Davidson Farmer’s Market’s winter tailgate market is back this Saturday morning, Dec. 15, and market organizers say they’ve also decided to add a pre-Christmas market on Saturday, Dec. 22, as well.
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Nikki’s recipe this week is for Spicy Caramel Popcorn. Yum! (Nikki Sawyer Moore photo)

Maybe you overdid it on Black Friday. Perhaps, your gift list is rapidly expanding the closer you get to Christmas. Or maybe, you feel that a gift has more meaning when your own blood, sweat and tears have gone into it. Whatever the case, you’re scouring the internet in search of a homemade gift that will not be stored in the back of the freezer, will not cause you to break the bank (again), and, most importantly, will not cause a holiday-induced postal breakdown.

This is a tricky balance to strike. To my knowledge, none of my homemade gifts have gotten the freezer treatment, but I have overextended myself in the home gift department more than once. Take my plan to bake Christmas cookies for all my colleagues one year: What could be easier? It seemed foolproof until halfway through baking, when a winter storm knocked out the power went in my apartment. I maintained my composure when I had to toss one batch of cookies in the trash. It was only 10 pm and I hadn’t lost hope. I found candles, lit them and my gas burners, and set about melting chocolate over a double boiler. Read the full story

Charlie (left) and Samantha Marshall are reopening the former Roxy’s in the Oakhurst neighborhood as a coffee and food shop called The Coffee House.

Mexican taqueria Carrburritos has begun recruiting for managers, cooks, bartenders and other help as it targets a January opening on South Main Street in Davidson. Chef Nikki Sawyer Moore will offer holiday cooking classes at The Kitch in Cornelius. Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse will join in Christmas in Davidson this week with several nights of fun, including a party in the parking lot Friday night with Charlotte band Aqualads. And it looks like the former Roxy’s Coffee and Wine on Bailey Road is getting a new lease on life, re-opening this Friday as The Coffee House. Read the full story

Speculoos are sugar cookies popular at the holidays in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. See Nikki’s recipe below (Nikki Sawyer Moore photos)

Monday’s dreary and overcast sky felt like the holidays, but I found myself needing a soundtrack to truly get in the spirit. So despite my principled stance of waiting until December to turn up the music, I shuffled my Christmas playlist and took a trip down memory lane.

Growing up in Florida, I dreamed of a white Christmas – where we would take our horse-drawn sleigh across snow-covered fields before settling down before a roaring fire to roast chestnuts. I wanted to bundle up against the elements and trudge through the snow to sing carols. Yes, north Florida does have cold days, but most of the time I’d head out the door in a wool sweater that would inevitably be shed for the tank top underneath. Read the full story

Sicilian Arancini (Nikki Sawyer Moore photo)

Leave it to the Italians to take something as sad as leftover rice and turn it into an appetizer worthy of guests. Arancini are fried rice balls made from leftover risotto. They require just a bit of prep to make and are the perfect appetizer when unexpected, but still welcome guests, pop through your door.

Leftover risotto is practically a staple in my fridge. Risotto, made by slowly adding liquid to plump arborio rice grains, is the perfect two person meal. It’s an easy way to use up those odds and ends in the vegetable drawer or any small portions of meat or seafood in your refrigerator. Read the full story

Start by cleaning the mushrooms, make your spinach filling, and stuff the mushroom caps, topping with extra cheese.

Food magazines may share tips for fabulous gluten-free sides or recipes for a Paleo Thanksgiving. I’ll pass. To me, the holidays aren’t about the newest trend, but rather going back to the old favorites that you’ve always loved.

We’ll spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year. I’m excited about the trip and have spent lots of time thinking about the food we’ll enjoy. Thanksgiving always kicks off with smoked salmon accompanied by a glass of bubbly. From there, I know in my mind and in my mouth each dish that will grace the Thanksgiving table: a heaping plate of dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, and, of course, turkey with my mother-in-law’s signature gravy. Read the full story