Fabulous Chocolate Bark

I was taught that good guests never arrive empty-handed.  At holiday time, I’m always looking for new homemade presents to bring instead of wine or flowers.  This year I discovered a fabulous host/hostess gift – homemade chocolate bark candy with dried fruit and nuts.

There’s a lot to love about this chocolate bark.  It’s super easy to make, no-bake, and quick too.  It’s not messy to clean up afterwards, there are endless variations, and it looks fabulous presented in a gift box or bag, surrounded by nice tissue paper.  It’s addictive too – sweet, but not cloying; unusual, but appealing to the less adventuresome eaters too.  And at less than $5 for an 8 ounce gift box or bag ($6 or $6.50 if you count the fancy box or bag), it's an inexpensive present. 

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Create Your Own Holiday Tradition

My friend Nancy did and you can too.  It’s not about starting out to create a tradition or fussing over the details.  It’s about entertaining in whatever way works for you and your friends and deciding that it’s nice to do it again the following year, and then maybe the next …. 

Twenty years ago, Nancy threw a birthday tea party for her mom.  It was so much fun, she decided to do a holiday tea for her own friends.  Ever since then, each year on a Sunday afternoon in December, Nancy has invited her women friends to a tea.  It's a 3-hour open house-type event.  She began with 30 invitations the first year and now sends invites to 70+ women from all parts of her life, including childhood friends, women she got to know as parents of her kids’ friends, work friends and a few assorted friends like me. 

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Meal Planning Rule # 5 - Ingredients & Equipment Matter

The 10 Rules for Meal Preparation Success countdown continue.  We’re up to Rule # 5 – Ingredients & Equipment Matter.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m talking about making choices, not trying to stifle creativity or suggest that you can’t make do with minimal cooking equipment.

Making a conscious decision to change a recipe’s ingredients is the time-honored way to create a great new dish.  And I’m in no position to argue against last minute substitutions, done out of laziness or necessity.  When I plan to make a recipe and find that I’ve got most, but not all the ingredients, I often substitute others instead of heading out to the store. 

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