Monthly Archives: December 2007

With all the tidying up that’s been going on lately, I decided it was time for a bit of a break. Cold winter days make for the best lazy days and in between bouts of cleaning, I’ve been luxuriating in afternoon naps. I’ve also made time for a bit of baking. These days, when I  Continue Reading »

After having sorted through all my photos yesterday, the cleaning up process continues with a post that I’d meant to put up prior to American Thanksgiving but never did. This past fall, I had the opportunity to review a copy of the cookbook How to Cook a Turkey produced by the talented team of people  Continue Reading »

Yesterday, I wrote about the start of my annual attempt to tidy up and organize myself for the coming year. I’ve continued that project today by going through the hundreds of food photos stored on my computer. I have a tendency to download photos and then just forget about them. Many of the photos aren’t  Continue Reading »

While many people look forward to spring cleaning, for me this time of year has always been the time for organizing, decluttering and ridding oneself of all that excess stuff you just don’t need. I’m not sure if it has something to do with readying myself for the new year to come, but I always  Continue Reading »

It’s here! It’s finally here! All the preparing and baking and wrapping is over and all that’s left is the eating. I don’t know even know how many pounds of butter we went through this year but it was all worth it. It’s Christmas! While there was no George Clooney in my stocking this morning,  Continue Reading »

I hope Santa likes butter and cinnamon. Because that’s what he’s getting this Christmas Eve. Not wanting to miss an edition of Magazine Mondays, I decided to prepare these Cinnamon Spritz Cookies for Mr. Claus. The recipe comes from the December 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living. Now I have a tendency to be a  Continue Reading »

‘Tis the season to enjoying the best things in life: family, friends, lots of baking and of course, the Daring Bakers! We come to you a bit earlier than usual this December on account of the fact that in another day or so most of us will be busy celebrating with family. For the December  Continue Reading »

While I will very likely be making this showstopper as the grande finale of holiday desserts, it certainly doesn’t hurt to give other desserts the opportunity to show their sweet stuff. I like to call this the Cream Puff version of holiday dress rehearsals. For this edition of Magazine Mondays, I decided to try a  Continue Reading »

The Cream Puff is back! I had a lovely week in Florida where I spent a few days in Miami followed by a cruise that took me to Key West, Cozumel and then back to Miami. Towards the end of it, though, all I could think about was coming home and baking! Let the Christmas  Continue Reading »

The Cream Puff is taking a short break in the form of one week in a warmer climate. I’ll be back refreshed and ready to begin the two-week baking marathon that is my lead-up to Christmas. For those of you that have been around this blog long enough, you’ll remember that last year I took  Continue Reading »

When I was little, our meals did not often stray from Italian cuisine. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that at times, my brother and I would wonder what certain foods tasted like. Shepherd’s Pie, for example, fascinated me. And I can still remember watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie and  Continue Reading »

After a three-week hiatus, Magazine Mondays returns! I’m happy to put another magazine that has been languishing in what I now affectionately call, “the basket where magazines go to die,” to rest. When it comes to recipes, I am nothing if not melodramatic. This time around it’s the December 2006 issue of Food & Wine  Continue Reading »

I love Christmas! Only 23 days to go. Just 23 short days to Rudolph and Santa and the tree and the gifts and the food and the weight gain. I love it!!! And how will the Cream Puff be spending the next 23 days? The next few days will be spent trying to finish a  Continue Reading »