Bwah hah haaaa. Tis the scariest day of the year – with the exception, perhaps, of Election Day next week.

Ilise concocted a terrifyingly tasty adult beverage called Dracula’s Kiss for a recent seasonal soiree. She poured it from a blood bag and served it in test tubes, going for a mad scientist vibe, but for a more tame approach you can serve it in shot glasses. Just a sweet little sump’n with a hint of complex layers lurking below the surface. Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

Here's how it's done:

Dracula’s Kiss
Makes one drink
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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 oz Cherry Vodka
• ½ oz of Chambord
• 1 oz Raspberry Simple Syrup
• 1 oz Blackberry Simple Syrup
• Fresh mint

 
DIRECTIONS:

Combine the vodka, Chambord, raspberry and blackberry simple syrups in a cocktail shaker. Add a few fresh mint leaves and muddle. Add ice and shake until the mixture is chilled. Strain cocktail into the glassware of your choice.

Here’s the fun part, you can decide how you want to serve this drink based on the occasion. We made little shooters, but if you want a regular-sized drink pour the mixture over a couple of large cubes in an old fashioned glass and garnish with raspberries or blackberries. 
 
Raspberry or Blackberry Simple Syrup:

• 4-5 6 oz Containers of Raspberries or Blackberries
• 1 Cup of Water
• ½ Cup of Sugar

Combine the water and sugar in a pan over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the berries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Once the fruit is nice and tender mash the fruit using a potato masher to release as much juice as possible. Remove the mixture from heat and allow it to cool completely. Strain the syrup into a container and store for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. If making far in advance, the simple syrup freezes well – use ice cube trays. You'll get approximately 24 oz of simple syrup with this recipe.

​Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

Happy Halloween!

What the heck is Sweetest Day anyway? According to Wikipedia (insert grain of salt here) it’s a holiday for showing love and affection, celebrated in the Midwest and parts of the Northeastern U.S.

I used to roll my eyes vigorously at made-up holidays such as this. But then I opened an online vintage shop – Entertaining Vintage, come visit! – and now I’m a major fan of all gift-giving occasions such as this.
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Entertaining Vintage offers housewares, items for dining, kitchen and entertaining plus art glass, figurines, dolls, and collectibles both ridiculous and sublime.

Our Sweetest Day Sale features 15% off selected items to treat your sweetie – thru 10/21/17. 

Just here for the food? Well, here you go – enjoy some links to our favorite Sweet Bites. Any of these tasty treats would make a delicious homemade gift for someone you love. They do say – Food is Love!

• German Chocolate Cake Cookies
• Bourbon Caramels
• Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookies
• Port Ganache-Glazed Brownies with Dried Cherries​

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions

The Occasion: America’s Independence Day aka the 4th of July. Or frankly the occasion can be any summertime gathering of friends and family where eating and drinking are involved. 

What Makes These Top 5 Special? Regular readers of this blog know that I am not a recipe developer, instead I search among the oh-so-many recipes out there for the ones that tickle my taste buds, and then I add my personal flair with music, table tips, and more. I think I’ve got a pretty good nose for worthwhile recipes, and am always delighted to share the best of the best with my readers.

Today we’ll reveal the top 5 party-worthy dishes posted on Entertain the Possibilities.
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These are the go-withs; read a little further to find links to other great food bloggers for some smoky, meaty BBQ standouts.

​ETP’s Top 5 – Popular Summer Recipes:

• Mango Margarita – Goes down easily and so delicious!
• Romesco Sauce with Grilled Vegetables – Inspired by our trip to Spain
• Corn-Jalapeno Mini Muffins – Corn muffins go great with low-and-slow barbecue

From our house to yours, we wish you a happy Independence Day with good friends and family around to help you celebrate. 

Cheers and many happy returns to our little chocolatey friends on their special day! I admit it has only just occurred to me that one can home-make chocolate covered raisins, but of course you can. Let’s get on that right away!

Follow the link to The Nibble’s great how-to with recipe, photos, and historical info about Raisinets. 

​And then we invite you to enjoy one of the early California Raisin commercials – way back from ye olde mid-80s. Oh yeah, these raisin fellas were big stars back in the day – yuuuuuge.
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Valentine’s Day is coming up fast – on the face of it a nice day to recognize and appreciate our loved ones, but underneath the surface lurks potential stress over gift-giving. Do I need to give a gift? Have I picked the right gift? What if she/he hates this gift? Even worse, what if she/he doesn’t get ME a gift in return? That’s a lot of pressure to put onto one little ol’ holiday. 

Please pardon this commercial break (What? Self-promotion during the run-up to one of the most Hallmark-iest holidays of all? Shocking.) but I’d like to suggest a quick visit to Entertaining Vintage to peruse a wide range of gift options carefully selected to surprise and delight. 

Not to worry, we’ve got you covered in all scenarios.

Aside from the retail therapy on offer, we at Entertain the Possibilities will share posts to help you celebrate the month of February in style – from recipes for romantic meals, to recommendations for the best bubbly, to playlists packed with seductive love songs.

We’ll also address some of the lesser-known festivities that are packed into this short month. Did you know that February is the time to honor these important things?  

• Free and Open Source Software Month
• American Heart Month
• An Affair to Remember Month
• Black History Month
• Canned Food Month
• Creative Romance Month
• Great American Pie Month
• National Bake for Family Fun Month
• National Bird Feeding Month
• National Cherry Month
• National Children’s Dental Health Month
• National Grapefruit Month
• National Heart Month
• National Hot Breakfast Month
• National Library Lover’s Month
• National Macadamia Nut Month
• National North American Inclusion Month
• National Snack Food Month
• National Weddings Month
• National Embroidery Month

 
Yup. That’s a lot. Stay tuned. We’ll have a lot to talk about this month. In the meantime, pour yourself another glass of romance and drink deep from the loving cup!

Monday is National Pasta Day – che bello! There’s such a wide range of pasta to be had, and a deep wealth of recipes to try – from the most perfect comfort food to sophisticated gourmet morsels. Me, I love them all.

We’ve posted a few times about delicioso pasta here at Entertain the Possibilities. Please revisit them to savor the flavor:
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• Pistachio Pasta
• Classic Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs ​
• Dan and Greg’s Mushroom-Chestnut Pappardelle

Here are a handful of recipe links for pasta that sound pretty spettacolare to me. They’re inching up to the top of my Make This Dish (Eventually) list. Everyone has one of those, right?

Please leave a note in the Comments if you make any of these dishes. I’d love to know how it turns out for you!

• Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce with Pasta – from the New York Times
• Spaghetti Pie with Pecorino and Black Pepper – from Smitten Kitchen
• Ricotta Gnudi with Pomodoro Sauce – from Bon Appetit
• Creamy Boursin Pasta with Mushrooms and Spinach – from Amuse Your Bouche

September is National Apple Month – cheers to that! What to do with the luscious bounty of red, green, and gold beauties that have overtaken your local market? We’ve got some recommendations starting with a cocktail.

First let me say how wonderful it is to have an enthusiastic mixologist in the family. Ilise enjoys experimenting with seasonal fruits, herbs, and the contents of our liquor cabinet to come up with one spirited delight after another. This is one of her finest, featuring a smoked rum (Stolen – yum!) discovered at a local liquor store’s rum-tasting event earlier this year. (Check out Ilise's other cocktails here.)

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

The Apple Orchard
Recipe by Ilise Goldberg

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 oz Aged Rum
• 1 oz Stolen Smoked Rum
• 2 oz Apple Nectar (Recipe below, or you can use apple juice instead)
• ½ oz Lemon Juice
• 2-3 dashes bitters
• Cinnamon sticks (for garnish)
• Apple Slices (for garnish)

 
DIRECTIONS:

• In a cocktail shaker combine all ingredients with ice (except garnish). Shake well.
• Strain into an old-fashioned glass over fresh ice cubes. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and slice of apple.

 Apple Nectar:

• 2 pounds of Apples cut in quarters (can be assorted or all the same type)
• 1 Cup of Water
• ½ Cup of Sugar
• Combine the water and sugar in a pan over high heat until the sugar dissolves.  Add the apple chunks and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• Once the fruit is nice and tender use a potato masher and mash the fruit to release as much juice as possible. 
• Remove the mixture from heat and allow it to cool completely.
• Strain the syrup into a container (will likely need to use cheese cloth as well as a strainer), and store it for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.  You'll yield @ 20 oz. of nectar. 
• If making far in advance the simple syrup freezes well. 

Apple and Cheddar Scones – from Smitten Kitchen

Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast – from Simply Recipes

​Sauerkraut with Bacon and Apples – from Simply Recipes

Apple-Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Apple-Dijon Pan Sauce – from Iowa Girl Eats

Apple Pie Biscuits – from Joy the Baker

Harvest Tart – from David Lebovitz – Chock full of apples, figs, grapes and walnuts

Custardy Apple Squares – from Dorie Greenspan via The Washington Post

Hasselbeck Apples – from Cooking Light – Check out the video for helpful technique tips


What's your favorite apple recipe? Share in the Comments, please!

Cheese pizza. The world’s most perfect food. Okay, MY most perfect food. It is the one and only answer to the following questions:

• If you had to pick only one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? Cheese pizza.
• What’s your favorite breakfast? Cold cheese pizza.
• Favorite lunch? Hot cheese pizza.
• Care for some pepperoni/sausage/veggies/pineapple on top? Nope, cheese pizza.
• And finally … what’s for dinner tonight? I really hope it’s cheese pizza. 

I think it’s quite fitting that today – Labor Day – is also National Cheese Pizza Day. On the day when we honor Labor by doing very little of it, a take-out or delivery pizza is easy and of course delicious. Sure, someone is laboring to make that pizza but it isn’t you, so yay!

On the other hand, making pizza at home is a fun project and the medium invites infinite creativity. Who says you have to stick with the traditional toppings? Try some strawberries instead. What?? Yes. Here’s a small collection of interesting pizza recipes to try sometime … when you’re ready to labor once again.

Enjoy the day – and please save me the last slice!

• Homemade Extra Cheese Pizza – from Sally’s Baking Addiction
• Perfect Pizza Margherita – from Food & Wine
• Wild Mushroom Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Fontina and Rosemary – from Bon Appetit
• BBQ Chicken Pizza – from The Kitchn
• Strawberry and Goat Cheese Pizza – from the California Strawberry Commission

July is National Pickle Month, did you know that? There’s some logic to it, given that mid-summer produce is abundant, ripe, and flavorful and pickling allows you to capture the goodness, can it, and save it for later when fresh veggies are a bit scarcer. ​

Tina’s Garden Vegetable Pickles
Recipe source: Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book
Yield: about 2 ½ cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 4 whole dried red chiles
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 3-inch sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tbsp. Kosher salt
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 or 3 shallots, peeled and cut into quarters with the root end intact
• 4 cauliflower florets (about 4 ounces) sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 2 medium carrots (about 4 ounces) peeled and sliced on the extreme bias into ¼-inch-thick slices 
• 1 small fennel bulb (about 4 ounces) outer stalks removed, sliced length-wise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 1 celery stalk, peeled and sliced on the extreme bias into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 1 small red or yellow bell pepper, sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices

 
DIRECTIONS:

• In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, toast the mustard seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, chiles and bay leaves for 2-3 minutes, until the spices begin to release their aromas.
• Place the above ingredients along with the water, vinegar, thyme, salt and garlic in a medium saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the shallots, cauliflower, carrots, fennel, celery and bell pepper.
• Allow the mixture to cool, and pour it into a jar or bowl.
• Refrigerate the pickles for at least 24 hours.

I don’t even like lobster – I know, I’ve been told I’m possibly not even human for failing to enjoy this luxury-linked delicacy – but felt compelled to share this post if for no other reason than to rock out to my favorite crustacean-themed song. And so you can feast your eyes on this adorable kitty in a lobster suit.

Okay, I’ll share some awesome-looking recipe links too. What’s your favorite treatment for lobster? Please share the details in the comments.

• Lobster Risotto - from Cooking Light
• Lobster Rolls - fromFood & Wine
• Lobster and Shells – from Ina Garten
• Lobster and Potato Salad – from Smitten Kitchen
• Lobster Bisque – from the New York Times

And of course, let’s not forget the basics:

• Steamed Lobster with Butter - from Chowhound

Salut! To your health. Chin-chin. Prosit. Bottoms up! Skoal. Here’s mud in your eye! Many different ways to say – it’s time to raise a toast and drink some wine in honor of National Wine Day.

Although I won’t say no to a cold beer or a well-made craft cocktail, my adult beverage of choice is wine. Ilise and I have had the extreme good fortune to visit a few of the world’s notable wine regions and do a bit of collecting. But we believe that wine is for drinking, not hoarding, and nothing gives us more pleasure than to share a bottle with friends, especially outdoors on a warm summer’s night with the candles and fireflies glowing.

I asked the resident sommelier (Ilise) to compile a list of our favorite summer sips. We do drink red wine in summertime -- especially the awesome Pinot Noirs made by our friends at Chasing Harvest  -- but today we’re emphasizing the whites and one rosé. You’ll see a range of prices, some on the expensive side. But hey, special occasions deserve a special wine, right?
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​Ilise recommends:

Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc 2015 (We had the 2014 last year and really enjoyed it.) Great wine for summertime sipping on the patio or deck. The 2015 release is crisp, clean and dry, offering up flavors of peach and apple with palate quenching acidity. Drink this deliciously refreshing wine by itself or pair with just about anything. About $10-$12 a bottle; can be purchased at Vin and Binny’s.
 
Château de La Greffiere Mâcon La Roche-Vineuse (any vintage). We’ve been drinking this French Chardonnay over many years and many vintages – it’s our go-to for a good, affordable, just-complex-enough Chardonnay. In fact we enjoyed a bottle on the patio just the other night after a hard day’s work in the garden. Refreshing! About $14-$15; purchased at Binny’s.
 
Louis Latour Montagny Les Grande Roche 2014 – This year’s “wine of the summer” at our house. If you come to visit, this French Chardonnay is what you’ll be offered. A bit more expensive than the other two, but with the case discount ended up at around $18 a bottle. Purchased at Binny’s.

Tasting Note from the vineyard:
Of a bright, light golden color, our Montagny 1er Cru "La Grande Roche" 2014 has a complex nose with peach aromas and hints of muscat. Ample and floral in the mouth, it reveals iodine and peppery notes. A lot of freshness on the finish.
 
Turnbull Rosé of Cabernet Franc 2015 – More expensive than our typical sipping wines, this rosé ($27 w/club membership) was so tasty that Ann let me buy a few more bottles. Cheers to that! Bought on the Turnbull website.

Note from the Vineyard:
Intentionally grown and crafted from the start, our Rosé of Cabernet Franc is harvested and pressed to make a Rosé, rather than a Saignée runoff from our red fermentation. A delightfully dry, crisp wine with the slightest blush of color. It’s just super yummy, with tart strawberry and firm raspberry notes.
 
Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc (any vintage) – We've really enjoyed this Sauvignon Blanc over the past several years (probably tasted 3-4 vintages).  It’s more complex Sauvignon Blanc that has some depth almost a cross between Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  $32 bottle – can be bought at Binny’s or on the Merry Edwards website.

Critical Acclaim for 2014:
"Succulent, lush and rich, with fleshy mango, melon and peach flavors up front, leading to a core of pineapple, lemon and honeysuckle notes. The smoky edge and nervy acidity weave in and out, giving this a fresh finish." 93 points - MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator Insider, Feb. 17, 2016

​Tell us about your favorite summer wines in the Comments.

You know by now that Sunday is Mothers Day. What a wonderful, heartfelt occasion for whipping up a little kitchen magic to honor our special someones! In fact, everyone deserves a little lovin' from the kitchen whether they're a mom or not - even and especially yourself!

Some moms like brunch, others prefer a family dinner, and still others enjoy a nice happy hour. So make her what she likes. Still figuring it out? Here are a bunch of tasty options from the Entertain the Possibilities archives.

Brunch:

• Asparagus, Leek & Gruyere Quiche with Arugula Salad
• Raisin Scones

 
Drinks & Snacks:

• Springtime – a lovely pink concoction with a lovely little kick
• Blackberry Gin & Tonic
• Salted Olive Crisps
• Chevré Devils – aka dates stuffed with goat cheese but a little fancier

 
Dinner:

• Pan-Roasted Sea Trout with Roasted Garlic and Lemon Compound Butter
• Chicken Piccata
• Shaved Asparagus and Mint Salad

 
Dessert – Mom deserves some chocolate:

• Chocolate-Cherry Cookies
• Cappuccino Brownies

Saturday was National Oatmeal Cookie Day. Honestly, I don’t need much more encouragement than that to make a big batch of the good stuff, but saw a chance to combine gluttony with hospitality and volunteered to bring cookies to a party that evening.

Friends, I made 4 different kinds. I mean, if one oatmeal cookie is good, four dozen are better, amirite? Each flavor had its own fan club. Me, I like to spread the love around – they are all my favorites.

• Raisins Only
• Raisins & Pecans
• Cranberry with White Chocolate Drizzle
• Everything – nuts, raisins, cranberries, and chocolate chips

I’m a little embarrassed to share “my” recipe with you – it’s the one on the Quaker Oats package with no changes except my add-ins. It’s been a consistently great recipe all these years, so why mess with it.

However I’m tickled pink to share my cookie conveyance and presentation system with you AKA the cookie suitcase. How cute is this?! 

The wicker case is part of a picnic set; I made dividers out of folded card stock. Paper muffin cups held the cookies neatly in place and post-its were used to identify the flavors. As a person who leads an extremely messy, non-Pinterest-ready lifestyle I have to say, this little project makes me want to show-and-tell.

So please click the photos below to enlarge them and read the captions.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe Source: Quaker Oats

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins

NOTE: You can add to or swap out the raisins if you wish. Options may include chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, dried fruits such as cranberries or apricots. Aim to keep the total quantity of add-ins to about 1 to 1½ cups in total.  
 
DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy, about 4 minutes.
• Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
• With a whisk, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Add to mixer; beat well.
• Add oats and raisins; mix well.
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (use a Silpat if you prefer).
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Rotate sheets in oven about halfway through.
• Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
• Store tightly covered.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
 

As March draws to a close (out like a lamb?) I’d like to squeeze in a tribute to all the things for which this is the national month.

For example, March is National Celery Month, also flour, peanuts, frozen food and noodles. That’s a lot for one little month to carry!
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I’ve compiled a random set of recipes that feature those items – separately, not together, that would be a righteous hot mess!

Well, not entirely random, each looks mighty tasty and cook-worthy to me. Perhaps to you too? If you try any of them, please report back in the Comments.

• ​Egg-Topped Soba Noodles with Asparagus and Prosciutto – from Epicurious
• Chicken Noodle Soup – from Tyler Florence via Food Network
• Noodle Kugel – from Food52
• Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Parmesan – from Bon Appetit
• Braised Celery – from A Girl Defloured
• Mini Chicken and Peanut Kebabs – from the National Peanut Board
• Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake – from Dorie Greenspan via Annie’s Eats

I’m going to let that last one count for the flour entry as well.

And as for the frozen food? I’m a big fan of frozen veggies for soups or stews, frozen fruits work even better than fresh in certain types of recipes, and frozen puff pastry is an amazingly versatile ingredient to have on hand.

​Thank you, March, for “sponsoring” so many great things! I can’t wait to see what April brings. 

This week I’ll be out of town for my (non-blogging) job as a conference education planner. I'm confident that the months of hard work will pay off and the event will go well. But any onsite experience requires very long days of always being ON – not to mention on your feet – hustling all over the conference center, putting out fires right and left. It’s exciting to see an event come together and there’s an undeniable adrenaline rush that comes with a job well done.

But for me, the glue that holds it all together – and by it I mean me – is caffeine. Coffee, diet Coke, another coffee. Yes, yes and yes please. And that’s just before noon.

This means that I will be going into Caffeine Awareness Month with entirely the wrong mindset. The group behind the month seeks to bring awareness to the issue of caffeine addiction and suggest alternatives to that sweet, sweet jolt of joe. 

This is indeed a real concern, and goodness knows I need to cut back on my caffeine consumption. But not this week. Not during an onsite.

The only Caffeine Awareness I’m after right now is where to find my next fix.
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Follow the link if you’d like to learn more about Caffeine Awareness Month.

In honor of National Pistachio Day – Friday, Feb 26 – I made a super-easy and deeply flavorful pasta supper using roasted, unsalted pistachios mixed into a pesto. Really good! This deserves a place on your short list of dinnertime options for a crazy-busy weeknight. Heck, it’s a good option for company dinner too. Not the prettiest dish in the world, but a little garnish (fresh mint leaves?) would help with that. It’s all about the accessories, amirite?!

Before you dive into the recipe, why don’t you take a little break – maybe pop a few pistachios as a snack? – and view some of the Wonderful Pistachios commercials at the link here. I especially like the ones with Snoop Dogg, the dominatrix, and the new Facebook emojis. Here’s another fun one:
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Mint and chocolate. Two great standalone flavors that bring out the best in each other. Better together indeed.

Let’s explore a few sumptuous recipes. Starting things off right is a classic, Mint-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

• Mint Chip Ice Cream – from David Lebovitz
• Andes Mint Cupcakes – from Your Cup of Cake
• Mint Chocolate Swirl Bark – from Sally’s Baking Addiction
• Mint Chocolate Truffles – from Ree Drummond for Food Network
• Chocolate Thin Mint Pie – from Completely Delicious blog by way of Something Swanky

Speaking of Thin Mints, please enjoy this helpful how-to video for making your own version of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies:

​Please continue to support your local Girl Scouts as well. I loved my scouting years. There’s an option for donating boxes of cookies to U.S. military troops overseas, in case you’re trying to resist keeping any in the house. Believe me, I understand. 

Look at that post title. Look at it. There’s nothing there I don’t like. Or is there? Let’s deconstruct it and examine the elements.

National. Although the spotlight is strong on the national stage, I firmly believe that all cake, like politics, is local.

Chocolate. Food of the gods. Symbol of decadence. Health benefits – hey, that becomes important to those of a certain age, you’ll see!

Cake. I know, I know, it’s for special occasions only. But it really is the cake that makes a special occasion special, amirite?

Day. This year it's Wednesday, but IMO every day should be a day in which cake is celebrated and given the recognition it so well deserves. 

Official National Chocolate Cake Day Proclamation: In moderation, anything goes. If you crave chocolate cake, have the cake. Maybe you'll make trade-offs elsewhere – salad for lunch, extra 20 reps at the gym. Maybe you won’t. Maybe you'll have just a thin slice, or savor all you want. Your choice. But if chocolate cake is in your future – and I do hope that it is – make sure it’s a good one. Never settle for so-so desserts!

Decadent-looking chocolate cake recipes straight ahead! You’ve been warned.
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• Salted Caramel Six-Layer Chocolate Cake – from Martha Stewart
• The Best Chocolate Cake (Ever) – from Add a Pinch
• Chocolate Cake with Divinity Icing – from Trisha Yearwood via Food Network
• Chocolate Roll Snack Cakes – from Food 52

Involuntary shudder.

​Maybe the problem is that I’ve never sampled the ne plus ultra of eggnogs, but I cannot in good conscience celebrate the nog of which I have never not been grossed out.

For me there are several superior alternatives in the festive holiday drinking category. Glögg, hot toddies, anything with cranberry juice + booze. Tonight we’ll drink sparkling wine, tasting both French Champagne and Spanish cava. Both have great potential to delight.
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But if eggnog is your jam, then more for you. Cheers and Bottoms up! 

If that doesn’t sound like some kind of anti-ED pharmaceutical promotion I don’t know what does.

​But in fact, Weary Willie Day celebrates the famous clown character that Emmett Kelly created during the depths of the Depression, becoming an American icon.
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So today I invite you to put on a red nose, big shoes, and a happy face (or a frowny one) … and say Happy Birthday to the late, great Emmett Kelly. 

​Question: Do clowns make you happy or scare you to death? Discuss in the comments.
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