We have such a hard time thinking of the perfect gift for the grandmothers in our lives.  It’s a challenge to really show them how much we love and appreciate them.  Add in the fact that they pretty much buy for themselves whatever they want, and we’ve got quite a quandary.

We love to give neighbors and friends easy, homemade treats for the holidays. We especially like giving the treats in, on, or with something that can be kept and used again - a classic white tray, a Nambe heart-shaped bowl, a copper cookie cutter, a sillicone spatula. This year, we chose not to actually bake, but to put together a plate of super-easy candy treats. If you're a dentist, stop reading now.

Lots of celebrating going on! This past Tuesday was "Dat Tuesday" in New Orleans, in honor of those terrific Saints. And this coming Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, ending several weeks of Mardi Gras-style debauchery.

It's hard to get lunches right. Grownups want healthy, kids want yummy (and usually nothing that will draw a comment from their lunch buddies). How to make everyone happy?

Why have our kids suddenly decided that dessert is something that comes after every dinner? Could it be that chocolate-chip banana bread that our sweet friend brought for a holiday treat? Or maybe the box - yes, an entire box - of assorted homemade cookies we brought home from the cookie exchange party last weekend? Or maybe it's the toffee we're making to give to friends? Oh, the holidays.

In the rush of December (always?), we find ourselves looking for quick and simple ideas for dinner. Here's a great standby to keep on hand and use whenever you want something healthy and homemade but just don't have the time or energy for complication. Best of all, the slow-roasting tomatoes and garlic will make the house smell like you've made something really special. The taste - mmmmmm - is the final hook!

We know - there are just too many yummy recipes to share and make this time of year. We all have our favorites and our families' favorites (green bean casserole, anyone?). But every once in a while a recipe comes along that's too good not to share and too good not to become a new tradition. Move over, green beans.

While we are the first to put our feet down when it comes to the day-to-day whine for sweets, there's just something about October 31 (and several days before and after) that makes us melt like candy, if you'll excuse our pun. So instead of figuring that the children will get way enough candy roaming the streets and keeping our homes fairly clear of it but for the big bowl of giveaways at the door, we decided to just go all out. Pull all the stops. So for dessert, after trick-or-treating (!), we're having good old-fashioned, homemade candy apples.