Dear Friends, I am taking the rest of the week off to spend with my family. Rest assured, I’ll be cooking up a storm and documenting it on Instagram. Come on over if you’d like to see! We’ve covered a lot of ground this month and it is has been so much fun. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as well. I’ll be back next week with a few quick New Year’s Eve ideas. Then, we’ll resume naptime cooking full force Jan. 5th. I hope you all get the chance to dial back your commitments this week to spend some time, maybe even in the kitchen, with your loved ones.

Here are some of my favorite holiday foods. They include Christmas cookies, festive meal ideas, and more!

And if you are a super duper last minute shopper here are my holiday gift guides one more time!

Lastly, I was thrilled to see my soup featured on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution as part of the 52 New Foods Challenge. Thanks, JOFR and Jennifer Tyler Lee

(Above card designed by PVE Design, it was attached to a jar of my friend Barbara’s signature Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Barbara makes it with the lemons she grows in her yard! Such a fabulous homemade gift to look forward to every year.)

Gingerbread Frozen Coffee

Grandma’s Ham & Corn Chowder

Homemade Cinnamon Almonds

Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate

Today I am here to talk punch. Punch is always a welcome addition to any party. It is a nice break from regular bar drinks and a pretty punch bowl always adds to any festive atmosphere. At our party earlier this month I served huge batches of Fish House Punch from my grandmother’s punch bowl which was on loan from my parents. It is an old-school punch recipe from Philadelphia that my parents served at their own Christmas soirees. Let me tell you, there are some stories from those events that are still being told three decades later! As you might guess, a lot of those stories stared with this punch. It goes down smooth, lights up your cheeks, and creeps up on you. Don’t be surprised if you throw off your shoes and start dancing the night away after two glasses.

This month, more than any other, I find myself carrying desserts all around town. Whether it is homemade dessert sauces for friends, or a gorgeous pie for a mid-December luncheon, there is always a reason to serve up something sweet. One of the treats I’ve been revisiting this season is French Silk Pie. It is so easy to make – no baking! – and always tastes amazing. Some people get concerned about it since the eggs aren’t baked, but I have a special trick for dealing with that.

I am so excited to give you another chance at one of my favorite giveaways from last year: a Magimix Vision Toaster in red!! Last year I was given a toaster to try and I absolutely love it. It toasts bread beautifully on the outside and keeps the inside of the bread warm and soft. I seriously have never used a toaster like it and still use mine daily. This week my friends at Magimix are pleased to be giving away a fresh new toaster in cherry red to one lucky winner. Is there anything better for the holiday season? I think not!

To enter to win:

1) Leave a comment sharing your favorite way to eat toast.

2) Follow Kelsey Banfield on Facebook and subscribe to my newsletter on the upper right hand corner.

3) BONUS ENTRY: Follow Magimix on Twitter “@MagimixUSA”

4) Contest runs from December 15th at 7:00am through December 22nd at 7:00am. Winner will be announced in the December 26th newsletter. Good luck!

(Disclosure: I was sent a toaster in 2013 to try out and still love it. The opinions are expressed are entirely my own.)

Since we just wrapped homemade gift week I wanted to share a few tips for things you can pick up just in case you don’t have time to get in the kitchen. There are days when even the most organized of us are busy and need an ace-in-the-hole to fall back on. When this happens to me I pick up a few sweets at Whole Foods. All of these delicious items can be found at Whole Foods Markets and they won’t break the budget. Here are some of my favorites:

Pear & Orange Crisps: Perfect for nibbling on with wine, or pairing with your perfect cheese plate.

In case you missed them, here are my 2014 gift guides. I’ve also included a few more gift guides I love from around the web:

Gift Guide #1: For Your Best Pal

Gift Guide #2: For Your Husband

Gift Guide #3: For Your Kids

Gift Guide #4: For Your Mom

Gift Guide #5: For Your Dad

Homemade Gift: Lime Cornmeal Shortbread Bars

Homemade Gift: Spiced Rum Dessert Sauce

Don’t forget my Homemade Gifts recipe section for lots of more kitchen gift ideas!

And a few more I love from around the web:

The Simple Bites 2014 Cookbook Gift Guide

Tomboy Style: Kaufmann Mercantile gifts for under $50

Food52 Provisions Gift Guide: For the Gardener

Cup of Jo Gift Guide: For Your Sister

Hey Natalie Jean Gift Guide: Tiny Jewels

Sacramento Street Gift Guide: For the Home

The Fine Little Day Shop: Gift Guide for the Family

My 2013 Gift Guides….Mom, Son, Daughter, Husband

It simply wouldn’t be a holiday without an awesome Christmas cookie or three. I’ve always thought that shortbread is a great cookie to give away to people. It is sturdy, festive, and the flavor improves with time. This year I fell hard for a new shortbread recipe that uses a generous dose of cornmeal in addition to the regular butter/flour/sugar ratio. The cornmeal gives it added texture and makes it touch chewier, which I welcome. It is flavored with lots of fresh lime zest and a little vanilla extract, welcome departures from the heavy chocolate and peppermint favorites of the season. To gift these to friends, secure them in paper boxes or cello bags or any other creative container you have on hand.

December is a busy party season. Whether it is a casual football party, a festive holiday cocktail party, or a formal dinner party, invitations abound. For attendees, it is important to have a slam dunk cache of host gifts at the ready — items you can pull together attractively and quickly, which will more than adequately thank your host for their generosity.

To help you get ready for the gift-giving season, here are five tips for pulling together a great thank you-gift basket everyone will love:

1) Include crowd-pleasing content: Skip the predictable bottle of wine and give a gift that can be put away for later. Start with an item you know your host will love and build the rest of your gift around it. For example, select a naturally delicious cheese like Arla Dofino’s Smoked Havarti or Reserve Gouda, add a cheese knife, and pair that with a container of fancy nuts or rich chocolates.

A video posted by Kelsey Banfield (@naptimechef) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:15am PST

This week I am going to focus on homemade gifts from the kitchen. The kind of gifts you love to give everyone around you during the season. The first gift is a simple spiced butter rum sauce. Don’t worry, there is no burning sugar and using candy thermometers with this one. This sauce is more about a simple simmer and superior flavor. It can be drizzled over ice cream, bread pudding, or just about any Christmas sweet you can think of. Make it up in a snap during naptime, even double the recipe if you have a big list this year, and put it in a pretty jar. Your friends will love the homemade decadence almost as much as you loved making it!

Last month I had the pleasure of trying out some great products from Zwilling J.A. Henckels. I’ve always loved their knives, but their cookware and roasting pan lines were completely new to me. Right from the start I love the sturdy stainless steel Aurora line. It has a shiny finish, is oven safe, and handles heat like a dream.

I was fortunate enough to try out their entire seven piece set and it was all excellent. But what really stood out for me was their 5.5 quart stainless steel Dutch oven. I am forever devoted to my enameled cast-iron pot, but having one in stainless steel is the best of both worlds. It is much lighter than cast iron which makes it much easier to handle on the stove. It is one quart large than my regular saucepan and the extra room makes it perfect for boiling large amounts of pasta, simmer large servings of soup, and even making risotto. The two handles and rolled rim make it super easy to lift and pour which really saves my back and my wrists! I can’t say enough about it and really think everyone should try it out.

To get you in the holiday cooking spirit, and to hopefully give you the chance to own this awesome pan yourself, I am thrilled to share that Zwilling J.A. Henckels is generously giving away 7-Piece Aurora Stainless Steel Cookware Set to one lucky reader!!

To enter to win:

1) Leave a product sharing your favorite pan size and what you make in it.

2) Follow Kelsey Banfield on Facebook and subscribe to my newsletter (upper right hand corner).

3) Follow Zwilling J.A. Henckels on Facebook.

4) Bonus entry: Instagram the following “I am so excited for holiday cooking and hope I win the @zwillingjahenckels products via @naptimechef “ with a photo of something you are making for the holidays, or a holiday decoration.

5) Contest runs from December 6th at 7am through 12th at 7am. Winner will be announced in the December 12th newsletter when it comes out at 11am that day. Good luck!

(Disclosure: I was sent these products to try out. The opinions and photographs expressed are my own.)

Warm gloves for using that newfangled smartphone you got him last year. (via MUJI, $19.95)

Garden snippers for trimming his rosebushes. (via Food52, $58)

A high-tech stylus for his iPad. (It is much easier for him than fingers!) (via Wacom, $59.95)

This fancy universal remote control to answer all of his television questions. Translation: he won’t have to call you with questions anymore! (via Best Buy, $119)

An amazing lemon ricotta cheesecake since you know it is his favorite dessert and you aren’t always there to make it for him. (via Cecil & Merl, $55)

A flashlight for his keychain so he can see the sidewalk when he walks the dogs at night. (via Kauffman Mercantile, $84)

A truly effective salve for soothing his dry hands after a long morning of blowing snow. (via Food52, $30)

A jade plant to enjoy at his desk all winter long. (via Crate & Barrel, $39.95)

A natural soy candle that will remind him of living in the country. (via Huckberry, price upon request)