You came, you cooked and four of you conquered!

Our latest Ready, Set, Cook! Recipe Contest was nothing short of incredible. Exactly 317 home cooks went head-to-head, submitting original recipes that featured Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, dip mix or seasoning mix, along with at least four basic ingredients from our contest list.

The stakes? The chance to win one of four mega cash prizes and have your dish judged by Food Network host Sunny Anderson in the Food Network Kitchens!

Last week, after all the entries were in, Sunny joined the Food.com team for a fun tasting of our top 10 semi-finalist recipes. Before we kicked off the taste-test, the mission was clear for Sunny: “I want the ranch to be like, ‘Bam! In yo face!’”

So whose ranched-up dish took the top spot? Drum-roll please… Read more »

We asked everyone to show us your best holiday cookie photos and you all definitely delivered! We received 160+ entries — from shots of  classic sugar cookies and gingerbread men to more decadent Nutella chocolate cookies to Ischler Toertchen, a chocolate-covered jam-filled cookie from Austria. Alas, we couldn’t actually sample them all, but we did get to feast our eyes on all the baked goodies.

You also shared your cookie photos with friends, and everyone voted for their favorites to come up with our top cookies. And the winners are…

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breezermom with her son, Will

To cap off the year, we chose breezermom as December’s member of the month because of her tireless dedication to Food.com. As a “tag-a-holic” and host in our Photo Tag game, it is not surprising that she is one of our top contributors with 2490 photos and 2710 reviews.

Southern gal breezermom finds cooking relaxing and has no qualms firing up the grill anytime or preparing a two hour dinner after a long day at work. Read on to find out how she tested and tasted her way to a winning recipe in last month’s Ready, Set, Cook! recipe contest.

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Food.com is teaming up with our friends at FoodNetwork.com, CookingChannelTV.com and a few of our other favorite food sites to celebrate Thanksgiving. Since we can’t gather in person, we’re pulling up a chair to create a virtual Communal Table. Our contribution: A festive dessert without the fuss!

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I don’t get like to get fancy. Especially with dessert. Keep it simple, keep it classic—and make sure some type of pumpkin goodness is on the table.

This year, instead of—ahem—in addition to pumpkin pie, I’m serving up these beloved Maple-Frosted Pumpkin Bars from home cook jan007. Why? Because the only thing better than a pumpkin dessert is when it’s lavished with sweet, sticky maple-flavored frosting. Plus, with a prep time of only 20 minutes, these cakey bars are ready in just under an hour, making them a perfect holiday pinch-hitter when time is of the essence.

Another reason to love this recipe: All the helpful reviews! Based on what I read, I decided to bump up the pumpkin pie-y flavor by adding an additional 1/2-teaspoon each of ginger, ground cloves and nutmeg. I also knew imitation syrup wouldn’t cut it for the big holiday. So I pulled out the big guns: Grade-A Vermont maple syrup. Lastly, instead of the requested jellyroll pan (which I don’t own), I opted for a 9×11 Pyrex casserole dish. It took more time, but meant thicker bars—and who wouldn’t want that?

The result: Well, let’s just say you shouldn’t make these too far in advance of Thanksgiving day. If you’re anything like me, you’ll come up short for company!

—Mandy Major, Online Editor at Food.com

GET THE RECIPE: Maple-Frosted Pumpkin Bars

What five-star Food.com recipe is a must for your Thanksgiving table? Tell us by commenting below! Plus, see what our friends are contributing by checking out the links below or using the hashtag #pullupachair on Twitter.

Cocktails, Appetizers, Salads and Breads:
Devour: Maple Pecan Baked Brie
Liquor.com: Spiced Thanksgiving Cocktails

Mains:
FN Dish: Black Pepper-Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

Sides:
YumSugar: South-Meets-West Squash Casserole
Food Republic: Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Macaroni and Cheese
Healthy Eats: Kid-Friendly Gluten-Free Honey-Cherry Stuffing
Fox News: Sweet Potato Grits

Desserts:
Food52: Meta Given’s Pumpkin Pie
BlogHer: Pumpkin Spice Caramels

Thanksgiving Leftovers:
EatingWell: Turkey and Leek Shepherd’s Pie
The Daily Meal: Ultimate Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich
Eatocracy: Stuffpuppies

mickeydownunder

There are three important things you need to know about this month’s Member of the Month, mickeydownunder. One: She lives in Australia. Two: She is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse. And three: She is one of the (if not the most) positive people we’ve ever met!

A member since October 2002, Mickey is famous for her eternal optimism — just read any of her 679 recipe reviews where she always uses ALL CAPS to express her excitement and enthusiasm. Even a recipe that set off the smoke detector recently yields her signature phrase, “WHOO HOO!” (a nod to another of her loves, old steam trains).

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You came, you cooked and three of you conquered! There were some fantastic entries into our Ready, Set, Cook! Reynolds Wrap Recipe Contest — 226 of them to be exact! — and now we’re pleased to announce our winners.

Drum roll, please….

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lazyme and her husband, Don

For October we chatted with Seahawks fan and Cooking Games With Friends co-host lazyme. Self-described as a hopeless game addict, she help planned this year’s Zaar World Tour and Pick A Chef community events. When she’s not searching for recipes, she’s making friends with fellow home cooks. In fact, she has made some great friendships through Food.com and has met around 35 of those online friends in person since joining in March 2006!

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Since becoming parents thirteen years ago, our family has put well over 100,000 miles on the family truckster taking trips to visit family and criss-crossing the good ‘ole U.S. of A. My husband and I firmly believe that road trips are one of the best things a family can do together. When you’re a foodie, where you eat is just as important as where you go. We’ve stumbled upon some of our best meals (and created our best memories) while on the road with the kids. Here are some of our tips for planning your own frugal foodie road trip and creating memories to last a lifetime.

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Calling all creative cooks! Love coming up with new recipes from whatever is left in the fridge? We’ve got a recipe challenge that’s perfect for you! Your great idea could score you $1,500 and more!

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Pot Scrubber with Asia forum co-host (and bestie) Leggy Peggy

This month we chatted with home cook Pot Scrubber about cooking meals for one and his cheap bachelor-friendly recipes. You may recognize him by his alter-ego Dame Edna or one of his 300+ fun reviews. A regular fixture on Food.com since 2004, Potsie hosts the community’s Asia and Pets forums.

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