Hello! If you like playing tabletop games with friends and/or baking I’d like you to know about the Kickstarter for this amazing book, the Edible Games Cookbook. The whole idea is that you make and play and eat the games. This book is a thing I very much want to exist in the world.

I’m lucky enough to know Jenn Sandercock and to have gotten to play a few of the games and they were great fun. She’s taken care to include suggestions for savory, sweet, gluten-free, nut-free, sugar-free, vegetarian and vegan substitutions where applicable (whew). There are store-bought suggestions for those who don’t want to bake. The recipes include weight and volume measurements (yay!).

If you’d like to know more there is a downloadable sample chapter on the Kickstarter page as well as all the information you might want.

The Kickstarter for the Edible Games Cookbook is in it’s last week and the book is nearly funded. Go be the one to get this funded all the way!

Cheese Straws at Smitten Kitchen. I bring these to holiday parties and they are always a crowd favorite. The dough is made entirely in a food processor and it’s easy to make a whole lot of these because you don’t need to wash the food processor between batches.

Cranberry Shrub and Cranberry Shrub Cocktail at David Lebovitz. Note: He uses pumpkin spice bitters. I’m no lover of the PSL but I could get way into these bitters.

Salt-Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad With Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Recipe at Serious Eats. Better than driving somewhere with stinky hot Brussels sprouts. Trust me on this one.

Cranberry Brie Bites at Delish. Looks pretty and easy.

Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish, at NPR. Will this year be the one where I make The Relish? This recipe calls for being fully frozen and thawed so it’s perfect for those who prefer to plan ahead.

How to Make Stuffing in a Bundt Pan at Baking Bites. I think I miiight just be more delighted with a bundt-shaped stuffing being offered to me rather than a bundt-shaped cake.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee, at Munchies. I wonder how much trouble it would be to make a lot of smaller versions of these.

I think about this photo from Shutterbean’s My Everyday Life series every time my cookbook club is dividing out leftovers. Getting a stack of cheap to-go containers from a restaurant supply company would make me feel very smart, if only I could remember to get them ahead of time.

Also: If you can beg to bring home extra stuffing so you can make these Stuffing Fritters with Cranberry-Jalapeño Sauce, from The Kitchn.

I didn’t get a chance to make any Halloween food this year but here are three of the people who have been inspiring me:

Brave Tart’s amazing gingerbread house in pretty intimidating but she shares a huge amount of information on how to get everything looking just spooky enough. The page includes recipes, templates and instructions on assembly.

Ann Reardon shows us how to make a Gravity Falls themed jar of eyeballs and a horrifying gelatin hand. Her video has all the tools, instructions and recipes you’ll need. Also, her remake of the bleeding Taylor Swift heart cake would work really well for Halloween.

Here is a collection of Christine McConnell’s Halloween party food including this amazing Jack-o-lantern cake, with recipes and assembly instructions. Also check out the caramel spiders, I jump a little every time I see the pictures. Yikes.

Recipe: Ina Garten’s Parmesan Roasted Zucchini | The Kitchn.

Christmas Crack | Culinary Hill. Planning ahead for Christmas pot lucks parties.

Dill Pickle Soup | Noble Pig. The Polish Community Center in Seattle has weekly dinners and their pickle soup is amazing, I hope this recipe will be as good as that version.

Bon Puf Cotton Candy (NOTCOT).

How to Stock Your Home Bar on the Cheap (Yes, We’re Naming Bottles) | Man Made DIY. Very useful list, some of these are brands I’m not familiar with and the others are choices I strongly agree with.

Popcorn Polenta w/ Mushroom Jus – Lady and Pups – an angry food blog.

Ricotta Goat Cheese Polenta Bake with Mushrooms, Greens, and Caramelized Onions, at Gather and Dine.

Air Delight Aero Chocolate Bar Recipe – HowToCookThat. She works through a few methods for making bubbly chocolate and finds the best one.

Egg Florentine In Pullman “Bowls”, for Cynthia – Lady and Pups – an angry food blog. Grilled bread boxes!

The Fourneau Bread Oven, via Swissmiss. This is a cast iron cave that you heat in your regular home oven and use to make spectacular bread.

1 Technique, 2 Very Different Cauliflower Purées | Serious Eats.

A Truly Traditional Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie That’s Baked Right Inside the Gourd, at Laughing Squid.

Watch: Amaze Your Guests With Buttery Candles That Double As Sauce – Eater.

Rethinking Swiss Meringue: Lighter, Fluffier, and More Stable | Serious Eats.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers – Food Fanatic.

an easier way to make cookies – smitten kitchen at Smitten Kitchen. This is how I make my gingerbread, pull the excess dough away from the cut shapes and you don’t get any distortion. Also, it’s way, way easier to roll out your dough when it’s still room temperature and chill it afterwards. Ahh, so easy and clean.

Tabletop Moonshine Still | Cool Tools. Table. Top Moon. Shine. Still. Hell yeah.

The Hottest New Variety of Pepper Is Not Hot at All | MUNCHIES. As somebody who loves shishito and padron pepper season I’m happy to see we’ll be getting more non-hot pepper options.

broccoli pizza – smitten kitchen.

Sprinkle Bakes has been keeping an advent calendar of giftable food recipes and it’s very handy.

See also: union square cafe’s bar nuts and homemade irish cream from Smitten Kitchen. I’m thinking of an Irish Cream vs. Eggnog event. Yes? No?

How to Make Your Sugar Cookies Taste Better – Chowhound.

Lottie + Doof » Lottie + Doof Gift Guide 2016.

The 2016 kottke.org Holiday Gift Guide.

Might Girl always has the most amazing Where Did You Find That? style gift guides.

The 2016 Good Gift Games Guide – defective yeti. Your annual infusion of which tabletop games are worth it.

Steel Thumbnail | Cool Tools. Considering how often I find myself using my real thumbnail to pry things I’d definitely get use out of this small key chain tool. I suspect it would make a great little present for those very practical people in your life.

My only gift recommendation for this year is the Riedel “O” series Coca-cola glasses because they are the most perfect object to drink a can of sparkling water out of and also they are on sale for 50% off right now. (Note: affiliate link.) I have one of these glasses in my house after attending a Reidel tasting event last year where I came home with a set of six glasses and this is the only one I use on a daily basis. It makes drinking sparkling water an outright elegant experience and as a result I drink a lot more water than I normally would. May I suggest it as a good gift for the La Croix lover in your life?

How to Clean and Maintain Cast Iron | Serious Eats. We are go for soap.

Love Old Fashioneds? This Spicy, Strong Whiskey Cocktail Is for You | Serious Eats.

Unusual Geometric Cake Designs by Dinara Kasko | Colossal. These are so pretty.

What’s the Difference Between the Bubbles? – Lucky Peach. Seltzer vs. sparkling water vs. club soda. Via The Wirecutter.

Giant Gougeres: French cheese puffs. David Lebovitz.

Barrel Aged Vanilla White Russian | Baking Bites. Something to do while you are aging that nog anyhow.

Hong Kong’s Most Famous Cocktail Is a Tower of Foam and Faux Caviar | MUNCHIES.

Chopped Kale Salad with Peanut-Chili Vinaigrette | Little Broken. Via Brit&Co.

Recipe: Vivian Howard’s Sunday Morning Pancakes – Eater. Made with a mixture of regular and buckwheat flours. I grew up eating buckwheat pancakes and I still prefer them.

Risotto Tips From John Podesta | Epicurious.com. “The most important revelation yet from Hillary’s hacked emails.”

The Mezcal Tour of Oaxaca, The New Yorker.

Spiced Pumpkin Rum Toddy Cocktail  | Mighty Girl.

Trick or Treat! Artist Makes Spine-Chilling Lifelike Halloween Sweets – ABC News. Those candy spiders are incredible.

Spooky Worm Halloween Jello – A Spicy Perspective. This is creepy and very simple.

BraveTart’s House of Horror: How to Make a Super-Spooky Halloween Gingerbread House | Serious Eats.

Olive puff pastry bites recipe – All recipes UK. The look like eyeballs and also look delicious.

DIY Hanging Spider Balloons for Halloween, at Studio DIY.

Gooey Monster Eye Cookies at Lil’ Luna. These are simple and suitably creepy.

‘Leggo My Eggo!’ and More Creative Pancakes from The Pancake Project | Serious Eats. Eeek.

Amazing Banksy “Flower Thrower” Costume, at Make.

Red Velvet Cinnamon Roll Guts | Kitchen Overlord.

Monster Popcorn Balls | Sprinkle Bakes.

Pretzel Broomstick Appetizers for the Etsy Blog! | Sprinkle Bakes.

DIY Giant Balloon Ghosts, at Oh Happy Day. These don’t use helium so they are an affordable giant balloon option.

Chocolate Skull Cake, at Inspired By Charm. This is excellent, and uses my favorite cake pan.

We Spoke to the Chef Who Has Made 143 Types of Mac and Cheese | MUNCHIES. Mac and cheese in a sausage, nice.

How To Make A Negroni — Cocktail Chemistry. They also include the recipe for a Boulevardier, a drink I’m very fond of but have found few bartenders know. Help me change that, let us make the Boulevardier as commonly known as (but easier to make than) a Margarita, yes?

How to Make a Beautiful Galaxy Mirror Cake Using Reflective Icing, at Laughing Squid. So shiny.

How to pick the perfect watermelon: 5 key tips from an experienced farmer, via Inner Vision.

Someone Probably Revealed KFC’s Top-Secret Chicken Recipe, at Grub Street.

The Best Way to Freeze Pesto Is Not What You Think — Preserve 2.0 | The Kitchn. Yes, more support for freezing things flat and thin for quick access later.

The Legend of the Choco Taco – Eater.

Best Burgers in Seattle, Washington – Burger Quest – Thrillist. The best burger on this list is from an out of the way bar that I was introduced to by the owners of Spinnaker Bay Brewing when I was working there. To this day when I have something small to celebrate we head to Loretta’s Northwesterner for burgers.

The Weirdest Things to Eat at the 2016 State Fair of Texas – Eater. “That’s right, in America we use mac and cheese AS A DIP.”

Crazy Crust Cranberry Sauce Pie | Baking Bites. This looks delicious.

Recipe: Rainbow Veggie Noodle Salad — Recipes from The Kitchn | The Kitchn.

I’m A Grown-Up Disney Kid — Obsessed With Hidden Mickeys?. The hidden mickey in the corndog here is adorable.

Braided Cinnamon Bread | Sprinkle Bakes. This is beautiful and delicious looking, I’m adding it to my weekend plans.

Bon Appétempt: Video: California Roll Salad. Also see: Bon Appétempt: Video: Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine.

The Cocktail Every Man Should Be Drinking This Summer | Man Made DIY | Crafts for Men. Spoiler: a real daquari.

A How-To Guide to Making a Silicone LEGO Candy Mold, at Laughing Squid.

How To Make Frosé — Cocktail Chemistry.

How to Combat Soggy Pie Crusts With Epsom Salt | Serious Eats.

Spiralizer Hack: Spiralized Cocktail Garnishes | Inspiralized.

This site is 15 years old today. Thank you, dear readers, for making that time seem like a short and exciting stretch. I know it’s been slow around here lately but I have no plans to go anywhere.

I’d pour you all champagne if I could!

Outdoor DIY Wine Cooler Idea: A Picnic Table with a Gutter! — Ingenious Ideas | The Kitchn. This is neat.

The Jealous Curator /// curated contemporary art /// kurt pio. Gorgeous paintings of giant diamonds, I really dig these.

Wood Rails 36″, at Parabo Press. For hanging really big posters, perfect for an Engineer Print. Via Swissmiss.

The mudroom: It begins! | Door Sixteen. An excellent list of all the products Anna uses, this is one I’ll refer to before our next house project.

Stud Thud Magnetic Stud Finder | Cool Tools. “Dual magnets create a “thud” when passed over a screw or nail”. Our house is old and has any number of mysteries behind the drywall. We once hit a water pipe trying to put up a curtain rod.

This Graphic Shows the Best Air-Cleaning Plants, According to NASA, at Lifehacker.

The Best Plants for Bedrooms and Bathrooms, by The Sill | Parachute Blog. Via The Wirecutter.

How to Make Vinegar Cleaning Spray (That Smells Good!) | The Kitchn.

Bon Appétempt: Carrot Ginger Showstopper a.k.a. Grain Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing (and a Fried Egg).

Star Wars Recipe: Rey’s Portion Bread | StarWars.com.

A Four-Story Leap Day Birthday Cake at Food 52. This is delightful.

Banh Tieu Recipe: The Vietnamese Donuts You Never Knew You Loved · i am a food blog.

Toasted Almond Cake, Stewed Rhubarb, Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting – Not Without Salt. The rhubarb rosettes on this cake are really charming.

Beer is Good For Your Health | Wellness | Purewow. “Even more interesting, the hops and flavonoids in beer can actually slow the release of calcium from the bones.”

The Best Easter Traditions Come from Germany | The Kitchn. This is a reminder to myself to make braided breads like the glorious chicken in the last photo.

Chewable Coffee Is Your New Morning Pick-Me-Up | Brit + Co. Gummy coffee cubes, count me in.

Forget Sea Monkeys, the Dino Sphere Is the Novelty Bio-Kit of the Future, at Gizmodo. Awwwww, I want some!

The Amazing 4 Corners Project / Boing Boing. A planet sized work of art, amazing.

My Uncle Works for Nintendo — The Campo Santo Quarterly Review — Medium.

What smells like almonds in the forest? | Ask MetaFilter. Millipedes?! Millipedes!!

The latest His Dark Materials spin-off is a dark and mysterious audiobook | The Verge. I encountered the His Dark Materials series only in audiobook format and fell in love, so I’m enthusiastic to hear that the newest spin-off is audio only. (And narrated by Bill Nighy!)

Song of the Deep Wants You To Feel Small | WIRED. I think this game is going to be greatly appealing.

An Hour With The Solus Project, A Survival Game With An Actual Story, at Kotaku.

TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Love You To Bits’ | TouchArcade. Tiny Thief is broken on iOS 9 (RIP) but this game is it’s spiritual successor, and shares a few devs.

Obduction, The Spiritual Successor to Myst, at Laughing Squid. I. Am. So. Happy.

The Gallery, VR and a fear of falling | Polygon. This game looks pretty ideal.

15 Tricks Every iPhone User Should Know How to Do | Apartment Therapy. These are pretty helpful.

Hidden Folks is a Hidden Object Game with Interactive Scenery – Gamezebo.

Get Lost Inside a Dystopian L.A. Cake Maze | Mental Floss. Oh my god a maze made of cake. Dreams do come true. Via Girls of a Certain Age.

What is the plot of Lost, like what happened? | Ask MetaFilter. Some good concise explanations, should anybody ever ask just what happened on that show. Answers from “the writers painted themselves into a corner” to a patient explanation of the bifurcated timelines.

The Latest Nail Art Trend Is Apparently Only for People Who Don’t Have to Use Their Hands for Anything But Modeling Nail Art, Must Be Nice. I’m waiting for Nails by Faberge.

Filmmakers Make an Interesting Discovery Made Behind a Loose Brick in a Pub in Norwich, England, at Laughing Squid.

Shamrock Shakes, and their cult following, explained – Vox.