Davidson Farmer’s Market will have a special pre-Christmas market Saturday, Dec. 21, from 9am to noon on the market ground next to Town Hall. Meanwhile, Port City Club in Cornelius has added lunchtime service, and is offering a New Year’s Eve dinner deal. Also, a note about New Yer’s Eve dinner and midnight celebration at Osso, at the NC Music Factory in Charlotte. Read on for the details. Read the full story

Say cheers with a Cranberry Orange Margarita. (Nikki Sawyer Moore photo)

‘Tis the season, my friends. In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, may I offer you a drink?  I know you haven’t sat down since Black Friday, but the gift wrapping can wait until tomorrow.   Why don’t you light a fire?  Turn on some Christmas music and look through all those holiday cards that have come in the mail.

Better yet, just sit. Cheers!  Look at the decorations that took you hours to put up. Take a deep breath and savor the smell of Douglas fir and cookies baking.  Enjoy the peace of a house not yet filled with guests, or if the house is already full, smile at the sound of many voices and twice as many feet.

Tis the season, my friends. Remember to take the time to enjoy it. Read the full story

Davidson Farmer’s Market is open rain or shine this Saturday, Dec. 14, on its every-other-week winter schedule. The market this week welcomes back Wild Turkey Farm, Big Oak Farm, Chef Charles, Audrey’s Apples, KC Farm, Calico Farmstead and the Imhoff family. And Mrs. Betty will be there with her holiday wreaths and greenery.
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Dawn and Marc Lavisa have opened Buscemi’s Pizza in Cornelius. It’s a favorite from their native Detroit. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net/CorneliusNews.net)

Dawn and Marc Lavisa have lived in Cornelius for six years, and when they began planning a new business recently, they turned to a favorite idea from their youths in Detroit: Buscemi’s Pizza. Their shop opened a couple of weeks ago on West Catawba Avenue, and they celebrated with a ribbon cutting Wednesday. Meanhwhile, another new business in the area is Dinner by Design, the work of personal chef Lois Dalton of Davidson. Read the full story

Chocolate dipped candied orange slices. (Nikki Sawyer Moore photo)

Years ago I decided to make cookies for my co-workers as a holiday gift.  I had not yet gone to culinary school and baking was hardly a science, but more of a mysterious miracle.   Things either worked or they didn’t.  It was always a gamble.

It was 11 pm when I accidentally burnt the chocolate that I was melting in my double boiler.   It was not that much later when I experienced what it means to have chocolate seize.  I placed the bowl, still wet from cleaning, back over the water and started melting another batch of chocolate only to have it immediately become hard and crumbly.  Still later, after doing the same thing again, I learned that my actions were causing the chocolate to seize and that I couldn’t attribute it to karma or plain bad luck. Read the full story

Almond Meringue Kisses

I think I must have eaten Thanksgiving dinner six times now.   Leftovers fill my refrigerator.  Ziploc bags of braised green beans with garlic, cornbread stuffing, turkey, glazed ham, and cranberry chutney stuff the shelves and Tupperware containers, filled of lone slices of pie and other remnants of Thanksgiving dinner, create Jenga-like stacks. Yet my calendar says it’s December and that means we are in the thick of the holidays with Christmas just around the corner.   And, while the last thing I need is more sweets around my house, I couldn’t resist doing a little baking today.

I did harness a bit of self-control and instead of buttery cookies garnished with sprinkles and icing, I opted for these fat-free meringue kisses.  I’ve popped them into my mouth all afternoon so I’ve still over-indulged, but the fat-free thing has to count for something, right? Read the full story