holidays – In Good Taste

Tips and Recipes to Host the Best Holiday Cookie Swap

Maris Callahan — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 18:00:41 +0000

Sound easy enough to pull off? We have everything you need to organize the best holiday cookie swap of the season, including a baker’s dozen cookie recipes from some of our favorite blogs. The Prep Guest List When planning your holiday cookie swap, remember that you’ll need to bake enough cookies so that everyone can take a few home. That means you might not want to invite thirty of your closest friends…unless they happen to be serious bakers. Shoot for up to ten friends who enjoy baking and who you think will all get along with one another. Cookie Rules The first rule of a holiday cookie swap is that no one talks about the holiday cookie swap. Or is that from the movie Fight Club? Either way, the holiday cookie swap rules are up to you, but you should definitely set some. Let guests know what the parameters are—such as, whether or not cookies should be made from scratch or if they should be holiday-themed. Don’t be afraid to delegate a little to ensure you don’t have three identical shortbreads. Typically, guests bake a dozen cookies for every attendee. But a half dozen would work if the party is large (say, more […]

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14 Insane Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Need to Make

Maris Callahan — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 18:55:54 +0000

Thanksgiving turkeys get a lot of hype, but really? It’s the side dishes that people look forward to all year. It’s the mashed potatoes, the stuffing, the corn casserole and the cranberry sauce that people look forward to all year. While some people are traditionalists when it comes to the big meal, others like to mix it up and add fresh new Thanksgiving side dishes to the dinner table each year. If you’re among those who are looking to spice up your menu this holiday season, here are 14 of the most indulgent and creative dishes you can make this year. 1. Poutine Stuffing with Sausage and Cheese Curds This poutine stuffing is a fun twist on a fall classic. Perfect for Thanksgiving, it’s packed full of pork sausage and cheese curds and topped with a delicious poutine gravy. 2. Caramelized Onion and Bacon Mashed Potatoes If you’re looking to take your ‘taters to the next level, caramelized onions and bacon will add sweet and salty flavors into these creamy and delicious bacon mashed potatoes. 3. Mushroom Goat Cheese Galette It takes a few hours to pull this savory mushroom goat cheese galette together, but when you taste the tangy goat cheese and […]

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Quick Jambalaya

Maris Callahan — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 23:02:46 +0000

Even though it’s fair to say that I have very little understanding of the cultural significance behind Fat Tuesday (beyond, you know…the literal meaning, which I’ve got down) I love the French-Spanish culture of New Orleans and the city’s influence on creole and cajun cuisine. This quick jambalaya is a Martha Stewart recipe that I made in anticipation of Fat Tuesday. What I didn’t anticipate is that my coworker would bring in paczkis, Polish pastries that are sometimes translated as “doughnuts” — fried dough filled with flavored jelly or cream and often topped with powdered sugar. Then we had pizza for lunch, but I digress. I’m a fan of celebrating any and all occasions, regardless of whether or not it’s actually relevant to me, simply because it’s more fun than not celebrating the occasions. Why have plain chicken and rice for dinner when you could instead spend about 10 more minutes on the preparation and have a hot, delicious pot of jambalaya ready before you’ve even finished your first glass of after-work wine? It is Fat Tuesday after all. One note on this recipe: if you’re not used to cooking with sausage, as I am not, your best bet is to buy fresh pork […]

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Creative Holiday Gifts for Him with Culinary Twist

Maris Callahan — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 20:49:50 +0000

If there is one thing I know about men that I will argue until the end of time, it’s that they are infinitely more difficult to buy holiday gifts for than women are. I’m sure that I’m perpetuating all kinds of sexists stereotypes with this statement, so I’ll illustrate with an example. I’ve known my brother for all 30 years that he’s been alive. His birthday is in January and I typically have his gift by February or March. His girlfriend, who I met for the first time about six months ago, just had a birthday in December. I had her gift in hand in October and gave it to her a week early. Ladies, even though it isn’t half as much fun buying clothing, costume jewelry, accessories and bath/beauty products for men, there are ways to get creative with your gift giving this holiday season. The one thing all humans have in common is that we eat. Even for people who aren’t foodies that love to cook and dine out, a special dinner every once in awhile is always a welcome receipt. Instead of opting for the ho-hum restaurant gift card, put together a fun and festive package of delicious, […]

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Easy Rigatoni with Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

Maris Callahan — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:20:23 +0000

When in need to make a quick and elegant dinner for guests, this creamy, spicy rigatoni paired with VOVETI prosecco is perfect for everyday pairing or chic entertaining with friends. When was freelancing five years ago, I took a part time waitressing job at a casual French restaurant to bring in some income while I worked on building up my client base. Though all of the servers received a pretty comprehensive wine training, we were by no means master sommeliers. In training, we learned a lot about which wine varieties pair best with different flavors, but that if we didn’t know the answer to a guest’s question about wine, there was one statement we could always resort to: sparkling wine pairs with everything. Even though my career in food service lasted so long you could have blinked and missed it, I learned an important lesson: certain wines really do pair well with anything on your plate and VOVETI, a high quality, craft prosecco made in small batches (only 15,000 cases are produced annually) is one of those wines. VOVETI is a collaborative effort between the Collavini family and the Ferrer family; each family brings 4 generations of sparkling wine expertise to the table. As with most […]

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