Happy Christmas: How To Make A Gingerbread House

Whenever I think of gingerbread houses, I think back to 1985 and my good friend's birthday party, just one week before Christmas.  Her mom had planned for us to make gingerbread houses and their gigantic dining table was arranged with slabs of gingerbread pieces and candy as far as the eye could see.  It was every 12 year old girl’s dream come true.  Well, if Corey Hart would have made a special appearance, then it really would have been this girl’s dream come true, but I digress.  It was an afternoon of creating our little houses, as we saw fit.  Creativity was stirred, royal icing got stuck in the hair, and news of who liked who dominated the conversation.  I remember riding in the back of her parents’ minivan after the party, holding my little gingerbread house tight, amazed that I built something so pretty (and it didn't fall apart). That’s what is so magical about Christmas; these memories that linger, long after the royal icing has dried.  

Fast forward  almost 30 years.  Me and the birthday girl are still good friends, but my crush on Corey Hart has passed.  And I hadn't built a gingerbread house ever again, until just last month  when my trusty editor told me to.   Making a gingerbread house from scratch has some steps and can take some time, but the effort you put into it is well worth the end result.  It’s a great way to keep the kids busy while school is out, and with any luck the gingerbread houses will become the stuff of family lore and the start of a new Christmas tradition. Currently, mine sits in my living room and one of my cats has taken to chewing the trees off.  What a guy.  For how to make the gingerbread house from beginning to end, take a peek at my latest article for Culinaire Magazine.  

I'm off for a few days to see family, where no doubt I'll play in the snow with my nieces, watch "Love Actually" with my mom, and drink coffee with Baileys every morning as I watch the sun rise over the winter prairie.  It's going to be grand.  I wish you joy, peace and much merriment over the holiday season. xo Renee

Everyday Magic: Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby

 

I don't quite believe it's already time to talk about gingerbread, but time (the trickster) it marches on, doesn't it?  Snow has already fallen, and while I do wish it didn't come so soon, it does add a sparkling beauty to the world around me.  When I step out into the world around 6 am most mornings (baker's hours, eeep!) there is a hush over the city while it still sleeps and I'm surrounded by an amber glow from the snow that has freshly fallen.  It kind of takes my breath away, this beauty.  I stand for a moment in the stillness, breathing in, out.  No doubt looking up trying to find the stars; stealing a moment in the stillness before I must carry on with my day.  Cycles of seasons never cease to amaze me.  Just a couple of months ago, there was a whirlwind of harvest activity.  In two more, we'll be fresh into another year.  There are bound to be all sorts of big and small and in-between moments ahead.  Little bits of everyday magic, too.  Girl talk over good coffee.  My mom's hands rolling dough.  The laughter of a kid down the street.  The quite roar of my kitten's purr while I rub his belly.  Fresh flannel sheets, still warm from the dryer.  Sleep that comes quickly, easily.  An episode of Sex in the City you've never seen before (and you thought you saw them all).  The voice of an old friend.  Whipped cream, still on the beaters.  Flakes of snow on an eyelash.  The magic that is eggs, milk, flour and butter in a frying pan.  And maple syrup.  Always maple syrup.

Chocolate Gingerbread Beer Bundt Cake

If I tell you there is dry mustard in this cake, will you believe me?  I hope so, because it's 100 percent true.  I know!  Dry mustard in a cake - who would have thought?  But it's one of the reasons I wanted to try this cake out.  Well, that and the beer.  Beer in cake too?  This is crazy talk.  I've put beer in bread and in barbecue sauce and down the gullet, but never in chocolate cake.  But 'tis the season of St. Patrick, so why not?  When you've been baking cakes as long as I have, it's cool to shake things up and see what the heck will happen.  I can tell you this cake started out by giving me grief, but there was a happy ending.  And that's all that matters, right?

Perfect: Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake

At its point of perfection, an apple shouts, a pear whispers.  ~ Nigel Slater

I don't need to tell you what's happening in two months time.  If you've poked your head into any retail outlet, harmlessly looking for boots or pillows or cat litter, you've seen the signs for Christmas 2012.  In the olden days, you wouldn't see such stuff until after Halloween, but it's seems like every year the goods are coming out quicker and quicker.  Some of you may have already started (or finished!) your shopping, to which I give you a high five.  I'm not, nor will ever be one of those people.  Most days I'm lucky if my to-do list gets crossed off, and then I reward myself with tea and cake.  Fair deal.