2006 is coming to a close and 2007 is knocking at my door. Hard to believe that my mother was right…the older you get the more time flies. I thought I would end the year by highlighting some of the favorite things I made. We will start with the Caramel Apple Cake that not only tasted great but was kind enough to pose well for me so that I could win the edibility award for DMBLGIT.

Next is a Blackeberry Cobbler that I am afraid to make again because when I did make this I actually ate nothing but the cobbler for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was gone in a day and a half. A whole cobbler, with just me eating it.

My mom’s graham flour Banana Bread is also one that shouldn’t be missed… the graham flour gives it that something special that other banana breads don’t have.

My two favorite projects of the year were to replicate two of my childhood favorites: Circus Animal Cookies and Pop Tarts.

I paid tribute to my favorite sandwich, the Monte Cristo….truly one of the greatest food inventions of all time.

I found a new favorite cookie for my hubby, the Triple Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are a cross between and cookie and a brownie and they kick butt!

I could go on and on, but then I would just be reposting most of my blog. I hope everyone has a safe New Years Eve and a stress free New Year.

Today I was fortunate enough to meet up with a fellow food blogger Jeff and his lovely wife Steph, as they were in town here for the holidays….all the way from Boston. Jeff runs C is for Cooking one of my must daily reads. It was really fun to actually meet a food blogger face to face and it just fuels me to want to meet others. Both of them are wonderful people and we had a nice conversation….my husband even talked, which is amazing because he is pretty anti-social. I got to oh and awe over his nice camera while I took out my point and shoot. …which took horrible pictures today since I took their picture with the macro on, which I did not realize till I got home…duh! We met up at the Original Starbucks(because everyone in Seattle knows where it is) and decided to go to Cafe Campagne which is just down the street and located in the Pike Place Market area. It is the bistro version of the more snooty, yet highly regarded Campange. Our waiter was very good at acting French, he was never around and when he was he pretended he was better than us. Though he did get our order right with the exception of being a little slow at getting Steph her hot tea she asked for. The tables are so close that you are rubbing elbows with your neighbors….we were close enough to watch the poor guy next to us get walked out on by his date….at least that is what we think happened…we were trying not to ease drop too much. I had the soup of the day which was a parsnip and fennel soup, it was the highlight of my meal…very tasty.

Both hubby and I had the Croque-monsieur:Parisian ham and Gruyère on pain de mie with a green salad. I wanted the quiche but since that is what we were having for dinner I passed. It was your typical bistro croque-monsieur, nice and cheesy.

Jeff had the Lamb burger with balsamic grilled onions, roasted peppers, aƒ¯oli and pommes frites and Steph had Bucherondin de chèvre baked on croutons and served on a salad of frisƒ©e and arugula in a scallion vinaigrette. Everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch but more importantly the conversation. I didn’t order dessert because Jeff got to talking about the mini doughnut place in Pike’s Place(sad that out of towners know more about my town). The idea of fresh mini doughnuts sounded wonderful. There are no photos as they are all in my belly. They sell plain, powdered, and cinnamon sugar every day with one “fancy” one that changes. I lucked out today that the fancy doughnut was chocolate glaze with sprinkles…my all time favorite doughnut. So thank you Jeff to the suggestion and thank you both for coming out and meeting me!

My hubby doesn’t really like turkey and doesn’t like to eat leftovers, so we go surf and turf for our Christmas dinner. This year was filet mignon(that is pretty much the constant) and crab cakes(the surf changes each year) with garlic mashed potatoes(for my meat and potatoes guy). For dessert I’m limited due to hubby’s picky palate. Chocolate is always allowed but I didn’t really want to make a cake….we have so many frosted cookies that I didn’t want frosted anything. I chose a Velvet Chocolate Torte. I changed this recipe a lot, from no crust to freezing it instead of refrigerating it…and I changed the orange-caramel sauce(since I made one for the cheesecake) to a chocolate sauce. In retrospect, I would have make the crust, it would have been easier to plate.

Velvet Chocolate Torte

3/4 cup pecans
3/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup light brown sugar
6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 large egg whites
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 TBSP Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spread the pecans and walnuts on a small baking sheet and bake until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
3. Place the nuts and brown sugar in the bowl of a food processor and with the machine running, add the melted butter in a slow stream through the feed tube and process until combined. Reserve 2 TBSP of the nut mixture for the topping and press the remaining mixture evenly across the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.
4. Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heat proof bowl set over barely simmering water and stir until melted. Set aside.
5. To make the meringue, combine the egg whites, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whip with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
6. In a clean bowl using clean beaters, whip the cream with Kahlua until stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat.
7. Place the chocolate in a large bowl and add one-third of the meringue, stirring until well combined. Fold the remaining meringue in 2 additions, being careful not to overmix. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to deflate the mixture, and pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the reserved 2 TBSP of the nut mixture over the top, wrap the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.(I refrigerated for 2 hours and then moved to the freezer).
8. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in warm water and arrange on 12 plates.

Source: Adapted from Emeril’s Delmonico

Kahlua Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetended cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 ounces unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup Kahlua

1. In a heavy saucepan, comibine the water and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from the heat.
2. Stir in the cocoa powder, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the salt, cream, and butter and return the pan to moderately low heat, whisking until the butter is melted. Simmer the sauce until thickened slightly. This should take about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and Kahlua.
3. Cool the sauce completely. Makes 2 cups.

Mr. Gingerbread(though he is really a frosted cookie) would like to remind you to eat all the other cookies but him.

I would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then have a great Monday!