The Naptime Chef

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!