If you have been an outdoor griller you may want to take a look at some of the advantages of indoor grilling. Just as there are some things that outdo

KitchenAid, the American manufacturer of the industry-leading stand mixers is offering buyers a Christmas bonus this year! Up until December 31, the company is offering a $50 rebate on the KitchenAid Professional 600 stand mixer! The largest and most powerful of the KitchenAid Stand mixers, the Pro 600 Series is equipped with a high performance, professional level motor and can effectively mix up to 14 cups of all-purpose flour per batch. It powerfully churns through yeast bread dough and triple batches of cookie dough. With a spacious 6 Qt. stainless steel bowl and a variety of attachments, this KitchenAid stand mixer is able to perform multiple functions. Available in 9 beautiful colors, this wide array of choices allows it to enhance your kitchen décor as well.

The Pro 600’s features include a 575-watt motor, a handy bowl-lift design with direct drive transmission, all-steel gears, and all-metal construction. The stand mixer comes with the patented PowerKnead Spiral Dough Hook, a flat beater, a stainless steel wire whip and a plastic pouring shield. In addition to this initial set of accessories that come with the mixer, there are dozens of attachments that will all you to make your mixer into an ice cream maker, a fruit/vegetable strainer, a sausage stuffer, a pasta maker and a number of other unique functions. This is the stand mixer professionals like Martha Stewart swear by! If you want a machine that is powerful, operates hands-free, made to last and that adapts to do a variety of functions, don’t miss out on this rebate offer!

Fruitcake Sauce in 3 Simple Steps

Is that fruitcake I smell on your breath?! No...just the new fruitcake sauce.

Good fruitcake is hand prepped, gently baked for hours then doused with generous quantities of fancy liqueurs. The flavors of the particular liqueurs infuse every morsel over the months of cool storage ahead so you can savor the flavor! It sounds perfect but can be improved on if you find a piece of fruitcake still in storage at the back of your fridge.

At Old Cavendish Fruitcake, we developed our fruitcake sauce recipe when we had to bring a locavore dessert (locavore means local or home-grown) to an impromptu party. Naturally we had fruitcake on the top shelf of our very tall fridge!

We also had local vermont-made butter and not-so-local sugar (shhh, don't tell). Looking in the cupboard we also found a bottle of Sapling, a maple liqueur. Made in Saxton's River, Vermont, only 20 miles from us, it is delicious. Not too sweet and leaves a lingering reminder of the Vermont spring time ritual of sipping maple sap slowly converting to syrup in the sugar house.

We simmered the sauce, added some more fruit and took the cake, warm sauce and remaining Sapling liqueur (!) to the party. It was all so well received! Lets say there were zero leftovers. And no hangovers.

When you tuck that last piece of fruitcake away in the fridge, leave a little Sapling left in the bottom of the bottle so you can make a really fine fruitcake ever finer and whip out a dessert with just a few minutes notice. Enjoy!

Here's the Fruitcake Sauce Recipe

You'll need these ingredients:

* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 Tbsp butter
* 3/8 cup Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur
* 1/4 cup minced apricots

Simple Directions:

1. Simmer sugar, water and butter together in a small sauce pan until thick.
2. Remove from heat and add Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur and apricots.
3. Spoon over sliced fruitcake for an elegant dessert.

That's it! Enjoy, your fruitcake and fruitcake sauce.

Having Overnight Holiday Guests? Serve them Eggnog Pancakes or Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche

Cooks always like to know they have served their guests something different than the usual but that is also tasty. If you are having overnight guests during the holidays or you are planning a holiday brunch serve your guests these Eggnog Pancakes. Using boxed mix and commercially prepared eggnog, making these little treats is quick and easy. Or make this Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche. The quiche goes together quickly and leaves you free to visit while it bakes for 45 minutes.

EASY HAM AND CHEESE QUICHE

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

3 eggs

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 cup cubed ham

1/2 cup biscuit baking mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 or 10-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the milk, butter, salt and pepper. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the milk mixture. Add the biscuit mix and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate; sprinkle with the Swiss cheese and ham. Using the back of a large spoon, gently press the ham and cheese into the mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

EGGNOG PANCAKES

2 cups boxed pancake mix

1 egg

1 1/2 cups commercially prepared eggnog

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

Lightly grease griddle and turn heat on so it will be hot for cooking. Put pancake mix into a medium mixing bowl. In a seperate bowl, whisk egg, eggnog, vanilla and nutmeg together. Stir egg mixture into pancake mix just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Turn pancakes when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Thai Style Barbecue Chicken

Everybody loves a good barbecue chicken recipe. This delightful chicken recipe will have your family raving and will stay at the top of your recipe box.

1 small bunch fresh cilantro, preferably with the roots, washed and dried
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
3 Tbs fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, smashed
6 boneless chicken breast halves, or 8 boneless thighs
1 head leaf or butter lettuce, washed and dried
1/2 English cucumber cut into thin half moons
1 small bunch mint, washed and dried
1 recipe Thai Sweet and Sour Chili Dipping Sauce
4 Tbs chopped roasted peanuts

Divide the bunch of cilantro in half and coarsely chop one of the halves. Cut off the stems of the other half. Combine the chopped half with the garlic, fish sauce and black pepper in a blender or food processor and process to a paste. Pour over the chicken and toss well to coat. Marinate for at least 2 hours or, ideally, overnight.

Preheat the barbecue or broiler to medium-high. Cook the chicken 4-5 minutes on each side until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Arrange the lettuce, cucumber mint and remaining half of the cilantro on a large platter. Place 4 tablespoons each of the sauce into 4 individual dipping bowls and sprinkle with the peanuts. Cut the chicken into 3/4-inch slices and place on the platter.

To eat, take a lettuce leaf and tear it in half. Place a few slices of cucumber, a few mint and cilantro leaves and a slice or two of chicken on the leaf. Roll up into a snug bundle, dip into the sauce and eat.