NO-DIET DECEMBER

Goodness gracious!  Apparently the holidays just snuck right up on me and I haven't written a thing in almost three weeks.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the kitchen!

This is the time of year when all we really think about is food.  Well, that and presents.  And perhaps goodwill toward man or something of that nature...hopefully, anyway, heh...but let's face it:  a good chunk of the holiday season is just about good eats.  Your neighbors come rap-tap-tapping on your front door with plates of shortbread, your coworkers lay out boxes of chocolate to share before the workday begins.  And at dinner parties, when your guests bring out the big guns--say, Grandma's classic mac and cheese recipe from the '60s or Uncle Herb's prizewinning gutsticking chili--you know that Kris Kringle must certainly be around the corner.  It's the only time of year when people stop counting calories and stop eating lettuce and just say to hell with it.  Gimme butter.  Gimme sugar.  Gimme seconds.

In fact, I was so busy cooking food and enjoying it with my friends on Thanksgiving, that I managed to take only a few blurry photos of the mess after it had been ravaged by the crowd...so I won't bother posting those.  But luckily, we all know that Christmas dinner is really just a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner with some Christmas tree cookies thrown in at the end.  So I'll be sure to document every moment come December 25th...from teaspoon to table.