12 Days of Cookiesfeatured
Today is 12/12/12 so I thought it would only be fitting if we dedicated today’s post to 12 Days of Cookies…erhm, squeezed into one day. Right.
OK, are you ready? Do you have Mariah Carey’s greatest holiday hits at full blast? Great. Here we go! You are going to nail that Christmas Cookie Swap with this roundup.
1. Classic Cutout Sugar Cookies
Classic Cutout Sugar Cookies – these are the kind of Christmas Cookies Mrs. Claus would approve of. This is the go-to recipe every holiday season for Kristen’s family, and I’m so glad she shared it with us! It’s a timeless favorite, chock full of nostalgia. You can’t mess with tradition.
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Foodie Holiday Gift Guide {Giveaway}featured
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yep, I’m one of those people who start listening to Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. December hits and all of a sudden, all I want for breakfast is eggnog latte and gingersnaps. And, did I just impulse buy 5 boxes of candy canes? Why, yes. Yes I did.
This year, the Christmas elves at Lick My Spoon have been working hard. And because I have it on good authority that you’ve all been extra nice, our annual Foodie Gift Guide is also a giveaway! So check out our goodies and do a little elfin dance. Here are this year’s picks:
1. Back to the Roots: Aquaponics Garden
Back to the Roots, the same people who brought you the homegrown Mushroom Garden kit using recycled coffee grounds, just launched their latest and greatest project on Kickstarter: a beautifully simple, closed-loop ecosystem that can sit right on your kitchen counter – the Aquaponics Garden. Essentially, the kit is a self-cleaning fish tank that uses the waste from the fish as organic fertilizer for the plants above. The plants take up the nutrients, and in turn clean the water which falls back down for the fish. You get to enjoy sustainably grown fresh herbs and baby greens year round, without having to worry about watering your plants, and you get to look at pretty fish while you do it. The Aquaponics Garden raised $100,000 in just 10 days. The Kickstarter closes on Saturday Dec 15, 2:59am EST, so get it while you can!
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High Five Fridays: Weekly Meal Plan, Squash Itfeatured
Today’s High Five Friday is dedicated to one of my favorite ingredients: squash. Wintertime means an abundance of winter squashes – butternut, acorn, kabocha, and delicata. I love that all you have to do is toss it in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and throw it in the oven. Roasted squash can be the base to so many satisfying dishes. Here are five that I can’t wait to make:
- Butternut Squash Polenta Two Ways. Option 1 is rich, sweet butternut squash polenta paired with tangy, saucy pulled pork. Option 2 sees that polenta in cake form, this time topped with a roasted veggie spread. Decisions, decisions!
- Chili-Lime Roasted Butternut Salad. A little sweet, a little spicy, a little tart…love the hit of chili and lime in this, and toasted pepitas and cotija make this salad cravable.
- Roasted Acorn Squash with Hazelnuts and Balsamic Reduction. Simple and satisfying. The balsamic reduction and toasted hazelnuts make this easy dish feel fancy. This would be great with sweet kabocha squash or delicata squash too.
- Wild Rice and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. Hearty, wild rice, cannellini beans, roasted squash, herbs, and a simple EVOO and balsamic dressing make this a beautiful harvest bounty kind of salad. Hello, delicious packed lunch.
- No-Bake Pumpkin Creme Brulee. OK, so technically this isn’t a squash recipe, it’s a pumpkin recipe…same same 🙂 Regardless, this is one to remember. Easy, make ahead, and no-bake…although it does require a blow torch if you’re not using the oven to broil the sugar topping. It’s a fun take on a classic and a great idea for holiday entertaining!
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Sponsored Post: Flavor Forecast 2013 Sneak Previewfeatured
Since 2000, McCormick has put out an annual report called the Flavor Forecast. This report identifies emerging culinary trends, pinpoints top trends and flavors, and brings these culinary drivers to the forefront of innovation in the food industry. In short, McCormick is serious about the future of flavor.
The forecast is shaped over a year-long process of culinary exploration, data discovery, and insight development among an international group of chefs, sensory scientist, dietitians, trend trackers, and food technologists. Together, they discuss what they’re seeing in their respective parts of the world, how those trends translate in terms of flavor combinations, and how that impacts the way people eat. What I would give to have been a fly on the wall in some of those meetings. I imagine an entire day devoted to the nuances of nut butter.
So what did they find? Here’s your sneak preview.
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