Finding myself in possession of a house and household this Christmas season, I am trying to decorate for the holidays just a little. But it doesn't come naturally. I love the greenery, the white lights, and the delicious glitter of the holidays, but I object to spending money on frippery that will only be on display for a short time.
Fortunately, some of my cooking gear is coming in handy for holiday functions.
We've made this recipe a couple of times, always to rave reviews. Short ribs aren't on this list of Best Cuts for Braising, but they works fantastically well, cook quickly, and aren't expensive. Here they are (covered in a thick coating of brown sugar, paprika, curry, and cumin) before we browned and braised them. It was too dark to photograph the "after," but we've got Gourmet's shot below...
A little kitchen with big ideas, sweet gift tags, muffins inspired by Jamie Oliver, and more in today's Delicious Links.
Here's another wonderfully easy candy recipe for the holidays - salt caramels!
"Urban Homesteading" is a term we've been hearing in the news and around the web more and more often. What does this concept mean to you? Would you describe yourself as an urban homesteader?
You're looking at the aftermath. We got a little ambitious in our holiday entertaining this weekend, throwing not one but two dinner parties for six over the course of 48 hours. The Sunday night party had been on the books for weeks, but the Friday night one was a morning-of, impromptu idea. See menus, tips, and how much we spent, below...
When you're building the base for a soup or braise, things can get chaotic pretty quick in that pan. To make sure each new ingredient added gets its own quality time with the hot surface of the pan, create a little "clean slate" in the middle of the pan. Here's how and why...
Just in time for Christmas, a Madonna and Child Potato on eBay. No, this wasn't forwarded to me by an email-forward-happy friend. It came from a relation (I won't give away more than that, but it is a blood relation) and she is the person who encountered this potato at the market and ended up being convinced by a friend to put the tuber up on eBay.
If you're making your own candy this holiday season to give as gifts or to keep for yourself, you may be working with fondant or tempering chocolate. If so, you're going to need a marble slab. Marble surfaces are useful for working with certain types of food because they stay cool - if you place one in the fridge, it will hold the cold temperature for a few hours. When hot candy is poured on a marble slab, it cools more quickly and this makes it easier to work with.
Name: Vertical Wine Rack
Store: Tiny Living
Value: $79
Today in our Holiday Giveaway we're pleased to present this Vertical Wine Rack from Tiny Living. Turn your wine storage into art with this vertical wine rack! Not only will it it look great on your walls, but it'll seriously save you space as well. To enter this Giveaway, please click here. To see all our Giveaways, click here.
We love it when we can help track down recipes. Reader Susan wrote to us looking for a chai spice cookie recipe that she loved and lost. She writes:
A few years ago, Whole Foods had a fantastic recipe for chai tea cookies in one of those free recipe booklets they give away periodically. The cookies were amazing - I liked the recipe particularly because it gave measurements for the individual spices, rather than just asking for a pre-mixed chai spice blend.
Blue potatoes, red carrots, purple cauliflower – the rainbow of offerings at Weiser Family Farms is so vibrant right now that we couldn't limit this week's market report to just one fruit or vegetable. Weiser also has an extra special treat this month that Angelenos should keep an eye out for. And even if you don't shop at the Hollywood Farmers' Market, read on for recipes that cover the spectrum of seasonal produce.
On Friday we introduced Dave Zino of the Beef Checkoff Culinary Center. He explained the difference between stewing and braising. Today he's back to talk about the best cuts of beef for holiday braises. We are very much in favor of braises and pot roasts for big crowds; they are usually cheap, easy, and convenient because they can be made ahead of time. Here are Dave's suggestions on the best meat to buy. 
Furoshiki are Japanese cloths that are used to wrap gifts and other items such as bento boxes. They can be used as book bags, grocery bags or to wrap any small items for transportation. They’re also handy when used to wrap picnic supplies, providing an instant napkin when unpacked.
I’ve discovered that a dishtowel can be used furoshiki-style instead of wasteful wrapping paper. It's especially sweet when wrapping kitchen-related gifts. Read on for some fun furoshiki gift combinations.
This year, everyone in our family agreed that we are blessed with plenty of things in our lives. While we're not averse to gifts of homemade sweets and savories, we're keeping the stuff to a minimum and donating to worthy causes instead. People on our gift lists may "receive" a vegetable garden in a Native American reservation, a wood-conserving stove for a Central American family, or a beehive for Fair Trade honey producers. Elizabeth profiled a couple of great charities earlier this month. Here are five more organizations that help make a difference.
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