Our family-famous “Chocolate Roll”
Over the years and on special occasions, my family has made a dessert that we simply call “Chocolate Roll.” My older sister is the queen of chocolate rolls and can whip them out with little effort. She even has a special “chocolate roll plate.” Her three kids have been known to repeatedly ask for a chocolate roll for their birthdays and she makes it for Christmas and Easter. The beauty of this simple recipe is that you can customize it however you want. My sister has made it with vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding and different flavors of ice cream. Although the spongelike texture of the cake is really closer to a Swiss Roll, I typically make the family-famous chocolate roll once a year at Christmas in the spirit of a yule log. In the past, I’ve filled it with mint chocolate chip or peppermint ice cream. This year, mostly because my KitchenAid ice cream attachment had been sitting lonely in the drawer for several months, I figured it was time to take it for a whirl and I made chocolate peppermint bark ice cream.
Bistro Dungeness Crab Stacks
Living on the west coast, we love our seafood and especially Dungeness crab. Crabbing season can be year around depending on whether you’re in California, Oregon or Washington with winter being prime time for the Pacific Northwest. Yet, the price of crab (especially fresh crab meat out of the shell) and the temperamental season and rules around crabbing mean Dungeness crab is not always available at Christmas. We like to have some kind of seafood around Christmas and in past years have had homemade clam chowder in sourdough bowls for Christmas Eve. Since 2020 is one for the books, I figured it called for splurging on crab! My hubby picked up a half pound of fresh crab meat at Gemini Fish Market east of Seattle to make these impressive Bistro Crab Stacks for our Christmas Day menu.
Cookies for Santa
If you’re like me, this year you may have felt like the tradition of baking and exchanging Christmas cookies wasn’t quite the same. After all, it’s about more than just the cookies. It’s the nostalgia. Spending time together, sharing and passing down recipes and making memories. It’s about teaching the younger generation to create in the kitchen, and of course, feed Santa’s sugar tooth. Sharing baked treats with neighbors, friends and family is a big part of why we bake, bake, bake during the holiday season. Baking Christmas cookies actually dates back to medieval times when it originated as a way to share gifts when visiting friends and family. In the 17th century, the Dutch and German brought Christmas cookies and cookie cutters to the United States, changing the cookie game!