Look at that stack of cookbooks: It's for you! This is the latest installment in Glutton for Life's Grand Holiday Gift Extravaganza. Occasionally, I get review copies of cookbooks I have already bought or pre-ordered for myself, and sometimes my collection just grows to the point of needing a little weeding, though I can scarcely bear to part with any of my tomes. Knowing that these will go to a loving home gives me some relief. Interested? Just leave a comment below by midnight on Wednesday the 18th telling me about your favorite cookbook and you'll be in the running to win these 7 books. As for the winner of The Shizzle and accompanying Mirena Kim salt cellar? It's Diane Lindsay. Diane, send your mailing address to me at gluttonforlife@gmail.com.

The celebratory spirit is reaching a fever pitch, so I have to ak you, Are you having fun? I committed to way too much last week and I came down with the flu. Ugh. I sensed that things were beginning to veer out of control for me and yet I just couldn't slow down. The challenge now is to have compassion for myself rather than seething inside that I am not strong enough or healthy enough or something enough. I'm in my red flannel nightie with my Uggs, gazing forlornly out at the fresh snow, where I wish to be frolicking on snowshoes. For now, I'm trying to focus on visions of dancing sugarplums.
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Another skillet cake. Because this one was so good. And because anything that helps dispense with a surplus of apples is welcome around here. The recipe was given to me by a kindred spirit I met at Haven's Kitchen, during a preserving class with Kevin West, a handsome Southern gentleman and the author of Saving the Season, blog and book. His demonstration included a simple applesauce, a very basic sauerkraut, a lovely cranberry jam and a golden-hued cauliflower pickle with raisins and Indian spices that I will definitely be making. I arrived armed with a very pressing question: Why, regardless of cooking time, do my preserves rarely make it to the 220-degree temperature that is always specified as the desired setting point? Kevin told me to pretend that the wooden spoon he was wielding was the candy thermometer I use at home. Then he set it on the ground and mimed stamping on it. In other words, forget the thermometer. He recommends the traditional wrinkle test. But back to the cake, which was a real windfall...
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