Happy Holidays!

Starting a couple years back, my friends and I started the tradition of doing a little holiday get together that many know as Secret Santa. I'm not gonna lie, it is one of my absolute favorite annual events of the year. We set it on that fateful day after classes end but before exams begin, to help alleviate some of the stress and to make sure everyone is still in town. And of course we have tons of treats to enjoy.


Starting with a joke from a party I was at my sophomore year, parties tend to include hot wings. And secret santa is no exception. For our 11 person gathering, we ordered the party platter (100 wings) from Atomic Wings to heat up our winter season. We stuck with the classic 'hot' designation of spiciness and I can say we were not disappointed. The wings were drenched in a generous pool of sauce that made sure you only ate these bad boys in the company of friends (because you're gonna look like a messy pig no matter how delicately you try). Thankfully though, Atomic not only packs with these plenty of napkins and plates but also many a wetnap to clean yourself up to open your pressies!

Of course that was not the only delicious treat on hand; though I don't particularly care for it, my roommate Alex made some homemade Egg Nog spiked with Captain Morgan's (instead of the traditional bourbon). It was a big hit and I am proud of him, because he tends to think he can't cook very well.

In this theme (of Egg Nog, not 'thinking I can't cook well'), my other roommate Julia decided to try her hand at Egg Nog Cupcakes. A nice seasonal touch on a classic party dessert. Again, these were a huge hit.

After some deliberation, I decided to try my hand at some Banana Chocolate Chip cookies. I altered the recipe a bit though. I replaced half of the white sugar with brown. After the first batch came out, I decided to add a hint of cinnamon to them. Also the bottoms tend to brown or burn fast so I dropped the oven temperature to 375 after the first batch and immediately moved them to cooling racks. The batch baked on my only air cushioned sheet fared much better and I heard parchment will also help prevent that. All in all though, people liked them; they came out VERY airy and cakelike which I especially enjoyed. Also, to maximize banana flavor, it bares repeating, use as brown as bananas you can find/get/wait for.

My friend Jill (who was the recipient of my gift: How to Survive a Horror Movie, an Insound gift pack, and little bottle of Jameson.) also made an amazing layered mexican bean dip. Though I don't have the recipe right now, I obviously will share it as soon as I get the opportunity. This thing is amazing. It's like bite size mexican food. Tortilla with cheese, meat, or vegetable. But seriously. It is really good.

Even Dunkin' Donuts got in the holiday spirit and gave my friend Tim huge discounts on the donuts and munchkins he brought to the party. That was nice.

For the record, my friend Elizabeth got me, and I received the coolest robot and monster plates and mac and cheese (kind of a thing with us). It was the best secret santa ever.