Jul

It’s been a while since my last post. What’s been keeping me so busy these days? Christmas. Yep, you read it right – we’ve been busy working on our holiday issues. Now I don’t want to freak you out since Christmas is so far down the road, but I thought it might be fun to see a sneak peek of what we’ve been working on.

Cookies
We’ve probably done over 200 tests on a variety of cookies. We test each recipe until it’s perfect and foolproof. Then we do a make-ahead storage test to determine how long the cookies can be frozen before their taste and appearance are compromised. Here’s a shot of what’s in our freezer right now.

I never thought I’d say this but I’m sick of eating cookies. Our assistant food editor Lyn Chua has coined this phenomena “cookie fatigue.” She has a serious case of it since she’s in charge of this story, though I’m sure we’ll all be eating them again soon. It’s amazing how quickly I can find myself saying “Just one more bite” when there’s a full plate in front of me.

Next is beef
We’ve also been researching and testing a recipe for the ultimate roast beef dinner. No simple feat! There’s always debate about how to cook a roast dinner, and trust me, I have some firm opinions on this. But I can honestly say our recipe is the best I’ve ever tried. Stay tuned for its appearance in a fall issue.

Here’s a pic of a recent beef dinner I did at home. I made béarnaise instead of gravy for a more summery sauce. (But let’s face it, béarnaise may look lighter but it certainly isn’t from a caloric perspective.)

The big dinner
No Christmas feast is complete without yummy side dishes. We’ve been working on several easy ideas but there’s been a few mishaps along the way, including this microwave explosion. Lindsay Evans (one of our wonderful freelance testers) had to deal with the fall out. And this is why we test! Sometimes a short-cut seems like a great idea but then suddenly there’s spaghetti squash hanging from the ceiling of your microwave.

Stay tuned for my next post – easy crab frittata. It’s great for brunch or a cottage breakfast.

In the Kitchen