If at first you don't succeed...

I never did tell you how my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner went. It certainly wasn't anything to brag about.

As it turned out, we had too many cooks in the kitchen on and I ended up only being in charge of (more like only being allowed to make) the corn. Without any supplies to "doctor it up," I put two bags of frozen corn in the microwave with a bit of water, set it to 5 minutes and hit start.

Actually, I then forgot about it for 15 minutes. When I finally checked the corn, it was already cold – or never warm enough. Sigh... Another 5 minutes and a generous portion of butter later the corn was ready.

At first I was quite pleased to receive a few compliments, but days later when my "famous corn"(as it had been dubbed) was still a hot topic of conversation, it was apparent the fam was mocking my cooking skills (or lack there of).

My Type-A, slightly obsessive, definitely competitive side kicked in and I set a new goal for myself: must get family seal of approval on something I make.

Fast-forward to last Sunday. We had an early Christmas celebration at my aunt and uncle's house. I decided I'd go all out and bring a side dish, a few Christmas cookies and a hostess gift.

For my side dish I made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch. And (drum roll, please) they were a big hit! There was suspicion that I bought them or Fiancé made them, but by the end of the night it was all praise (and not mocking kind).

I also made two dozen of my very own cookie surprise. There's no recipe for this, I simply wrap a piece of bite-sized candy in sugar cookie dough and bake for 10-12 minutes. I use a variety, so when you eat a cookie, surprise! It might be a peanut butter cup, butterfingers, crunch bar, chocolate mint, etc.

Now I'm already plotting what I can make for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As always, suggestions are appreciated!