Over the years I’ve made endless (endless!) lists about my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. And, while I like making all of them, I am still searching for new ones. Last week I was inspired by an article on Food52 and wanted to recreate Phyllis’s recipe. However, I didn’t want to use walnuts since many of my daughter’s friends are allergic. I also had a different selection of chocolate on hand. And, I was jonesing to try my big new bottle of bourbon extract.

This week I finally got around to putting away my Christmas linens. Now I am trying to decorate our table for winter. The current scene outside our dining room is a blanket of winter white and pretty bare branches and I want a natural feel inside to match. Here are a few images I found inspiring. I’ll share my final centerpiece on instagram once it is put together next week!

I love the juxtaposition of rustic birch with colorful flowers. This would be so cheery with red flowers for Valentine’s Day. (photo via Tory Burch)

For Christmas I gave my husband a Moscow mule mug. I collect all things copper for my kitchen and couldn’t wait to add it to our collection. I also know how much he loves trying new cocktails, especially in the deep-dark days of winter. On Sunday night was started the second season of Breaking Bad (yes, we are behind, but it is so much easier to watch in one fell swoop) and mixed our first Moscow mule. I am not one for heavy cocktails on a regular basis but this is one we’ll definitely be breaking out again in the near future.

I am always a sucker for a good baking book and this week I am excited to share a great one: The Dollop Book of Frosting: Sweet and Savory Icings, Spreads, Meringues, and Ganaches for Dessert and Beyond. At first I thought this would be just be a ho-hum baking book but it really is so much more. Not only are the recipes for spreads and baking goods amazing, they are all different from ones I currently have in my cookbook collection. There really is something for everyone in here, especially if you are looking to add something new to your everyday sweets repertoire. Today I am featuring a fun little chat I had with the author, Heather Saffer and am giving away a copy. I am also featuring one of my favorite recipes from the book!

These days my cooking routine has to fit into two categories: cold-weather cooking and busy school night-friendly. The temperature continues to drop every night which means I want something hot and nourishing on the dinner table. However, my days are spent shuttling my daughter to and from school and running around the house after a little boy on a Y bike. (He loves that thing and can ride like the wind!) So, other than naptime, I don’t have a lot of time to cook. When I saw Aimee’s slow-cooker chicken recipe last month I knew it would be on my recipe list in short order. It is ideal for cold winter days filled with school runs and active toddlers.

I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend! I am so excited to announce I’ve partnered with ZipList to help you save your favorite Naptime Chef recipes. All you do is click the “Save Recipe” button below. Then you can add the ingredients you need to your weekly shopping list in just one click. Simple as that. Ziplist is a longtime favorite of many blogs and powers recipe boxes for MarthaStewart.com, KitchenDaily.com, RecipeGirl, and more. If you ever have any questions about how to use it just leave me a comment and I’ll get right back to you. Start building your recipe box today!

Over the holidays I really put our fridge/freezer to the test. It is one size smaller than our old one and has the side-by-side door design which is known for the small amount of freezer space. I do a LOT of freezing and had to pile food in to the point where I couldn’t see the light anymore. I made a lot of our Christmas food ahead of time since it was the best way to prepare for a crowd. When we renovate the kitchen I want to upgrade to a new, bigger refrigerator. I’ve been loving the new French door designs and think it would be totally perfect for us. Let’s take a look:

Yesterday I interviewed my dear friend Megan Gordon about her new book, Whole Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons (Ten Speed Press, 2014). It was so much fun to hear how the book developed and about the progress of her company, Marge Granola. Today I am sharing one of my favorite recipes from her new book as well as a little glimpse of my favorite things about the volume. Don’t forget I am giving away a copy of the book, just click here to enter!

I am so excited to kick off the New Year spotlighting my friend Megan Gordon and her new book, Whole Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons. I’ve known Megan since we began blogging around the same time. Fast forward four years and now we share an awesome agent, both have books out, and she has transitioned from English teachers to granola entrepreneur. I am so thrilled for her success, if you’ve ever tasted Marge Granola you’ll know her accomplishments are well-deserved! Today I am featuring a fun interview with Megan to give you a glimpse inside her book. Tomorrow I am going to feature my own review and a recipe I made from it over the weekend. You won’t want to miss it!

Superstorm Hercules blasted through our neighborhood last week. The snowfall wasn’t that bad, but the frigid temperatures that followed were awful. High temperatures in the teens and lows in the negatives took me right back to my upstate New York roots. Brrrr. Cold-weather cooking was clearly called for so I whipped up one of our favorites: lasagna. We are all fans of lasagna and I am always looking for new ways to make it. This time I drew inspiration from Food52 and decided on a classic recipe complete with bechamel.

Over the holidays I shared a picture on instagram of my friend Barbara’s gorgeous Meyer lemon marmalade. She had made it using the lemons from her Meyer lemon tree and gave it out as gifts from the holidays. It was easily the most gorgeous lemon marmalade I’ve ever seen. It was a pale yellow with the thinnest strips of rind and tasted like a mild lemon drop. I am speaking about it in the past tense because it’s time has passed. It is g-o-n-e, gone. Over the course of the holiday I made several slices of toast, slathered each one with jam, and used it right up!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I wasn’t around here much because I unplugged a little bit. I spent most of the two weeks focusing on finishing up the manuscript for the next book and I finally handed it in (!!!!) It was just the first draft. But that draft took me nearly a year to write and I am so excited that the ball is really rolling. That said, my New Year’s resolution is to get back on my game here with social media! Between the book, the baby, and the move I haven’t been as present as I like to me and this year that will change. Let’s get started: