Dessert for after a spaghetti supper...

So my mom asked me today to think of some kind of fairly easy to make dessert for a spaghetti supper she's going to the Friday I'll be up on Cape Cod for a hockey tournament.

I'm thinking of something you can eat without cutlery; cookies, bars, etc... Keeping with the Italian influence, there's biscotti. Tiramisu and Spumoni are a little harder to accomplish if you're eating with your hands (though I've made Spumoni-inspired biscotti before!)

I'm trying to think of something a little between a cookie, bar or brownie, and trying not to think about my brownie-bottom cheesecakes. :) YUMMY! Maybe a cookie-bar hybrid.

Well, I'm off to pour over recipes - wish me luck!

A second thought... cookbook

I've been going back and forth lately on how I want to set up my upcoming cookbook. I have decided that it will begin as an e-book as CD's cost significantly less than the paper, ink, and binding costs of a traditional book, as well as the cost to ship a traditional book. CD mailers are much cheaper and there's always the possibility to have the file emailed or downloaded. Part of my thought process is that an e-book also eliminates the cost-per-square-inch that would traditionally dictate what you do and don't want to include in the book. So I may opt to do a quick nutritional summary at the bottom of the recipe as well as a full nutritional analysis chart. (I have a program that spits it all out for me as long as I accurately input the nutritional information of the ingredients.)

As far as a plan of attack is concerned, I think the best way to do this is to get it typed up in some kind of word processing or notepad type of program so that it can be copied and pasted into the analysis program when I get home. This way I can work on any computer and use my flash drive for storage, or use the pda I have if Bryan's workout program won't sync and he doesn't want to use it anymore. (Or if I can find the really old pda)

Guess that's it for now. Just thinking how many recipes I should include and how to organize... though the organization should go by type of dish. Breakfast, breads, snacks, beef entree, poultry entree, pork entree, seafood entree, sides - veggies, sides - starches, cakes, cookies, pies, other desserts. If you think I'm missing something, feel free to post it.

Christmas Baking

So I started my Christmas baking this weekend - much to my cooking joy! I made both cherry and lime flavored marshmallows - I had the proceedure down-pat when it came to the lime so I think they came out lighter & fluffier, but the cherry ones are pretty darn tasty as well!

I also made some mocha-hazelnut macaroons, biscotti, and tree-shaped spritz cookies. I am now sort of on a mission to make something egg-free besides the marshmallows for my sister's godson who can't have eggs. I already accomplished the gluten free and almond free for co-workers. :)

Tonight for dinner might need to be creative. I either have some leftover chicken to work with or ground turkey. I'll have to think about it for a little longer, but I'm thinking either stuffed peppers, turkey meatloaf, or turkey shepherds pie. OR TURKEY TACOS!!! I think that's what I want. Turkey taco dip for supper. Haven't made it in a while - maybe make them with a chipotle taco sauce. Oh - I'm getting hungry thinking about it! And some baked tortilla chips to dip :)

Okay - before I start eating my desk, I should go. :) Happy eating!