I Love 2011...

Last year, when it came time to evaluate the highlights of my year, I discovered that while much personal growth had been achieved, I had slacked off somewhat in the getting out and doing stuff department. Now that I'm securely ensconced in healthy relationships not only with myself, but with a fantastic boyfriend, it was time to make the most of life again.

In 2011, I addressed all the shortcomings I felt I had in 2010: I went to the theater 15 times, saw 20 movies (many of which were independent or foreign films at the Gene Siskel Film Center, where I got a membership this year, so I didn't blog about them), tried 10 new savory recipes, only two short of my goal for trying a new one every month, and tested a whopping 35 new dessert recipes -- it's clear where my priorities are!

I sought out some new music this year, and even managed to find the time to read two books, which may not sound like a lot, but I believe that's two more than I read last year. I just don't make a lot of time for reading anymore. I traveled domestically and internationally, neither of which I did last year, and I've already planned a couple of exciting trips for next year. I feel like I've really hit my groove this year.

Furthermore, I tackled almost everything on my 2011 to-do list. I went to cooking classes, took a food-related city tour, finally made it to both the Pierogi Festival and Starved Rock State Park, and saw the Soviet wartime propaganda exhibit at the Art Institute. The only things I didn't accomplish were going to the Chinatown Dragon Boat Race in July (year after year, I just can't seem to get out of bed early enough to make their ludicrously early start time), and seeing West Side Story when it came through town. Since I'd seen it before, I wasn't willing to pay full price for tickets, but I was never able to find a deal on them. You can't win 'em all.

It was a year that was mostly full of win, however, so with no further ado, I hereby present to you my favorite things from the last year:

• Favorite Album of 2011: By the start of this year, I was finally getting tired of listening to the same music all the time, so I decided to branch out. Though none of the things I fell in love with this year were actually released this year, they did provide the soundtrack to my 2011. First, I'm going to give an honorable mention to Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Though rap never used to be my thing, I inexplicably got really into Kanye this year, and the Pandora playlist I created around him is what I listen to most of the day at work. Not only is he a fellow Chicagoan, he's undeniably talented, even if he's a douchebag in real life. Still, his masterpiece of an album was not my favorite jam of the year; that honor goes to Mumford and Sons' Sigh No More. I don't know how I missed out on this album when it was released two years ago, but a friend recommended them to me, thinking I might like them, and he was dead on. I am obsessed with this album, which doesn't have a single bad song as far as I'm concerned. There are rumors they're going to release a new album in 2012, and I am pumped!
• Favorite Movie of 2011: With such a crowded field, it's hard to say what movie I enjoyed most this year. I saw a lot of interesting films at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and skipped a lot of the blockbusters and mainstream fare that Hollywood released. That's why my pick in this category is going to a dark-horse contender: My Dog Tulip. Not only did this film appeal to my inner dog-lover, I think it speaks to anyone who has ever loved unconditionally. I saw it in the theater, and as soon as it became available, I got it on Netflix and watched it again with Justin, then passed it along to my mom for her to watch. Everyone should see this film, truly.
• Favorite Theatrical Experience of 2011: I'm particularly proud to have been to the theater an average of 1.25 times a month this year. Not only can I consider myself a supporter of the arts, which is important to me, but I feel like a more cultured person for it. I saw a lot of interesting productions this year, and a few clunkers, but one stood out as being far and away the best: Next To Normal. I saw it on a whim in May, when I spotted some discounted tickets on Hot Tix, and it may have been the best impulse decision I made all year. The music was deeply affecting, and the performers who delivered it were incredibly talented, even though I saw the understudy for the main role. It was the only show I saw all year that made me want to run home and download the soundtrack. My only regret is having seen it so early in the year, as little that came after was able to measure up to the high standards created by Next To Normal.
• Favorite New Recipe of 2011, Entree: I didn't end up trying quite as many new recipes as I wanted in this category in 2011, but I ended up with a close call for my favorite nonetheless. I'm fairly evenly divided between the Boursin mac and cheese I tried back in March, and the sweet potato and sausage hash I discovered just this month, but have already made again since then, and am planning on making tomorrow to ring in the first meal of 2012. There are few food products that I love as much as Boursin cheese, but I think maybe the fact that the first thing I wanted to eat in the new year were those sweet potatoes gives that dish a slight advantage.
• Favorite New Recipe of 2011, Dessert: Even with the vast variety of new desserts I tried this year, it was still relatively simple for me to pick a favorite. That honor goes to the macadamia-maple sticky bars that I first made with Katherine in May, and then recreated for my Cookie Bonanza. They went straight into my highly-selective hand-written cookbook almost as soon as I made them, and I honestly think they're one of the best things I've ever made. Maple sugar might be tricky to find in the Midwest, but it's totally worth the extra effort just so you can sample these cookies. I mean, they smell exactly like Garrett's popcorn, the much-beloved Chicago treat. What else do I need to say?

2011 has been very, very good to me, and I'm excited to see where the next year will take me. Justin and I got our first place together this year, and I hope to be moved in by the end of January. 2012 will bring us change, but I'm looking forward to all of the adventures that are in store for us in the year to come. Happy New Year!

A Religious Experience - Part Eight

Back in October, when Justin and I participated in Open House Chicago and got to go behind the scenes at a number of downtown buildings, I decided to hold off on blogging about the churches we saw in order to give them their proper due as part of my "Religious Experience" series. Given how busy I've been the last couple months, I never made it over to the Harold Washington Library to do further research on them, and I never got around to writing about them. Since the end of the year is going out with a bit of a whimper around here (the cold I'm coming down with is going to keep me from fitting in much else this week), and I had to go to the library today to check out some books for work anyway, I decided to pick up another copy of the ever-helpful Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage by George Lane while I was there.

I fell off the wagon a bit with my church visiting schedule this year, and only made it to a total of three in all of 2011. I haven't given up on my project, but clearly it's going to be more of an ongoing endeavor than I had originally envisioned. Keep a lookout for my write-up on the other church we visited back in October, which I'm going to hold in reserve for the undoubtedly busy days that lie ahead while we're moving in January. In the meantime, here's the story behind the Loop's quirky Christian Scientist church:

Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist

55 East Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois

Oddly enough, the unusual Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist figures prominently in my early memories of Chicago. Whenever we would come into the city for dentist appointments, shopping, or lunches with my dad, Mom would always take the Ohio Street exit, and eventually drive past the Christian Scientist church on our way to wherever we were going. It always caught my eye, even as a child, because it was so distinctly different than all the skyscrapers surrounding it. At about three stories tall, it's one of the shortest buildings in the dense construction of downtown. As I got older, I became amazed that the church hadn't sold their doubtlessly valuable land to build a high-rise, and was impressed that they held their ground.

Frankly, I've always found the church rather unattractive (modern architecture has never been my favorite), but in researching it, I discovered that it was designed in 1968 by Harry Weese & Associates, the same architecture firm that created the Metropolitan Correctional Center of Chicago in 1975. That building, while innovative for its use of bar-less, five-inch wide windows, is also somewhat of an eyesore in my opinion, and the fact that both buildings were designed by the same firm says a lot.

The Church, with its concrete construction and similarly nearly windowless design, was intended to insulate the sanctuary from the prevalent street noise surrounding its busy downtown location. Music and testimonials delivered by members of the congregation form the nexus of the Christian Scientist service, so it was important for them to block out as much outside noise as possible. The unusual layout of the building's interior, partially necessitated by the odd seven-sided lot on which the building is situated, is designed so that no seat is too far away from the central lectern, creating a sense of intimacy.  

I don't really know much about Christian Science, but I kind of like this quote from its founder, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure it has to do with things like medicine not being necessary.

The only natural light in the building comes from a small skylight located in the oculus of the ceiling and a ring of small, narrow windows surrounding it. This stands as a stark contrast to traditional ecclesiastic architecture from Gothic times onward, which emphasized stained glass windows and the introduction of as much sunlight as possible to emphasize the connection between the church and notions of heaven. It was interesting to see how modern architectural concepts as well as site-specific constraints combined to create a different sort of space for worship in this church. That said, I think this is actually one of the least attractive churches I've ever seen, and by far, the least visually appealing one I've visited in conjunction with my Chicago church-going project. 

I was glad to finally satisfy my curiosity about this building that I've passed probably hundreds of times in my life and always wondered about. I wouldn't exactly call the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist a hidden gem, like so many of the other churches I've seen as part of this architectural pilgrimage, but it was still unique, and I'm happy I had a chance to see it.

Merry Christmas...

It seems incredible to me that Christmas has already come and gone, given how little merriment and festivity has been present in my life this year given the demands of our impending move, but nevertheless, the holiday arrived and I traveled down to White Hall to celebrate in the customary style with all the branches and twigs of the Wyatt family tree. We gathered at Seton Hall, feasted on a truly ridiculous amount of food (a whole turkey was prepared that didn't get finished in time to eat, leaving us with an entire leftover bird), played a revamped version of our annual Bingo game, and watched the ever-growing number of children at play. Here are a few images from the day:

Mya spent the day chasing around the various dogs in attendance, and calling them all "Harlo," even though her dog, Harley, was left at home. This is her playing with Jack, my cousin Danielle's dog.

I swear, this photo of Dad and Chris isn't staged, but whatever Dad is saying, Chris' reaction is priceless.

I seriously love watching all my cousins' kids play together. They're closer in age than I was to my cousins growing up, and it warms the cockles of my heart to see them forging friendships with one another.

This year's attempt at getting all the kids into one photo was kind of a flop. Jalen and Will flat-out refused to participate, Mya was busy taking off her shoes, and Charlee cried. I think Braden (far left) had the appropriate reaction to the mayhem.

Will apparently has a soft-spot for babies, and I frequently caught him in utterly adorable moments with his cousin Charlee.

Mom and Dad called the Bingo game again this year, and we changed our prizes to $25 gift cards, plus an additional monetary prize furnished by my parents, in lieu of the generic gifts we used in the past. I feel that the gift cards were a much better solution, and I didn't end up with another Snuggie.

In fact, I made out like gangbusters this year. I finally got the Home Depot gift card I joking told Justin to request from everyone this year for Christmas, plus, I won the $100 jackpot! Of course, this led to allegations of the game being rigged, since my parents' furnished the prize, but I assure you, the prizes were completely random. Also, I'm wearing my beautiful Christmas present from Justin -- an amethyst necklace.

Mom and I, getting our purple on for the second holiday this year.

Even if it snuck up on me this year, it was so good to have a little slice of normalcy in what has otherwise been a holiday season largely lacking in its usual traditions. These moments of family solidarity are made even more precious by the knowledge that, going forward, I will have to start dividing up the holidays between Justin's family and mine. I won't get to be with my extended family every year any more, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make in building a life with the man I love. He'll get to experience the craziness that is the Wyatt family Christmas, and I'll get to learn about how his family celebrates this time of year. There will be change, and compromise ahead of us, but I'm looking forward to merging our lives in this way, and becoming part of each other's families in the years to come.

There's A New Sound...

Even if I haven't been able to participate in a lot of the holiday happenings around the city that are close to my heart this year, I did make sure to secure tickets to see Andrew Bird, my favorite musician, who seems to do a downtown concert every year around Christmastime (probably because he is a Chicago native himself, and he's in town for the holidays). The past two years, he did mostly instrumental concerts at the 4th Presbyterian Church structured around the Dutch concept of Gezelligheid, or familiar coziness. Instrumental music isn't really my favorite, but I made a point of going and waiting in line in freezing cold temperatures just to see Andrew Bird play live.

This year's theme was similarly experimental, as it was tied into his current sound installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, entitled "Sonic Arboretum." The piece is a collaboration with sculptor and sound engineer Ian Schneller, with whom Bird has worked for years to create a series of unique speakers, constructed out of recycled materials and designed to emulate both traditional phonograph horns and organic shapes from nature.

"Sonic Arboretum" places 75 of these speakers throughout the atrium of the museum, and throughout the day it plays a variety of original pieces that Bird composed on site at the museum. As you move through the space, you experience the sounds in different ways, as their textures change and bounce against the various surfaces. It all sounds very pretentious and artsy-fartsy, and it really kind of is, though it's interesting if you're an Andrew Bird fan.

In conjunction with the installation, Bird was scheduled to perform two "Sonic Events" at that museum, consisting of more traditional concerts utilizing the unique speaker setup.  I actually found out about the shows through my friend Chaya, who is also a fan, as the entire MCA collaboration wasn't even on my radar screen back when tickets went on sale. Dutifully, I snapped up a pair of tickets before they sold out.

Being up close means the best photo I've ever gotten of the sock monkey that accompanies Bird to all of his performances.

Justin and I met up with Darrell, who I originally introduced to Andrew Bird a couple years back, at the show, and due to Darrell's getting there earlier than us, we managed to be about one row back from the stage in the standing-room-only crowd. It was, by far, the closest I've ever been at an Andrew Bird show, and this is the fifth time I've seen him live.

Surprisingly, given the venue, and the somewhat high-minded aspirations of the installation, the "Sonic Event" turned out to be the most normal Andrew Bird concert I've seen in ages. He only played one song off the new album that he's finally releasing in 2012, "Lazy Projector," and filled the evening instead with some of his older material. He played "Plasticities" off of Armchair Apocrypha, and not one, but two songs off of The Mysterious Production of Eggs: "Tables and Chairs" and "Skin Is, My," which was an audience request. Nice as it was to hear some old favorites, for me, the highlight of the evening was, by far, when Bird performed "It's Not Easy Being Green," which he recorded for the Muppets' compilation The Green Album earlier this year. Two things I love -- the Muppets and Andrew Bird --  when combined, are pretty much the best thing ever.

Of course, Bird did play a few instrumental pieces, including some of those that he had composed at the MCA specifically for the "Sonic Arboretum" installation, but the main portion of the show were recognizable songs, and for that, I was very grateful. I've already got tickets to see Bird perform in May in support of his upcoming album, and tonight's show definitely whetted my appetite for that. I can't wait!

Don't Be A Drag, Just Be A Queen...

With the end of the year just around the corner, there was one final item to scratch off my 2011 to-do list in order to close out the year, and it just so happened to involve two of my favorite things: musicals and drag queens. Back in November, when other people were out pepper spraying each other in the face on Black Friday to get their hands on discounted Xbox 360s, I calmly sat in my hotel room and did my shopping online via Ticketmaster. As it turned out, Broadway in Chicago, the consortium that brings big-name touring shows to the Chicago theater scene, was having its own Black Friday sale, with $25 tickets to all the shows it was featuring through the end of the year. Though I had either seen most of them before, or had no desire to see the remainder, there was one that stood out as an item from my yearly to-do list -- La Cage Aux Folles. 

Given my love for men in drag, it should hardly be surprising that I have a soft spot in my heart for The Birdcage, the 1996 film starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. I'm pretty sure my mom took me to see it in theaters (drag queen movies had something of a moment in the mid-1990s, which also saw the release of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)), and I've subsequently shared the film with all of my friends since then. The Birdcage was based on the same 1973 French play as the eponymous 1983 musical by Harvey Fierstein, so seeing La Cage Aux Folles when it came to town was definitely a priority for me. The cheap tickets were merely a bonus.

You do get what you pay for, however, and in our case, that meant that we had truly atrocious seats. I like to be able to at least get a sense for the actors' facial expressions, and in this case, it simply wasn't possible. At least there was plenty of sparkle and choreography to keep us entertained.  According to the playbill, this production was supposed to take an edgier, more realistic view of the material, much like the long-running, widely-toured 1998 revival of Cabaret. I'm not sure if they were merely unsuccessful in this, or they were being too subtle for me, but this staging of La Cage seemed campy as ever to me, though camp and drag queens go hand-in-hand in my book.

I was also underwhelmed with George Hamilton's portrayal of Georges, the role played by Robin Williams in The Birdcage. First, I didn't buy him as a homosexual, and he had virtually no chemistry with Albin, the aging drag performer who is supposedly his long-time partner. Second, he often seemed unsure of himself, both in his lines, and his movement (despite his 2006 stint on Dancing with the Stars), and that detracted from the overall quality of his performance. Finally, he couldn't really sing, and I find it generally inexcusable when musicals cast a celebrity just for their name recognition value and less for their actual talent. I'd much rather watch a relative unknown with a powerhouse voice.

Finally, I didn't feel that the production had any truly memorable songs. As I sit here writing, I'm having trouble remembering any that stand out, except maybe for the tear-jerking reprise of "Look Over There," performed at the end of the show, in which Jean-Michel finally owns his family with pride, instead of trying to force them into a heteronormative vision of social acceptability. Instead of rushing home to download the soundtrack, I found myself coming away from the theater with a desire to re-watch The Birdcage, which, in my opinion, is a far more compelling adaptation of this gender-bending tale.

Santa's Little Helper...

An interesting thing started happening to me this winter, something that hasn’t happened to me before. People started asking me all kinds of questions about holiday baking, from requests for recipe suggestions, to procedural advice, to equipment recommendations. Apparently, I’ve finally acquired a reputation within my circle as the go-to source for all things baking. This is why I’ve decided to compile my best advice for how you too, loyal readers, can undertake a Cookie Bonanza of your own:

• Plan, plan, plan: Allow me to have a do as I say, not as I do moment: do your planning in advance, and stick to it. You don't have to spend all year testing recipes like I do, but come up with a workable, well-balanced list of cookies in advance. Assess what ingredients you'll need. Check the freshness of your spices (if that ground ginger that's been hanging around your spice rack for years smells like nothing, your cookies will taste like nothing too if you go ahead and use it. Figure out what you can do in advance. All of this goes double if this is your first large scale baking endeavor. Once you have a couple years under your belt, then you can go rogue, like me, and try to cram in new stuff at the last minute.
• Become a crazy completely rational, well-justified hoarder: There is nothing worse than being midway through a huge baking project and discovering you're about to run out of flour, sugar, eggs, butter, etc. All of these supplies go on sale at the grocery store starting around Thanksgiving, so clip your coupons and load up on all the staples, along with chocolate chips. I like to have about 8 pounds of butter in the freezer, at the ready, 3 bags of unbleached all-purpose flour, and a couple bags each of granulated, brown, and powdered sugar. An extra bottle of vanilla extract on hand never hurts either. If you like to bake, you'll use up these reinforcements sooner rather than later anyway. 
• Beg, borrow, or steal Tupperware: You are about to produce a huge volume of cookies. You will need at least one container for each type of cookie that you bake, as you won't want to mix them until you assemble the final boxes. This keeps their aromas and textures discrete as long as possible. This year, I borrowed every single piece of my mother's larger Tupperware containers to add to my own collection, and I still had to resort to using Ziploc freezer bags. Make sure you give all of your cookies a home. 
• Acquire some fancy gift boxes: On a related note, your cookies will need a container to make it to their intended recipients. Your friends and coworkers will be far more impressed if you package their gifts in a semi-professional way. I prefer boxes with a clear window on top, so everyone can be wowed by their contents without having to open them. I really like the treat boxes that Martha Stewart sells, and I used them in 2008 and 2009, but they are very pricey. They are available at Michael’s, so if you keep an eye out for coupons, you might be able to get them at a more reasonable rate, but this year I went with some similar cupcake boxes also sold at Michael's, and they were much more cost-effective. I also prefer square boxes, or at the very least boxes that are flat on top, as they stack easier for transportation purposes. 
• Empty out your freezer: The secret to mass cookie production is to get as much done in advance as possible. Some people like to actually bake the cookies in advance and freeze them, but I think they taste better (and fresher) if you freeze the unbaked cookies in a single layer on a sheet pan, and bake them at the last minute, within a day or so of delivering them. I did that this year with the speculaas, orange-fig pillows, banana-walnut chocolate chunk cookies, the chocolate base of the thumbprint cookies, and the peanut butter cookies, and all of them baked up perfectly using this method. This tends to work best for hand-formed cookies, drop cookies, and whole, uncut logs of icebox cookie dough, though you could probably do it with cut-out cookies if you really needed to. This will not work with bar cookies. 
• Clear your schedule: Let’s face it, a huge baking project is going to take time. Block out a whole weekend to just do this. If you’re really good at budgeting your time, maybe rsvp to someone else’s holiday party one night, but otherwise, stay home and lie low. 
• Parchment paper, enough said: This is actually my favorite tip for baking, period. Use parchment paper on your pans. It’s a small additional cost, but it will more than make up for lost time in washing your cookies sheets repeatedly, and possibly getting things stuck. If you don’t already use parchment to line your baking sheets, start now – it will change your life.
• Work clean: Unless you have an endless supply of baking implements (and not even I have that many bowls, mixing cups, and spatulas), you’re going to need to wash everything almost as soon as you need it. Don’t let the sink pile up with dishes – it will just be overwhelming in the end, when you’re exhausted from making so many treats. You’re going to need that teaspoon/liquid measuring cup/paddle attachment for the stand mixer again in thirty minutes, so why not wash up while you’re waiting on a batch of cookies to bake? Also, make sure you keep your counters clean. Between all that measuring and rolling out dough on the counter, you’re going to make a mess. Wash that thing down constantly, and sanitize it too while you’re at it. 
• Figure out a delivery method: I like to arrange a ride to work on the day of the Cookie Bonanza. All those little cookies are deceptively heavy when amassed, and if you schlep them on a bus or train, you’ll probably end up with a ton of broken cookie shrapnel, in addition to sore arms. 
• Label everything: The last thing you want to do is kill somebody. Seriously. Insert a piece of paper in the box of cookies that lists everything contained within, with notations for which cookies contain nuts. You don’t want to be the cause of anybody’s anaphylactic reaction. Plus, (and this may be the lawyer’s daughter in me,) I figure that people are less enabled to sue you if they do have an allergic reaction to something you fed them if you can prove that you warned them of the contents in advance. 

I'm not saying you need to be as obsessive or ambitious as I am. But should you wish to undertake a large-scale baking project of your own, I firmly believe these tips will get you pretty far in achieving your goals, whatever they may be.

Against All Odds...

After a full week of preparation, and two and a half straight days of baking into the wee hours of the night, the 2011 Cookie Bonanza offerings are finally complete. My plan for scaling back this year in light of my ongoing move went out the window sometime last weekend, and I ended up with eleven cookies in my line-up -- four more than I made last year and the year before. Because I left out the elaborately decorated sugar cookies that have headlined my offerings in years past, instead of using the extra time to relax or focus on packing my belongings, I ended up using the extra time to produce four additional cookies. Even without the iced sugar cookies, I feel like I've truly outdone myself this year.

I'm particularly proud that I managed to address the problems that I diagnosed with last year's lineup, namely a lack of sandwich cookies and something caramel-nut flavored. I filled those voids with the gianduja sandwich cookies, and the macadamia nut sticky bars I tested (and loved) earlier this year. I have my usual chocolate peppermint, citrus, and spice offerings, along with a couple fruit-based cookies and several nutty options. There is truly something for everyone.

I also employed a range of methods in preparing my selections. There are bars, drop cookies, molded cookies, pressed cookies, sandwich cookies, thumbprint cookies, hand-shaped cookies, and even biscotti. The only weakness I can identify is that I'm lacking a slice-and-bake icebox cookie this year. This could be a reaction to last year, when I felt I had too many.

All in all, everyone received 29 cookies in their assortment, which included the following:

• 1 Mole Biscotti
• 1 Macadamia-Maple Sticky Bar
• 2 Speculaas
• 2 Chocolate Mint Thumbprints
• 2 Gianduja Sandwich Cookies
• 2 Peanut Butter Cookies
• 2 Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• 2 Lemon Ginger Bars
• 2 Orange-Fig Pillows
• 3 Rugelach
• 10 Vanilla-Bean Spritz

Could I have benefited from some editing? Possibly, but I really was deeply engulfed in a manic state while I was baking everything. Earlier today, when it deceptively seemed like I might finish early, I very nearly attempted to add a twelfth cookie to the assortment, mostly likely some type of macaroon, given the preponderance of extra egg whites I'm facing in my fridge. Justin balked, and eventually, I came to my senses, mostly because I had already printed off the labels for the boxes listing the eleven types of cookies I had already baked, but also because I completely and utterly hate coconut. Now that I've finished barely cramming all the cookies into boxes, and am so tired I can barely hold my eyes open, I can see the wisdom in Justin's urging of moderation in this one instance. 

I'm taking the boxes to eleven of my coworkers tomorrow, and I'm excited to make their days with the gift of homemade goodness. This will be my final Cookie Bonanza in the kitchen that started it all, and with its completion, it will be time to start boxing up my considerable collection of baking paraphernalia. Stay tuned next year, as I get acquainted with my new oven, and start the long process of vetting options for the Cookie Bonanza 2012!