I would normally tell a little story to kick off my column, but if you have read ahead, you know that I have a monster of a recipe to share with you this week. I took this cake to a Friendsgiving meal with friends, and it was definitely a hit. Beware, though, you will spend …
Continue reading “Get ready for the ‘mousse’t complicated pumpkin dessert”
For all the complicated dishes that come along with the holidays, I tend to be especially attracted to all the fun snacks, candies and sweets that people make throughout November and December. Our family get togethers always feature a wide array of goodies on the snack table. It would be easy to skip the actual …
Continue reading “You ‘cran’ easily whip up these delicious holiday bites”
Before I married into the Young family, I was pretty coffee agnostic. I would basically drink whatever was in front of me and be happy with it. The Youngs, though, are coffee people, by which I mean they know how to make a fantastic cup of the stuff. If you want proof, just pop by …
Continue reading “‘Chai’ can’t believe I managed to make these lattes at home”
I bought so many mushrooms this week. And when I tell you that even the cashier at our local grocery store asked me what was up with the mushrooms, you know I definitely bought more than a normal person does. What can I say? I love a good sale. And this sale included big, beautiful …
Continue reading “Cap off this week with a yummy spinach mushroom lasagna”
I’m constantly amazed by the things I don’t know, despite having spent a lot of time trying new ingredients and recipes over the years. One of my favorite discoveries over the past couple of years came from a random post I saw online about store-bought graham cracker crusts. I’m sure I am the last person …
Continue reading “The holidays are the ‘zest’ time for refreshing lemon pie”
I learned something new this week that totally blew my mind: how to create muffins with perfectly domed tops. It’s been a mystery for me for a long time how bakeries and other super bakers manage to get their muffins to rise so tall, puffing perfectly over the edges of their cupcake liners. This week’s …
Continue reading “New baking technique delivers ‘dome sweet dome’ for muffins”
There’s a popular saying that people eat with their eyes. Food that looks good tends to taste better, and food that looks like slop tends to, well, taste like slop. I was worried that the saying was going to come back to bite me with this week’s recipe when I decided to add a Sazon …
Continue reading “Casserole might be better on taste then eating with your ‘rice’”
So much sour cream. Seriously, you should see the nearly literal vat of sour cream in my refrigerator right now. We hosted a catered meal about a week ago, and I ended up with the leftovers in my fridge. I’m not complaining, mind you, because the meal was absolutely delicious, and I’m never going to …
Continue reading “Lots of leftovers results in some recipe (sour) scheming”
When I was little, my dad would wake up early every morning, pack his lunchbox and head out for work. I probably wouldn’t have cared at all about what was in that black plastic box if it weren’t for the Tupperware bowl of sandwich cookies in the pantry. Dad would normally toss a couple into …
Continue reading “‘Micro’save yourself some time baking fresh cookies”
I’m going to need all of you to mentally prepare yourself for the mood I found myself in recently: pantry clean out mode. Once or twice a year, I find myself staring into the abyss that is my pantry and wondering where all of these random food items came from. Because I love to try …
Continue reading “Don’t fritter away dinner this week; try a new side dish”