Category: food

It’s Friday night, and as happens on many Friday nights, I’m having nachos for dinner.

Do you have a favorite Friday night dinner?  Pizza?  Fajitas?

Good for all occasions.  To celebrate Laura and Peter’s recent engagement (congratulations guys!), I whipped up this creation that I discovered on the internet.  Pie crust, followed by a layer of chocolate chip cookie, followed by cake.  I went with Betty Crocker rainbow chip.  The whole thing gets frosted and voilà!  Cookie cake pie.

It turned out fairly delicious and the combination possibilities are endless. Peanut butter cookie with chocolate cake comes to mind.  Here’s the recipe.

Cookie Cake Pie recipe via CakeSpy

Now the birthday countdown sits at exactly one month.  So, if anyone is planning on presenting me with pie (ahem), I thought I might run down some of my favorites.

• Berry pies – raspberry has traditionally been known as my top favorite, probably because that’s what Mom used to make.  I also like blackberry, marionberry and fresh strawberry.  Or a bumble of berries together.
• Citrus – lemon meringue is another traditional favorite of mine, but I also enjoy key lime.
• Other fruit – I definitely like apple pie and I probably like other fruits like peach (note: probably not rhubarb)
• Custardy or creamy – banana cream pie is delicious and I have enjoyed a slice or two of vanilla custard pie or pecan pie
• Chocolatey, cookie, candy – I like these too.  Chocolate pudding pie, other pudding pie, cookies in pie, peanut butter or caramel or pie involving ice cream or whipped cream or whatever.  I’ll take them all.

Are there any I’m missing that you know I like?

I most definitely want pie now.  So bring it on.

These are Linzer cookies. They can be a pain to make. I once made 12 dozen for my dear Mother so she could take them to a cookie exchange. In case you can’t tell, this is a sandwich cookie. That means 12 dozen X 2 = 288 cookies.

This time I only made about one dozen.

The funny thing with all my holiday baking is that I have barely eaten any of these cookies. I have kind of lost my sweet tooth these days. Perhaps I will have to make a savory cookie. A cheese cookie or something.

The holiday season brings not just cookies.  It brings beer.  I happen to have a soft spot for Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale.

On the Sam Adams site, it is referred to as the Christmas cookie of beer.  It does have some spices, but I wouldn’t say it reminds me of a cookie.  Perhaps they mean that it’s just as delicious and festive as a cookie.  That I’ll buy.

And I’d buy more of this stuff if I didn’t have to take the entire 12 bottle winter classics pack just to get it.  Within the collection sits a couple bottles of disgusting Cranberry beer.  While I’ve yet to meet a beer that will ruin my pot of chili when dumped in and cooked up, I only make so many batches of chili.  So I’ll stick with just the two measly bottles of Old Fezziwig.  After all, there are other holiday beers to be enjoyed.

Last year I tried the Harpoon Winter Warmer.  While some people really love it, the rest of my six pack ended up in the chili.  The two I did enjoy last year were He’Brew Jewbelation and Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve.  I do also like the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, though I think I’ll have to enjoy that when I’m home for the holidays as it isn’t available around here.

Does anyone have a favorite holiday beer or do you just stick with your everyday favorites?

The frosted cookie animals with sprinkles, that is.

Kellogg’s knows a good thing when they see it and will take over production.  Hopefully the cookies will remain the same.

In other cookie news, I am two batches into my holiday baking.  You saw the sugar cookie cutouts.  This weekend I whipped up some peanut butter blossoms.  You know, with the Hershey Kisses on top?

All this baking is kind of a lot of work.

From Cookies

Batch number one of holiday sugar cookies is complete. The cookie cutters were great.

From 2008-11-25

My first Harry & David Tower of Treats, courtesy of Mom.  Delicious.

This set of cookie cutters may not be the highest quality, but it contains all of the shapes I was after and was fairly inexpensive.  I picked up this little bucket at Target today, so I am ready to rock.