In the afterglow of Thanksgiving dinner, we began to be ready to think about Christmas (a little late if you ask most retailers).  We saw a special on how they decorate Disneyworld for Christmas – and had the bug. While it had all the usual stories about trees and lights( over 1000 65 foot trees)  for us, the story that resonated most was about food of a sorts – gingerbread houses!

Everyone Can Decorate a Gingerbread House

At Disney, they even make a complete store out of gingerbread, a huge display at a monorail station.  We have seen the White House constructed in gingerbread too.  It can be a real art – or a great party. 

Since the children were little, we have made gingerbread houses every year – some elaborate, some in a hurry, some very original.  It started in England where my very talented friend Jeanne, brought the three familes with six kids together for a wonderful two day exercise.  Jeanne lovingly handcrafted the gingerbread pieces, taught us how to make royal icing that worked better than superglue, and laid out a spread of candy and other items to decorate with that would leave the children full of sugar for days.  Camille lovingly donated her house for what is a sticky adventure on its best days, and we all settled in to learn how to turn shredded wheat into roof tops and clear mints into reflecting pools.

As the children grew older, and we moved away from our friends, the tradition remained.  We went through a phase of great creativity where Scott made gingerbread submarines and air craft carriers, and our imaginative Laura decorated everything just so with a pretty story.

In college, when trips were shorter, we migrated on to pre-made kits, with extra candy for décor. Grandma learned how – even though the dog stole it off the kitchen table.  Guests away from home had to take part too. The good news is, if you live in a dry climate, you can even store these masterpieces in a bag in the attic for a couple of years.

How to Make a Gingerbread House or Christmas Ornament.

Gingerbread for houses is not your run of the mill gingerbread – it has to be stiff for good walls!  There are some great recipes and patterns available, or to cut down on prep time, most grocery stores will have a kit with pre made pieces.  You can make ornaments too! Just use your favorite cookie cutter and make sure you pike a hole at the top so it will hang.  If you are really pressed for time – you can use graham crackers for structural pieces.

When you are ready to assemble – be prepared for icing glue. 

Putting on the roof with a home made pastry bag

 It goes everywhere!! And it sticks like glue, so cover your tables or counters. We have always found it works best  with extra sugar and cream of tartar for extra sticking powder.  And powdered egg whites work too – you really aren’t going to eat too much of it! Make twice as much as you think you will need – extra always helps, and if you want a snow covered scene, you will go through a lot. When you put the roof on, leave it for a few minutes to set so it doesn’t go sliding down  to the ground.

If you’ve never used a pastry bag for icing – this is not the time to panic.  Think of it as an easy way to squeeze in tight places.  Grab yourself a plastic sandwich bag and fill with the icing.  Cut a tiny diagonal corner off the bottom and squeeze out through the hole.  If you’ve ever had whipped cream, icing or cheese in a can, you know what to do!  The best part is, it’s disposable – no washing up.

The next most important thing are your decorating options.  Kits come with some candy for decoration and a picture for suggestion, but let your imagination run wild.  We have found the most useful things are small frosted wheat  cereal biscuits, red licorice whips for paths and roofs, striped candy canes and peppermint, gumballs and red hots – but go wild!

When you are satisified with the results, or your children run out of concentration put them on display for the family, friends and neighbors.  Some towns have a contest between Scout troops or children and display the results in the store windows.  But take a picture first, while they can last for a couple of years cared for, accidents happen – including the one the dog took from the kitchen table, or the building that fell down when it was cleaned and you want a record forever!

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I can’t believe I didn’t know this!

Of all the silly things, you know how when you pull out a long sheet of aluminum foil, the cardboard tube pops out of the box?  Well apparently the company does too! There are instructions on the end of the box to push in a little tab that holds the roll in place so it doesn’t fall out and roll all over the kitchen floor!.  While that makes the dogs happy, it doesn’t do too much for me – so problem solved!  See the photo that led me to it.!

Cooking Your Turkey: Thanksgiving Help!

And while you’re getting ready for Thanksgiving – if you have a question or a crisis, don’t forget the Turkey Helpline from Butterball 1-800 –Butterball (1-800-288-8372) or check out their top ten questions.  They answer more than 100,000 Questions every November and December – so I’m sure they can handle your as well!

Turkey Help from Butterball

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But there’s an easy solution! Make it a “scoop and nuke night.” What’s that?…. Here’s the easy recipe:

• An easy, no fuss, semi–nutritious meal. It’s so quick that I had time to prepare it before the after school frenzy.
• One pan cooking. After all, no matter what time I get home that pan will be waiting for me in the sink.
• Make a lot. I always planned on leftovers, but never got any.
• A meal that everyone will eat!

My family isn’t picky too about food, but like everyone their appetite depends on the day.  My daughter couldn’t eat a heavy meal before dance, but my son was famished.  My husband still thinks he plays college varsity soccer and I require just one dish–fast.

Ideas for What to Put on the Dining Room Table:

• Soup with fresh bread – Make a pot of whatever is left in the refrigerator from the weekend – add  broth.
• Chicken stroganoff. A little heavy for the dancer, but one of her favorites and she could have some before and after class.
• Spaghetti. If I boil the noodles and mix with sauce before leaving for my meeting (one pan remember?)
• Tacos. Smorgasbord of cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, except for the meat with sauce which can be “nuked” as needed.

Or ask friends! Our all time family favorite is an Indonesian spicy rice dish called Nasi Goreng (fried rice).  You might think we picked this up when we lived in Asia, but no, we never do anything the easy way.

We first heard about this lifesaver on a ski trip with our best friends, who are Dutch. Apparently, Dutch cooking is replete with Indonesian and Malaysian influences, as they were a global trading power in the 1600’s. In fact, the rijstafel (rice table) is a frequent Malaysian occurrence – an assortment of Asian dishes, largely including or served over rice and named by the Dutch.

Anyways, we stayed in a rental apartment and everyone was tired from skiing all day.  Yvette, my friend, was graciously in charge of feeding the troops that night. The pot filled with Nasi Goreng must have been as big as one of the best lobster pots, but 30 minutes later it was empty.

Nasi Goreng Recipe: Try it with your family!

• Spice mix. I found the Dutch store and bought the Nasi Goreng by Conimex packets. For added interest you can also purchase Ketcap Manis (something like sweet soy sauce), to be truly authentic.
• Cook rice. Mix with spice, add onion and chicken (optional). Then it’s ready to go!
• Or you can make it from scratch (but not on a scoop and nuke night!)

Low and behold, a few years later my family was transferred to Asia. The first day there, my son saw Nasi Goreng on the menu and was thrilled to see something he both recognized and loved!

Well, let me tell you – the original native is not what comes out of the bag. After the first bite, and many tears of disappointment, I had to find the closest Dutch store and revert to our mix.  We still horde it in our cupboards!

Share your scoop and nuke meals–and how they save your family!

Want some history on the Dutch East India Company? Makes for interesting dinner table conversation!

Nasi Goreng Ready to Go!

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Who doesn’t love Halloween and pumpkins? It gives us adults an excuse to pretend and have fun!

Scary Carved Pumpkins

What my Family Did for Halloween:

When my children were little, this season was all about the family trip to the pumpkin patch and finding that perfect Halloween costume. 

As the kids became “too cool” for Trick or Treating, they turned their attention to scaring the neighborhood kids with our haunted hallway. The whole family got in on the fun. When the doorbell rang, the  spooky music started, the hallway was foggy from a cauldron of dry ice and strobe lights flashed to complete the eerie feel. The children still got to dress up to hand out the goodies!

Then as the children grew even older and time more scarce, we planned one night together to carve an elaborate jack-o-lantern. Soon our pumpkins became the talk of the neighborhood.

Ideas to Celebrate Halloween and National Pumpkin Day:

1.  Printable pumpkin carving stencils:Stencils help those of us who cannot really draw a scary face. We love black cats.For scary printable pumpkin carving stencils click here .
2.   Child Friendly Pumpkin Decorating:For little ones, who you don’t want to arm with a knife or other carving implement –there’s an equally fun alternative. One of my favorite home movie moments is of my daughter, Laura, age 4, decorating the pumpkins, armed with toothpicks and a farmer’s market full of vegetables. With spinach hair, radish eyes, cucumber ears, a carrot nose and black olive teeth she learned about vegetables, ate and laughed for about an hour.  Then that pumpkin was ready to turn heads! Show off their proud creation right on your front doorstep. These were done at a local fall fair.
   

   Kid Friendly Pumpkin Decorations

3. Pumpkin Muffin Recipe:For a pre or post Trick or Treat pick–me–up, you can make some  delicious pumpkin muffins.  Check out how to make our great pumpkin muffin recipe from TSG Apple cake.

4. Pumpkin Roll Recipe:For those feeling more creative, prepare a delicious pumpkin roll

5.Heat up some cider laced with cinnamon and have a warm October evening full of memories that will be sure to give you goose bumps!

One of my favorite sources for quirky facts and the history of food is the Nibble, an online magazine, where I found today’s cause for celebration–National Pumpkin Day!

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Ok, well that’s not really me, but it was my Mom when she was first married. I honestly think that between us, we would have made one great housewife – I cook and she cleans.  My  father-in-law would have shriveled up without a microwave, and some surprisingly astute business women I know claim kitchen disability as well.  But I think the truth is that they don’t want to cook – not that they can’t.

 Now I confess that learning to cook can have it’s ups and downs. (We will not talk about the inedible disasters that have graced my garbage can.)  I know for a fact that my son learned how to cook before he left home, but the first time he prepared dinner in his college room, he turned the burner on high, threw in the chicken breast, and set off the fire alarm – then he didn’t try again for a year.

Dinner Disaster

Worst case, anyone can boil some water in the microwave, add instant rice and slice pre-cooked chicken on top, open a jar of apple sauce for a side – and voila!.  Just don’t try to get me to eat it. That might count as instant dorm food, but not dinner.

How to Bake Like a Pro

Right out of the starting gate you can impress everyone by baking – dare I say with a little TSG beer bread (just add beverage).  You can even go to the website and download one sheet with over 15 variations, and you’ll be a master chef right away.  Branch out –steam some fresh vegetables and spring with Tearless Onion and Chives – then you can add the precooked chicken breast – and you’ve come a long way in one day.

Learn How to Cook

To learn to cook, I recommend you find a friend who knows you well and start simple – like spaghetti

1.  For entertainment as well as ideas you can go to You tube and watch “how to co

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. A drier series from Howcookingworks.com  - competent but not entertainment

3. You can also bone up on you skills from online sites so you look like like a pro when your mother-in-law arrives. 

4. There are lots of food shows on TV that can help, like Semi Home Made with Sandra Lee.  This is sort of an updated Campbell’s soup approach mixing some cooking with already prepared foods for a polished look that will help you gain confidence .  

Personally, I’d go buy a book,  – but sooner or later you just have to  take the plunge and start !

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 My husband loves to cook, and fortunately, he’s very good at it.  He does have some specialties though – anything that can be cooked on top of a barbeque (yes, even in the winter).  In the 30+years we’ve been married, I can probably count on two hands the number of times I have had to cook on a weekend.  Not bad, you say, but it does come with some caveats:

1. It’s most frequently some form of beef and potatoes (although in the last few years with the advent of planks, we have a lot of fish too!)
2. Someone has to go to the store for some ingredient.
3. All dishes are in the sink at the end of the meal.
4. There’s a lot of crispy crust involved.

All in all, this isn’t a bad list of details, it’s just the result of what happens when someone enters what is typically “MY” domain, the kitchen.  I am, after all, a creature of habit – mine not his.

1.  Husbands can learn how to grill fish with planks.

Grilling Planked Salmon

Barbequing with a plank is a great way to tackle more delicate foods and add flavor.  At almost any  grocery store, or store that sells barbeque equipment will have them.   Just soak the plank in water for a couple of hours, and place the fish (usually) on the plank to add flavor while it cooks.  The fish won’t have to be touched until done – meaning it will stay in one piece. Here are some easy steps to follow.

2.  Husbands feel great about cooking on a barbeque!

The better news, is that with the advent of celebrity chefs our breadth of weekend offerings has expanded exponentially.  We have progressed well into rotisserie food, soft shell crabs, fruit for dessert (particularly peaches and pineapple), and the ultimate guy food – pizza!

Scott and Laura make barbeque pizza

 When in doubt you  can take virtually any meat and spread it with Two Sisters Gourmet Sisters Southern Sweet  Barbeque Sauce and have a hit.

3. Dad Kitchen Specialities: Hot Dog Octopus and other Dad Food: 

Unlike his Dad, he won’t starve, nor will anyone else in 100 miles.  He has specialized in BBQ and in large quantities, which is generally a good thing. More recently, when I have had to travel, I am frequently regaled with how successful his weeknight dinners are with my daughter: steak salad and hot dog octopuses (things which I don’t regularly endorse). When the children were small, I  was taught how to make hot dogs into fun food octopuses.  Click here for step by step instructions. 

Hot Dog Octopus

What I wish husbands would learn about kitchen skills!

1. Clean As You Go!

His intent is always admirable, it’s my reaction that sometimes lacks appreciation.  I tend to clean as I cook, so that when I am finished, I am finished – Now this isn’t too bad, but we kind of have an arrangement- he who cooks doesn’t clean, so I feel like I get the short end of this stick.

2.  Think Ahead!

Same thing on the ingredients, I tend to make things that use what I have (and that tends to involve planning ahead).  Or if I need something, I know a day or two ahead – but I understand that doesn’t mean you always get what you want when you want it.  That apparently is not part of the guy thing – same day venture (or maybe a couple of hours ahead- funny how it makes him crazy when the college kids do the same thing).

3.  Burnt isn’t always the best!

Then there’s some degree of burn….which many years ago someone suggested was not too good for your health….and he’s really improved in that area…now it only burns when it is supposed to – like those nice grill marks on vegs

Is it worth it?  YOU BET! Relaxing also means loosening up and appreciating what others are trying to do for you!  I have a husband who cares enough to share responsibility, deliver a great steak (and other) on a day I get to relax.  Enjoys cooking enough to be adventuresome, and appreciate some of what I prepare. And comes back to do it again, even though I moan and groan (about having to get up after a delicious meal!).  Thank you!

Great Barbeque Recipe Books

1.  Making Pizza on the grill is a personal trademark and a great party.  Here’s how. in a fun video 

3.  For beginners, you need to learn the basics if you don’t want your backyard to go up in a bonfire. Some great beginner books are here! And from the king of grilling – Weber!

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Laura and Deb on Campus - before cooking

 Just before Parent’s weekend, she sent me a text saying, “the H1N1 virus has hit my school!”  After last spring’s media frenzy, she is worried about getting this virus. For my advice, I retreated to a standard “Mom formula” – eat healthy and get plenty of sleep. But who am I kidding? In college, no way!

 If I’m lucky, she gets one nutritious meal per day in the dining hall usually consisting of salad or pasta. There’s a hefty amount of branded coffee in her diet too, which by the way means the same calorie content as milkshakes. Many schools are trying to prepare healthier dining hall meals, but that doesn’t affect the students eating habits!

How to Cook with Just a Microwave and a Refrigerator:

This got me thinking, how can you eat healthy with an electric kettle, a microwave and a refrigerator (without the freezer mind you)?  Gratefully, food choices have improved since I was faced with the same problem years ago in my college days. I’m sure guys will resort to ramen noodles, but that gets old after a while. And I would say girls are more particular so I asked my daughter to brainstorm some ideas.

Dorm Room Cooking Essentials:

Here are my daughter’s staples:

1. Tuna packets (with salt, pepper, and olive oil)
2. Microwavable steamed vegetables (both frozen and non frozen brands)
3. Cereal
4. Oranges and bananas (no mess or dishes to clean up)
5. Smart-ones frozen dinners
6. Yogurts (The yogurts in the bottles are really good on the way to class because no spoon)
7. In the university dining hall, I’ll get a wrap and put a salad in it from the salad bar along with some deli meat, just as healthy but way more interesting than plain salad

8. Tea!

Easy Recipes:No Cooking

They can track down the pre-packaged and pre-cooked aisles in the grocery store. Get a bag of pre–packaged salad, followed by pre-cooked chicken. Sprinkle grated cheese on the chicken and top it all off with your favorite dressing. Voilá you have a great meal! (Add a dash of TSG Outrageously Garlic or Tearless Onion and Chives on everything!)

As for the rest of staying healthy, I suggest:

• Bottle of hand sanitizer
• Tea mixed with honey and lemon
•  Chicken noodle soup
• Vitamin C

And if all else fails – call home to mom.

If you want a teen’s perspective on what’s healthy and what they like, check out this post from Radical Parenting   

For dorm room cooking 101, click here

College Student Holiday gift ideas:

• Everything College Cookbook by Rhonda Parkinson
• Healthy College Cookbook by Alexandra Nimetz
• Complete Idiots Guide to the College Diet by Shelly Vaughan James
• Cooking Outside the Pizza Box by Jean Patterson

Get involved! Click here and read how colleges can participate in local sustainable food projects.

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It’s time for parent’s weekend at my daughter, Laura’s campus, which also happens to be my husband, Rick’s, alma mater. It will be a fun filled weekend of school spirit, orange and blue spirit that is, and overall collegiate good cheer.

When Rick attended this beautiful campus, the football team’s record was something to brag about. Although, the stats have changed–win or lose the tailgating begins!

Our annual tradition kicks off Saturday with friends, sun, fall foliage and plenty of noise. I’m looking forward to a reunion with family friends whose children also attend Laura’s school. I love seeing both generations enjoying each other more than ever. It really is a made for TV moment.

Tailgating without Cooking – Easy Meal Ideas

This year we have to pack light because we are flying into Pennsylvania. Our usual tailgating gear definitely won’t be fitting into our little rental car. Despite this minor setback, I’m ready to go!

Believe it or not I won’t be cooking. This year I’m relying on the local grocery store, Laura, who I have mentioned is a mean dorm room cook (name of article and link) and my trusty TSG.

Tailgating Snacks: A shopping list.

• Pigs in a blanket–the guy’s favorite.
  • This year we are improvising: pigs, forget the blanket, and topped with ketchup and Racy Wasabi Raspberry Mustard (ok I had to check my bag).
• Pre-cut fruit and vegetables
• Chips and pretzels
• Pre-packaged salad
• French baguette and cheese
• Fried chicken
• Beverage of choice

Bring on the Flavor! Two Sisters Gourmet spices and treats packed in my suitcase:

• Sample envelope of Over-The-Edge Herbed Spinach™
  • Mix with sour cream (buy at the store) to make a veggie dip.
• Snickerdoodle Sweet Cheeseball Mix

• Blend with whipped cream (buy at the store) to make a fruit dip.

Setting the Picnic Table – See you out there!

Set the table with a plastic table cloth and don’t let your friends miss out on the fun – pictures to follow!

Other great souces for tailgating ideas – cooking included!

• The tailgate food men crave
• Tailgating.com: a Web site dedicated to this American pastime
• Tailgating ideas galore – plus themes

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