Often, when I’m together with friends or family, and the topic turns to food (when doesn’t it turn to food?), we find ourselves inevitably discussing food shows and cookbooks.

Whenever Giada De Laurentiis’ name comes up, the reaction is interesting. There are those that admire her, those that ADMIRE her, those that dislike her and those that enjoy her work.

I own all of her cookbooks and find myself in the position of saying that I really like her cookbooks, but don’t particularly care for her cooking show. That might sound strange since what she prepares on her show appears in her cookbooks, but my objection to her show has more to do with the way that she’s presented. I think she’s a great cook with some really good recipes thereby making it unnecessary to show all those cleavage shots! I know. I know. That’s part of what makes her show popular. I just think it undermines her.

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest (no pun intended), the purpose of this post is not to discuss Giada’s show, but rather her newest cookbook, Giada’s Kitchen.

If you’re familiar with any of her other cookbooks, this one follows the same layout. It’s organized by food category. Recipes are accompanied by gorgeous full-colour photos. There’s even a section for the younger ones (but the older ones can enjoy it too) and also a feature that I’m noticing in more and more cookbooks: a section with suggested menus made of recipes from the book.

It’s a winning formula from her previous books so there was no reason not to repeat it here and it works very well.

If nothing else the picture will make you happy.

I just really like Giada’s recipes. They’re structured for maximum flavour using some of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine (olive oil, cheese) with a lot of ease thrown in (olives, store-bought roasted peppers). There’s a very good mix of recipes as well, whether you’re looking for something to serve at a party or something to make on a quiet Friday night at home.

But my favourite part of this cookbook is the Desserts section, which I think is particularly strong. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy her cookbooks. She does not ignore the best part of any meal … the dessert!

So what did I try? Well, not as many recipes as I would have liked but here are some nibbles to entice you into stuffing this into someone’s stocking this Christamas!

Cantaloupe, Red Onion, and Walnut Salad

Easy and delicious, it’s a great salad for a dinner party. Add some thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma and people may never leave your house again.

Orzo-Stuffed Peppers

If you’re a bell pepper fanatic (as I am), this is like heaven. You’re basically using a bell pepper as a bowl for your pasta. Sign me up!

Orange and Chocolate Zeppole

Just buy the book and make them. That’s all that needs to be said.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

It’s hard to resist a lemon cookie but when it’s made with ricotta, it’s impossible to resist!

Just consider this one Giada’s best one and one that you should put on your holiday gift list. You know the one. Where you list all the presents that people should buy for you …

Ciao!

Early on in my blog career, I wrote a post about conquering my fear of caramel. I received a very thoughtful and helpful comment to that post from none other than Shuna Fish Lydon, the chef behind one of the most accomplished and informative blogs out there: eggbeater.

When the hosts of the November Daring Bakers’ challenge, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity; Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray of Food, announced that they would be venturing into caramel territory, I was so excited!

After embracing my fear of caramel, I’ve come to embrace the joy of making it. Mostly because I love the stuff but also because it’s the essence of a Daring Baker: face your fears in the kitchen!

The recipe they chose is Shuna Fish Lydon’s Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. As an added element, they invited Daring Bakers to try their hands at Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert.

Before I begin discussing the challenge, I want to first thank Dolores, Alex and Jenny for forcing Daring Bakers everywhere to embrace their inner caramel-maker!

And I want to especially thank Shuna who has been so gracious throughout this challenge, not only for letting us use her recipe, but also for taking the time to answer the many questions that people have had. It’s an honour to have you with us, Shuna!

Every Daring Bakers’ challenge is different. Some have elements that are very new to me and others have methods that might be different from something I’ve tried before.

Some months I feel the need to provide a step-by-step account of what I’ve done and other months I don’t.

In this case, I would have to say that the key is the caramel. While I love caramel, I’m not a fan of dark caramel. I prefer the flavour of a lighter caramel so I didn’t cook mine quite as long as the recipe indicated. This meant that my caramel syrup wasn’t as dark and thick as some others, but that’s okay. The flavour was still gorgeous and I’m enjoying the leftover syrup on everything that I can pour it on!

For me, the best part of this challenge was the icing. This frosting for this cake is made with melted butter! I have never made a frosting with melted butter and to say I was intrigued would be an understatement. And not only is it melted butter, it’s browned butter which has to be one of my favourite flavours. When you brown butter, it takes on a nutty essence that is divine. Everyone adored the frosting! I can’t wait to try it in other recipes.

In deference to the chewy caramels I used to eat as a child, I had to try the recipe for the Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Alice Medrich. I was not able to obtain ground golden vanilla beans so I used pure vanilla extract instead. Because I love caramel and salt, I added a liberal sprinkling of fleur de sel to the finished product. It was like being a kid all over again!

Embrace your inner caramel-maker and be sure to visit all the other daring bakers to see what they made.

Ciao!

This is just a little reminder that if you have the Christmas cookie twinkle in your eye but you can’t get around to baking any this year, I’d be happy to bake some for you!

If you’re in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area and you’d like to order cookies for Christmas, send me an e-mail at creampuffsinvenice{@}gmail{.}com. You can also contact me by sending me an e-mail using the Contact button at the top of my blog page.

I’ve been baking cookies for people for a few years now and thought I’d spread the word. I’m offering seven varieties of cookies. If you’re interested and would like more information, just let me know!

I’ll need all orders in by December 3rd!

Ciao!

Right about this time of year, I start to get the cookie twinkle in my eye. That’s the twinkle representing all the cookies that will be born in the month ahead as the Christmas frenzy starts.

There are many family favourites when it comes to Christmas cookies; these would be the ones that we can’t do without. And of course there are always new ones to try.

For today’s Magazine Mondays post, I decided to try a recipe that I’ve had bookmarked for a very long time. I’ve made palmiers before, and have many variations of the recipe, but I just wanted to put this particular recipe (from a 1998 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings) to rest.

They were pretty and delicious and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Will I make them for Christmas? Possibly.

What I do know is that there is much sweetness ahead. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ciao!

Note: During the month of November, I will be taking a hiatus from Magazine Mondays. But never fear! Those of you wishing to attack the magazine pile can still do so. Wandering Coyote of Retorte has so graciously offered to host MM for the month of December. So you can send your links to her at wandering_coyote{@}yahoo{.}ca.

Joining me this week for Magazine Mondays are the following people who managed to lessen their magazine pile just a bit:

Wandering Coyote made a mouth-watering Sausage and Penne Gratin.

Debbie started the week off with not one but two MM entries … Coconut Crusted Salmon with Tamarind Barbecue Sauce and New Mexico’s Chili Glazed Chicken with Hominy Polenta.

While I would argue that every season is cookbook season, I don’t think there’s any question that that the lead-up to Christmas is probably one of the most intense times for cookbook authors and publishers.

After all, cookbooks make great gifts.

Ahem. Hint. Hint.

Anyway, it’s usually around this time that friends will begin asking me, “So, if you had to buy someone a cookbook for Christmas, which one would it be?”

This year, there will be a number of cookbooks that I’ll be recommending and the first is today’s feature: à la di stasio by Josée di Stasio.

A television personality from Québec, Josée di Stasio’s book was previously released in French and has now been released in English.

In the cookbook’s opening pages, di Stasio writes that “enjoyment is the key word of this book” and to be honest, I don’t think there’s any better way to state my impression of this cookbook.

I could go into detail about layout and pictures (gorgeous and more gorgeous, respectively). I could go on and on about variety and quality of recipes (extensive and very good, respectively), but truth be told, I’d just be wasting your time.

Here’s what you need to know: this is a book for the entertainer in you. You know the one that wants to spend weekends just hanging around the house preparing really laid-back yet delicious meals. The one that wants to have those dinner parties that are totally effortless and stress-free (yes … those do exist). The one that just wants to be happy in the kitchen. If you recognize any one of those people, then you’ll love this cookbook.

As for the recipes, while I only tried two of them, I loved them both.

One was so easy and and turned out so well that we all just shook our heads and thought, “Why didn’t we think of this?” Pictured above are Ham and Egg Ramekins with the “ramekin” being a slice of bread. Seriously. It took about 10 minutes to pull this breakfast dish together and everyone loved it.

The second recipe I tried was pure indulgence for me: Caramel Spread. After tasting this spread for the first time on toast, we just started eating it by the spoonful. It’s a keeper, for sure.

Well I’ve wasted enough of your time. Go buy the book and start having some fun!

Ciao!

Ham and Egg RamekinsFrom à la di stasio by Josée di Stasio.

Serves 4.

4 slices of whole wheat bread (trim off crusts)
1 tablespoon softened butter
4 slices Black Forest ham
4 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a rolling pin, think out your slices of bread as much as possible (don’t go too thin or they’ll rip).

Divide the butter equally among the four slices and spread it on side of each slice.

On the unbuttered side of bread, lay a slice of Black Forest ham.

Carefully transfer the bread and ham to a muffin tin, making sure that the buttered side of the bread is the side that goes into the muffin cup.

Once all your bread and ham slices are in, crack open an egg and carefully drop one egg into each ham and bread cup.

Bake for 20 minutes and check the bread cups. If the egg is cooked, then remove otherwise keep it in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Once out of the oven, let rest for a few minutes before carefully popping out the bread ramekins. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers, take a bow because today is your second birthday!

It’s incredible but true. Two years ago today, Lis and I had a crazy idea to bake pretzels and now look where we are.

It has been two amazing years for us as we watched this group grow from two people to well over 1,000 bakers from all over the world.

While organizing The Daring Bakers certainly presents its challenges, I think I can speak for both Lis and myself when I say that I cannot imagine my blogging life without our little (big) group.

So Daring Bakers, everywhere, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Ciao!

As some of you may know, the word for aunt in Italian is “zia“.

In late October, my wonderful Zia C turned 50 and believe me she makes 50 look smashing!

She honoured me by asking that I bake her birthday cake. When I asked her what flavour of cake she wanted, she said something lemony.

Now when I was a little girl, I was a bit in awe of Zia C because she was so grown up … I wanted to be just like her. I also wanted to know what she was up to, so much so that I would stand at the foot of the stairs and call out to her, asking her what she was up to. But instead of calling her Zia C, my childish interpretation of her name was … Zia Don.

Don’t ask.

Anyway, for my Zia Don I made a cake from the incredible Lori Longbotham. My Magazine Mondays entry is this most delicious recipe for Triple-Lemon Layer Cake published in Issue #63 of Fine Cooking magazine.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ciao!

Here’s who joined me for Magazine Mondays:

Debbie of Taste of Sweetness made Beer Chili … yum!

Wandering Coyote of Retorte made chocolate cookies with M&Ms!!!

You may have noticed that a certain book has been taking over the food blogging world thanks to an exciting virtual cookbook blog tour.

The book I speak of is none other than Anita Chu’s Field Guide to Cookies: How to Identify and Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imagineable.

Most of you will know Anita from her sweet (literally and figuratively) and charming blog, Dessert First.

For those of you that don’t know Anita, she’s a passionate baker who has turned her love of pastry and dessert into a livelihood that now includes her very first cookbook.

As I told her in an e-mail recently, this is proof that good things do happen to good people!

The blog tour for Anita’s book has already touched down on Jen’s blog, Ari’s blog and Sara’s blog and today I’m happy to be hosting this great event. In the days to come you can visit Helene, Veronica, Aran, Béa and Peabody to follow the book on its tour.

A Field Guide to Cookies is a small format cookbook that’s 304 pages in length. It features photographs, along with a glossary of ingredients, an index of recipes and a legend of symbols used throughout the recipes.

And when you read the subtitle, that it’s a guide to every type of cookie imagineable, it really does include every type of cookie you could possibly imagine baking. In fact the first thing that struck me (pleasantly) when I flipped through the book is the variety of recipes included.

Clearly, Anita did her homework before and during writing this book. The variety of recipes alone would make this an indispensable cookbook for both the novice and more experienced cookie baker.

If you’re familiar with Anita’s blog, then you’ll know that she’s a very elegant writer. Her style is clean and conscise, as well as precise.

Her writing style in this book mirrors the standard she’s set on her blog. The recipes are very clear and simple to follow with uncomplicated instructions. For the first-time cookie baker, these are not intimidating recipes and for the more experienced baker, these are recipes that are attractive because in short order you can have a batch of lovely homemade cookies.

And there’s a cookie for everyone in here. Whether you like rolled cookies, filled cookies, drop cookies — whatever you fancy — you’ll find it in here.

Put it all in a cute little package that is quite maneouvreable, and you have yourself a must-buy cookbook (Sometimes with small format books — this book’s dimensions are roughly 6 x 5 x 1 inches so it’s not a large tome by any means — the books are difficult to hold or keep open on a page but Anita’s book definitely does not suffer from that problem.)

Okay so down to the nitty gritty. What did I bake and how did the cookies turn out?

I chose three cookies: Chocolate Espresso Cookies, Algerian Almond Tarts (Dziriate) and Swedish Sandwich Cookies (Syltkakor).

The Chocolate Espresso Cookies were intense. Almost truffle-like in texture, they had a wonderfully deep chocolate flavour enhanced by the espresso powder in the cookies. These were a huge hit as we are definitely chocolate lovers in my family. They were so good that I almost didn’t get a chance to snap a photo! What I liked about these cookies is that they were unfussy. Just mix the batter, roll the cookies into balls and bake. You end up with a cookie that has a sophisticated and elegant taste but doesn’t come with hours of prep work. Loved them!

The second cookie recipe I tried was for the Algerian Almond Tarts or Dziriate. Now, please don’t be put off by my photo. Unfortunately, my cookies did not hold their shape in the oven but this is through no fault of the recipe. When shaping the cookies, I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t wet the dough to ensure that the edges stayed together. As a result, the cookies lost their shape in the oven. But that aside, they were absolutely delicious. In fact, of the three cookies I tried I would say that these had the best taste thanks to the exotic (to me anyway) hint of orange flower water. I have a bottle of the stuff hidden way back in a cupboard and I thought it was high time I used it. This was one of the reasons that I chose this recipe. Add in the nuts, butter and vanilla and you have a truly beautiful cookie. Next time, though, I will take more care when shaping them so that they’ll actually look pretty, too!

Finally, I mixed up a batch of Swedish Sandwich Cookies (Syltkakor). All I can say about these is make them. The dough comes together so quickly and as these are sandwich cookies, you have lots of options in terms of what type of cutter to use and what type of filling to use. I brought these cookies to a famly function and everyone loved them.

I have to thank Anita for including me in her blog tour. This has been such a fun experience and I’m honoured to say that I own a copy of Anita’s first cookbook!

In the days to come, please be sure to check out the following blogs to find out how these bloggers feel about Anita’s book:

Nov. 17th - Helen of Tartelette

Nov. 18th - Veronica of Veronica’s Test Kitchen

Nov. 19th - Aran of Cannelle et Vanille

Nov. 20th - Bea of La Tartine Gourmande

Nov. 21st - Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ciao!

Chocolate Espresso Cookies
From Field Guide to Cookies: How to Identify and Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imagineable by Anita Chu.

Recipe:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
1¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 oz semisweet chocolate
½ cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) chocolate chips

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
2. Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally so it will melt evenly; remove from heat when smooth.
3. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Pour in melted chocolate and beat until combined.
5. Add flour mixture and chocolate chips and mix on low just until incorporated.
6. Cover dough and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop.
7. Preheat the oven to 350◦F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
8. Roll dough into 1½-inch balls and place on sheets about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes—cookies will still appear soft but will firm up upon cooling. Cool cookie sheets on wire racks before removing cookies with a metal spatula.

Yield: About 5 dozen cookies.

I just wanted to put the word out that if you’re in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area and you’d like to order cookies for Christmas, send me an e-mail at creampuffsinvenice{@}gmail{.}com. You can also contact me by sending me an e-mail using the Contact button at the top of my blog page.

I’ve been baking cookies for people for a few years now and thought I’d spread the word. I’m offering five varieties of cookies. If you’re interested and would like more information, just let me know!

I’ll need all orders in by December 3rd!

Ciao!

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada.

I hope that wherever you are, you’ll take a moment to remember all the men and women who made the most incredible sacrifices.

Ciao!

Mine aren’t nearly as pretty as Martha’s, but they’ll do.

I was asked to put together a cookie tray for a family function by my aunt and she specifically asked for madeleines. I have a favourite madeleine recipe from this book but for the cookie tray, I thought I’d finally try a recipe for Rose-Water Madeleines from an issue of Martha’s Weddings magazine.

After baking the madeleines, you apply a rose-water syrup to the edges and then sprinkle on coloured sanding sugar, which is a type of sugar used in cake and cookie decorating. As far as I know there’s only one cake decorating store in the Greater Toronto Area that sells sanding sugar (Hello, Golda’s Kitchen! … if anyone knows of any other stores in Toronto that sell the stuff please do let me know) and I didn’t have time to drive out there so I used regular granulated sugar that I tinted pink.

The madeleines were moist and not-too-sweet and the pretty edges was a nice touch, although I’d like to try them again with proper sanding sugar.

Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy some with a cup of tea … have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Remember, if you have a magazine recipe that you’ve finally tried, let me know and I’ll link to it! Here’s who has joined me recently for Magazine Mondays:

Natashya made a comforting Fall Fruit Crumble.

Liliana made some mouth-watering Ricotta Fritters.

In my family’s cooking mythology, there is no question that my mother’s crespelle rank high in the pecking order.

What are these crespelle I speak of, you ask?

Gather round, and I shall tell you a story.

Like most of the young women in her family, my mother was raised on the simple yet robust food of Southern Italy (Calabria to be exact). Call it rustic or simple if you like, she grew up eating and cooking with lots of tomatoes, lots of garlic, lots of pasta, lots of beans, lots of meatballs and lots of soup. Was it fancy? No. Was it good? Si!

When my mother married my father in 1972, she brought with her the repertoire that she had inherited. But as the years went by, she expanded that repertoire with an impressive array of foods from a region far removed from Calabria: Le Marche.

And of all the dishes that my mother learned from my father’s side of the family, there are few as dear to me as crespelle.

Crespelle is the Italian word for crepes, which in a very broad way defines what this dish is. I caution you, though, that as with so many other Italian dishes, crespelle can refer to a dish prepared in numerous different ways, depending on what region, province, city or town in Italy that you happen to be consulting.

But in my father’s family, which hails from Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche, crespelle are thick crepes stacked high and then soaked in chicken broth. The layers of crepes are lined with the incredibly savoury Pecorino commonly made in the hills around Ascoli Piceno.

Allow me to deconstruct.

This dish begins with crespelle, or crepes, which are slightly thicker than the more typical crepes associated with French desserts like Crêpes Suzette. The crespelle batter is made with flour, water and a large quantity of eggs (more eggs than you would use in a recipe for French-style crepes). The result is a slightly thicker crepe that has more of an eggy bite to it.

The thicker crepe is a perfect vessel for the layer of sharp cheese and black pepper sandwiched in between the crespelle. Ideally, my mother would use the sheep’s milk cheese made in the hills where my father’s town is. We’re sometimes lucky enough to be in possesion of some of this cheese thanks to a trip to Italy and a loving relative who has procured some for us. But if we don’t have any, then my mother uses Parmigiano Reggiano.

I often ask myself what the key ingredient of this dish is; is it the crespelle or the broth? Tough call. What I do know is that once you’ve gone to the trouble of making the crespelle and grating the cheese, you must finish the dish with the best homemade chicken broth you can create.

And it must be homemade.

You can try using store-bought chicken stock but trust me, it won’t be the same.

Once you have all your elements in place, you carefully stack your crespelle, christening each layer with a few spoonfuls of cheese with a bit of black pepper (the ideal is stacks of 15 crespelle) and then you christen your creation with ladles of soul-sustaining broth. And then, you cover.

You cover your creation to allow the crespelle and the broth and the cheese to marry and steep and join in a relationship that results in one of the most elegant and delicious first courses you can imagine.

For me, crespelle are a special occasion dish, which is funny in that looked at separately, there’s nothing really special about the elements. Crepes are just flour, water and egg. The cheese is just that, the cheese. And the broth, well, how many times have we had homemade broth?!

But together, they form a dish that is the trigger for so many happy memories of special meals. But more than that, to me, there is no dish that represents more the legacy that my mother has created in her kitchen.

Ciao!

My Mother’s Crespelle
Treasured Family Recipe.

For the crespelle (yields 30 crepes that are roughly 6 inches in diameter):

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cup water, at room temperature
8 eggs, at room temperature

In a large bowl, mix the flour and water until you have a thick paste. Add the eggs, a few at a time, until they are all incorporated. This requires some elbow grease as you must ensure that there are no lumps in the batter. Once combined, allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes.

Once the batter has rested, heat your pan on high heat. We use two or three small frying pans to help the process go quickly. Our pans yield 6-inch crepes.

Place a tablecloth on your table and then place a few layers of parchment paper on top of the tablecloth. The cooked crepes will rest on the parchment while they cool.

Once the pans are heated, wipe them quickly with a paper towel that has been dipped in some vegetable oil.

Lower the heat to medium-high and pour approximately a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan (this is for a 6-inch crepe).

Cook the crepes for about 2 minutes on each side. The crepes are cooked when they are golden in colour and flip easily. Flip them once only. If you flip them too many times they will dry out too much.

Place the cooked crepes on the parchment paper and let cool completely.

Assembling the crespelle:

2 cups Parmigiano Romano (if you can get a hold of some good quality Pecorino cheese, you can also use that)
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 cups of hot chicken broth (preferably homemade)
You will need a round container with a lid (we like to use a 2 Litre Corning Ware pot)

Combine the cheese and black pepper.

Place a crepe at the bottom of your container. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture over the crepe.

Top with a second crepe and another spoonful of cheese. Continue layering the crepes and cheese until you have a stack of 15 crespelle (do not put cheese on the top layer). While you can create stacks of more more than 15 crespelle, the ideal height is 15.

With a sharp knife, cut the crepe stack into four segments.

About 15 to 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve the crespelle, finish the dish by pouring the hot broth over the crespelle. The broth should cover the top layer so depending on the size of your container you may need anywhere from 6 to 8 cups of broth.

When pouring the broth over the crespelle, do so carefully to ensure that you maintain the layered wedge.

Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top of the crespelle and immediately cover the crespelle and let sit for 10 minutes.

Serve the crespelle in a soup plate by scooping up a wedge per person. Add some broth to the bottom of the plate for an elegant finish.

Enjoy!

*** Update ***

Wow … you guys really wanted that cookbook!

Thanks for all the wonderful guesses. My favourite Christmas movie is … A Christmas Carol (the original black and white version with Alastair Sim).

Wandering Coyote of Retorte was the first to guess correctly so she’ll be receiving a copy of Confetti Cakes for Kids: Delightful Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery by Elisa Strauss.

Thanks to all of you for your answers!!!

**********************************

Thank you to everyone that answered my question from my last post.

Trust me … your answers are all going towards a very important research project …

Fa la la la la la …

Anyway, to say thank you, I’d like to offer you a free copy of a most wonderful little book. Consider it an early Christmas present.

The book in question is Confetti Cakes for Kids: Delightful Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery by Elisa Strauss.

To win the cookbook, you have to guess the correct answer to the following question: what is my favourite Christmas movie? The first correct guess wins the book!

Ciao!

… and Cream Puff has a question for you!

For the second Monday in a row, I don’t have a Magazine Mondays post for you. However, I do have a little project I’d like you to help me with.

I have something special planned for December and I’d like you to answer the following question to help me with my research. So here it is:

If you could only watch one movie on Christmas Day, what movie would it be?

I know. I know. Christmas talk already. But I can’t help myself … fa la la la la la …

Ciao!