DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Russian folk tales, campy '80s movies, classic Yuletide imagery. Each of these themes and more are represented in this stunning collection of gingerbread house creations chosen by Food & Wine editors. Bakers and confectionary designers from New York to Hawaii have been hard at work crafting these sweet-scented masterpieces, employing thousands of gallons of icing, as well as thousands of pounds of chocolate, gingerbread dough, fondant, and candy to capture the essence of the holiday season. The Jumeirah Essex House Location:      The Jumeirah Essex House's 2010 Holiday Lobby Display (New York, NY) Throughout December, the hotel's executive pastry chef, Deden Putra, is hosting Saturday morning classes that teach kids (and parents) how to construct and decorate gingerbread houses. Last year's display proves Putra's qualifications. He and his team built an exact scale replica of the Jumeirah Essex House that was 10 feet tall.   L...

   This recipe comes from www.annies-eats.com  .   Enjoy making these extra large cookies.  But, don't forget to share!  Enjoy! Giant Double Chocolate Cookies Now this, my friends, is a cookie . A whopper of a deep dark chocolate cookie, and it’s chock full of chocolate chips. It’s thick, chewy, and just sinful. The glass of milk is not just a prop – it’s a necessity in this case. These cookies definitely earn the title of “giant”, considering that 4 ounces of dough is used for each one. I’m not such a fan of quarter-pounder burgers, but quarter-pounder cookies? I’m totally on board. If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet ( tsk tsk ), here is the perfect excuse. How else will you know that each cookie is exactly 4 ounces? This is important business, people. Truth be told, I actually haven’t eaten an entire cookie at once. I keep eating half at lunchtime and half after dinner. Believe me, I could – I just like having dessert tw...

You wish you had eaten less. This is one of the most common complaints after the holiday. Why did you stuff down that last huge piece of ham or turkey, or that second dessert? Now you've gained five or ten pounds and you'll have to spend January and February working it off. You wish you had done what you wanted. Every year during the holidays, many people find themselves being pulled in ten different directions. Grandma wants you at her house at noon for dinner, mom wants you to unwrap gifts at her house at 11. Your friends want to get together at 3 p.m., and then your aunt asks you to drop by at 2. After the day is over, you find you put more miles on your car in one day than you did during the whole month of December. You're exhausted, stressed out, and wish you had just stayed home in bed. The desire to go back and get people different Christmas gifts. Now that you see your brother didn't really need a new razor, but could have used a gift c...