“Mommy, I want this,” Will said to me the other evening, holding up a bottle of pancake syrup – the kind I wish I could banish from our house since it is anything but natural. However, Will and my husband love it so it remains.

“That’s syrup, sweet pea. You can’t just eat syrup! That goes with pancakes, silly,” I said, expecting him to say okay and put it away . . . that is usually what happens.

“Yea, want paaaaaan-cakes,” he replied with a grin.

Did I mention it was evening? And I had stew meat defrosting on the countertop? Well, I did! And breakfast for dinner? Not something I do. Ever. After all, I am a breakfast failure. I burn everything — eggs, French toast, bacon – you name it — at least in the morning. Still, how often does a two-year-old specifically request a meal? For snacks, it’s often, but for meals it’s never in my house. So I did what any good mom would do . . .

“Alright. Do you want plain, blueberry or chocolate chip.”

“Chooooooc-co-laaaat chip. I want chocolate chip, Mommy.”

Decisive, for sure. And cute, oh so cute. How can you say no to that?

Am I opposed to breakfast for dinner? Nah. It’s just not something I normally do — and it’s not something I have done in a long, long time. But, I do believe in being flexible. Sure, I had defrosted meat, but it would be okay until the next day. Will is flexible all the time for me. He eats whatever I feel like, so to let him choose when he wants something isn’t a big deal for me.

And ultimately, it was more important that Will eat something then what exactly he ate at that moment (he’d already had his daily servings of fruit, veggies and dairy too). So, into the frying pan jumped some bacon and pancakes.

On a side note — I am a much better breakfast cook at night.

At Christmas time, I cook a lot. There are treat baskets for friends and family, cookies for Santa, desserts for holiday meals . . . and though it’s a lot, I have to confess that I love every minute of it. Cooking is a passion for me, pure and simple.

In a week or so, I will begin the rush to bake for the treat baskets – and cook too. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I am exhausted and cooking takes a lot of the little energy I have left. Sad, but undeniably true.

So, I have been pulling together my recipes for this year’s collection with the idea of easy but delicious in mind. Something that immediately came to mind was peppermint bark. Peppermint bark is one of those super easy treats that consistently draws wows. For whatever reason, people assume it must be hard to make. In reality, it’s anything but difficult. It’s also ultra-flexible, which is a giant plus.

Here’s a step by step guide to making your own super-easy peppermint bark this year. And believe me, it’s totally worth the time. Just be sure to use quality ingredients – particularly the chocolate.

One little note, my method involves no tempering, so if you are worried, make it on the same day it is consumed (or given away), because there is a chance it could turn gray after a day — though I haven’t had that happen. Just warnin’ ya.

Step one: Gather Your Ingredients and Utensils.

You will need 6-8 oz of dark chocolate (here I used a mixture of good single origin bittersweet chocolate and some dark chocolate in a 1:1 ratio — about 6 oz total). You will also need peppermint extract, a double boiler, a baking sheet and parchment paper. Oh, and two peppermint candy canes, crushed.

Step two: Melt the Chocolate

Break the chocolate into chunks and place it in the top of a double broiler (bottom should be filled with water and heated over medium). Stir frequently until chocolate is fully melted. Then add 1/4-1/2 tsp peppermint extract and mix well.

Step three: Spread the Chocolate

Once the chocolate is fully melted, spread it evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You want it to be about 1/4 inch thick.

Step four: Make It Pretty

Now, evenly distribute the crushed candy cane all over the just-spread chocolate. Set the pan aside to cool for at least two hours. Then break into pieces.

Ta-da! Now, wasn’t that easy? Not so bad, eh?

Many moons ago, I let all my blog readers know that our family was expanding. Well, the expansion is now complete, so to speak. Our newest little home chef arrived just before Thanksgiving at 7 lbs, 6 oz., so we are now officially a party of four. Everyone is doing well.

Let’s hope little Paige will be as into food as her big brother is.

Over the years, I have experimented a lot with cranberry sauces. I’ve been looking for the right recipe that is different, but delightful. This is it.

This cranberry sauce is about as easy as it can get. The addition of apple adds a nice (and slightly sweet) twist that really takes the sauce to a different level. Try it paired with turkey and other holiday concoctions.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 apple (sweet and firm variety such as Fuji), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the cranberries and apples. Return mixture to a boil and then lower the heat to medium low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while.

Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Then refrigerate until serving.

Now’s your chance to nominate your favorite food blogs for the 2007 Food Blog Awards. Click here to go to the call for nominations and see this year’s categories — and be sure to read the rules too. It makes me so happy when people actually heed the rules.

Also, just on a side note, I mentioned last week that Cucina Bella isn’t eligible — now, let me tell you why: because I am among the 2007 judges (my second year as a judge)! I am so excited to be judging again this year. It’s a great way to discover new (to me) blogs. Last year, I found quite a few good ones during the process.

Anyway, it’s a new rule this year that the sites of judges are not eligible. Although those who were nominated last year did recuse themselves from all discussions in their category, we wanted more transparency this year. I am hoping that our new set of rules will better meet public expectations.

The first year that I made Thanksgiving dinner, my then-boyfriend (he’s since been upgraded to husband) requested butternut squash. Frankly, my family doesn’t (or at least didn’t until then) eat squash. Not at all. And I had never had it before, let alone cooked it. So I did what any good girlfriend would do – I scoured the internet for a recipe. Having no frame of reference, I had no idea of what I was looking for though . . .

I ended up going with a recipe for southern butternut squash. Somehow, in my head, it seemed like butternut squash must be a southern-type dish so that seemed to be the perfect recipe. Turns out that the “southern” style of making butternut squash is essentially a super-sweet custard. To this day, my family references that particular side dish when we discuss Thanksgiving or squash or side dishes or any combination thereof. It was that, um, memorable.

After that, I devised a cooking method that involved roasting a whole butternut squash (cut in half) and mixing it with butter, maple syrup and brown sugar. When it was done roasting, I would scoop it out and mash it together. My husband liked it a lot (though it still wasn’t the butternut squash he was looking for) and that became the squash that graced the table for several years. The rest of the family, myself included, would tolerate a bite or two, but I kept making it for him.

This year, in the interest of simplifying, I decided to forgo the whole cutting a big ol’ squash in half and preparing it for baking and then burning my fingers while mashing the hot innards about 45 minutes later. I just wanted something a little simpler. Then I saw a recipe for roasted butternut squash chunks in Woman’s Day — a magazine I don’t regularly read. While the ingredients didn’t meet the flavor combination I was going for, I saw some big opportunity to spin the super simple recipe into a good dish that would be a lot easier to prepare (no burnt fingers!).

When my husband found out about the change in recipe, he brought up the damn custard and asked why I always have to change things . . .

Fortunately, on first taste, all I got were wows — and suggestions that this is THE recipe to repeat next year. Yay for that!

2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 lbs butternut squash, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl. Add the butternut squash chunks and toss to coat well.

Spread the squash on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup) in a single layer.

Cook 25-30 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Serve immediately.

It’s that time of year again: time for seeking out presents for our loved ones. I love shopping for the people I love and getting things I know they will enjoy.

Last year, I highlighted my favorite cookbooks in anticipation of the holidays. This year, I want to tell you about some of my favorite products that would make great gifts. Stay tuned for more posts like this.

Who is health savvy?
Do you need a healthy gift for a health savvy person? Healthy people are into living well in all aspects of their lives. Health savvy people probably exercise frequently and maintain a fit physique (or are working toward a more fit body). They likely are conscious of what food they eat and in what quantity. They may even be very interested in having a well-exercised mind and a solid amount of spirituality. Some health savvy people are just learning about healthy living. Others are old pros of health.

What is a good healthy gift for a health savvy person?
Great question … and the possibilities are endless. Here are a few good ideas:

-A Pedometer – These little step counters are great to have. Be sure to choose one with a high user rating (I usually research and buy from Amazon, so customer reviews are always available to help choose a good one. Click the link above to check out the selection). Now, from experience, I do have to say that price does matter — with pedometers, you get what you pay for, so spend a little extra and get a good one that will last.

- Nike+ iPod Sport Kit – If your health nut has an iPod Nano and Nike+ sneakers, this is a great gift. Specially designed to work with the two products, this kit allows wireless use of the iPod while exercising. And who doesn’t like to workout with tunes?

- Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life – I bought this gift as a present for my father earlier this year and he’s gone crazy using it. The recipes are fantastic and have really inspired some healthy and delicious grilled foods to hit my family’s table. Even my little brother, who isn’t a big food fan, loves everything that comes from this book. It’s a great healthy cookbook for grilling.

- A Good, Sturdy Water Bottle – Staying hydrated is such an important part of being healthy. To this end, many health nuts like to carry around water bottles to ensure that they get their 8-12 glasses a day in. If you are looking for a really special bottle, check out the Hydracoach, which has a built in monitor to not only calculate how much water you have consumed, but how much you should be consuming. How cool is that?