This year my favorite thing to give away is the salted caramel sauce.  I found the recipe on the Epicurious iPhone app.  However, I made a few adjustments (adding vanilla, butter, sea salt) to give it a richer flavor.  It’s great on ice cream.  Enjoy!

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add whipping cream (you may want to stand back — mixture will bubble vigorously). Add butter, sea salt, and vanilla. Stir with small whisk over low heat until all caramel bits are incorporated and sauce is smooth.

This week was a reminder of how quickly one group’s good works can be wiped away in people’s minds after a bad decision. Members of GOProud’s leadership responded inappropriately to an issue that is very personal to them. From the beginning their most vitriolic critics have been the left, not the right. Every day they fight against the accusations that they are just paid shills with no principles. As I told The Daily Caller, I don’t believe they intentionally meant to “out” someone. I do believe they wanted to expose what they believed to be hypocrisy. I told them from the beginning that I disagreed with using Twitter so impulsively and with their choice of words to deliver that message. They messed up.

Over the last year I’ve gotten to know Chris Barron, the chairman of GOProud, and Jimmy LaSalvia, the executive director of GOProud. I was honored when they asked me to join the board and I’m honored to consider them friends. When friends get off track I don’t leave them. I stick by them and help them get back on the right track.

I respect that other members of the board have come to a different decision. They must do what they believe is right. I want to help GOProud refocus its message, do substantive events and activities, and repair their relationships with members of the conservative movement. When Jimmy assured me that they share these goals I decided to remain on the GOProud board.

The next several months will be important for GOProud’s future. I believe that Jimmy and Chris truly want to continue their mission of reaching out to gay conservatives and their allies. They have acknowledged to me that mistakes were made this week and that they want to move forward. For that, they still have my friendship and my advice to help make them stronger.

In 2007, I titled my first online shopping guide “One for You, One for Me.”  This year?  Not so much.  Every year I make a list of those I’m buying for and try to keep track of what I’ve purchased.  About one week into the Christmas shopping season I’ve abandoned the list and just start buying whatever useful and useless things I think people would like.  And maybe one for me if it’s a good deal.  Like many people, this year I’m really keeping track so I don’t overspend and I’m doing away with “one for me.” 

This year my list of stores includes a few favorites, as well as some new finds.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Li-Lac Chocolates
I learned about this company when two friends purchased it a few months ago.  They are legendary in New York.  You’ll find them in almost every New York travel guide as the best place for chocolate treats.  They are best-known for their molded chocolate figures like Easter bunnies, Santas and turkeys.  They also have a wide selection of other treats like bars, fudge, cream rolls and, my favorite, caramels.  Avoid the more well-known brands and surprise your friends with this New York favorite. (And feel free to send some my way!)

Homemade Gifts
‘Tis the season to save money when you can.  We all have people we don’t know that well that we have to shop for at Christmas.  Skip the “I don’t know you that well” gifts (candles, body lotion sets, etc.) and try some of these homemade ideas instead.  I really want to try the butterscotch sauce. Pair it with the perfect ice cream bowl (i.e. one that’s probably too big) and it will do more than collect dust in someone’s guest bathroom.

Perpetual Kid
This fun store makes it on my list every year.  I love them for stocking stuffers.  Some of my favorite items this year: Cupcake Handwarmer, Wonder Woman Apron, Personal Pie Maker, Jesus Shaves Mug and Animal Prints on Canvas Kit.  Full disclosure: I can’t name any of the things I actually bought this year because I don’t want to ruin surprises. 

Uncommon Goods
This is another site I included last year.  Favorites for 2011 include: Ticket Stub Diary, Tasting Plate, Knit Arm Warmers, Leaning Ladies Bookends, Custom Paw Print Necklace (I wish this was available when I had a dog), Candle Shadow Projectors, Dream Bank, and Cheesemaking Kit.

Etsy
My mom is very crafty and I love the idea of supporting people like her during the Christmas season.  Since the site is so extensive, I’ll just suggest some of my favorite sections: Pets, Crochet, and Geekery.

Amazon
I love Amazon.  They have everything.  Search for a dog breed or sports team and find lots of fun gifts.  Of course, I hear they also sell books.  Some of my favorite books to give this season:

• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

• The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond

• Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond (Kids)

• One Nation Under God: A Book for Little Patriots by Amelia Hamilton (Kids)

• Good Eats 1, 2, and 3 by Alton Brown

• 100 Yards of Glory: The Greatest Moments in NFL History by Various

• Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey by Bob McCabe

• Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer