Taking something to the party?

'Twas two weeks 'til Christmas and all through the land, spirits were high and parties were being planned. Bad poetry aside, chances are you have a gathering ahead. It may be a company do, a neighborhood open house, or a more intimate evening with friends or family. Whether you're hosting or simply contributing one goodie to the spread, the holidays inspire us to try to make it special.

Pretty holiday cookies that don't taste like cardboard

Making holiday cookies -- the rolled, cutout, and glazed butter-cookie variety -- is everyone's favorite December activity. Unfortunately, these cookies either look good but taste like cardboard or have buttery, rich flavor but lack visual appeal.

Create a bread that's not too sweet, yeasty and a tad boozy

Kugelhopf is a festive, crown-shaped yeasted bread traditionally baked in a heavy earthenware mold. One legend suggests it originated in an Alsatian village, when the Three Kings presented it to a local baker named Kugel, who had hosted them.

When it comes to pot roast, keeping it simple is the best

When it comes to pot roast, keeping it simple is sometimes best. We started with a chuck-eye roast, a well-marbled cut that is great for braising. Splitting the roast in two allowed us to trim excess fat and cut down on cooking time.

Gingerbread gets elegant: Elevate gingerbread to a pretty layer cake for the holidays

Good gingerbread is dark and moist, with an intriguing hint of bitterness and a peppery finish.

Crinkle cookies look pretty but can they taste better?

Rolled in powdered sugar before baking, chocolate crinkle cookies (often called earthquakes) feature chocolaty fissures that break through the bright white surface during baking. While striking in appearance, these cookies often fall short on taste.

Old stale bread can be transformed into croutons

Don't throw out stale bread. Seriously, don't. Baguettes, sliced sandwich bread and even loaves of crusty white bread can be recycled into homemade croutons.

Tenderize and tackle tough short ribs in a sous vide bath

Beef short ribs are a prime example of how the precise control of time and temperature afforded by sous vide cooking can affect a piece of meat.

Yukon Gold potatoes are the gold standard for this gratin

Potato gratin is a notoriously heavy side dish, laden with cream and gooey cheese. We wanted to shift the focus of this classic side dish to the potatoes.

Quiche for the holidays: Young cooks learn how

Winston Banks, 12, and his sister, Laila, 11, hadn't even heard of quiche 10 days ago. Now, not only are the 4-H youth and Columbus Middle School students genned up on the dish, they cooked it during Thanksgiving holidays for their parents, Alphonso and Minnie Banks.

For a classic made-from-scratch rendition of chicken soup, go for the thighs

This classic rendition of chicken soup starts the old- fashioned way, by making a from-scratch broth.

Make a sweet bread that requires you eat it with your hands

Monkey bread is a knotty-looking loaf of sweet bread made from balls of dough coated with cinnamon, sugar and melted butter.

Make crisp, piping hot tidbits of fried seafood

Mixed fried seafood -- or fritto misto di mare -- can be found throughout Italy; however, the most iconic and evocative incarnation hails from Campania.

Day after: Save some of that turkey to make 'gobblers' and other good things to eat

Last Friday, while in a conversation about the size of the necessary bird to buy, an acquaintance said to me, "If you don't have leftovers for sandwiches, you really haven't had Thanksgiving turkey."

Make this green bean casserole ahead of the party and relax

Green bean casserole is a holiday staple, so we set out to develop a version that could be assembled in advance to make our holiday cooking easier.

This apple crisp gets an unlikely boost from cranberries

Although it's hard to imagine that apple crisp needs much improvement, we liked the tartness and texture that cranberries added to one of our favorite standard dessert recipes.

Roasting gets Brussels sprouts caramelized on the outside

Roasting is an easy way to produce Brussels sprouts that are caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside.

The secret to this applesauce cake is cider and dried apples

Applesauce cakes don't have a singular definition; they run the gamut from dense, chunky fruitcakes to gummy "health" cakes without much flavor. We wanted a moist and tender cake that actually tasted like apples.

A holiday 'harvest': Just in time for Thanksgiving, Country Store Bake Sale returns for a 58th year

Next Tuesday marks the red letter day -- the 58th annual Country Store Bake Sale at the Stephen D. Lee Home in Columbus. It's a highlight in the community's countdown to Thanksgiving.

Want a crisp and moist turkey with mahogany skin? No sweat

Unless you have access to multiple ovens, only a very large turkey will do when you've got a crowd coming to dinner.

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