Happy New Year! Was Santa good to you? I made sure you were all put on the nice list. Santa brought me a couple new cookbooks and a fancy new oven thermometer. I can use it on the grill, too, it’s safe to 700 degrees. I’m thinking he’s getting tired of charred food.

And do you have a new year’s resolution? Here’s one for you: to share Taste of Home content first. When someone asks for a recipe or an article, offer something from Taste of Home before looking at other sources. We have over 50,000 recipes on our website and we’re currently adding over 300 articles and slideshows per month. If you need help finding something suitable, shoot me a message. As always, I’m happy to help you find just the right piece.

There are a couple contests you should enter while Christmas is still fresh in your mind.

Holiday Sides with a Spin Recipe Contest, enter by January 18th:

Sides do matter—especially at the feast. We’re saving room for your twists, like twice-baked squash, creamed rainbow chard and parsnip gratin. We wait all year for broccoli noodle kugel, quince-pistachio salad and sweet potato latkes. Fill our baskets with pumpkin-sage rolls and apple-cinnamon corn bread. Please pass the beetroot relish, oyster mushroom gravy and gochujang cranberry sauce. If your side is gobbled up before it hits the table, send the recipe. It just may go down in history. Be sure to read the contest rules.

Make-Ahead Christmas Contest, enter by March 1st:

Even if your shopping doesn’t get done early, your Christmas Day cooking sure can! We want to see the delicious dishes you make ahead to make the holiday all the merrier—like that pumpkin-pecan coffee cake that chills in the freezer until the big day. Or the early-prep stuffed mushrooms and smoked salmon puffs that always get the party started. Share those time-saver sides, too, like creamy balsamic sweet potatoes, cheesy butterhorn rolls and roasted green beans with shallots. Don’t forget those make-ahead mains: salmon lasagna, pork roulade and onion-braised brisket. Start early on sweet finishers, too, like cranberry cheesecake, tiramisu torte and chai crinkle cookies. If it’s a holiday superstar that gets checked off the list early, send it our way! Be sure to read the contest rules.

Cookies Recipe Contest, enter by March 1st:

Aprons on, friends! Time to whip, roll, dip and frost your way to the best Christmas cookies ever. Every treat tray needs a cutout—wow us with your spin. Or prove two cookies are better than one with peppermint-filled brownie cookies and gingersnaps with eggnog crème. Short on time? Go no-bake with cranberry cheesecake bites or salted caramel macaroons. Share your twists on shaped cookies, too: tassies, kisses, crescents and wreaths. We’ve got a glass of milk waiting. Take a minute to read the contest rules.

On that note...

Happy cooking, my friends!

Sue Stetzel

Engagement Editor

sue.stetzel@tmbi.com