Is that not a beautiful pie dish? I am so thrilled to be the proud owner of this Emile Henry Artisan Ruffled Pie Dish that I baked me a pie. An apple pie. And it is yummy! I started with a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. I know, I know. I had the best of intentions […]
baking
26
Jun
Jun
I’m not exactly sure where this “gotta make donuts” thing came from but, between reading other blogs and Pinterest, I found myself obsessed with the need to find a donut pan and crank out donuts of my very own. First things first…buy the pan. Amazon had them, but I found this Norpro at Marshall’s for […]
20
Jun
Jun
The little mateys that I care for during the school year know that June signals party time, and this year’s theme was Jake and the Neverland Pirates. It’s a great animated Disney show that the kids enjoy tremendously, complete with catchy sing-along tunes. I thought about making “Jake” cupcakes but when my friend, Jen, suggested […]
05
Jun
Jun
Scones can sometimes be dry, hard and crumbly, but these scones are incredibly light, moist and delicious! It’s a good, basic recipe by Alton Brown that I found here. You can pretty much add whatever you like to it, such as dried fruits, nuts or, as I did, two handfuls of mini chocolate chips. I […]
31
May
May
It looks pretty tasty. Right? Nice texture. Creamy. Well, this slice of ricotta cheesecake proves the point that looks can be deceiving. VERY deceiving. I served this as a dessert to my Bunco group (12 in all) on Tuesday night. I made it as a special request for our dear friend, Lisa, who is relocating […]
22
May
May
The thin glaze on these tasty biscotti pushes them way over the top into extreme deliciousness. Light toasting keeps them firm, but the crumb remains soft and tender. I am not a huge fan of the super-crunchy-break-your-teeth versions of biscotti, which are great for dunking if you’re the type who likes to drench your cookies […]
16
May
May
Little a and I broke from our past tradition of going to the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, CT, on Mother’s Day, and opted to spend the day together in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. First up, brunch with the family at this wonderful little eatery called Anella. The weather was sunny and warm, with […]
02
May
May
Okay. We’ve all seen Jennifer Hudson and have heard her pitch the new Weight Watchers Points Plus program. So maybe I’ve eaten one too many cookies, or maybe one too many slices of cake (just one, mind you), but she looks so terrific that I thought I’d give the program a try. Truth be known, […]
30
Apr
Apr
My very spry and youthful mom turned 86 on Sunday, and here’s the cake I baked to celebrate. It was made with four layers of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge, and the filling was a combo of chocolate bavarian cream and buttercream (the Magnolia Bakery recipe). You can check here for the particulars, as I […]
22
Apr
Apr
So…my note at the bottom of my original post was strictly intended as a message to my children. Well, Laura, my son’s lovely girlfriend, read it and took it to heart. This weekend, she came for a visit and presented me with (yes, you guessed it) the NordicWare Checkerboard Cake pan! (maybe you heard me […]
16
Apr
Apr
the big JC wasn’t the only one resurrected this Easter — little a is back, too! hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring! with a tupperware full of Mom’s Easter cookies and a thrift-store find-of-the-century (an embroidered scene of The Last Supper), mine is off to a good start. my contribution to the Easter […]
03
Apr
Apr
M&M’s makes these “speck-tacular” peanut butter eggs, and I couldn’t resist baking up a batch of peanut butter cookies and topping each with a yummy candy. I used this Classic Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, but I substituted 1/2 cup Crisco for one stick of butter, and I increased the flour from 2 1/2 cups to […]
01
Apr
Apr
Here’s a small sampling of the Easter cutout cookies that took me 10 hours to decorate yesterday. There were 54. When all was said and done, I did a little internet research to look for any shortcuts that would help get me out of the kitchen sooner. Turns out, Sweetopia offers some sample schedules to […]
25
Mar
Mar
I do not own one of those fancy-pants checkerboard cake pans, but I wanted to bake one anyway. My research revealed that it IS possible to do it, so I gave it my best try. It’s not terribly difficult, but it does require some fuss and lots of patience. The idea is to bake three […]
16
Mar
Mar
I really don’t know much about Irish Soda Bread, but I do know there are many, many variations. This is an easy recipe that was given to me by a friend and I think it’s delicious! It is mildly sweet and moist with a soft, dense crumb. Print IRISH SODA BREAD Ingredients 1/4 cup […]