Christmas Date

Open a bottle of wine....good wine.

Put on the Carpenter's Christmas album....loud.

Wrap presents. Perfect evening.

Deck the Walls

Let me tell you a story about my friend, Beth. She is the best. We were roommates (along with three other girls) during my senior year at college. She was in her final semester and only had one class! (one class!) But that's ok. It worked out well for the rest of us. She would bake us cookies and talk to us when we came home from school. She was the momma of the house and we loved he

Momma Beth is still one of my favorite people on the planet and, even though she lives far, far away, I've gotten the chance to visit her a couple times over the last year. Last time I was in Tulsa she introduced me to my favorite coffee of all time (Topeca Coffee). This time, we met up again at Topeca, husbands in tow, to share a giant french press of perfectly roasted coffee and catch up.

She also surprised us with a really fabulous wedding gift. She found an old St. Louis penant in an antique store and had it framed. It's just perfect! We just hung it up over our sofa in the living room (along with some still-empty frames). I love the way it turned out! Thank you so much, Beth and Ben!

Angel Food Cake with Hot Fudge Sauce

For our wedding we received the most awesome cook book ever - America's Test Kitchen. We love to cook. I love to bake. We aren't novices in the kitchen and even though this cook book is mostly basics, it's already become a favorite. There are techniques for everything from frying an egg to flipping a crepe. There are reviews on hundreds of products. So, if you're looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves to cook or is new to the kitchen - this is it!

This weekend was a big in the kitchen weekend for us. We were having both of our parents over for a fancy dinner and the pressure was on! I had decided to make an Angel Food cake because it's Justin's dad's favorite. I found several recipes online that looked pretty darn good and was all set to make this one from Joy the Baker when the America's cookbook arrived. I scrapped my previous plan and went with their instructions for both the cake and the fudge sauce. (If you can't get the cookbook though, give Joy's recipe a try. It's very similar to the one I followed and her recipes have never let me down).

Next, mix together 3/4 c sugar, 1 tsp cream of tarter, and 1/4 tsp salt. Turn your mixer speed up a couple notches and beat this in 1 tbsp at a time until the eggs form shiny, soft peaks.

While my cake was cooling I whipped up my fudge sauce which took no time at all and I don't think I will ever purchase it again.

Bring 1 c heavy cream, 1 stick butter, and 1/3 c light karo syrup to a boil in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.

Peanut Butter Balls

My friend Kim has a tradition of making Peanut Butter balls for Christmas every year. We work together and for the past two years she's invited some of the office ladies over to her house for an afternoon of Christmas cheer, martinis, and, inevitably, inappropriate ball jokes. It's always a good time and there's nothing better than going home with a bag of peanut butter balls for the holidays!

PS. You should also know that this was the day I discovered instagram....

I wish I could tell you the Peanut Butter Balls recipe, but I was too busy mixing martinis to pay attention.