when you look through her collection - there are lots of sushi or matcha-themed items and the attention to detail and focus on all things kawaii (cute or charming) is characteristically Japanese. Even if they're not your style, it's a lot of fun to look through her collection and be impressed by her creativity - these rings look good enough to eat!

P.S. This isn't a promotional post - I just thought these rings were cute!

Take me Away...to Paris?

I'm not usually a twice-a-day blogger, but I just stumbled across something that I just had to share, in case any of you happen to be spending your Monday afternoon/evening browsing my blog (if so, Hi!). Jordan, of the beautiful and creative blog Oh Happy Day, is hosting a giveaway. If you've been around the blog world for a while, you know how much excitement a giveaway can create, but this one isn't for cake mixes, or homemade goods or even a new cookbook - all of which are excellent things, by the way, but just not in quire the same league as the actual prize.....a trip for two to Paris!

Between this contest and my recent post about the charmingly French La Baguette Bakery and Cafe in Colorado Springs, I'm suddenly craving a fresh croissant, a steaming cup of drinking chocolate, or some real macarons. If you're interested (and who wouldn't be!) you'll have to act fast because today is the last day to enter. Follow this link to find out more and enter yourself for a chance to win. Bonne chance!

What Happens in Vegas...

....sometimes shows up on the Yahoo Contributor Network! I have my last two Vegas posts coming up this week - I think they'll be informative, since they deal with budget-friendly entertainment on the Strip - but you can get a preview of some of the information in my first YCN-published article: Best Free Things to Do in Las Vegas.

Today is Matt's birthday and we're celebrating with a friend across the border in Kentucky.  She has a real oven and, since Matt requested a giant cookie for his birthday, I might even get the chance to actually bake. I'm way more excited than the occasion warrants! Happy Birthday to Matt...and happy baking to me!

Happy Belated Easter, Peeps!

Since Matt and I spent most of yesterday driving through Colorado, Kansas and Missouri, on the last leg of our month-long trip across the western United States, my Easter greetings are a day late but no less heartfelt! We attended Easter services in Colorado Springs yesterday morning and shared a quick meal with some friends before getting back on the road - I've enjoyed our travels immensely, but I'm looking forward to the day when we can unpack our suitcases and I can begin to explore a new state, our new town, and, most importantly, a new kitchen!

In the meantime, I've sought out some Easter-treat-related tidbits to tide myself over.  Lamb Cakes, glazed ham and chocolate bunnies certainly aren't the most vital part of this important holiday but they're still pretty tasty. Of course, one of the most iconic Easter treats is everyone's favorite neon-bright, sugar-shock-inducing snack: Marshmallow Peeps. Here is a link round-up with some fun facts about Peeps and a few ideas for what to do with the ones you have leftover after all the baskets are empty and the Easter grass has blown away:

Bake the famous Peeps Sunflower Cake from Taste of Home

Whip up some Peep-stuffed Brownies courtesy of Sarah Kickler Kelber at The Baltimore Sun

Go pseudo-savory with Peep sushi or Deep Fried Peeps from Serious Eats

Visit Terri's Peep Hut for a surprising array of recipes, including Peepuccino and Peep Waldorf Salad

Toast some Peeps S'mores at Eclectic Recipes

Check out this book about Peep crafts!

Make your own diorama for next year's Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest

And finally, What's Cooking America has some interesting facts about Marshmallow Peeps - plus a recipe to make your own!

There are so many ideas out there, it's kind of amazing...but that's all I have time for, Peeps! (hehehe) Happy Easter!

Happy President's Day/Washington's Birthday!

In honor of today's holiday, here are a few presidential links:

Presidential Food Facts:
Test your Presidential Food Trivia knowledge with this quiz from The Food Museum
A few more nuggets of culinary history from Hugging the Coast
Presidential Food Slideshow from Kaboose.com
Thomas Jefferson's Maple Sugar Love and More Presidential Food Facts from Food & Think

Abraham Lincoln was reportedly a great fan of apples - sounds a bit like Matt!

General Trivia:
Births, lives, deaths and everything in between from the Little Known Facts show

Presidential Recipes:
Great collection of Presidents' and First Ladies' favorites from CDKitchen

Mmmmmm - I'd love a plate of Lincoln's scalloped oysters, a bowl of Nancy Reagan's Onion Wine Soup or maybe a slice of George Washington Cake but the sun is shining, it's unusually warm out and Matt and I have a car to wash!