Fruitcake, Fruitcake, Fruitcake

(Hmm, not so much)

Good morning. It's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and any last minute grocery shopping happens today. I've been having so much fun asking clients, friends and family about their Thanksgiving plans - cooking? What dishes? When are you preparing it all?

While I'll only be partaking in a Thanksgiving meal - no chef-role-playing for me this year - I'm slightly jealous of those who are cooking. I imagine warm smells of rosemary, thyme, brown sugar and melted butter among warm kitchen lights while family gathers around for the evening. Kind of like the famous coffee aroma bringing the warm-and-fuzzies in the old Folgers Christmas morning tv commercial, "Peter Comes Home for Christmas"! (check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU)

I know, I know, it's not even December yet. But, once the Thanksgiving holiday kicks in, I'm ready for all the holiday gathering and celebrations. Despite some of the busy-ness of it all, if you can navigate your way through some of the typical family/obligatory loopholes and take good care of yourself, it can be such a magical time!

So, a few posts back, I mentioned fruitcake. I can't even remember why I brought it up on this blog, but if we're talking holidays, we've gotta talk fruitcake! Tooth-cracking nuts; chewy, dried fruit; salty yet sweet cakey-bread-loaf. It's really so strange. Who in the world invented fruitcake?

Well, last night I was reading the December issue of The Oprah Magazine, and I came upon a fruitcake article. You can even read the exact same wonder plus history questions answered here: http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200812_omag_fruitcake This article even has a Happy Fruitcake Ending leading to THE BEST FRUITCAKE RECIPE: http://www.oprah.com/recipe/omagazine/recipes/200812_omag_recipe_fruitcake

If you actually know how to use your Kitchenaid mixer (unlike me), give the recipe a chance, and let me know if you've found a place in your heart for fruitcake. Or, if you actually read the recipe like I just did while blogging, you might only need a whisk, a saucepan, and a handheld electric mixer. The Kitchenaid mixer can rest a little longer.

Whatever you're doing tonight or through the holidays, I hope you can find the magical moments - with or without the fruitcake and Folgers!