Published by mel on March 11, 2010 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like a green beer at noon. At least, that’s what it meant in college. Now that I’m “all grownup” drinking green beer, especially before noon, is “frowned upon”. Yet, I have to do something to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, and nothing is more Irish, or more celebratory, than Guinness.
I happen to absolutely love Guinness. (We drank quite a few on a cruise we recently took to the Bahamas. I think all of the bartenders on the ship came to know us as the Guinness Couple.) You may have noticed my Guinness Mustard a few weeks ago. Now, it’s Guinness Brownies. Ah, Guinness Brownies. They are moist and a little malty, super rich and very chocolatey. I love them so.
No better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with a batch of these brownies. Trust me.
(Oh yeah – I used whole wheat pastry flour. Makes them “healthy” right?)
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Published by mel on January 15, 2010 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Tom and I are training for the A1A (Fort Lauderdale) Half Marathon next month and we’re getting to that point in our training where I get really, really hungry in the afternoon. I’m not talking about your typical afternoon snack craving. I’m talking full-on hunger pangs with embarrassing stomach grumbling. The kind that always happens during a quiet lull in your meeting and makes your co-workers giggle. Like I said – embarrassing.
I needed to take action. I needed a snack. Something that was filling and nutritional, but also tasty. These Nutty Power bars are it. They’re really similar to my homemade granola bars, but I added more nuts and peanut butter and omitted the brown rice cereal to keep them dense and nutritionally packed. I love how sticky salty and chewy these are. Just perfect for marathon training, regular snacking and keeping my tummy quiet during meetings.
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Published by mel on December 18, 2009 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
My mother-in-law is the cookie queen. Especially at Christmas. Every year, I look forward to the massive tupperwares filled with all kinds of cookies. But my favorites are always, always the Candy Cane Cookies. These are the ones I sneak in the morning before breakfast, after breakfast with my coffee, as a mid-morning snack… You get the picture.
They’re simple shortbread-style cookies flavored with almond extract and covered in crushed candy canes and powdered sugar. They look they’re nestled in a snowdrift. They get all over your nice black pants. They’re simply awesome.
These cookies have been a tradition in Tom’s family for years and I know I’ll be including them with my own traditions.
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Published by mel on November 18, 2009 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
On the subject of pie vs. crumble, I must admit that I’m torn. Sometimes, I like a good and messy crumble with plenty of oats and brown sugar. Other times, I prefer the neat triangles and flaky crust of a pie. Well, I will no longer choose between the two. It’s like Sophie’s Choice. Ok, so maybe I exaggerate, but it really is a tough decision and I won’t make it anymore.
I’m taking Thanksgiving off this year to go on vacation (yay!), but I didn’t want to miss the big Thanksgiving meal we only have once a year. I’ve been making stuffing, roasted squash and carrot pumpkin soup all month to make up for it. Last weekend, I made dessert.
The questions was: Pie or crumble? Why not both? This pie has a ton of crumble top on it, which is much easier – and tastier – than a lattice top. I usually make apple, but since this year we’re going non-traditional, I used pears. All I can say is: Wow. See you later apples – I’m making pear pie from now on. The vanilla and cinnamon bring out the pear flavor, and the crumble top was thick, crunchy and a perfect contrast to the filling.
Served with a ball of vanilla ice cream, it was an amazing way to end just about any meal.
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Published by mel on October 30, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Ok, ok! I’ll concede that I might actually have a little, teensy tiny bit of a sweet tooth. There – I said it. Though it’s true that I often pass on the candy and cupcakes at work, I think I do actually crave sweet things. Sometimes. Especially if I make them myself, which means sweet, but not too sweet and most of the times means something Salted. What can I say? I’m a salt fiend. It just makes dessert more interesting – that pop of something salty – always surprising – makes sweet taste so much sweeter.
This time of year, I love ginger snaps. They’re spicy and somehow warming. My favorite kind are the really gingery ones that have a good bite and nice chew to them. The Whole Foods brand gingersnaps are just perfect. I had a half a bag of those, some dark chocolate chips and hazelnuts. So, I made bark with them, which is basically a pretty way of saying chocolate with mix-ins.
This recipe is actually really simple. Crushed store-bought ginger snaps, melted chocolate, ground hazelnuts and a bit of flaky salt. That’s pretty much it. The hardest part is waiting for the stuff to cool. Next time, I might try graham crackers or even pretzels. The possibilities are endless, and that’s why I love recipes like this.
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Published by mel on October 23, 2009 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
If you like fall and pumpkins and seasonal food, then these cookies have your name written all over them. As I’ve mentioned many times before, dessert isn’t really my thing. But cookies are. I love cookies. Soft and chewy and filled with chocolate chips – cookies are my weakness.
They’re easy and delicious and they make your house smell like a bakery. These pumpkin cookies also take less butter than regular cookies, though not on purpose. The pumpkin just adds enough moisture, so you only have to use one measly stick of butter. A touch of cinnamon adds that subtle fall flavor without overpowering the cookie or competing with the chocolate.
In a word, they’re awesome. They’re perfect for the season. I love them. And you should love them too!
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Published by mel on September 11, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
What’s better than cold, creamy homemade frozen yogurt? Baileys, Banana and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt. I made some last night and it was good. I mean really, really good. It was all I could do to keep myself from having some for breakfast this morning. Instead, I am impatiently waiting for dessert tonight.
For some reason, bananas have a magical quality that prevents them from getting icy in the freezer. It’s probably why frozen bananas make such delicious delicious smoothies. (Jamba Juice obviously found this out a long while ago.) You can make this frozen yogurt with or without an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, your frozen yogurt will be a touch icy, but still creamier than you’d expect. It’s the bananas and the Baileys, which keeps it from freezing completely. And some grated chocolate adds a little bit of texture and just the right amount of chocolateyness.
My favorite frozen yogurt to date!
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Published by mel on July 31, 2009 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Every week I buy a bag of obscenely expensive granola from the grocery store. And every afternoon when my stomach begins to grumble, I have a some plain Greek yogurt with a good sprinkling of granola. It’s just the right amount of sweet, filling and crunchy for the afternoon and I’ve become completely addicted.
So, when I saw this recipe in the New York Times for Olive Oil Granola, I thought I’d give it try. I’ve been meaning to make my own granola for a long time and just never got around to it. And now I’m wondering what the hell took me so long! Homemade granola is amazing and probably half the price of that fancy stuff I buy.
I used slivered almonds and salted pumpkin seeds along with ginger-spiked sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. The olive oil gave everything a rich lushness and I was able to achieve a much more pleasant salty/sweet ratio than the over-sweetened stuff I buy. I am absolutely obsessed with it. In fact, I’m having a really hard time stopping myself from eating it all with a spoon.
Needless to say, I’ll not be buying granola anymore. This stuff is just too good and too easy.
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Published by mel on July 29, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Ah, figs. One of my favorite odd foods. They look so weird, but taste so good. I love them on pizza with prosciutto, in a salad with fennel and especially with cheese. Almost any kind of cheese. One of the best appetizers you’ll ever make is a mission fig stuffed with blue cheese and drizzled with honey. So simple, yet so delicious and exotic.
Last night I decided I wanted figs and cheese, but for dessert. I quickly caramelized some figs with vanilla sugar, then topped them off with a dollop of creamy mascarpone cheese and a drizzle of balsamic syrup (also known as balsamic reduction from my Summer Squash Caprese). You’d think the cheese and balsamic would mike it too strong and not sweet enough for dessert, but you’d be wrong. Very, very wrong. The vanilla sugar and natural sweetness of the figs were just emphasized by the mascarpone, and the balsamic syrup was perfectly tart and sweet.
When I popped it in my mouth, I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. Sweet, creamy, fruity and tangy all in one. It was so good that my husband thought the balsamic syrup was chocolate. Silly man. I’ll be making these again soon. And by soon, I mean tonight.
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Published by mel on June 12, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
For the record, I love ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt. I probably have Haagen Dazs Wildberry or Vanilla Granola frozen yogurt 5 nights a week. It’s delicious and I can’t say no to a little scoop after dinner. So it’s no surprise that I wanted to try my hand at homemade frozen yogurt.
I made it twice last year, and twice it was terrible. Inedible. Instead of sweet and creamy, it had a distinctly yogurty tang that was really off-putting. I’m not talking about the good kind of yogurty tang, either. Not the plain Greek yogurt kind. Twice we had to throw it out.
I don’t know what made me try again after failing so miserably twice before, but I gave it another shot. This time, instead of draining regular plain yogurt, I used Greek yogurt. The three ripe mangoes in my fruit basket begged to be made into some kind of dessert, so I threw those in with some blueberries.
Finally, finally! This frozen yogurt was just perfect. Smooth, sweet and creamy with just the right amount of yogurt flavor. It’s delicious! Refreshing and summery. The perfect way to use the bountiful berries in the market. Next week – strawberry frozen yogurt. I simply cannot wait!
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