Sweet Potato Casserole

Can anyone tell me how Pumpkin Pie sits at the dessert table while sweet potato casserole sits with the rest of the food at the table as a side dish? It's like someone thought it would be funny one year to slip a dessert onto the table among all the other dishes and the whole world caught on. I'm certainly not complaining, I just laugh every time I serve it with dinner.

OXO Giveaway

OXO has partnered with the Virtual Potluck team to provide you with an array of tools you need to pull off some amazing meals this holiday season!

With the right tools in hand, any cooking job becomes so much easier. If you haven't already checked out my post on how to Spatchcock a Turkey, do it now! I use a whole array of OXO tools and it's a fun new technique you can use this year.

How to Spatchcock a Turkey

I honestly feel like I was just writing my posts for last Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. And now it's already come around again. It's my favorite time of year though so I'm happy to have it around again so soon. As a family we're busier than ever but it's a good busy and I appreciate having this time of year to focus on the things that are most important to us.

We're doing another big Thanksgiving this year, inviting all the families we know around us that are in a similar situation of not having any relatives nearby and we'll all celebrate together. It makes for a chaotic day with our house filled to the brim but it's a great way to enjoy the day. Then I leave that weekend to go to China for a week, finalizing plans for a new business we're launching soon.

Four Layer Gourmet Caramel Apples

My wife would like 100% of the credit for this creation. And for something this amazing, she deserves it. This isn't exactly a recipe I'll be sharing with you but it's a fun treat that you can create with the kids help and it makes a great gift for the upcoming holidays!

Four layers you ask? Absolutely. Caramel, Butterfinger, Chocolate and Candied Peanuts. When she first described what she wanted to make, I thought  she was a bit crazy, and I honestly didn't think it would be as good as she was imagining that it would be. Butterfinger layer is one thing but then adding peanuts on the outside? I thought it might just be too much. And maybe it is, but it was pretty amazing.

Loaded Baked Potato Bites

I had the opportunity last week to sneak into the local Fox 9 station as John McLemore, the CEO of Masterbuilt and his wonderful wife Tonya were filming a segment promoting their new book "Dadgum That's Good, Too". As I walked into the main building early that morning, I could smell the turkey almost immediately. I asked the security guard where to go and he laughed as he said to just follow the smell. The smell led me to the studio kitchen where a prep crew and John were busily working around the kitchen and two of John's indoor turkey fryers were happily frying away on the counter top.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Sometimes time just gets away from you. I've always been a busy person. Not necessarily hectic, run all around the place type busy, but busy. I like side projects and lots of things going on that I can be involved in, but the month of October just got away from me. Full time job, trying to launch a new business, wedding, travel, foster kids and a major professional certification exam.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

I'm not sure why I even said yes. I'm not a professional by any means and I've never done anything near a wedding cake before. It was soon after my cake won a ribbon at the state fair though so I must have been at a weak moment when my brother asked if I'd make their wedding cake and I actually said yes. The only reason I even considered it though is because they said they wanted something less traditional and were thinking more of a cupcake tower.