what's shiny, glass, and red all over?

My new KitchenAid Rudolph Red Standing Mixer!

It is officially called "Candy Apple Red" buuut I love Christmas and when I first saw this mixer, admittedly during Christmas present shopping for others, I immediately thought of Rudolph's shiny red nose.  After first discovering this gorgeous mixer, I visited it on each of the following Steeb girl shopping trips to make sure it was still there and to pretend I was one visit closer to having it as my own.  It turns out that I really was one step closer to calling this Rudolph Red mixer mine because it found its way to my Nashville apartment just in time for my 23rd birthday!  As the wrapping and styrofoam fell to the floor I could hardly believe that this beautiful mixer was really mine, and then I could hardly decide what to do with it.  The red was so shiny, and the glass and stainless steel were so clean that I wasn't sure if I wanted to use it or just stare and smile at it.  But, after ever-so-gently snapping all the pieces into place I couldn't gather my ingredients and recipe book fast enough.  I just so happened to have three brown-speckled, over-ripened bananas hiding in a corner of my kitchen counter.  And so the decision was made, my first date with the glowing Rudolph Red mixer was to make my specialty banana bread.  That one date was definitely not enough for me.  I'd never washed a dish as fast as I did that glass mixing bowl, and I've had it snapped back into place with the beaters running overtime ever since.

Coming soon: I bake and tell with my banana bread recipe