Most bloggers celebrate their blogaversarys with a grand cake of some sort and a giveaway. If you've been following my blog lately, I've baked enough desserts to last me a year, and frankly... the giveaways tend to get tiresome. I'm celebrating with words and reflection.
Jan. 1 will mark the beginning of the second year of The Recipe Girl blog. It was started completely on a whim. I wasn't new to the internet food world. I already had the parent site RecipeGirl.com up and running for a couple of years. But ironically enough, I had never really discovered food blogs much until about a year ago. Frankly, I just wasn't aware that they really existed. Once I started exploring them though, I was hooked. I felt I had to create my own, thus The Recipe Girl began.
Reflections after my first year of blogging...
#1: The world of food blogging is a lot bigger than I ever could have imagined.
#2: Food bloggers are nice and compassionate people. Honestly. I find it shocking that it's possible to create internet 'friendships' with others... and that sometimes those internet friendships turn into face-to-face meetings and 'real' friendships. How cool is that?
#3: There's a heck of a lot of talent in the food blogging industry... budding photographers, writers and bloggers-come-cookbook-authors.
#4: Most bloggers choose and post about the best recipes. In other words, you can usually trust a blogger's recipe choice to be something fantastic.
#5: Blogs with frequent spelling errors are simply annoying. I realize that everyone might not have strength in spelling (and that's unfortunate) but I find that as much as I might enjoy a blog... if it has spelling errors, that's a deal-breaker for me.
Tips for the new guys...
#1: Food blogging isn't for everyone. If you can capture good photos, have the ability to write interesting posts and can make chocolate chip cookies look amazing... then you might be fit for blogging. Blog about recipes that are unique and delicious. No one really wants to read about your flops or recipes that are just 'okay' (unless you have a really compelling story to accompany your so-so recipe). And please don't post a blurry photo. If that's all you have, blog about something else.
#2: Blog for fun, and don't try to make your blog more than it is. Not everyone is fit to write cookbooks and be on the Martha Stewart show. If you have talent, it will show, and good things might happen to you. If not, then just have fun with it, and share with friends and family.
#3: Don't try to be everyone's friend. Let relationships with other bloggers happen naturally. Find other blogs that you find worthy of visiting, and comment when you find a post that interests you. (Don't feel like you have to comment on every single blog every time you visit). Never ask for a link exchange. If someone enjoys your blog, they'll add you to their blogroll.
#4: Retailers will come out of the woodwork to offer you free food products in exchange for a discussion about their product on your blog. At first, this will seem really cool. But you don't have to accept every 'free' offer that comes your way. Keep in mind that a post on your blog is a free advertisement for these companies that stays on the internet forever. Do you really want to publish free advertising for companies in exchange for a little sample?
#6: There is such a thing as too many giveaways. I think it's okay to do a giveaway once in a while if it's something really wonderful to be giving away. But again... if it's just a company looking for some free advertising, you may want to reconsider.
What's in store for the future of RecipeGirl?
#1: I'm happy to continue blogging about food. I love to look for creative, unique recipes that I can tweak to make them more my own style. It's fun to share them with the world to see if the world thinks they're cool too.
#2: Photography has become a passion of mine... I'll be acquiring a new camera/lens sometime soon, and I hope to learn more about photography and shoot more amazing food photos.
#3: RecipeGirl.com will be launching a newly designed site in the next few weeks- which will finally combine the parent site w/ the blog. This has been a large project of mine that I've been working on for the past year.
#4: Once the new site launches, a few wonderful, well-known cookbook authors will be working with me to share entertaining menus and tips on my site.
#5: And finally... I have an idea for a cookbook. Stay tuned!
Thank you readers for your kind comments and continued support!
I was thrilled to find that this recipe called for fresh sage as I have loads of it growing like weeds in my courtyard.
Regular, medium-sized white mushrooms are all you need (I used a few baby portobellos too). They just get a quick wash and a trimmed stem.
The sage leaf is simply laid on top of a mushroom.
A piece of pancetta (or bacon) is wrapped tightly around. I left the sage leaf peeking out of the side since I wanted that color to show a bit.
All is secured with a toothpick pushed down into the mushroom from the top.
Here they are.... awaiting the oven.
They're baked for about 25 minutes, until the bacon becomes crisp and browned. Sadly, I didn't capture a beautiful picture of the finished product... we were eager to eat and the lighting was dimmed for the party. They were excellent, and they were gobbled up rather quickly by our gourmet friends.
Our hosts had a fabulous idea for a holiday 'gift' activity. They had each of us bring a wrapped toy that represented our personality. We then took turns unwrapping the toys and guessed which of our friends we thought the toy matched with. My wrapped toy wasn't hard to guess... an Easy-Bake Oven, and my gregarious, speaker husband wasn't too tough either... a play microphone. The activity generated a lot of laughs, and we ended up with 40 toys to donate to charity.
They were good enough to break out the Christmas china for. My family declared these as 'Restaurant Quality' and enjoyed them with warm maple syrup. We did have a few left over. I popped them into the freezer, and they were excellent warmed up in the toaster a few days later.
We sip these as we open gifts on Christmas morning: 
Looking forward to another yummy year of blogging!
A mix of frozen spinach (thawed), 
The sheet is rolled up tightly, wrapped and placed into the freezer. At this point, you can choose to store the roll in the freezer and cut as needed for spur-of-the-moment appetizers. Or you can freeze for 30 minutes to let it firm up slightly and then slice & bake immediately.
1-inch slices baked for about 20 minutes and they're ready to eat!
Lightly 
Into a springform pan, I pressed an Oreo cookie crust.
The batter is a classic cheesecake batter with a small amount of added cocoa, buttermilk and vinegar (which are typical in a red velvet cake).
Of course you must add red food coloring to get that wonderful red hue.
The key to baking a perfect cheesecake with no cracks is to bake it in a water bath. Protected by two layers of heavy-duty foil, the pan is lowered into a 'bath' and baked at a low temperature.
See how perfect? Not a single crack.
Just as a Red Velvet Cake is topped with a cream cheese frosting, this 
Mint leaves were the perfect garnish... green with the red and the white... so holiday!
I piped on some melted 
I was very pleased with how the color turned out in this cheesecake- just a fabulous shade of red and a very festive addition to a Christmas dinner menu.
Incredibly moist, I can honestly say that this cheesecake is a new favorite of mine. I just loved the flavor... reminiscent of the same red velvet flavor that you get in the cake- especially with the cream cheese addition on top.
I really had only meant to take a bite to sample and somehow save the rest for my son, but I just couldn't help myself. The kid didn't get any.
I ate every single bite myself. And it was so worth that extra 30 minutes at the gym.
Spread mini pretzels onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Throw some sliced almonds on there if you'd like. Add holiday sprinkles too if you're feeling festive. Anything you put on the bottom here will stick to the fudge... so when the whole thing is turned over, that's what you'll see.
Then make your fudge! Use a big enough pan so it doesn't bubble up over the top. Plan to stir constantly, and have a timer nearby. No thermometer is needed on this one.
You'll need to work quickly since the fudge sets up pretty fast. Pour it all over the top of the pretzel mixture. If you have a friend, or if you yourself are speedy, you can add more pretzels and sprinkles to the top. Just gently press them here and there- as quickly as you can. As I said before, it begins to harden almost immediately so you do need to accomplish any additions rather briskly.
If you don't manage to get anything on top, don't worry... when you turn the whole thing over, you'll have the decor on the other side.
Let cool to room temperature, then break it up into pieces and munch away. I've really tried to be quite good this season and just take a little test-sample of each treat I've made. But I shouldn't have tested this one at all because I found that it was tough to stop sampling.
Did it taste like eggnog? Not really. You can definitely taste the spices, and since I'm a huge fan of eggnog I could detect that flavor as well... but it's not a huge eggnog flavored treat. In fact, you probably would enjoy it even if you disliked eggnog entirely.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size.
I made two of these and took them to a holiday brunch. I had the opportunity to taste it and it was quite delicious. And there were all kinds of ohhhs and ahhhs from the women at the brunch! It does turn out to be quite adorable, doesn't it?
These are a nice little chocolate cupcake with a simple, peppermint tinted icing.
Crushed candy canes are the perfect complement for the minty icing. They add a little festive color to the cakes. Use green candy canes too for additional holiday cheer.
Or place a candy cane on the icing... then your guests can choose to eat it or not. Plus, I think it looks pretty swanky with a mini-candy-cane on top.
I did a combo of both. If you don't care for the crunch of candy canes on your cupcakes, use your own edible holiday decor. 
They're the typical thumbprint cookie... chill the dough, roll into balls and give each cookie a push of the thumb.
After you bake them, they puff up quite a bit, so you simply use the end of a spatula to re-create the thumbprint impression.
The chocolate filling calls for melted semi-sweet chocolate, butter and peppermint extract. I had these stashed in my freezer so I used them instead. They worked out perfectly.
Once the chocolate is melted, it will be smooth and thin. You'll need to let it sit at room temperature for a while, giving it a chance to thicken up enough to pipe through a pastry sleeve. If you prefer, you can spoon the filling into the centers instead.
Give them a splash of holiday sprinkles if you'd like.
These make a nice holiday cookie. And they seemed to satisfy the fanatical chocolate-lovers in my house, as well as my chocolate-mint-obsessed husband. The chocolate middles harden at room temperature, and then you can freeze them if you'd like in a covered container between layers of waxed paper.
Easy to make, this coffeecake is prepped the night before, covered and left in the fridge overnight.
It's simply placed into the oven in the AM, dumped onto a rack to cool and drizzled with eggnog flavored glaze.
Most of the glaze literally soaks into the cake. It turns out to be incredibly tender and moist.
Lazy folks can make this in a 9x13 pan, but it's a little prettier if you bake it in a molded pan. Decorate with a few cranberries for decor (or not) and it's ready to eat.
The icing was delicious and did harden if made as directed, but I didn't like that it took away from the attractive, swirly nature of the cookie. I tried to thin it out a bit with additional whipping cream, but then the icing wouldn't harden. I'd make these again in a heartbeat, but would choose to drizzle 
I've made a lot of cookies. I've sampled a lot of cookies. And this is one of the better ones. We loved these cookies. When the mood for cinnamon rolls strikes...
The recipe isn't really complicated. Sugar, butter and corn syrup bubble away until turning caramel-colored. You must have a candy thermometer though to get the toffee part just right. Too cool and it won't set correctly. Too hot and you'll have burnt toffee.
When ready, the mixture is pulled from the heat and mixed with a handful toasted almonds.
The toffee is then poured onto a cookie sheet and quickly spread out. It will begin to set almost immediately. A short visit to the refrigerator will ensure that the toffee with harden enough for the next step.
Melted chocolate is spread upon the chilled toffee.
Toasted almonds are sprinkled on top of the chocolate and lightly pressed down to stick. Once hardened, the entire 'sheet' of toffee can be easily lifted off of the cookie sheet and broken apart into smaller pieces.
Ready for consumption... or packaging... or giving away... or freezing! I'm happy to say that my batch is safely stowed away in the depths of my freezer- awaiting the time that I put together my holiday goodie trays.
A scoopful of chocolate dough is flattened out and wrapped around gobs of rolled pb dough.
The resulting chocolate ball (with hidden pb) is then rolled in sugar...
And then flattened slightly with the sugared bottom of a glass. The peanut butter middle stays nicely tucked inside.
See that lovely layer of peanut butter hiding inside?
These are a sturdy cookie- not like delicate little flowers- but not crunchy. They freeze very well! Slip them into ziplocs or a covered container, and they're fresh as can be when defrosted. They're also a good one for mailing.
If you'd like to make them more 'Christmasy' for holiday baking, try rolling them in green or red sugar instead of white.
This cinnamon-tainted dough is rolled out and stamped with stars. Use a straw to poke holes in the top of the stars for easy ribbon stringing.
A light coat of egg white is brushed onto each cut-out cookie. It acts as the 'glue' that will hold on the cinnamon-sugar sprinkle.
The stars are baked 'till a golden brown.
Festive ribbon is strung through each cookie to create ornaments.
If you don't wish to put them on your big tree, consider putting together a miniature tree with cookie ornaments to keep in your kitchen. Be careful if you have dogs or other creatures that might find these delicious!
6 ingredients quickly mixed make the dough for these easy-to-make cookies. Roll them into little balls and you're good to go.
The balls are flattened slightly with the bottom of a glass.
They spread out and bake up into crispy, flaky cookies reminiscent of those much adored ice cream flavors. They're too delicate for holiday mailing, but they'd make a nice addition to a cookie platter. Our family thought these were groovy and devoured a few before I relegated them to the freezer for future placement on my holiday cookie trays.
The cookies themselves are a simple shortbread cut-out cookie flavored with powdered espresso. Cut them into whatever shapes you like. For dipping, it's good to find shapes that are symmetrical, like circles, Christmas trees, hearts, diamonds, etc.
These cookies are dipped into melted chocolate. I edged them with some cute Christmas sprinkles to make them more holiday-ish.
Left on the counter for a couple of hours, the chocolate sets up nicely. I popped these into the freezer in a covered container between layers of waxed paper. Good for freezing... either freeze the shortbread itself ahead of time and dip later, or dip- let set- then freeze.
