One of the best snacks ever, plain or on a cracker. Cheese! There is no doubt that almost everyone (non-allergic to dairy) even children love cheese!

Cheese is great, especially the cheese that is not cheese food. Such as American cheese which has it’s own place in our world. Im talking about specialty cheeses or gourmet cheese, the cheese you can slice off and snack on.

If you are looking for a new cheese to snack on especially one of the gourmets kinds look some of these:

Provolone cheese, swiss, mozzarella.

Cheddar cheese, gouda, cocoa cardon (goat cheese w/cocoa powder).

Montforte gorgonzola cheese, smoked cheese (many varieties), emmenthauler.

There are also many cheese that have added ingredients, like spicy cheese! Look for them in your local store.

(Reference: Wisconsin Cheese Masters)

With the Miracle fruit Sour things suddenly become sweet!

The fruit called Synsepalum dulciflcum or it’s other name “Miracle Fruit” changes any sour taste into a sweet taste. The miracle fruit is native to Africa but is rapidly become know in other parts of the world. After eating the fruit for up to 30 minutes afterwards anything that you eat during that time that may be a sour food is now sweet. Hence the name Miracle Fruit! It miraculously changes sour to sweet!

Studies on the fruit are being conducted to determine if there are any medical benefits that can be attained from the fruit.

All purpose flour: Bleached vs unbleached.

All-purpose Bleached flour: Can be used for most “general” recipes. When in doubt this is the flour that will probably be your best pick, the most universal flour. Sometimes called “plain” flour.

All-purpose Unbleached flour: This is close to the same as the All-purpose Bleached flour. But before you just willy nilly pick bleached or unbleached here are a few things to consider. Unbleached flour is the closest to the natural process that flour takes to “bleach” itself. The “AP Flour” bleached version is more of a chemically treated flour but still close to the same product as the unbleached. Many bakers find that each flour has it’s own purpose, some claiming  that unbleached is better for breads with yeast, and bleached being better for (example) cookies which do not normally call for yeast. Whichever you choose do some research to find out exactly what you are baking, your needs, and which flour suites your situation.

The thing to remember here is that if you are baking just for fun and you normally do cookies, get the unbleached. If you are looking for perfection, and are trying to bake the best dessert ever, do some research to determine which flour is best for your need…

With the New Year approaching all of us want to start it out right. One of the best ways to start out your new year is by eating a lucky food on New Year’s Day. Most lucky foods are traditions passed down from generation to generation, some dating back thousands of years.

What are these lucky foods for the New Year’s Day?

Black eyed peas and cabbage/or cornbread:

The most well know to southerners this tradition in America dates back to at least the Civil War era.

Grapes: some have thought that eating a specific amount of grapes on the new year could bring luck.

Pork: In some European countries pork is served on New Year’s Day.

Most meals are prepared and served on the first day of the year, but some people think that New Year’s eve is also an important time.

Extracts are used commonly for baking, puddings, custards, ice creams, among many other desserts…

The most commonly known extract is the Vanilla extract.  But extracts are not limited to just vanilla, they come in many flavors that can suite any occasion. Among the flavors other than these are some of the extracts available to you!

Vanilla extract, pineapple, rum, anise, banana.

Lemon extract, butter, coconut, peppermint.

Orange extract, chocolate, maple.

(reference: Adam’s- Adam’s Extract website)

Christmas time is the time of year that almost any sweet dessert will hit the spot. Probably the most popular dessert for the Holiday’s are Christmas cookies, especially if they are homemade. Homemade Christmas cookies and a nice big glass of cold milk!

So if you are not going to buy your cookies and you want to make them from a recipe what are the most popular or traditional Christmas cookies?

#1: Probably the most beloved, most popular, most eaten, quickest to be gone… the Gingerbread cookie.

#2: Of course, the all around favorite cookie, the one that is so versatile that most people can eat it. The cookie that is soo simple with basic ingredients that if someone turns one away you know they are not allergic but they just don’t like your cookies… The Sugar Cookie!

#3: The third place most popular or most traditional cookie to bake is hard to name. After the first two choices are made third place commonly differs from person to person. Some people love making the cookie bars, cookie balls, shortbread cookies, butter cookies, peanut butter cookies, the list goes on and on…

No matter which cookie you choose to make during the Holiday’s and Christmas they will be eaten… no matter what.

A great snack to buy during Christmas is popcorn!

Popcorn comes in many flavors and can be very holiday-ish. Your best best is choosing a large tin that has several popcorn flavors in it. The flavors range from caramel popcorn to cheese popcorn. Of course you can find more flavored popcorn such as: “White Chocolate Raspberry, decadently rich Peanut Butter Chocolate, Banana Cream Pie with coconut and yogurt pretzels, savory Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza, sweet and spicy Thai Peanut with cranberries, and mouth-watering Butter Toffee Popcorn Mix with chocolate-drizzled pretzels and almonds” -The Popcorn Factory.

Flavored popcorn is the ultimate treat for kids, adults, and for Christmas parties. Buy a tin, set it out, and enjoy the popcorn flavors.

This is the next best Holiday drink after eggnog. Christmas time is the time for nice hot drinks to warm the body. Hot apple cider does the trick!

Most recipes call for cider combined with some spices and sometimes sugar, heating it on the stove and serving hot.

You can buy the store brand and check on the back label, sometimes on the Apple Cider bottle you will find directions for the HOT cider recipe. You can also purchase individual cider packets that come prepackaged on a per cup serving similar to how hot chocolate does it. These are very handy but can also be very sweet. I would recommend the bottle route.

Some cider’s you can drink cold, but if you want to warm up drink the hot apple cider!

Candy canes are probably the most beloved candy of Christmas. You can do anything with them! Pass them around to co-workers or friends and family, or even hang them on the tree and pick them off one by one during the Holiday’s.

Have you ever noticed that candy canes come in different colors? It’s not coloring just for the eyes but for flavor too, lets go through some of the candy cane flavors you might find in stores during the holiday’s… Christmas!

Peppermint

Cranberry

Mint

Clove candy

Strawberry

WIntergreen

Sugar Plum

Bubble Gum

Apple Pie

Cinnamon

Chocolate

Buy some American handmade Candy Canes for the holiday’s at Hammond’s.

I have seen a candy cane without stripes… it kinda freaks me out…

What is eggnog? Eggnog is a traditional Christmas holiday drink made from mostly cream and eggs sprinkled on top with some nutmeg.

Traditionally spiked with Whiskey, Bourbon, or rum, but you can choose any spike you like!

Eggnog comes mostly in the one flavor, and that is a creamy, vanilla type of flavor that is very rich! There is also a hint of spice once you add the nutmeg.

Chocolate eggnog? Never seen it or heard of it but there must be a reason why they don’t make it. If you are looking for an eggnog recipe your best bet if to search the FoodNetwork website.

If you want to skip the hassle of making your own the Borden brand of eggnog is very rich and tasty. Most grocery store chains also sell their own version which many times are just as close to the quality of Borden’s.

Merry Christmas!