I’m back!  What a perfectly lovely week it’s been.  Now it’s back to the grindstone…but no biggie. I’ll be able to eat homemade frozen yogurt and ice cream while I grind away, thanks to my new Cuisinart ice cream maker. I’m so excited, people, I can’t even stand it!

Before I forget…I made these White Chocolate Strawberry cookies (pictured) for Cate’s birthday party last week and they were a hit. You can find the recipe here.

Time for a REAL menu with some healthy{er} food!  Gotta love the holidays…

MONDAY:
- Oriental Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
- Chicken paninis (toppings TBD)

WEDNESDAY:
- Happy New Year!
- Oh my, another holiday on which to indulge. I’m gonna get together a bunch of snacky food – artichoke dip, chicken tenders, some sort of salad, etc…I’ll share the real plan later this week.

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- I’m going to try a recipe from my Sunset magazine, which I just started reading and LOVE, by the way…still need to choose the recipe!

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
- Guacamole & chips

Can’t wait to see what you are cooking up this week!  Share your menus!

Cookies for Santa. Check. Kids in bed. Check. ‘A Christmas Story’ playing in the background. Check. More beautiful memories created. Check.

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you in a few days!

Need to warm up now that we’re in the dead of winter?

Then hop to it and make this great vanilla hot chocolate mix!  Our friends the Neilsons brought this mix over the other night (we have been so spoiled this year by homemade yumminess from so many friends!).  Nate and I have had hot chocolate the last two nights. I’m considering NOT sharing with Cate.  Yeah, I’m a great mom, eh?

Here’s the recipe, if you want to make it for friends…or yourself!

Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix
From Epicurious
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise (see tips, below)
- 1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process (see tips, below)

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)

Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.

Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.

To serve:
For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows.

Tips:
•Save the other half of the vanilla bean for another use, such as a second batch of vanilla sugar, which keeps indefinitely and can be used in baking, coffee, or simply to sprinkle on fruit or waffles.
•Dutch process cocoa has been treated with an alkaline solution, which gives it a darker color and less bitter flavor and makes it dissolve more easily. Droste is a good brand.

Wow!  100 menus!!!  Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

We have received so many amazing holiday treats this year from friends.  And we’re LOVING IT.  (PS – you can find recipes for the molasses cookies & chocolate peanut butter squares in this picture on the Cookie Exchange post…look for Melissa & Alison’s comments.)

Now for my 100th menu.  How fun that Christmas falls during this week!

MONDAY:
- Chili
- Corn Cake Toppers

TUESDAY:
- Leftovers

WEDNESDAY:
- Chinese Take-Out (a Maynard family Christmas Eve tradition I’ve happily embraced!)

THURSDAY:
- Merry Christmas!
- Swedish meatballs (my first attempt! I’ll write more on those later), Boiled new potatoes, Vegetable of some sort

FRIDAY:
- Leftovers

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Pot roast
- Mashed potatoes
- Vegetable or salad

Can’t wait to see your menus! And feel free to share family holiday traditions (even if you don’t have a menu)…food traditions & otherwise!

Time to announce the ProFlowers giveaway winners…yeah, I know, I should have done this hours ago and I’m sure you’re all sitting at your computers waiting…but I was very tired today.  Hosting a party with 16 three- & four-year-olds will do that to you!

Without further ado, the two randomly-selected TWFD readers, who will each receive a $100 ProFlowers gift card, are….

Stimey, who said, “You can never have too much credit for a great florist!”  (so true, stimey!)

- and -

Adrianne, who said, “jane. i think it’s my turn to win.” (guess you were right, adrianne!)

Congratulations, ladies!  What a lovely holiday surprise for you both!  For the rest of you…you’ll get more chances, promise!  Big thanks to ProFlowers!

Lindsay, my amazing friend who cooks amazing food, shared today’s Kitchen Tip with me months ago.  I finally used it for the first time last night with great success!  I’m so excited to share!

Lindsay cut these towel strips for me (from here on out called “cake strips”) and gave them to me as a little gift.  Here’s how to use them: wet with water, wrap around cake pans and attach with safety pin.

Why would you want to dress your cake pans in a pretty pink towel?  Well the cakes stay moist around the edges AND, as you can see from my picture, they stay flat!  No big dome in the center of the cake.  I am SO HAPPY to have learned this little trick.

You can buy cake strips (just Google ‘cake strips’)…but why spend money when you can just cut up an old towel and use a safety pin?

On a related note….I have pictures of the finished product on my camera.  More on that later…

PS – Neither Lindsay or I have ever had a cake strip catch on fire.  They ARE dry by the end, but have never had issues.  I guess what I’m saying is it seems pretty safe…but if your cake strips light up, well, consider this my statement of “This Week for Dinner is not liable for cake strip fires.” Honestly, you should be FINE. How’s that for a disclaimer? My attorney would be so proud.

Last chance to enter the ProFlowers free, random giveaway.  To enter, click here to add a comment on the original giveaway post. You have until Midnight (PT) TONIGHT!  Good Luck!

Don’t you hate it when you want to make cookies RIGHT NOW, but your butter is too cold and you have to let it sit at room temperature until it’s JUST RIGHT, at which point you don’t want cookies anymore?

Lucky for you, you read my blog.  I have perfected the art of softening butter.  Keep in mind, this is an ART, not a science.  You will have to tweak the time based on your own microwave, but the following should be a good guide.

For two sticks of butter in my 1100-watt microwave: 9 seconds at Power Level 2.  Flip butter over 180 degrees.  8 seconds at Power Level 2.

After I followed that little “recipe” tonight, my butter was the PERFECT consistency for making cookies.  Awesome.

PS: You can do this with frozen butter, too.  Just heat it longer, but it should still be at Power Level 2.

PS #2: Power Level 2 should be consistent for everyone, no matter what microwave you have.

I grew up with a mom who made amazing birthday cakes. Snoopy, rainbows, lions, cars…you name it, she’s caked it. I remember my birthday cakes. I loved my birthday cakes. I want my kids to remember and love theirs.

There’s one slight problem. I stink at it. I had trouble just frosting this tiny little cake for Anna this week! Seriously.  And the reason the bundt cake in the background looks cute is because it’s out of focus.  It did NOT live up to the image in my brain.  It DID taste good, though…anyway…

Cake masters!  I know you’re out there!  Divulge your secrets! Please share your best cake decorating tips, recipes, anything. I need help!!!

(Oh, and Cate wants a “strawberry” cake for her party later this week…any ideas on that front are welcome, too!)

If you want a taste of the ideal that’s in my head…here’s the cake my mom made for Cate last year. Too cute! Yeah, my car cake would NOT have looked like that.

This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you!

You know I love ProFlowers…and the love affair continues.  Look at this GORGEOUS wreath I just received from ProFlowers.  I seriously love it.  I saw another eucalyptus wreath at the store today and thought, “Bah! Mine is better!”  If you send this wreath to someone, they will love you forever.

It’s the holidays, which means another ProFlowers giveaway on This Week for Dinner!  Yea!  Two randomly-selected TWFD readers will each receive a $100 gift card to use at ProFlowers.com.  Yes, it’s the holidays and you can use your winnings for gifts…but I won’t tell if you order yourself a nice bouquet and some hand-dipped berries (my personal fave). You deserve it!

You know the drill…leave a comment, any comment, by Midnight PT, Friday, December 19.  Only one entry per person, please.  Winners will be announced on Saturday, December 20.

Big thanks to ProFlowers.  And for 15% off your entire order, click here, or on any ‘ProFlowers’ reference in this post…just in time for the holidays!

I’m happy to announce our two winners for The Gathering of Friends cookbook giveaway…

Kristin, who said, “Maybe this time…” (this time was it, Kristin!)

and

Anna, who said, “ooohhh!!! how exciting! I am so addicted to cookbooks… this would be so fun to add to the collection!” (consider your collection “added-to,” Anna!)

Congratulations, ladies!  I hope you enjoy The Gathering of Friends.  To the rest of you, better luck next time (as in later today!)…and be sure to go get your own copy of The Gathering of Friends!

Look what came out of my oven this morning!  Delicious pain au chocolat!  I spent hours making these croissants.  It’s a very involved process.  KIDDING.  I bought them frozen at Trader Joe’s, let them rise overnight, and this morning our apartment was filled with the smell of fresh croissants!  None of the work, all of the pleasure.  These will be PERFECT for Christmas morning.

You have until midnight tonight to enter “The Gathering of Friends” cookbook giveaway! Click here and post a comment!

And, if you haven’t already, take part in the Holiday Virtual Cookie Exchange here!

This is our family’s busiest week of each year…Anna’s birthday (I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already), Cate’s birthday and Christmas preparations.  Wish me luck…I hope I survive!

MONDAY:
- Chicken cordon bleu (from freezer section)
- Rice
- Veggie

TUESDAY:
- Eat out (birthday celebrations that night, so won’t have time to really cook)

WEDNESDAY:
- Cate’s favorite dinner…not sure what that is yet because she’s napping. Will update later!

THURSDAY:
- Pork chops
- Rice
- Veggie

FRIDAY:
- Eat out (I know, twice in one week…but we have more birthday celebrating that day AND doctor appointments…so I’m being realistic)

SATURDAY:
- Chili
- Corn cake toppers

SUNDAY:
- Leftovers

Now, time for your menus! AND…be sure to come back this week…I have another giveaway you won’t want to miss!

When autumn rolled around, I couldn’t resist buying the Pumpkin Pecan Waffle & Pancake mix at Williams-Sonoma.  (I’d link to it, but they’re not selling it anymore.  Sorry!)  It was a little pricey, so I decided to hold a Waffle-Off…I used the mix for one batch and a Williams-Sonoma recipe for the other batch.

The mix won.  The recipe was good, but the consistency didn’t come out right (see picture below, which looks nothing like the picture on their website). Ugh.  I really wanted the recipe to win, especially since I can’t even buy the mix now if I wanted to!  The recipe was good, but not great.  Perhaps I’ll try to perfect it…or maybe one of you has a good recipe!  Please share if you do (I think someone mentioned a Rachael Ray recipe in a comment?).

Regardless, pumpkin waffles are YUMMY. Oh, and Williams-Sonoma came up with yet another food item that I’m probably going to try to make myself…just like these pumpkin waffles…and just like the pumpkin butter.  That store keeps me busy, and poor, and eating overly-indulgent foods!  Uh-oh, I just noticed the peppermint bark is back…AND the hot chocolate.  Oh my.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!

Remember The Gathering of Friends cookbook I told you about recently? Now’s your chance to get a free copy of your own!  TWO lucky, randomly-selected TWFD readers will each win a copy of this great cookbook!  Just leave a comment on this post by Midnight PT on Sunday, December 14!

Thank you to Michelle Huxtable & Alyse Christensen, the authors of The Gathering of Friends, for such a great holiday giveaway!  And be sure to check out their website, where you can order the book, see some video and get some recipes!

A dear friend of mine in San Diego hosts a Cookie Exchange every December.  It is the best!  Everyone bakes 10 dozen of one kind of cookie, then brings them to the exchange.  We all hang out for a few hours (eating and chatting!) and then go home with 10 dozen of all sorts of wonderful cookies!  I was able to put the cutest plates of cookies together for friends.  It was fantastic!

I wish so much I could have you all over for a real cookie exchange, but I simply don’t have room!   But how about a little “virtual” cookie exchange to get us ready for the holidays?  One of the best parts of Jen’s cookie exchange was discovering new recipes, so I thought a Cookie (Recipe) Exchange here on the blog would be fun!

So, share your favorite cookie recipe of all time.  Or your favorite holiday treat that you like to share with friends (i.e. you don’t have to “bring” cookies…just something yummy!).  I’ve got my sprinkles and cookie cutters ready to go!

Oh!  And here’s my recipe.  I discovered these at the first cookie exchange I went to.  I have no idea who made them or brought the recipe, but I will be forever grateful!

CHOCOLATE SWIRLS
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 C butter, softened
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1 C semisweet chocolate ships, melted and slightly cooled

Heat oven to 350F. In large mixing bowl combine sugars, butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Fold melted chips into dough until lightly marbled. (do not overmix)

Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 mins, or until edges are light golden brown. Cool completly before storing.

Phew!  I used up almost ALL of the turkey (my mom bought a 24-pounder, so that was quite a feat, let me tell you).  I’m so proud of myself.  And, even though I’m ready to move on from turkey, we weren’t even that sick of it.  Good job, Jane, with creative leftover usage!

The last thing I made was Turkey Pot Pie (thanks to Heather for the recipe).  I modified a bit – I used gravy instead of stock and flour, and cream & white wine instead of half & half (that’s what I had on hand and wanted to use up).  The sauce was heavenly and the pot pie came out GREAT.

I am feeling quite uninspired this week.  Please share your menus – I really need them!

MONDAY:
- Beef Stew
- Good bread

TUESDAY:
- Chicken Piccata
- Mashed Potatoes
- Broccolini

WEDNESDAY:
- Pumpkin Waffles (more on these later!)

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- ???

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Frittata (I’ve never made a frittata, so I’m going to give it a try! Any recipes or tips are welcome!)
- Fresh fruit

We met some friends the other night in Berkeley for dinner.  They had both lived there for years and love the ‘hood, so we decided it was time to make the trek and see what it was all about.  We were not disappointed!  Great food, fun neighborhood, cool campus.

We ate dinner at Gypsy’s, an Italian restaurant close to campus. The food was great and we could not believe the prices!  Living in Silicon Valley has it’s advantages, but one of them is NOT cheap food.  Even our local burger joint puts a dent in our wallet.  I find whenever I venture outside of my little silicon bubble, I’m pleasantly surprised at the prices (it also makes me a little bitter about my bubble!).  Anyway, Gypsy’s was delish and a great value.

Then off for dessert!  How about a little gelato at Gelataria Naia?  Yum!

My next Berkeley visit will be the Berkeley Bowl.  I can’t wait…although, I’m a little nervous…

I think it’s about time for another Song of the Week!  I know, it’s been more like the Song of the ‘Every-Few-Months-Or-So’ but whatever.

I LOVE this week’s song.  Have you heard Adele yet?  She is too cool, I mean, look at the album cover.  Adele is a British singer with a hip sound and an Amy Winehouse-esque voice, but without all the “baggage,” if you know what I mean (no hard feelings, Ms. Winehouse).

I bought Adele’s whole album after only hearing one song, Chasing Pavements, and love it.  The song Tired is hands-down my favorite.  Check it out!  You’ll be glad you did.

There is a lovely Irish family at my daughter’s preschool.  They brought homemade Irish soda bread to the class Thanksgiving feast, with this delectable butter on the side.

Yum, Kerrygold is my new favorite.  Imported from Ireland, this butter is saltier than it’s American counterpart, so it is quite yummy spread on bread and rolls.  It’s at all of my various grocery stores, so I’m sure it’s pretty easy to find.