Gale Gand has a recipe for Tiny Lemon Angel food cakes on her show "Sweet Dreams" on the Cooking Network Tiny Lemon Angel Cakes with Lemon Confit ingredients CONFIT: 2 large lemons 1 cup granulated sugar CAKE: 1 1/8 cups sifted cake flour 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups egg whites (from about 12 eggs), preferably at room temperature 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 lemon, zest finely grated 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract GLAZE: 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar Special tools: pastry bag with a large plain tip, 1 large or 2 small mini muffin tins, ungreased . Directions To make the confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You now have several 1 inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each one into long strips, about 1/4 inch by 3 inches each. Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil add all the lemon rind, and boil for 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse the rind under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time. Combine the sugar and 2 cups of tap water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the rind until tender, about 1 hour. Drain the rind in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let them cool and store them in an airtight container. To make the cake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sift the sifted cake flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar 3 times (this is to aerate the mixture and make it lighter). Set aside. Whip the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites are stiff and the sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds more. Fold the sifted flour-sugar mixture into the whites by hand just until incorporated. Fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Spoon or pipe the batter into the cups of the ungreased mini muffin tin, filling the cups until almost full (they will not expand much). Bake until the cakes are light golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the tin, then run a butter knife around the edges to cut the cakes free, leaving the browned walls and bottom of the cake in the pan. Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. To finish the dessert, stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth, Turn the cakes over to the brown top becomes the base. Dip the new top (the white side) of each cake into the glaze, then carefully place it on the wire rack, glaze side up, to set. Chop the lemon confit (you may not need all of it) and make a little mound of chopped confit in the center of each cake. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes before serving the cakes. And Sunny Anderson does a great little mini Pecan Pumpkin Pie in mini cupcake tins that I've made often-- good taste & nice presentation. Here is a link that might be useful: Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

We'll be there for the whole weekend and at least the day before. That's why I want to bring food, since it's quite something to feed a crew for a whole weekend. Mostly oldsters, and I mean REALLY old, my 'rents are in their 80's and my uncle is 89. His wife is 70ish. My cousin and her grown kids and their babies might show up. Anyway, I was just asking about holiday travel foods in general, not my specific case. Unfortuantely, that mulled wine, my "go to" hostess gift, is out since the oldsters can't drink I think due to medications. Last year I brought what I thought was the perfect hostess gift--wine to a family of winos. But they had so much wine already they never opened mine. Farm fresh apples and cider were appreciated though. I'll bring that this time, and probably some homeade bread and jam. Shortbread savory cookies would be a good thing to have on hand over the weekend but I can't eat them and dad and his brother both have cholesterol issues. Perfect for my diabetic mom though! :) Oh yeah, and I have to deal with my dad, the pickiest eater on the planet. Maybe some spiced mixed nuts, that might be good. Anyway, what foodie gifts do you like?? I made apricot thyme liqueur this year thinking it would be good for gifts but it just isn't good. I used unsulfered apricots and cheapo brandy and it just tastes like cough syrup. Here is a link that might be useful: Eating Well Healthy Homeade Gifts for the Holidays

This is on the front cover of Bon Appetit Magazine this month. I'm gonna make this...I hope it taste as good as it looks. White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears Bon Appétit : December 2007 Dede Wilson Spiced Pears: 1 750-ml bottle dry white wine 2 cups pear juice or pear nectar 1 1/4 cups sugar 12 whole green cardamom pods, crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet 4 1-inch-diameter rounds peeled fresh ginger (each about 1/8 inch thick) 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half 5 large firm but ripe Anjou pears (3 to 31/4 pounds), peeled White Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse: 7 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped 1/3 cup poire Williams (clear pear brandy) 1/4 cup water 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1 8- to 8.8-ounce container mascarpone cheese* 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream Trifle Assembly: 3 3-ounce packages soft ladyfingers,** separated 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger White chocolate curls 1 tablespoon powdered sugar PreparationFor spiced pears: Combine first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add pears and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pears are just tender when pierced with knife, about 35 minutes. Transfer liquid with pears to large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Boil poaching liquid in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to generous 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Strain into 2-cup measuring cup; discard spices in strainer. Cool. Cover and chill pears and pear syrup until cold. For mousse: Combine white chocolate, pear brandy, and 1/4 cup water in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth (mixture will be very liquidy). Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard bean. Transfer white chocolate mixture to large bowl; gradually add mascarpone, whisking until mixture is smooth. Cool mascarpone mixture until barely lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture in 4 additions. Cover and chill white chocolate mousse until set, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Pears and mousse can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. For trifle assembly: Cut pears lengthwise in half and remove cores and stems; cut halves lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange ladyfingers, rounded sides down, in single layer in bottom of 12-cup trifle dish (about 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep), covering bottom completely (using about 15 ladyfingers). Drizzle 5 tablespoons pear syrup evenly over ladyfingers. Using small offset spatula, spread 1/3 of white chocolate mousse over ladyfingers, making layer slightly thicker around outer edges of dish to allow mousse to be more visible (center of mousse layer will be thin). Starting at outer edges of dish, place pear slices in single layer with curved edges against sides of dish atop mousse, covering completely. Repeat layering of ladyfingers, syrup, mousse, and pears 2 more times. Cover with fourth layer of ladyfingers (some ladyfingers and pear slices may be left over). Drizzle ladyfingers evenly with 5 tablespoons syrup. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate trifle and remaining pear syrup separately. Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup pear syrup and beat until stiff peaks form. Working in batches, transfer cream to large pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe rosettes all over top of trifle, mounding slightly in center. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger. Garnish with chocolate curls. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated. Sift powdered sugar over trifle just before serving. * Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese; sold at many supermarkets and at Italian markets. ** Available in the bakery or bread section of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores. TEST-KITCHEN TIP: To make chocolate curls, place one 3 1/2-ounce bar of high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina) on a plate and microwave on high at 5-second intervals just until slightly softened, but not hot or beginning to melt. Using vegetable peeler and starting at one long edge of the chocolate bar, shave white chocolate into curls. If the shaved chocolate breaks into small shards, it's not soft enough, so place in microwave again for a few seconds. If the chocolate becomes too soft, let it stand at room temperature or chill briefly until it firms up a bit.

What a nice idea Eileen. I remember several times my DD asked my DM to get out old pictures and she always had an excuse as to why she couldn't.