OOPS.......... I read the remainder of the responses and found you had already answered that question. DL

I suggest shipping the cake in the cake pan. I'm not sure if you were thinking about a layer cake - that may be hard to ship. But if you make a cake in a 9 x 13 pan or a bundt pan, just ship it in the pan which would keep it intact. Here is a recipe for a cake to ship that I found with packaging suggestions: Want to make someone who is far away from home very, very happy?! Make them a cake and send it to them. Maybe you heard Ben talk about this cake on the radio. Or maybe you just want to do something nice for someone who is a long way from home. This cake is easy to make, ships well and will just surprise the heck out of anyone who opens it up! Easy Chocolate Cake For People Overseas 1 Stick Of Butter 4 Eggs 16oz Hershey Chocolate Syrup 1 Cup Flour 1 Cup Sugar 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Vanilla Disposable aluminum pan for shipping Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and chocolate syrup and vanilla. Blend in flour and baking powder. Pour into a well greased 8" pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 min. or till toothpick shows done. Cool it completely. Tips: Bake in a heavy 8" pan (not in the disposable aluminum pan) and put on top of a cookie sheet in case it spills over. After it is cool, run knife around edges of cake to loosen and dump whole cake on top of a large sheet of saran wrap. Wrap well and place in the aluminum cake pan and wrap well again. You may want to use some bubble wrap, too. We suggest you ship this in the UPS flat rate box (11 x 8½ x 5½) for a set price of $7.70 regardless of weight. Be sure to include standard customs forms, and you should be able to add a few goodies for no extra postage charge.

We are joining friends this year, so I am bringing the pumpkin bread pudding this year. Very easy to make and make ahead....I do skip the caramel sauce and just serve it with sweetend whipped cream and I use the Splenda brown sugar. Bread pudding 2 cups half and half 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin 1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 10 cups 1/2-inch cubes egg bread (about 10-ounces) 1/2 cup golden raisins Caramel sauce 1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup whipping cream Powdered sugar For bread pudding: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Stir in golden raisins. Transfer mixture to 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare caramel sauce: Whisk brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in cream and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding. Serve warm with caramel sauce. Curtesy of Wildfire Restaurant, Chicago.

Scratch my traditional Thanksgiving menu that I posted last week!! I knew that only one of my sons would be home, but now my nephew and brother won't be able to join us and everyone else that I've thought of to ask to join us already has plans. So it will just be the three of us. When you're used to cooking for 12 most years, it's hard to get excited about doing it all for just 3! Especially since we'll have almost the identical menu for Christmas day. My son who's home from college happily agreed that it seemed a little silly to cook a turkey, so I'm going with the flow and changing plans! A local deli has some beautiful stuffed chicken breasts that I've always wanted to try and so that may be the main course. I'll still do some special vegs, dessert and homemade bread. Just not the dressing, gravy, bird etc. Grace