A new tradition?

A few weeks ago, I asked on Facebook if anyone had ever eaten Panettone. I have seen it everywhere in stores since my childhood, but as Italian as we are, no one in my family ever made or brought it to Christmas. For those unfamiliar with it, panettone is a tall, sweet, fruit-riddled Italian bread usually enjoyed at Christmas time.

Predictably, a lot of Italians responded that the had indeed had it and loved it. So I bought one for my Christmas party... and no one ate it. Oh well.

Rather than have it go to waste, I got creative. Since my family comes over to our house in the evening on Christmas Day, I thought I'd turn the panettone into a little dessert/comfort food treat -- bread pudding.

The verdict is still out -- they haven't arrived yet -- but if they like it (and if I like it!) I'll post the recipe tomorrow. If it is a success, who knows, maybe I'll have started a new tradition! In any event, here's a picture of my creation. Can't wait to try it.

*Update* We tried it and OMG. Delish! Even my dad, who said he "can't get bread pudding down" loved it. So the recipe is definitely forthcoming! Hurry out and get those panettone before they're all gone for the year!

Wishing you and yours the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years!

Cookie Swap -- We have a winner!

The winner of my "C is for Cookie, G is for Giveaway" contest to win a copy of Julia Usher's "Cookie Swap" is...

Danelle
of Let's Dish!

Congratulations, Danelle!

Check out Danelle's blog, Let's Dish, where she posts her fabulous recipes. In fact, Let's Dish was the source of the Decadent Brownie Pie "Just Have to Share" post I did earlier this year.

Congrats again, Danelle. I hope it gives you some inspiration!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

'C' is for 'cookie,' 'G' is for 'giveaway'!

It takes a heck of a lot for a book to make my mouth water.

The pictures must be enticing and vivid, the writing concise but descriptive, and the content... enthralling.

Take a look at Julia M. Usher's new book "Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year" -- check, check and check.



The book -- 160 pages of pure DELIGHT -- is part cookbook, part guide to entertaining, all at its most elegant.

If you've ever found yourself in need of ideas for holiday or occasion cookies, look no further. Not only does Usher showcase beautiful ideas for seasonal treats, she lets you into her personal stash of recipes and tips for decorating cookies for any swap or event, from weddings, to baby showers, Halloween to Christmas, and everything in between.

One treat in particular that caught my eye -- the "Under Her Thumb(print) Cookies" will certainly be gracing my Christmas party this year. Not only is the recipe (like many in the book) easy and do-able even for cookie novices like myself, the finished product is beautiful and professional-looking with minimal effort required.

Julia has a fantastic website with tons of ideas, recipes (not just cookies!) and entertaining advice, and I highly recommend you check it out. You can visit her at http://www.juliausher.com.

In the past few weeks, I've blogged about how excited I am to be hosting my own swap with some of my amazing followers. In the spirit of giving, Julia sent me a copy of "Cookie Swap" to give away to one of my lucky readers!

Would you like to win a copy? Here's how!

Mandatory entry: Leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of cookie. Is it your mom's sugar cookies? Your own peanut butter? Grandma's oatmeal raisin? Tell me! Please be sure you include a valid email address so I can contact you if you’re the lucky winner! Please note – you do not have to be a blogger to win!

Extra chances to win – each is worth another entry. Please leave a separate comment for each extra...

- Follow Madame Menu on Google Friend Connect

- Become a fan of Madame Menu on Facebook

- Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post

- Tweet the giveaway (once a day -- leave a link to your status)

You can enter immediately, up through midnight PST on Wednesday, December 15, 2010. The winner will be chosen December 16th, 2010 -– via Random Integer Generator -- from all entries submitted, and notified immediately through email. I apologize to my non-US friends, but this giveaway is only open to all legal residents of the United States.

Christmas is almost upon us! Why not beautify your holiday table with some amazing new recipes from Julia? Enter now!

Reminder: Sign up for the cookie swap!

It's almost that time!



Hard to believe that we're already a week into December! Between Christmas parties and gift exchanges and shopping and decorating… it's all so much fun but time really does fly.

One of my favorite (who am I kidding -- everyone's favorite) parts of the holiday season is the food, especially the sweets.

As I announced a couple of weeks ago, to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'm hosting a cookie swap. As much as I'd like to have you all over to my house, it'd get kind of expensive with airfare, so we're doing the swap through the mail. You don't have to bake a dozen cookies per person -- 3 or 5 or a dozen (if you wish!) is just fine. They can be any kind you like, be it gingerbread men (yes please), sugar (yes please), chocolate chip (yes please), or your own personal specialty. All I ask is that you include a recipe card with each package so people know exactly how you made your treats! I'll also be posting some very cute ideas from around the web for packaging and sending those cookies to make sure they get where they need to go in as few pieces as possible.

I will be partaking, and you can too! All you have to do is respond to this post or email me using the link above and let me know you'd like to participate. You do have to be in the US, and must be comfortable with others having your mailing address (not publicly -- I'll be keeping a spreadsheet of participants and it will only be available through me once it's time to send the cookies out).

You can sign up for the swap through the end of the day Thursday, December 9th. I want to make sure everyone has time to bake and send out their cookies before Christmas.

If you're not much the baking type, that's OK too. I'll be hosting a giveaway a little later this week, and potentially more before Christmas! Also, I'd appreciate if you were willing to RT this on Twitter (I'm @madamemenu) or repost it on Facebook so we can get as many people to share in the fun as possible.

Hope you'll be joining in!

Boozy Pumpkin Madeleines

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and as a last minute dessert, I decided to do something a little different. My husband and I are heading to my mother- and father-in-law's house for dinner, and I hate showing up empty-handed. Instead of the usual cookies or cake, I wanted to go a different direction, and since I'd recently bought a madeleine pan, I figured this was a good opportunity to try it out.

In case you're not familiar with madeleines, they're a spongy French butter cake. They're tiny (about cookie-sized) and look like shells. You need a special pan to make them, here's mine --



...which I assumed would be expensive, but I was able to buy off Amazon for just over $10.

Being that it's autumn and the perfect time of year for pumpkin, I decided to put a little New England fall twist on these, and flavor them with pumpkin. I also put a glaze on them just for a little extra sweetness (hence the "boozy" in the title), which you could skip, especially if you're making them for kids.



Boozy Pumpkin Madeleines
Makes 16

1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick), melted
2 eggs
1 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the glaze:
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon brandy
1 tablespoon canned pumpkin

Grease pan with butter and flour or Pam cooking spray, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside until completely cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla together. When combined, add pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until smooth -- there should be no visible chunks/lumps of pumpkin.

Pour in melted butter slowly, and mix to well-incorporate. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing just to incorporate each time. Do not overmix or the cakes will be too dense.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each mold, careful not to overfill.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops and edges begin to turn golden brown.

Allow pan to cool before attempting to remove the cakes -- which should slide out easily -- or you WILL burn yourself! Set the cakes on a cooling rack.

For the glaze, melt butter and sugar together in a pan on medium-high heat, continually stirring. Once they are melted together, add brandy and pumpkin, and continue to cook until bubbly (about 3 minutes) and frothy. Set aside for 2 minutes for mixture to settle, then drizzle over the cakes.



Enjoy!

Make your holiday memories

Just taking a quick little break from the recipes to tell you about an awesome opportunity for bloggers!

Anyone who's been on the receiving end of almost any invitation from our family over the last few years is very familiar with Shutterfly.

We've used them for almost every creative project we've done since getting married three years ago… And I mean everything: We used our wedding photos and put together an album for ourselves and our parents (like these), and made Christmas cards with some of our wedding pictures on it to send to our guests.

Last year with the help of Shutterfly, cuteness in our house took on a whole new meaning. When our son was born in July 2009, we immediately turned to Shutterfly (and my newfound photography skills) to put together a photo-clad birth announcement, and we couldn't have been more thrilled with the results. We were able to include some precious pictures of our newborn, but also weren't forced to choose between photos or a cute design -- we got both!



Check out dozens of other adorable birth announcements here!

Then during the holidays, we turned Johnny's first time meeting Santa into a holiday card that our families still talk about (or, what we like to call, the cutest Christmas card in existence).



This past July, the little guy (not so little anymore) turned the big "1". To commemmorate the occasion, we found the perfect album-style birthday invitation for his party, and one still sits on our hutch in a frame today.



We love Shutterfly because their designs are clean, fresh and creative. Regardless of the product -- from photo albums to calendars, from mugs to photo enlargements -- Shutterfly has a variety to fit any style or budget.

This weekend, we took our son for his (now) annual Santa picture, and while the results weren't quite as angelic as last year, they will make for an equally memorable card. I won't be posting the photos until after we send out our cards, but I assure you, they are worth the wait. And of course, this year's memories will be captured on cards by Shutterfly.

To see some of the festive holiday cards at Shutterfly awaiting for your personal touch, click here! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

But besides cards, Shutterfly has tons of other products -- some of which I just discovered and OMG CALLING CARDS! -- to suit your holiday and every day needs.

Even better -- if you're a blogger and you love Shutterfly as much as we do, why not have 50 of your holiday cards ON THEM?

Click here for details!

Disclosure: I am receiving 50 holiday cards in exchange for this post. But trust me -- if I didn't REALLY love Shutterfly, I wouldn't have so many past projects to show off! :-)

New design and a big announcement!

First off, check out my new design! Isn't it fabulous? I am in love with it, and I hope you like it too. I can't take credit for this beauty though -- all the work was done by Jessica at The Frilly Coconut. She could not have been sweeter or more accommodating, and she got my design done in a week! If your blog is in need of a face-lift, I HIGHLY recommend Jessica! Please visit her!

Secondly, the holidays are upon us (sort of)! It's very hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving is next week, and we all know that as soon is that day is over, Christmas will be here before we know it.

So, in honor of my awesome new look, I wanted to announce something exciting...



Besides presents and trees, I know the first thing I think of when I think of the holidays is the food. So many parties, so many tidbits, so many desserts, and most importantly, so many delicious cookies!

To participate in the swap, you must be willing to commit to sending out containers of your cookies to other participants. You must be comfortable with others having your address (nothing will EVER be posted publicly. Until the it's time to start sending out the cookies, I will maintain the list privately) to send you your own stash.

The number of people who want to participate will dictate whether we'll send cookies to everyone or to a few selected people. In other words, if 20 people tell me they'd like to join the swap, I'm not going to make anyone send out 20 packages (unless they want to), I'll divide up the list into groups.

You don't have to be a blogger to participate, but it would be great if you participated in social media -- Facebook and/or Twitter -- and followed me on one or the other (not trying to limit the pool... just want to make sure I can know everyone and properly thank all the participants!). If you are a blogger, I would really love to see a post about the swap! It could be a recipe of the cookie(s) you sent out, or a rundown of what your received in return. All of the swaps I've ever done also asked that participants include a recipe of what they made in the package.

If you would like to participate, you can comment on this post, @reply me on Twitter, leave a post on Facebook or email me directly using the links on my header. Please let me know if you have a food allergy!

I would also appreciate any publicity, through a tweet or a post or anything in between! It would be great if you could take the image above and post it somewhere on your sidebar!

Looking so forward to tasting some of those delicious cookies!