Guest Post: A Twin in the Kitchen

With the rush of the holidays over, you may find yourself in a rut over what to cook. Never fear, our twin/multiples community is here to inspire you! Guest contributor Clarice Connors is an identical twin who loves writing (she just finished her masters in Journalism) and food (she just started culinary school in January). Clarice shares some memories and a winter appetizer below.

My earliest memories of being a twin involve my sister and I (identical-- 2 months premature and 40 seconds apart) sitting on the floor in my parents' kitchen playing house by stirring imaginary food in my mom's pots, stacking just bought cans of soup, and trying to munch on dry pieces of pasta when my mom wasn't looking. She would give us the grocery bill receipts after a trip to the store so we could go over all the food items we just bought and create imaginary meals. We would store all the receipts in our PlaySkool kitchen packed with plastic food and dinnerware. I think it was our most beloved toy.

As we got a bit older we were allowed to help stir, wash veggies and we were always involved in our Christmas cookie baking. Beside learning to beat eggs, using a cookie cutter and painting the cookies-- the best part was eating the dough. I learned this from my mom early on. I mean, how else are you to ensure the cookies will actually taste good? And now, baking on my own for years...what is the best part of baking (with or without my mom and twin)? Sneaking some of the dough. It is a guilty pleasure I will always share with the two of them.

These days, my sister and I don't get to cook together often since I live in Boston and she lives in Brooklyn, NY, but just this year we threw a Christmas party at her apartment. Basically, we were the cooking duo and guests loved the fact that we would switch off-- one was in the kitchen and the other pouring drinks and socializing. We are a great tag team. Having a twin in the kitchen is excellent because we share the prep process, equally sneak bits of food, and cook with the same amount of energy and fun.

Our holiday menu was extra delicious this year because I prefer more of a savory menu and she is a bartender. Drinks included a peppermint martini (think white chocolate liqueur, peppermint schnapps and vodka), a Canadian inspired drink we called the Canuck (maple syrup and whiskey shaken on ice), mulled/spiced wine, and classic spiked egg nog. Our food menu included bacon wrapped dates, our special secret pork and chive dumplings, homemade mushroom pizza slices, goat cheese stuffed tomatoes, and pecan shortbread "snowballs." So, in short, we love food and love cooking, and when we join forces no one leaves hungry.

Bacon wrapped dates:

1 container (pitted) Medjool dates

1 package bacon

(you can stuff your dates if you like-- I have previously done feta, or walnuts, or pecans, or

Parmesan cheese-- just pick one and stuff!)

toothpicks, soaking for ten minutes in cold water. (this helps the picks to not get dried out and splintery when baking)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. If stuffing, take the item (nut or cheese) and stuff inside the date, there should be a little hole where the pit used to be (neatly so that none is squishing out). Set aside an a baking a piece of parchment paper.

Next, cut the bacon into half slices and wrap around the date, secure by spearing the date with a toothpick. Place on parchment paper lined baking tray, about half an inch apart. Repeat with all the dates. Bake in oven from 13-18 minutes. You want to keep checking to make sure the bacon is cooked. How long you cook it is dependent upon how you like your bacon (crispy-- stay in longer,

chewy...shorter).

I love to eat my dates right out of the oven warm accompanied with some mustard sauce. I combine dijion mustard with the french grained mustard (I use the brand Maille) and a small dollop of honey. Et voila!

Clarice Connors is a writer and culinary student in Boston. Catch up with Clarice on her blog, la cuisine bourgeoise and on Twitter.

Remembering to Say Thanks

During this time of year, there are many things to be thankful for - family, good health, employment, friends, and maybe a gift or two. While we feel thankful, we may forget to take the time to send a note of our appreciation. December 26th is National Thank You Note Day, so this is a good time to refresh yourself on the fine art of thank you notes.

Throughout history, people have sent notes of appreciation. The Chinese and Egyptians would exchange notes of goodwill on pieces of papyrus. As paper become more available to the general public, the popularity of hand written notes increased. The invention of postage stamps in the 1840's allowed individuals to send notes and cards to anyone, not unlike the much later introduction of electronic cards (ecards) which are a popular today.

Yvonne and Yvette Durant are identical twin sisters and etiquette activists. Yvonne took a few minutes out of her day to answer a few thank you note questions for us.

EC: When is a thank you note necessary?

YD: A thank you note is necessary when someone has done something for you such as - invited you to an event, a dinner, a party, and always if they've paid for the evening. (I would leave out boyfriends, girlfriends and family if they are not distant.) Thank you notes are also in order if someone sent a sympathy card or note to you.

EC: Should I send a hand written or email thank you note?

YD: Handwritten is the best. Everyone should have a box of note cards in their home and young people should be urged to write them. Recently, I wrote an email of thanks but added "Before I entrust my gratefulness to the US Postal System, I just want you to know what a great time we had." A day later, I sent a note. This may be overkill, but go with your gut. We know that email is the way of the world these days and an email thanks is better than none. But, there is nothing like the power of paper and ink. You will be remembered for that.

EC: What about thank you's in the workplace?

YD: A thank you note after an interview is a good thing to do. In the workplace, there could be more gratitude so if someone has done above and beyond their job to help you, a thank you note is great. Of course, one would prefer their boss to thank them in the paycheck, but that is a whole other subject.

Entwined Community wants to thank you for supporting twin/multiples owned businesses! We hope that you have a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends.

About Yvonne and Yvette Durant: Yvonne is a freelance writer and copywriter by trade and has written numerous articles for major newspapers and magazines. She now blogs on the HuffPost. Yvette is an executive assistant and had her own personal shopping business wherein she worked for high end clients and learned a lot of the do's and dont's. She loves the art world, collects, and is a fan of classical dance. They were born and reared in Brooklyn. In their household, manners were required. Talking about thank you notes rings a bell for them - they've had stationery since they started writing, and still freshen their stationery wardrobe when they are low on supplies. Visit their website, Yvonne and Yvettetiquette: Modern Manners for the 21st Century.

Photo credit (Fund Forward)

Twins, Triplets and Commercials

The countdown is on for the holidays! I hope everyone is keeping busy, and staying safe.

General Question of the Week: Twins and multiples are frequently seen in television commercials - check out this Ikea commercial from 2009 featuring identical twin girls. What is your favorite commercial featuring twins or multiples - add a link if you can find it.

Business Question of the Week: Have you created any commercials for your business? Since twins/multiples are so popular in commercials, would you consider using your twin or children (if you are a parent of multiples) in your commercial? Share a link to your commercial if you have one!

Remember for Entwined Community members, each comment that is posted on BigTent will give you one entry for a $25 gift certificate to Trends in Twos! This contest closes on December 31st at midnight PST and comments must be entered on BigTent to count as entries.

Happy October from entwined community!

It is finally October! Here in Las Vegas it is still very hot - triple digits - but hopefully fall weather has found you! There are so many things to look forward to in October - pumpkins, fall foods, football and of course Halloween! I hope that you will create some wonderful memories with your family over the weeks ahead. A very special set of twins celebrate their 2nd birthday on October 7th - Harper and Finley, the fraternal twin daughters of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughters of Elvis Presley.


Each month we highlight a business and member of the month on our website. This month we are highlighting member business Rebecca Novotny Designs. Rebecca is originally from Pennsylvania and lives in Florida. She designs beautiful jewelry pieces out of her home studio. Take a look at these beautiful Pumpkin Orange Faceted Quartz and Carnelian Cluster Dangle Earrings - they would make a great addition to an outfit inspired by the fall color palette. Rebecca offers 10% off for entwined community members. Rebecca is excited to support entwined community member businesses - she is already a member of Twiniversity and looks forward to using her member discount Robyn's Nest Boutique and Trends in Twos.

October is also a special month in the Novotny household - her boys will turn 1 this year! She is busy planning a pilot-themed party for the boys in honor of their dad, who is in the Air Force. Look at this cute picture of them trying on their Halloween costumes! The whole family looks forward to their first trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving together.

Our Member of the Month for October is Lana D! Lana lives near the Tulsa, OK area and is the mom of adorable 3 1/2 year old identical girls. She is currently pregnant with her second set of twins - check out that cute babies bump! Lana is the President of the Northwest Arkansas Mothers of Multiples Club.

Lana and her family love to celebrate Fall - she stretches out the decorations from early October to Thanksgiving! This also saves time since she doesn't have to switch out Halloween with Thanksgiving decorations. Her family makes a trip to the pumpkin patch each October and pick out some pumpkins for the porch and now that her girls are older, she'll get some smaller ones for them to color and paint. She also loves to get outside and go hiking/camping with the girls as often as possible this time of year.