How are you holding up?

It has been a couple days since Christmas. I have been overloaded with some of the best dishes you can imagine. I have to give Maggie Williams a shout out for making the best red rice I have ever eaten. She wins the prize hands down every time I taste it.  So how is everyone fairing after such heavy dishes being bestowed upon them? I am hanging in there. It has been to my advantage that I have been feeling under the weather the last few days because I really could not eat the way I wanted to with my sinuses acting up as they have been. Thank goodness for small favors!

The gifts have been given, and festive wrappings have joined dining leftovers for this week's trash pickup. As you seek to find new places for new things, you'll enjoy the rest of the holiday season in the company of friends and family from afar. Rounds of holiday get-togethers continue in the days ahead, peaking with a Saturday-night New Year's Eve, which many will spend at home with friends. So now you need to scare up a hostess gift or a dish to share. It's a common dilemma in this holiday season, when budgets are pinched and gatherings have become more casual and even impromptu.

You don't want to show up empty-handed, even if it's just a last-minute, thrown-together party in your neighbor's living room. A bottle of wine or a bowl of mixed nuts is often the easiest fix. But with very little time and the simplest of ingredients, you can put together something about which your friends will rave. Bringing a dish to share for a dinner will take some of the pressure off the host or hostess.  Sweets are something everyone loves, and if you choose wisely you'll have something nice and portable on party night.

I am posting a recipe for cinnamon turtle brittle. Give it a try. Simple, easy and delicious. As always I say let's eat!

CINNAMON TURTLE BRITTLE

1 cup water

4 cups granulated sugar

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups light corn syrup

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1⁄4 cup butter

4 cups roasted pecan pieces

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Spray and wipe with oil a heavy duty cookie sheet with half-inch sides. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over pan. In a large pan, combine water, sugar, salt, cream of tartar and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Using a candy thermometer, boil to 350 degrees. (Or drop a spoonful into a cup of very cold water. It will separate into hard threads when it's ready.) Remove from heat and whisk in cinnamon, butter, pecans and baking soda. Pour over chocolate chips.

Let cool at least 2 hours. Break into pieces and package in cellophane bags or cookie tins. If using bags, tie with a ribbon or fold over and tape or staple on a decorative paper header.