Bacon IS a trail snack.

Yes, it's true.  The air is deliciously filled with smells of gingerbread, figgy pudding...  ...and mulling spice!  It's the start of the always anticipated Christmas baking season.  Below I will share with you three tried and true recipes, The Sugar Cookie,  The Christmas Cookie and the always popular, Mocha Star.  First, I wanted to take a look at the origin of Christmas cookies.   Some of my favorite are the Danish butter cookies and I've yet been able to perfect the ones that were once made by my Mother's best friend for 50 or so years, Kristen Skovsgaard.  Her creations were undoubtedly the best on the planet. Here's what I've been able to dig up on the "birth" (if you will) of the Christmas cookie.  The term cookie first appeared in print in the year 1703.  The origin of the cookie itself comes from the recipes of Medieval Europe. Some believe that the gingerbread cookie was the first flavor to be asso...

I was told once by a very well known and lovely Chef that it never fails, ever... the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Maybe it's something exotic like Ostrich or Bison. It could be as simple as a ham sandwich ... ...or perhaps the always popular deliciousness known as Chocolate Layer Cake. Any way you slice it, everybody's gotta eat but if it's the first time you are creating dinner (or breakfast) for someone who is close to your heart, it can be a real challenge.  How defined is their pallet? Do they have any food allergies, (that's a big one since you don't want the night to end up in the ER!) What if they had Osso Bucco for lunch and you've spent three days slaving over a hot stove making it THEN you find out that in fact, they are Vegetarian!  Sigh. My advice?  Start pulling all your go-to cook books and scouring the internet for what the hot, new, fabulous food trend is...  ...do your research;...

...or does it?  As a big fan of things that go "bump" in the night (and I'm not talking about jamming your toe into the bed frame while navigating your way, in the middle of night to the fridge). I'm talking about MONSTERS!   The Boogeyman;  the thing that lives under the bed;  Werewolves; good 'ol fashion ghosts; Zombies (are they classified as Monsters? or just un-dead?)  The Grandfather of it all of course is, my favorite... Dracula.  Yep, full-on vampire.  Ummm...wait, I DID find Gerard Butler as a Vampire... thats not so bad... ahem... I digress. Now, I  don't mean these modern day, coiffed numbers, I'm talking about the classically dressed, polite gentleman portrayed by such noted celebrities as...  Bela Lugosi... Christopher Lee...  ...and  Frank Langella.   ...

As Summer draws to a close (not that you would notice here in Southern California since it's hotter than the middle of the sun lately); the final long weekend is almost upon us... Labor Day.  By now I'm sure you all know the origins of "Labor Day".   On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand workers marched in a parade up Broadway. They carried banners that read "LABOR CREATES ALL WEALTH," and "EIGHT HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION!"  After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night, fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day. In 1894, Congress voted it a federal holiday.  Two of my favorite things... a picnic AND a parade!  I thought maybe I would dedicate this blog entry t...