I hope all my American readers enjoyed their Thanksgiving! I
was very thankful to get to spend time with my family and friends while I was
home. Even had a clean-up helper.
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| One sous chef getting some final bits off the plates |
Now in full Christmas holiday mode, not that they don’t
start before Halloween with Christmas advertisements. I do love this time of
year stretching from October through January. I love kicking off with
Halloween. The crazy holiday with very interesting history, but a fun night to
dress-up and hang out with friends.
Thanksgiving is next up that gets us prepared for the
Christmas season. A national day of thanks that gives us the time to reflect on
what we are thankful for. Gets one in the spirit of not thinking of oneself but
of others.
Since coming back from Thanksgiving break (perk of working
at a college), I’ve been getting a lot prepped for up coming holiday parties,
and making sure that I’m all stocked up with pastries for the coffee shops on
campus since finals are upon us as well. It is amazing how much more the
students go through the pastries during finals… study fuel.
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| Study fuel: L-R T-B: Muffins, sticky buns, croissants and cinnamon rolls |
One thing I do love about the three weeks back is getting to
be even more creative with the small desserts for the holiday parties. The
major one that we have is for the President Chancellor of LSU. I get to create
lots of holiday cookies, petite fours, and other small finger desserts.
Some of my favorite holiday treats to make are pate choux,
or cream puffs. There is just something about them. Just so cute and then you
can fill them or turn them into a croquembouche. Such a showstopper. Well, at
least I think so. I also love creating gingerbread houses. The smell alone gets
me into the Christmas spirit.
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| Replica of the Faculty Club building that I work out of... Poured sugar made up the windows |
My most used recipes for this time of year are three main staples…
ginger snap cookie, sugar cookie and pate choux recipes. I use these three the
most because, ginger snaps are always a hit and are a lot like gingerbread
cookies (I find them tastier), the sugar cookies because well they are great
for decorating. Lastly the pate choux because you can make cream puffs and éclairs
out of the dough.
Later this week I'll be posting my recipes and what I've made out of them. Hopefully y'all will try them out and let me know how they work out for you! Hope you're having a great holiday season. Happy Eating!