Yummy Holidays - Kimberly Lang

For me, this time of the year means food. Lots and lots of wonderful food I wouldn’t dream of eating at any other time of the year. Because I struggle with my weight and other body issues, I have a lot of guilt tied to food (twelve years of ballet will do that to you), so I’m not the one you’re going to see eating something terribly decadent in the middle of September. I look at a hot fudge lava cake and see time on the treadmill. And since I hate time on the treadmill much more than I love hot fudge lava cake, it’s something I can take one tiny bite of and happily walk away.

But from Thanksgiving and Christmas, I indulge. (It helps that my birthday is in between the two major holidays, so I can have birthday cake, too!) It’s like a reverse Lent. Instead of giving something up for forty days, I allow myself the holidays to eat all the things I don’t normally eat. And I do it without any guilt at all. None. Not even a smidge.

I crack out the family cookbooks and make comfort food. I make sweets that make dentists cringe. I use real sugar instead of Splenda, whole milk, and full-fat cream. I sprinkle chocolate chips with impunity, laugh at fat grams, and let dust collect on the treadmill. Gravy becomes my friend again. (I’m Southern; gravy is practically a religion all its own.) Pigs in Blankets, bacon-wrapped cheese, chocolate tortes. Bring it on.

Happy Holidays, indeed.

And, about the time my pants start to get a bit tight, the holidays are over. I go back to my normal routine, spend a little extra time on the horrid treadmill for a couple of weeks, and I’m good until the turkeys start to gobble again in November.

So, I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite recipes with you because this is the only time of the year I allow those dangerous recipes out of the cupboard.

Sugar Pie

6 TBS flour
1 ½ cups sugar
Dash salt
4 TBS butter
1 ½ cup whole milk (it won’t work if you use the low-fat stuff)

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together until no lumps remain. Add the milk and stir well. Pour into a deep-dish, uncooked pie shell. Cut up the butter into small pieces and float on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool before eating. (That hot sugar will take the skin off your mouth if you don’t let it cool. Not that I know from experience or anything…)

My Mamaw’s Peanut Butter Fudge

Grease a large baking dish.
In a heat-proof bowl, mix:
7oz jar of marshmallow cream
18oz jar of peanut butter

In a large pot, combine:
5 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk.

Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour hot mixture into bowl and mix well. Pour into buttered dish, cool and cut into squares. Store in fridge.

Now I’m hungry and ready to cook something scrumptious. What’s your favorite holiday treat you don’t get any other time of year? Feel free to share the recipe if you like…

Kimberly
http://www.booksbykimberly.com/

Kimberly is currently cooking up ideas for her next book. Meanwhile, BOARDROOM RIVALS, BEDROOM FIREWORKS will be out in the UK in January, and MAGNATE’S MISTRESS…ACCIDENTALLY PREGNANT! will be out in the US in February. Her October book, THE MILLIONAIRE’S MISBEHAVING MISTRESS is still available at www.eHarlequin.com.