During my year of exploring the flavor trend of mushrooms with Sargento I’ve been trying to highlight the many ways mushrooms can be used in home cooking. So far I’ve turned up ways to incorporate them into so many sides dishes and main courses. This month I wanted to take mushrooms and turn them into a sauce. I love a good savory mushroom sauce for pasta and chicken so why not try my hand at it home. The twist? This time I added some Parmesan breadcrumbs to the chicken and gave it a quick broil at the end, turn this dish into an earthy, cheesy delight.

The year is flying by so quickly I can hardly believe I am already talking about Christmas recipes. But, here I am touting a great holiday dessert so it appears that the season has truly arrived. Today I am starting off with a great recipe for fake truffles, or as they are more officially called, Oreo Cookie Balls. I have been making variations of these for years and today I am going to share my family’s favorite flavor. Once you read how totally insanely easy these our to make you’ll be floored. They really do taste like real truffles and are always a hit at a party!

This is a continuation of my article from yesterday. CLICK HERE to read Part 1…..

6) Swooning over GE Appliances: The floor of the actual bake-off is lined with rows and rows of GE ovens. As you can see below, there were 4 rows of 25 ovens preheated to 350 degrees F with a drawer set and countertop for each contestant. GE has been a longtime sponsor of the bake-off and I understand why. Their appliances are beautiful and reliable. I have to say, I have never seen so many ovens in one room! Prior to the event we heard about the new line of GE appliances and how they are constantly evolving to fit the needs of the marketplace. Right in front of the stage they set a beautiful pair of electric double ovens. I’ll definitely be researching those for our upcoming renovation!

Over Veteran’s Day weekend I flew to Las Vegas to attend the Pillsbury Bake-Off at the Aria Resort & Casino. It was a weekend of firsts for me since I had never attended a Bake-Off and never been to Las Vegas. The thrill of hitting both in one fell swoop was so exciting! The entire weekend was a whirlwind of catching up with old friends, learning the history of the Bake-Off, rooting for contestants, and taking in the sights and sounds of Vegas. Every bit of it was so thrilling that I barely know how to begin sharing the experience. I’ve decided that listing my top 10 favorite things about the Bake-Off would be a great way to go. My list is in chronological order of the weekend. There were so many great parts!

You may have noticed around the web that Samsung is running a contest called Women of Steel. It is a cool contest where you can nominate a woman in your life to win a premium dinner party cooked by a local chef and a whole suite of new Samsung Kitchen Appliances. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful start to the holiday season to see someone you love win such a well-deserved prize! I know we all have women like this in our lives, the women who really do it all and deserve every bit of recognition for being the superstars that they are. I can think of several people I’d nominate for this contest. In fact, since I can’t narrow it down to one today I’ll talk about three!

I recently returned from the Pillsbury Bake-Off in Las Vegas (more on that soon!) rarin’ to go for the holidays. Being away from home for a few days gave me time to gather my thoughts for the upcoming season. It was just what I needed to get myself in the mood for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Earlier this fall I started working with a great team at iVillage on their Get Organized for the Holidays Community Challenge. I know it is not easy to do, especially when you are working, dealing with kids, and the like. The to-do lists and requests can easily become overwhelming! To help take some of the stress out of the holidays, and make them a little more fun, our team has been working hard to assemble awesome tips to get you organized this year.

I am a little sad that my year of exploring food trucks is almost over. I’ve discovered so many good ones in our area! During my exploration I’ve been trying all kinds of cuisines served from a variety of vehicles. There are some that serve up full meals like a restaurant, others that focus specifically on one dish, and still more that are exclusively for desserts (!) This month I found the Fryborg Food truck, a truck that really pulls off a neat trick. The chef takes ordinary french fries and elevate them to the extraordinary. What was once a side dish to a cheeseburger or sandwich, becomes a main course with all kinds of ingredients and variations.

Right after we moved my friends at T-Fal sent me a new Wolfgang Puck Oven for our new kitchen. I was so excited to try it out because I needed a countertop oven to help me with recipe testing. Plus, I like using countertop ovens to reheat food. The interesting thing about this oven is that not only can you bake small trays of cookies and cook everyday chicken, you can also use it as a pressure oven. I did not have a lot of experience with a pressure oven when I go it, but I do now and it is great!

I have to admit, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving isn’t the turkey, it’s the side dishes. I love the potatoes, green beans, hot rolls, squash, and just about anything else that is surrounding the bird. During the fall I don’t find myself experimenting with turkey recipes, I focus on new side dish ideas. I am always looking for new favorites, ways to prepare a soup or vegetable I haven’t tried before. This year my latest favorite is this cheesy butternut squash casserole. It is salt, sweet, and hearty enough to be a side dish at one of the biggest meals of the year.

Now that we are finally getting settled in we are talking about hosting our first party in our new house. I imagine it will be sometime this winter and we’ll serve up cold-weather comfort food, wine, and a great cocktail. Maybe we’ll have a chili party or something fun like that! One thing that is without a doubt is that we’ll be serving this simple dip. I love making it for all sorts of occasions and I expect I’ll even be making it later this month for Thanksgiving. It is that good.

It is not an exaggeration for me to say that Dorie Greenspan is my baking idol. And I am not saying that because I want to win any sort of contest. It is the honest to goodness truth that I love her writing and her work and deeply admire her dedication baking in the home kitchen. So, when I was invited to join in the Cookie Rumble with Dorie, Jacques Torres, and Fonseca BIN 71, I couldn’t say no! For my entry I am submitting these tasty salted butter blondies topped with figs poached in port and a brown sugar streusel.

This year will be our first Thanksgiving in our new home. I am so excited to decorate our new mantel, find a pretty wreath for our new door, and draw up delicious menus for our visiting families. As with most holidays, the food we make will be a mix of old and new recipes. My Dad, on one hand, can’t live without his creamed onions. While I, on the other hand, am thinking about the newest, best chocolate dessert recipe to serve when we sit next to the fire. While this may be daunting to some, I love the idea of keeping some of the old traditions while folding in new ones each year.