Tips From Kan's Kitchen & A Movie Star

Saturday was the annual "Christmas Cooking Day" at the Bryant house.  This is a tradition that has been going on for several years and we were able to do it earlier in the month due to the fact that I didn't have the stress of finals (yahoo)!  It is an exciting/educational/exhausting day when the Bryant (and Ludlow) women ages 10+ get together to make holiday goodies for our friends and neighbors.  It's a full day of cooking, dipping, laughing, and sometimes, crying.  My usual assignments include paper products (which is actually harder than it sounds) and bon-bons.  This year, partly due to the fact that I am trying to hone my domestic skills, I also tried out a new recipe.  Peppermint brownies.  I'm still not sure the results outweighed the effort involved, especially considering the real cooks in the family made awesome new contributions this year, too (JaKayla's cookie dough balls were to die for and Shanel blew us all away with her almond joy cupcakes).  But I think we really outdid ourselves this year!  Becky Jo and Jocelyn joined us for the first time and although Jill was still recovering from her recent surgery, she made an appearance to join in the fun!

You may think it odd that the goodies were in the garage......but it's actually the best way for the chocolates to set up before we prepare them for packaging and delivery.  My dad came up with this idea and set it all up for us! (Don't worry, everything complied with FDA regulations).

So here are a few tips if you're thinking of doing your own holiday baking this year:

1.  Don't double the bon-bon recipe.  Ever.  You might think that if you have a large volume of treat plates to give out, you should double the recipe to make sure everyone gets some.  This is a trap and will result in the development of carpal tunnel from all of the ball rolling you will have to do.

2.  When your sister says that she will help you with your brownies, what she really means to say is that she will mix 4 ingredients together and then leave you to fend for yourself.

3.  No matter how hard you try, no matter how careful you are, when you dip chocolates you inevitably end up spilling and smearing chocolate on random body parts that were not used in the dipping process.

4.  Ziploc bags are heaven sent and whoever thought of "the holiday collection" was a genius.

5.  Porcelain mugs will break when you drop them into the sink.  Even from a height of 6 inches.  Even by accident.  Just leave the dish washing to those with more experience in the kitchen.

In other news, we have a movie star on our hands (or at least a budding celebrity)!  My niece Taylor was featured on the local news for the efforts her school class made in helping to save an eagle.  Check it out! (I still have not learned how to embed videos to the blog, thus the link instead of the actual video).

It's Christmas Time

I was unsure whether I would decorate for Christmas this year.  All of my holiday decor is stored at my house in Salt Lake, 45 minutes away.  Normally this is not a big deal but when you factor in time to drive there, dig through all of my stuff, decide what I'm going to use and what I won't, then drive back home and spend time setting it up, I wasn't sure the benefits outweighed the effort.  I mean, in less than a month I would have to go through the process to take it all down again.  I have similar feelings about mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, and sometimes even making my bed.  Plus, my parents have amazing decorations and if I really wanted to get in the Christmas Spirit, I could just go visit them.  BUT.....in the end I finally buckled.  I do love Christmas.

Kayla, Joc, Brook, and Brin all came over and helped me set it up.  They did a great job and were really creative in where to put things and how to arrange them!  Especially with my tree since I have a tree and lights, just no ornaments.  It was so fun to spend some time with them since I don't get to see them as often anymore.  So, thanks to my four little helpers I am all set for Christmas!

Christmas is a time for Mo-Tab music and the First Presidency Devotional.  I watched it with my parents tonight and really loved President Uchtdorf's talk on being good receivers of gifts.  I told my mom that this is one area I should probably work on more this season.  Unfortunately, she didn't agree.  Regardless, I love Christmas because the gifts you give/receive are symbols of the love you have for the people in your life.  According to my list, I love (and consequently will gift) approximately 31 people this Christmas.  For those of you that don't make the list this year, you can either interpret that to mean I am still a poor graduate trying to pay off her student loans and the funds just couldn't stretch as far, or you can try to get back in my good graces and make the list next year.  But let's all be good receivers, eh?

December is also a month for family and lights and hot chocolate and maybe even a Christmas miracle or two.  Jill is going in for surgery tomorrow and I just pray that everything will go smoothly.  She is one of the greatest people I know and I love her so much.  I just hope that the doctors will be lead to do everything necessary to help her get healthy as quickly as possible.  Especially since, if the Mayans were right, none of us have much time left.

I hope your holidays are merry and bright!