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Breakfast!

If you're having family over for a big breakfast or brunch, but don't have a lot of room for cooking to-order, here are some options you do have.

• Use your oven/toaster-oven for an egg casserole. It's easier than making eggs to-order and won't get dry and crumbly like a big bowl of scrambled eggs would. Here's a super simple recipe: Egg casserole
• Make a few breads and scones. I like to offer Irish soda bread, lemon-blueberry scones, and either banana, zucchini or pumpkin bread. These are all acceptable at room temperature, so you won't have to worry about warming them up like you would with toast, but you can always pop them in the toaster oven for a minute or two once the egg casserole comes out to make them even better.
• Fruit platters! People seem to love fresh fruit. Mix berries,pineapple, grapes, and maybe some sliced melon. If your family isn't big on fruit, offer a combination of nuts, cheeses, vegetables, or even dried fruits. That's the great thing about brunch -- it doesn't have to be specific breakfast foods.

• You can still prepare breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, ham) in a skillet and only use one burner on your range. Do it last minute, though, so you don't have to worry about keeping it warm. 

A big part of planning a large meal is time management. The great thing about this menu, though, is that half of it can be done the night before (fruit, breads). The casserole can also be prepared the night before and just put in the oven about an hour before you want to serve it. All you'll have left to do is the breakfast meat, which won't take more than ten minutes. That will give you plenty of time to spend with your family!

I've been blogging recently about Christmas cookies. For some more resources, check out my friend's blog too: http://holidaycookies101.blogspot.com/

Smart Alternatives

Since space in the toaster oven is a premium during the holidays, I've started making chocolates and sweets that don't require baking. They include:

• Peppermint patties
• Peanut butter cups
• Brittle
• Chocolate covered nuts
• Truffles

 I've posted a video for simple truffle making. I wouldn't recommend using chocolate chips, however -- Trader Joe's sells a "Pound Plus" bar of chocolate in several varieties that I typically use, and it's only about $7.  Also, the video shows cooling the chocolate mix in a bowl -- if you have a sheet pan, I'd recommend covering it with parchment and pouring the mix over that. It'll cool faster and more evenly so you don't have a solid top and a liquid center.

Tips and Tricks

So, I uploadad a slideshow of my kitchen set up, which was a little messy since my Christmas cookie baking odyssey was underway. Here are a few tips I have for making large batches of cookies/pastries:

• Make all of your batters/doughs first, before you bake anything.
• You can then chill the ones that need to be refrigerated
• You can also put away your mixer, bowls, spatulas, etc. and just keep out what you need.
•  Try to buy a half-sized commercial sheet pan (double check that it will fit in your toaster oven). It's more likely to fit a larger amount of cookies on it.
• Decide ahead of time where you will cool cookies when they come out of the oven. It sounds obvious...but if you don't have enough wire cooling racks, and places to put them, you will have to stop baking cookies until the previous batch cools, which doubles the time.
• Look for convection when buying a toaster oven. I've found that it shortens the baking time and makes "fluffier" cookies.

More than anything, have fun! Baking cookies in a toaster oven is a time-consuming process, since you'll be lucky to make them 12 at a time. Find a good radio station or get a timer so you can watch TV or read a book without forgetting about your project!

Christmas Cookie Odyssey!

In Spirit of the Mayan Apocalypse