*Staub Giveaway reminder*: Don’t forget to enter below to win the gorgeous 7 Quart Staub Cocotte in Aubergine from BigKitchen.com. Entry rules below.

The closer I get to Christmas the more I am thinking about large desserts to feed a crowd. Enter the bundt cake. I am a longtime fan of the large, circular bundt cake. It is relatively simple to pull together and serves a lot of people. The other day I had a half quart of eggnog in the fridge and decided test drive a new naptime holiday recipe for next week’s festivities. I knew it wouldn’t fulfill my daughter’s request for more decorations that “sparkle and flash,” but at least it would fulfill my need for a crowd-pleasing dessert.

I thought it would be a fun idea to take a break from recipes today and do a little “check-in.” That is the term I use at home when I want to step back and assess a situation that seems to the focus of my days at that particular moment. Here is my check-in for today: how is your holiday cooking going? Is all your shopping done? What are your travel plans this season? Here are the answers to those questions on my end and a few last minute gifts and tips for holiday travel with kids.

*Staub Giveaway reminder*: Don’t forget to enter below to win the gorgeous 7 Quart Staub Cocotte in Aubergine from BigKitchen.com. Entry rules below.

Last week I was sent a sample pack of delicious 2011 Reserve Organic Muir Glen tomatoes.  I LOVE these tomatoes and use them for all sorts of things when they are in season. In this case I decided to test drive a few soup recipes to find a great option for our holiday meal. With all the great tomatoes at my fingertips I knew it would be hard to go wrong!

This week I am talking about some holiday favorites. These are the favorite dishes we like to serve year after year at our holiday table and I think you might like them too. To add to the fun this week my friends at Big Kitchen.com are generously donating a gorgeous purple 6.25 quart Staub Cocotte. I swear, these cast iron dutch ovens are the best for roasts, soups and even no-knead bread. I especially love the little tips on the lid that are designed specifically for braising! Entry rules are below so be sure to leave your comment. In the mean time, let’s talk about one of the holiday favorites recipes I use this gorgeous Staub for: pork roast!

Congratulations to Theresa Janke for winning the first Meyer lemon tote bag and $25 Williams-Sonoman giftcard of the month. Remember, this contest runs ALL month and there will be two more winners of the Meyer lemons and giftcards over the course of the next two weeks. At the end of the month one grand prize winner will be awarded a gorgeous new 5 Quart Artisan KitchenAid mixer (pictured below). Click here to enter and view contest rules!

Graham Cracker "Gingerbread" Houses for her school...

1. Gingerbread Graham Cracker Houses
2. Homemade Truffle Recipes
3. Chocolate Peppermint Pudding
4. Snickerdoodle Waffles
5. Bakerella’s Coolest Cake Pops

Homemade Gift Week: Don’t forget to enter below to enter the Duda Farm Fresh Giveaway for a Meyer Lemons, a $25 Williams-Sonoma giftcard and a KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer in Majestic Yellow. Entry rules below, click here for contest introduction.

To wrap home homemade gift week I am talking about the two ultimate Powernap (quick and easy!) recipes for the holiday season: homemade vanilla extract and vanilla sugar. Both of these require nothing more than filling containers with one ingredients and sticking in vanilla beans. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not! Once I discovered just how easy it was to make my own vanilla extract I never went back to buying the jarred stuff again. I use it all the time in baking and I can guarantee your friends and fellow bakers will love receiving it as a gift.

Homemade Gift Week: Don’t forget to enter below to enter the Duda Farm Fresh Giveaway for a Meyer Lemons, a $25 Williams-Sonoma giftcard and a KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer in Majestic Yellow. Entry rules below, click here for contest introduction.

For this webisode I am demonstrating how to make delicious cocoa almonds. They make fantastic holiday gift and are incredibly simple to make during naptime or whenever you have a free moment. Today I am making them while my daughter is at school! To give them as gifts I like to package them up in clear plastic bags or to-go containers lined with parchment paper. Everyone loves them this way and they make a great holiday party nibble.

Homemade Gift Week: Don’t forget to enter below to enter the Duda Farm Fresh Giveaway for a Meyer Lemons, a $25 Williams-Sonoma giftcard and a KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer in Majestic Yellow. Entry rules below, click here for contest introduction.

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. Today my friend Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen is sharing an amazing recipe for her favorite homemade chocolate bark, a simple and delicious holiday gift.

When it comes to holiday presents, I am a big fan of giving (and receiving!) those that are homemade. I preserve lots of jams and fruit butters throughout the summer and fall, and I save them in my pantry to give to family and friends during the holiday season. I also make big batches of granola which I package up to give away.

Homemade Gift Week: Don’t forget to enter below to enter the Duda Farm Fresh Giveaway for a Meyer Lemons, a $25 Williams-Sonoma giftcard and a KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer in Majestic Yellow. Entry rules below, click here for contest introduction.

I am filing this under “naptime entertaining” because flavored dipping oils are one of my favorite things to have on hand when we entertain. I love slicing up a baguette and pouring little pools of oil in various shallow bowls for people to sample while we wait for dinner to be ready. I’ve come to love coming up with new oil flavors based on what is fresh in my herb pot which is, by the way, thriving in our bedroom for the winter months. These oils are so simple to make and poured into pretty glass bottles they make beautiful gifts!

Welcome to Naptime Chef homemade gift week! This week we are going to talk all about edible homemade gifts. I, for one, am so excited to give my friends some of my favorite homemade gifts this season. Do you make anything for your friends and family? I’ve heard some people say they are hesitant to give edible homemade gifts because they think it means they have to tackle complicated, intimidating recipes. But I can assure you this is not the case. There are many tasty and easy recipes that are very simple to make and are terrific presents. Those are the ones we will talk about this week!

Congratulations to Cindi, the winner of the holiday cookie week Holiday Baking Kit!