Hi, guys! Sorry about the lack of blog posts today. I’ve had a busy day!
I started writing my BOOK this morning ( 
), and then I went to NuVal for a couple of hours, and then drove an hour to the PriceChopper in Marlborough to see the NuVal scores up close and personal, which was SO COOL! 
I mean, I’ve been living and breathing NuVal for the last couple of months, so it was really neat to see system in action!
Long story short, I didn’t snap photos of breakfast or lunch today, so I’m skipping right to dinner. I’m sure you were entertained by all of the giveaways, right? 
Dinner
Tonight’s dinner was another wonderful recipe from Real Simple: Pasta With Brie, Mushrooms, and Arugula.
This brie was awesome! 
A big hunk of Scharffen Berger dark chocolate is for dessert!
Cookie Countdown for the Troops
Allrecipes recently kicked-off its first annual Cookie Countdown for the Troops!
Allrecipes is encouraging home cooks to nominate a member of the US Armed Forces serving abroad through its Allrecipes blog, Facebook fan page or Twitter.com account. Each day from today through Dec. 25, the Allrecipes team will bake four dozen holiday cookies and send them to a member of the Armed Forces serving abroad.
I love this idea!
Boston Happenings
Grand Opening of Red Mango
Red Mango announces the opening of its first all-natural nonfat frozen yogurt location in New England, located at 334 Massachusetts Avenue (Symphony Plaza) in Boston. To celebrate Red Mango’s arrival, everyone is invited to the store’s Grand Opening scheduled for Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 2 to 5 p.m. The event will feature free small frozen yogurt, nightclub DJ Tamer Malki, and more great giveaways. For details, visit http://www.facebook.com/redmangoboston.
Thanks for the heads-up, Lauren!
Barbara Lynch Book Signing
Join celebrity chef Barbara Lynch at Koo de Kir on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 2-4pm while she signs copies of her new cookbook Stir, Mixing it up in the Italian Tradition. RSVP required to 617-723-8111 or sales@koodekir.com.
12 Days of Giveaways Winners
I hope you guys are enjoying the 12 Days of Giveaways! It’s been fun for me too!
Here are your winners:
Perfect Brownie Baking Set Giveaway
#694 Gina G
on Dec 2nd, 2009 at 9:57 pm [edit]
i love corner pieces and reading your blog every single day =)
#188 Olivia
on Dec 2nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm [edit]
I need this brownie baking set. I have 2 small children who love brownies, and this would make my job much easier!!!
MixMyGranola Giveaway
#305 kendall
on Dec 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 am [edit]
chocolate espresso beans! they are a great ingredient for a little kick!
—
We’re taking Murphy to get his stitches out at the vet and then we are getting our Christmas Tree!!! Yay!
{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
*hometown pride* That’s my Price Chopper! Well when I’m not off at college at least. All the best to Murphy!
I ADORE brie. I love it so much. Sounds yummy.
I’ve never tried Brie, but now I am quite inclined to go get some!
That’s so exciting about your book! I can’t wait to read it
I love that AllRecipes is doing the Cookie Countdown! My brother and Dad are both in the Army, and my bro is currently stationed in Germany and slated to head to the middle east next year. I love it when companies support the troops.
ps- HOORAY for Christmas Tree shopping!
That dinner looks so yummy — you always give me great ideas.
This recipe sounds amazing. It’s like all of my favorite ingredients are rolled into one fabulous dish… cheese, arugula, mushrooms. Yummm.
Thanks so much for organizing these giveaways! I know you like Ellen too, so you are my virtual Ellen!
That looks so good! Brie makes everything better in my opinion
Also a boston event this Saturday, the Taza Chocolate factory is having their open house!
http://www.tazachocolate.com/Blog/P/135
Psst! Did you catch your man David Gray on Carson last night?
I looove brie. Combined with pasta? A woman after my own heart!
AHHH redmango inboston! I am so excited!!
thank you thank you for sharing!
love the combo of brie and warm arugulaaaa
Oh wow…I want a Red Mango!!!! Green with envy, here!
I may have to make that pasta (GF, of course). You said my key word: arugula.
That’s definitely the best looking Real Simple recipe I’ve seen in a while! That looks AMAZINGLY delicious!
i am so excited i have never won anyone giveaway! thankyou so much! =)
we have a red mango near us but ive never even tried it.
omg tina you were in marlborough today?! that is a few towns away from my hometown. why did you have to go there?!
that redmango looks great! and so does your pasta for dinner!
jenna
Brie makes any dish even tastier! I actually haven’t had brie in ages… I might need to pick some up during my next shopping trip.
The cookie countdown for the troops is such a fantastic idea! I don’t personally know anyone in the Armed Forces, but I’m sure the men and women fighting for our country would LOVE homemade baked goods from the States.
I’m looking forward to the Red Mango opening… I see they have a special pumpkin pie flavor!
Thanks for posting the recipe – I saw that one and wondered if it was any good. Glad someone tried it out! LOL
I saw that recipe in the magazine and marked it to try later. It looks really good!
glad that murphy’s all “done!” and yay for the x-mas tree – i put mine up on sunday and it just adds a twinkle to my heart….
I LOVE how Christmas trees make the whole house smell so good! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the holidays
Have fun getting your tree!!! I love the cookies for the troops idea, I just made some Paleo Bars for a friend in Afghanistan tonight!
That cookie countdown is such a great idea.
Have fun picking out a tree!! Does Murphy have a Christmas sweater he can wear? If he wants, he can borrow my dog’s elf costume
Drooling over your pasta!
Congrats on the book; it must be so exciting to get started!!!
Brie and pasta sounds awesome!!!
Good luck on the book!!!
LOVE Brie — so amazing!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Real Simple’s recipes
That looks delicious.
GOOD LUCK with the writing!!
Aw I love allrecipes idea– original, thoughtful and genuine!
Good luck with that book, lovely lady!
bec xo
OK, now I want pasta for dinner … Thanks a lot! I’ve been writing my book today, too … but unlike you, I have no contract for mine. I’m just writing and then will attempt to sell it.
We got our tree tonight too! We just finished decorating. The house smells GREAT!
What a great looking pasta! Although I am probably biased due to the inclusion of brie …yum!!
wow, i can’t believe you drove all the way to Marlborough for that, I live down the street from that Price Chopper and I didn’t even know that was going on! Damn!
That din looks so great!! Real Simple has the best recipes!
I’ve never eaten brie with pasta! That sounds great!
I made that pasta (with my Foodbuzz brie too!) last week and loved it!
Wow, that dinner looks incredible, and what a great idea from allrecipes.com!
If you’ve never tried Red Mango, you should probably go immediately! I’ve tried a couple of similar yogurt places and Red Mango’s taste and texture wins!
That dinner looks great! i love cheesy pasta – comforting and tasty. Congrats again on your book … what an incredible opportunity!
When you mentioned brie in pasta, my heart just skipped a beat. Good luck with the writing!
I wish there were a Red Mangon in my area!
And I’m excited to read your book!
Oh my godddddd. That looks SO good. I love brie with ANYTHING. Mmmm.
I actually find Red Mango to be too sweet. Let me know what you think when you try it!!
Have fun Christmas tree decorating!
Loooove brie! Best cheese ever
That recipe sounds absolutely delicious!! Love, love anything with mushroooms :O)
i just love brie!
{ 1 trackback }