Cookie Throwdown wrap up - Part 2

[If you need to, you can catch up on Part One here]

All of the bakers descended on our friend's house on Sunday evening. Another great part of this tradition is that she feeds us a fantastic dinner of spaghetti and homemade meatballs, sausage and gravy. And yes, I said gravy...I am 1/4 Italian after all. To thank her for being a hostess with the mostess, I made her a Pittsburgh Steelers wreath (sorry for the poor quality blackberry photo!)



After dinner is done and the dishes have been cleared...it's cookie time. Our hostess makes a little recipe book of everyone's entries that year and gives us baggies to start doling out our goodies to everyone around the table. We also make a "sampling plate" in the center that everyone taste tests from. After each of us has sampled each of the entries, we rank our favorites 1-2-3 and the hostess leaves the room to tabulate the votes.

While we were assured this year's voting was extremely close (and I would be inclined to believe her, everyone really stepped up their game this year!) the winner was the Coconut Macaroon. And the winning baker was absolutely thrilled -- her face was pretty priceless. She has truly come a long way from her early entries of bringing a cake the first year (I wasn't there but was told she didn't really "get" the whole cookie exchange concept the first go-round) to another year where she entered cookies so burnt on the bottom that I think we wondered why we even taking a little baggie of them home with us.

But I am not going to lie....I really wanted to win. I have even forced people to taste test all the cookies that I brought home with me and tell me their honest opinions. Well, I don't know how honest they are being to my face, but you get the picture. I can't let it go! So Just as in previous years, I will continue to keep my eye out for that perfect cookie recipe...the one that I can tuck away until next year that will be the 1st place winner. But the losing doesn't sting so much when you get to have a wonderful evening catching up and laughing with friends, eating a delicious dinner, drinking wine, and bringing home more cookies than anyone should keep in the house at one given time. A huge THANK YOU to our hostess for putting this together every year. And thank you to everyone who takes time out of their busy schedules to not only show up, but to put some time and thought into their baking creations and keep the competition stiff. Love all you ladies and hope we can keep this tradition going for years to come!

Other random notes from Cookie Throwdown 2010:
• Two words for next year – scoring cards. Hostess, don’t you worry about this one, I will take care of it for next year. But we need to start tallying by points in categories I think. This ain’t our first time at the rodeo anymore so I think we need to get more sophisticated in our voting.
• Another word for next year - trophy....we need one. I am thinking a golden spatula might be pretty darn spiffy.
• Everyone seriously brought their A game this year...some really impressive baking done by all.
• Was very excited to have a first-timer in the mix who moved back to the East COast this year. Her debut at the cookie party was impressive to say the least.
• I may be a little biased...but my friends have some of the cutest (and happiest!) kids I have ever seen.
• Best conoslation prize for not winning? A high five from my friend's son.


For those out there participating in your own cookie exchanges this weekend Good Luck & Happy Baking! And should you want to share your winning recipes with me....well I can't say I would be opposed to that.

Creativity is a big YAY

I have always been what I would call a competent cooker. I got a lot of good italian cooking know how from my Gram and I can hold my own in the kitchen. But baking....love it. So fun. Makes me feel creative again and I miss being creative in work. And I miss being creative in life in general. Now that my roommate works a later schedule that me, I feel like sometimes I don't really get to see her. Those that know me well know I have a need to try and make people laugh and my roommate is a great source for testing my material :)

It can be a little embarassing owning up to being a bit of a creativity dork. I don't feel the need to hide my time in the high school drama program or that I took Art so that I could get out of Gym class. Then I move on to discussion of starting college as a dance major (and staying one for two years) and letting myself go get that Master's in Film and Visual Media. I do all that and still don't think of myself as a creative person. Because all of that is my weird-o version of normal.

So when I go home excited over baking some new cupcakes with a twist and that becomes the most exciting moment of my day, well I overlook it. When I get home, and get moving with my baking and put on my itunes in the background and sing and dance along with my cooking....well theres a good part of me that knows that's not normal. But I know I LOVE it and have so much fun doing that. And some other texts with the new person confirm...this is not the "norm" by any means. Not everyone else dances around and (gasp) sings when they cook and bake in the kitchen.

Those people are missing the creativity gene that I have been reminded again I am so THANKFUL to have. Of course no one knows where it comes from since I have that jock and a brain for parents. Well someone somewhere in my family had to be creative....and I thank them and give them a big YAY