I found this recipe for Korean pancakes (Pa Jun) over on the 30 Bucks a Week blog and can’t wait to try them. They’re made with egg, flour and chopped vegetables. You can use pretty much anything you have sitting around the fridge - carrots, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli. So it’s a great way to make use of produce before it goes bad.

I don’t usually keep artichokes on my kitchen counter but this tray is convincing me it might be a good idea. Of suppose, I should to figure out how the heck to cook one first.

I love straws, but I hate the idea of wasting all that plastic just to sip my iced tea. These stainless steel straws are both adorable and eco-friendly. I just wonder if they make everything taste like metal.

Meet the Mini Cupcake Maker. It makes seven mini cupcakes in just five minutes. To make things worse, it’s only $33. Buy at your own risk.

I went ahead and made the truffle recipe I found in Food and Wine Magazine and I could not be more pleased with the results. They made perfect gifts for friends and neighbors and were well worth the chocolaty mess they made all over my kitchen. If you decide to try this, take my advice and don’t wear your white sweater.

Even though there were only a few ingredients involved, I couldn’t imagine how my truffles could possibly look as pretty and professional as the ones in their photo. But once the ganache was rolled into balls and covered in cocoa powder or chopped walnuts, they looked perfect.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

The holidays are my favorite time of year for experimenting with new recipes. There is no better test audience than family. First of all, it’s a captive audience. And, second of all, you can always count on your little brother to tell it to you straight if you screwed up the pork loin. Here are a few of the new dishes to which I’m subjecting my family this year:

Veal cakes on Silky Eggplant.

Truffled Potato Gratin.

Bacon-Wrapped Tenderloin with Herb Stuffing.

And an old favorite, Martha Stewart’s Triple-Chocolate Trifle (I omit the peppermint part. It’s good, but sort of overwhelming).

Happy cooking. Happy eating. And Happy Holidays.

The holidays are just about the only time my parents get out the fine china. Which reminded me that I don’t have any. And while I don’t really need any (keeping my casual china intact is job enough) that didn’t stop me from shopping around for some online. What I found is this Golden Garden china by Villeroy and Boch. It claimed to be on sale, but it turned out only one of the many pieces had been marked down (priced from $15 - over $200).

I especially love this dusty pink brunch plate. It’s so sweet and vintage-y.

I remember making gingerbread houses with my parents as a kid. Of course, my dad was an engineer so putting together a large cookie structure was but a small challenge. As an adult, the idea of a gingerbread house is completely overwhelming. I can never get the darned thing to pass safety codes and all the little gingerbread men inside are in constant danger of being crushed. But these adorable coffee cup gingerbread houses actually look like manageable project. Not Martha created each one by hand and has been kind enough to post a step-by-step and patterns over on her blog.

I like to make my holiday gifts in the kitchen. And everybody loves chocolate, I’m planning to make truffles this year. I was surprised to find the recipe only has three ingredients (heavy cream, chocolate and cocoa powder). The truffles can be made up to a week ahead of time so now’s the perfect time to start. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.

Well, more for the owner who has everything except an easy way to open a cold one at the dog park. This would make a pretty funny stocking-stuffer for your favorite dog (or brew) lover.