mashed potatoes with garlic and chives

Every year we have the same little tussle in our house around the holidays. Mom and Dad -- in their efforts to preserve, save, and protect -- insist that all holiday lights must be turned off when the last person goes to bed. I, however, relish the opportunity to fall asleep in the comforting glow of a Christmas tree. So this is where we butt heads, and the almost ritualistic annual scenario goes something like this: Mom and Dad go to bed. I fall asleep on the sofa next to one of the trees. Mom/Dad shuffles into the room at 3 a.m., turns off the tree, and grumbles something in my direction about sleeping in my own bed. I get up and either turn the tree back on or actually go to bed.

egg nog cupcakes

Just a quick post today because Mom and I are about to leave for a little road trip to my second favorite place in the whole world -- Notre Dame! Most alumni make their annual pilgrimage back to the University during football season. Not me, though. Don't get me wrong -- I love Notre Dame football weekends -- but my favorite time to visit is when classes are finished, the students have gone home, and the casual visitors are few and far between. Perhaps that seems odd since all of these things are part and parcel of a bustling college campus. But when the campus empties out and I can wander down the quad without a single other person in sight, I can pretend that the Notre Dame of today is still my Notre Dame. Nothing has changed. I haven't gotten older. And I still feel right at home.

roasted dry-brined turkey

Mmm...turkey. It's a shame my family only make it once a year. The Athlete insists that if we had turkey more often, Thanksgiving wouldn't be as special. I disagree -- I think Thanksgiving would be just as special, and we'd all be happier if we had more turkey. More is better, right? Isn't that the American way? Anyway, here is the recipe I used for our Thanksgiving turkey this year. In previous years, I used a Williams-Sonoma recipe that was perfectly fantastic. It certainly set the bar high, but this year's Martha recipe didn't disappoint.You have to start 2 days ahead of time, but the advance salt rub makes the turkey oh, so tender. (If you have even the tiniest cut on your hand, this process will seem torturous, so wear latex gloves.)