Did you know today is National Cheese Lover's Day?  That's basically a holiday named just for me!  Cheese love = me.  The hubby always says I would fight a mouse to a trap for the cheese.  During a recent function at work, we were in small groups and had to list things we had in common, like favorite condiments.  I suggested cheese, at which point my group members insisted cheese is not a condiment.  I explained to them that it is if you put it on everything like I do, which my boss (who I have traveled with several times) backed up.  "Actually, yes, cheese is a condiment to her."

Mmmmm . . . cheeeeeeeese.

So, today, in honor of National Cheese Lover's Day, I am going to share some of my favorite cheese things.

My favorite breakfast that includes cheese: Rachel Ray's Polenta Egg Cups.  (Note: the recipe includes a side of roasted grapes and sausage, but I've never made that.)  These egg cups are my absolute favorite breakfast on the go.  I make them in a double batch and they'll keep in the fridge for a week (I eat them right out of the fridge, but you could probably reheat them).

photo courtesy of Rachel Ray

My favorite lunch/dinner that includes cheese: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.  Who doesn't love this combination?  It is such a heavenly pairing.

Source

I dream of owning this soup and sandwich plate set.  I recently saw it in person at a local store called Chef Central and had to force myself out the door so I didn't buy it.

My favorite cheese snack: Laughing Cow Light Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese

I seriously have to pace myself when I buy these otherwise I'd eat the whole thing in two days.  These + Triscuits = snack perfection.

My favorite non-healthy cheese snack/meal: Pizza Rolls.

Source

As far as food goes, these are crap.  They're not even technically "food" if we're going by Michael Pollan's rules.  I don't even want to look on the list of ingredients to see exactly what is in there.  All I know is that I love these things.  Go ahead, judge me.

My cheese dream: to have the cheese fondue at Artisanal in NYC.  The Best Thing I Ever Ate series on Food Network recently aired a cheese episode and Rocco DiSpirito talked about this fondue.  I don't have the words to describe the ooey, gooey, yummy, cheesy goodness that the fondue appears to have.  This has become a must-go.

Honorable mentions: Other cheesy foods I absolutely adore include, but are not limited to: ravioli, lasagna, tortellini, (okay, any pasta with parmesan on top and/or cheese inside), mozzarella carrozza, caprese salad, Italian wedding soup with parmesan sprinkled in it, macaroni and cheese (of course!), Polly-O string cheese . . .

Okay, I have to stop this list before I head out to the nearest Whole Foods and clear out their cheese section.

I didn't do any cooking or baking growing up.  In fact, I really didn't do any baking until my mid-20s and any cooking until my 30s when I moved away for grad school and needed to figure out how to feed myself.  Sure, I cooked and baked here and there, but not regularly, so I find myself a bit behind at times - a bit at a loss for what to make - but other times, I find myself extra excited because it all still seems so new.

I didn't bake cookies with my mom when I was little because I was not interested.  I wanted to eat the cookies, not make them (same went for dinner).  But for the past few years (five?  more?) I've been really into making Christmas cookies and I'm really looking forward to having this be a tradition my kid(s) and I do together.  (Hear that, Force?  Get ready to do some mixing.)

Here are some of my Christmas cookie baking rules:

1 - I do new cookies every year.  This isn't on purpose, but mainly because 1) I suck at keeping recipes from one year to the next and 2) I'm far more excited to bake something I've never baked before.  If I know I can do it and it'll turn out well, I'm totally not interested.  (Though there are some exceptions and I think there might be more exceptions as the years progress.)

2 - I try to avoid making sugar cookies.  I hate rolling out cookie dough and hate cutting shapes out of it.  The dough sticks to everything; I don't like my rolling pin; the counter isn't big enough; blah, blah blah.

3 - I work alone.  I know, I just said I'm looking forward to having my kids help me.  But I'll be in charge and just delegate little tasks like measuring out ingredients, breaking eggs, scooping dough, and so on.  I can't bake with other adults nor do I actually like to.  I like the solitude of baking by myself - putting on some music and just letting my thoughts flow.  I find it to be super relaxing.

4 - I like making challenging cookies but not ones that require a ton of decorating because I suck at icing and drizzling chocolate.

This year I simply ran out of time and steam and, thus, did not get to do two of my favorite things to bake: rugelach and biscotti, alas.  They actually would have been repeats (see Rule #1) but they're really fun to make because they actually take some work.  Oh well.  I'll find some other time to make them, especially the biscotti - mmm, that and some tea or coffee?  A perfect Sunday morning.

So here (*drum roll*) are the cookies I baked this year:

Clockwise, starting from the top:

1) Chocolate Chip Meringue Kisses (Um, mine are a little bigger than intended, I think.  More like hearty smooches than little kisses.)

2) Spicy Molasses Cookies (Pioneer Woman recipe!)

3) M&M Cookies (same ones I made for my sister's birthday party)

4) Double Mint Surprise Cookies (I made these smaller by putting half an Andes candy in each instead of a whole because I like little cookies.)

5) Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies(That's Nutella in the middle, mmmm, and yes, these broke my "no sugar cookies" rule, but it was worth it for the Nutella.)

6) White Chocolate, Cranberry, Almond Cookies (In the middle of the tin - the recipe called for macadamia nuts but the store was out when I went and I didn't have the motivation to go to another store, so I substituted almonds instead.  These are yummms.)

7) Lace Cookies (You can't see them because they're on the bottom, under all the other cookies because they're fragile and need to be laid flat.  Also, I omitted the almonds because I think these cookies are best when made as simply as possible.)

My least faves this year are the meringues, I have to say.  I just think they're boring.  Last year I made citrus meringue cookies (lemon and orange); I definitely think I'll do those again next year instead.  They were far more delectable.

It's hard to say which ones are my favorites; it's like trying to choose a favorite child.  I did make versions of the Spicy Molasses Cookies with white chocolate drizzled on them; those might be my favorite.  (They didn't make it into any tins, though, because the drizzling is ugly.  I need to work on that for next year.)  By the way, I substituted nutmeg for cinnamon in the molasses cookies because the hubby won't eat anything with cinnamon in it.  (I know, right?? Sheesh!)

My nephew loves raisins and craisins so I sent my sister a picture of the white chocolate, cranberry, almond cookies.  She texted back that my nephew said, "Aunt Candy raisins!!"  I could just melt, like some drizzled white chocolate.

I saw this recipe in the NY Times on Friday and decided it would make for a great Sunday breakfast (and if you like breakfast for dinner, this would definitely work for that, too).

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a pancake snob.  I hate (haaaate) pancakes from a mix.  Blech.  I can tell they're from a mix as soon as I take one bite.  I also can't eat a lot of pancakes because basically they're carbalicious and I need some protein to keep me going for more than half an hour.  These tempted me, though, because they were listed specifically as oatmeal buttermilk blueberry pancakes.  Mmmm!

But the hubby doesn't eat blueberries... or any berry, really... or any breakfast component that could be construed as healthy - so what I also liked was that the recipe specifically instructed to add the blueberries to the pancakes once they were already on the griddle.  This meant I could leave them out for him, which I did - substituting chocolate chips instead!  (A very rare treat!)  But he won't eat oatmeal either and he ate these.  Ha - success!  This is definitely a recipe I am going to save and make again.

picture courtesy of the NY Times

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup low fat milk (I used skim)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp canola oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or topping of your choice)

1. Combine the milk and rolled oats in a bowl, and set aside.

2. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the buttermilk and whisk together.  Then whisk in the vanilla extract and the oil.

4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and quickly whisk together.  Do not overbeat; a few lumps are okay.  Fold in the oats and milk.  Let sit for one hour, or refrigerate overnight.

5. If necessary, spray the hot griddle with pan spray.  Drop by 3 to 4 tbsp onto the hot griddle.  Place 6 or 7 blueberries on each pancake. cook until bubbles begin to break through, 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute on the other side, or until nicely browned.  Remove from the heat, and continue until all of the batter is used up.

6. Serve hot with a small amount of butter and maple syrup.  (The hubby ate his plain.)

The article says this recipe yields a dozen pancakes.  I think you could easily get 16-18.

One of the selling ideas behind those wretched shake-and-make pancakes is that they're easy and ready to go when you are.  Well, guess what?  So are these!  I made the mix Saturday night, which took all of about five minutes.  When I woke up on Sunday, they were waiting for me to plug in the griddle and get to flippin'.  What else could you want?  (Next time I'm waking the hubby up and putting him on bacon and eggs duty.)