Eat Santa...Eat!

SM always complains that my cooking is making him fat.  But he's the one who requests all these yummy things and at this time of the year, it's cookies and cakes and pies! 

So I'll do my best to fatten my Santa up.



Eat Santa...Eat!!!!

And there's nothing in the rule books that says that Mrs. Clause can't stay slim and sexy. 

 

Unfortunately in this house gluten free Mrs Clause likes to drink her egg nog and eat her Christmas candy and ...Hoo Boy...Mrs Clause is a bit of a lush too...So let the Asti Spumanti flow!  Screw that slim and sexy crap!  More of me to love right?  RIGHT????  



So donning my sexy Christmas socks, I got to work.  First things first, some Snow Ball cookies and Peanut Butter cookies.  

As I whip up my cookies, I think about all the people who say they CAN'T cook.  That's a load of "hooey" as far as I'm concerned.  Of course you can cook.  You're just not interested in cooking.  It's like anything else.  You have to be curious about it, excited to do it.  Everyone who is a GOOD cook started out as a LOUSY one first.  Please!  Some things are hits and the others are misses. You learn, you grow.  I used to think I was a lousy baker.  According to SM (and the girls at work) I'm not.  Who knew? 

SM watched me flatten the PB cookies and asked me to put some chocolate chips on top.  "You want me to mix them in?"  I asked.  "No.  Just put them on top."  That's the point.  Have fun!  Experiment!  Someone will eat your food. 

True...it might be the dogs, but someone will appreciate your efforts

Even now I can screw up a recipe.  Take today for example.  I thought since I'm feeding Santa all those yummy cookies that I can't eat, I'd make me a cheesecake.  I've made Ina Garten's Cheesecake before.  It's wonderful!  But the last time I made it we ended up throwing part of it away.  Cheesecake dries out quick and this recipe was HUGE.  Way too much for 2 people.  I figured I just cut the recipe in half.  How hard can that be? Plus, I wasn't going to use a crust (GF me).  Uh oh...I didn't have any lemon for the zest it called for.  So what?  Ooop's!  Did I just add the eggs to the cream cheese before I whipped the cheese for 5 minutes?  Oh crap!  The eggs were supposed to be at room temperature?

Hmmm....I stood there with my hand mixer trying to make this mixture smooth.  It got better but still had lumps.  Screw it!  I tossed it into a pan with the bottom lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven.  Uh oh!  How is this going to time down?  It's half the size!  I baked it at 450 for 15 minutes and it looked done already!  Crap!  I backed it down to the 225 the recipe asked for and set the timer for 45 minutes instead of the 1 hour and 15 minutes the recipe called for. 

After only 20 minutes I took it out of the oven trying to salvage the situation.

So how is it?  Don't know.  It's in the fridge now waiting for us to taste later tonight.  It might not be my best effort but I know it'll be edible.  Who knows?  I just might have created an award winning GF Cheescake.  I doubt it, but at least I tried. 

And boy does the house smell good!  Just like Christmas!