[sgt_barnes]

We had a fairly traditional christmas lunch (it's most often lunch - instead of dinner - in germany):

Stuffed Turkey (which the father in law donated, and counselled me on preparation)
Red cabbage
Bread dumplings
Lots of gravy

The day after christmas, the remains of the Turkey (and gravy) are finished up together with spaetzle (traditional south-german pasta type), and potato salad. That is more of a family tradition, however.

I might add that I, personally, prefer the second day.

[Raion]

Cookies! 

Melted butter, bread flour, condensed milk, and molasses come together to make a crispy yet chewy cookie.

[Raion]

Zuo Zuotang Chicken (commonly called General Tso's Chicken) I'm making a more "authentic" version this week, here's hoping it's good.

[jpstewart]

Last Friday I made a batch of chocolate eclairs that were donated to a local group's fundraising event.  I rarely make eclairs because of how time consuming they are.  Plus I have terrible hand/eye coordination so no two looked alike and their sizes varied quite a bit.  I thought about taking photos, but out of the 18 I made, there was one that maybe looked good enough for a picture.  They tasted great (or so I hear) but I was embarrassed of the visual presentation.

[Raion]

Presentation can take a back seat to taste as far as I'm concerned. I make cookies that are usually a bit uneven looking, and yet they're loved because of their chewy, crispy texture.

[Raion]

https://imgur.com/a/I8NFjsa

Results of Zuo Zuotang Chicken tonight. It was delicious, the sauce was supremely delicious.

[Irinikus]

I've just had a really nice piece of baked cheesecake, sided with some Häagen-Dazs Salted Caramel ice-cream and a great latte!

IT WAS GREAT!!!

[Raion]

So I made for my girlfriend's birthday (actually yesterday, but she spent it at her parent's house) a Southern-style "Pound cake" in a bundt mold. 

For those outside of the US, this does in fact refer to the US measurement of the pound, or about 450g. You take a pound of butter, pound of sugar, flour, and eggs and mix it with flavorings and bake it for a hell of a long time and it makes a dense and sweet cake. 

Her mom, gods bless her, is doing a strawberry and mint sauce for it (I know that sounds crazy, but it's traditional in parts of the US, during the summer rhubarb is also very common) and it'll be delicious.

I'm learning to bake and cook primarily because I like the meditative aspects of it. It's a nice break from the shit I do at a computer or under a car.

[Irinikus]

Nice!

[jpstewart]

I'm learning to bake and cook primarily because I like the meditative aspects of it. It's a nice break from the shit I do at a computer or under a car.

It's pretty much the same for me.  (Well, not the car stuff.  I'm no good at that!) 

It's a change of pace from a computer screen.  Plus, I have to eat so while it's a break from computer-based work I can still feel productive because I'm doing something useful and necessary.  No matter how much I try to relax, I find I tend to feel guilty about not doing anything worthwhile.  Cooking & baking solves that.

And then, of course, I get to eat and enjoy what I've just made!