even dogs like christmas!

I am a sucker for Christmas. I love to decorate, listen to Christmas music, discover new crafts ... and buy presents for pretty much every one I know, including dogs.

My mom has two dogs, Riley and Mae, who really believe I am their sister. My mom's boyfriend Lester, henceforth referred to as Mo, also has two dogs ... Poppy and Pea, who would like you to believe that she was abused in her former life. And I would be remiss if I did not mention my niece Abby, see gratuitous cute picture below.

This year, instead of getting them all toys which they would destroy, ignore, or lose in their already huge pile of current toys, I decided to bake them dog treats. The idea came to me while browsing through the aisles of Cookin' Stuff, my favorite local cooking supply store. Cookin' Stuff has bins upon bins of cookie cutters and I found a dog bone I thought I could do something cute with.

After googling "homemade dog biscuits," I was surprised to find hundreds of recipes. After doing some research, I settled on the following recipe:

First I mixed together 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour.

I then added my dry mixture to 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 cup milk - and then beat it all together in my KitchenAid.

I then took the mixture and rolled it into 1/4 inch thick sheets, and then using my bone cookie cutter, cut out the cookies.

After only 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, they came out perfect! One back made nearly 60 treats, enough for everyone to have ten cookies each. I forgot to take photos of the dogs enjoying their gifts, but trust me, they did!

butternut squash soup

In October, I attended a party at Wolfgang Puck Bistro in downtown LA. During the party, we were served Butternut Squash Soup shooters ... and for me, it was love at first bite. Coincidentally, I had volunteered to make a soup course for Thanksgiving ... et voila!

I have never attempted to make butternut squash soup so I was a little nervous about the process, especially when it's a Wolfgang recipe! Turns out, while time-consuming, it's very easy to make and so delicious - I've made it several times since Thanksgiving!

Wolfgang Puck Savory Butternut Squash Soup
3 3/4 pounds pumpkin or butternut squash
1 acorn squash (about 1 3/4 pounds)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 white onion (about 4 ounces), peeled, trimmed, and finely diced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (I used garam masala instead)
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 sprig fresh rosemary

For those of you unfamiliar with what butternut and acorn squash look like ... here is a photo. I actually found my squash at Trader Joe's, but I know Whole Foods carries them as well. Acorn seems to be more difficult to find.

Unfortunately, these types of squash are difficult to cut, so my trick is to pop them in the microwave for a few minutes - it will make your life so much simpler!

After cutting the squash in half, and spooning out the seeds, brush with melted butter and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Arrange the squash cut side down on a rack placed in a baking tray and bake until tender, for about 1 1/2 hours. Cool, scoop out the insides of the squash and reserve.

In a medium stockpot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Over low heat, sweat the onion. Do not allow it to brown. Add the pureed squash and cook over very low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Do not allow it to bubble up. Season with the salt, pepper, ginger, and cardamom.

Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, still over low heat, stirring often. Cook about 20 minutes.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the rosemary sprig. Remove the rosemary and pour the cream into the soup. Transfer to a food processor and process, in batches, for 2 or 3 minutes.
After reading an article in Food Network Magazine, I decided to serve my soup with a topping bar – croutons, parmesan cheese, pepitas, scallions, and crème fraiche.

This soup is truly delicious and one I will keep eating until all the winter squash is gone!