"And they're off!" My grandpa would begin one of his classic jokes. In the fast-paced clip of a horse race announcer, he continued, "It's cabbage by a head, carrot in a bunch. Toothpaste being squeezed out on the rail.

"And Diaper, bringing up the rear!" That last sentence always came with a special gravitas.

It was a perennial favorite. We would ask him to tell it to us again and again. Recalling it now, I can still clearly hear his voice.

Those familiar words came back to me yesterday.

The day after Halloween, and the holiday season is upon us. So often it feels like the gates opening with the crack of a starting pistol as we bear, full speed ahead, towards the Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We got to sample some holiday joy a little early this year, when Stephen and I worked on gluten free holiday pies for Simply Gluten-Free Magazine. From the flour blend and pie crust recipe, to fillings for a cranberry-apple galette and spiced rum and sweet potato hand pies, I got to build these recipes one piece at a time. Finding cranberries in August was no simple matter. (Thank you, Whole Foods, for pulling through on that one.) I didn't arrive at these recipes without some help, either. The filling for the Butter Pecan White Chocolate Mousse came from my Aunt BJ. The result is a family favorite I still remember tasting for the first time. (You might remember her from the Hungarian Goulash post this summer. She is an excellent baker and cook.)

Part of the joy of the holidays is the sense of anticipation they create. Sharing them today fulfills some of my own anticipation. After testing pie crusts and sampling fillings, those recipes are now displayed on magazine racks around the country, and I finally get to share the tear sheets. I think the images are among the best that Stephen and I have worked on together.

I hope you enjoy this visual taste of the holiday sweets to come. For the recipes, get your copy of Simply Gluten-Free.