By Dierdree Glassford, Hospitality/Culinary Arts Major

It’s this time of year when things start to get cozy. The leaves are falling in an array of

colors, coating our streets with the colors of the sun and reminding us that there is beauty

all around us. On these cold nights, warming up with a crackling fire and some delicious

hot cocoa is the only thing on our mind. This is the time of year that my family stays

home, puts on their oven mitts, and enjoys the seasonal festivities. With turkey day right

around the corner, the question comes of, “What will be on the menu this year?” For us,

the holidays were always an amazing time of year, especially because of all the food we

got to pretend did nothing to our waistline. This year, we have a private chef, a line cook,

and a culinary arts student all under one roof, not to mention the mother that raised them.

Can we say something tasty is coming to town? I would think so!

One of my favorite places to delve up new recipes is actually through the many

videos that Buzzfeed Food shares on Facebook. Believe it or not, by following those

simple videos I have made some amazing, and easy, meals. From lasagna rolls to

ridiculously crispy and tender fried chicken, every meal I have made has turned out great!

This year, I am on desert duty for the day of feasting, and believe me, I have been

wracking my brain on what to make. Then it hit me, who doesn’t love monkey bread?

Buzzfeed has an amazing video for cream-cheese chocolate filled monkey bread

that is to die for. You take Pillsbury dough biscuits, roll them flat, and then you fill them

with a dollop of cream cheese and some dark chocolate morsels. Roll them into a ball,

making sure to keep the filling on the inside, and repeat until you have enough dough to

fill a bunt cake pan. Shake each ball up with a cinnamon/sugar coating, make a quick

brown sugar butter glaze in the microwave, and then stack the dough balls and glaze in

layers, cook it on up in the oven and voila! You have the most scrumptious monkey bread

that EVERYONE will want to dig their paws into.

When it’s homemade, it’s made with love and heart. You can stay home, warm

and comfy in your PJs, and hunker down for the long winter months. When meals are

shared at the table, family style, and you enjoy the presence of each other, that is what

really matters in life. That is what the holidays mean to me.

This year we have an entire day to celebrate what we are thankful for. Do you

know what you are thankful for this year? It could be anything really. Gratitude is one of

the most precious feelings. When I am sitting around the table, enjoying my sister’s

freshly made apple pie, or my mother’s amazing mashed potatoes, or even my brother

fighting over the wishbone with me, that is the time when I am most grateful. There is

nothing I love more than family, and food. This year we will be celebrating our newest

family member’s very first Thanksgiving, and if that isn’t something to be thankful for, I

don’t know what is. So this year I challenge each and every one of you: find the people

you call family, whether its blood or bond that brings you together, share a meal, and tell

us what you are thankful for. You might surprise yourself.

‘Til our next bite,

Dining Dierdree