before the ball drop

Before we jump into a new year of freshly baked goods, first I'd like to recap some of the more memorable food events during the last week of 2011. After Christmas in Fort Wayne, Greg and I hopped on a plane to Raleigh to visit his family. There was a lot of fun and food awaiting us. To give you an idea of just how much food, here is a shot of the refrigerator.

Inside, we found 16 boxes of cream cheese. Don't believe me? Count them for yourself.

Don't worry - four of them are low fat. We indulged in many great meals and I took a few snapshots to share. One night we rolled out a bunch of pizza dough and had a pizza party with several delicious toppings.

 And we visited a wonderful bakery that had Stollen in the display case for the holidays! I almost filled out a job application on the spot. Instead I ordered a breakfast sandwich AND took an almond croissant to go. Which I ate pretty much right after we got back to the house.

Upon returning from our travels, Greg and I decided that spending New Year's Eve at home  sounded like a great idea, so that's what we did. For dinner, we had Brie and crackers, along with some Upland Winter Warmer. And Scrabble of course.

We had to ring in the New Year with dessert as well, and I decided to make the chocolate molten lava cakes that I had just received a recipe for from my Mom-in-Law. This choice also allowed me to use the new ramekins I received for Christmas (so cute!). 

This may look like a simple mini-cake...

But when chocolate oozes out after a bite or two, it becomes something much more. To quote Greg: "All I want to do for the rest of my life is eat this." We decided it was more practical just to eat them until 2012 arrived, and they were the perfect way to end the year. Along with a bottle of champagne and an interesting performance from Lady Gaga with a caged head and Dick Clark counting down the ball drop in NYC.

Happy New Year!