Whole Wheat Bagels
Sometimes I am not the best planner when it comes to baking. I can plan out my life for weeks in advance, but time in the kitchen? Not so much. Often on a whim, I’ll decide I need something sweet immediately, so I’ll rummage through the pantry and throw something together. In those instances, I am limited by what I have on hand, but usually I can come up with something plenty delicious. It’s much less frequently that I actually plan ahead of time to make something specific, though I do have my monthly Secret Recipe Club challenge to keep my on track. Or at least I should… (more…)
Common Ground Bistro Dinner Menu
A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip into the bitter cold to check out the new bistro menu at Common Ground in Allston. I went to BU as an undergrad, and at that time, Common Ground was really nothing more than an average neighborhood bar. Since Bob O’Guin took ownership, it seems things just keep improving! Over the summer, I had a chance to sit out on their back patio, and enjoyed a really tasty summer menu. It was a fun little escape in the city that I loved to discover. Last week’s experience was another good one – we tried a good variety of menu items, all made in-house, and I was pleased to find myself enjoying each and every bite. (more…)
Fresh Cranberry Brownies
I apologize for the lack of frequent posts lately. I miss blogging regularly, but planning a wedding is a job in itself, and unfortunately with our wedding timeline it takes priority right now! We’re getting married this fall, and so most big details (and even some of the smaller ones) need to get ironed out now. I’m trying to take it all slowly and in stride, so I enjoy it instead of letting it overwhelm me – and so far, so good! I can see it coming together, and I get giddier by the day just thinking about it. (more…)
Vermont Cookie Love
When I was approached recently to sample some cookies from a local company in Vermont, I was thrilled. I can honestly never turn down a cookie – must be the baker in me! – but cookies hailing from Vermont sounded even more intriguing. I have a deep-rooted love for/obsession with Vermont, and dream of moving there someday, so pretty much anything that creates an association with the state or reminds me of my fond memories of visiting it, I love.
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Gluten-Free
Chocolate chip cookies are practically a staple in my life – you know, alongside fruit and veggies and protein. I’m all about trying new recipes and mixing up my dessert indulgences, but chocolate chip cookies are just one of those desserts that make me happy like nothing else can. They are an easy go to dessert – I can practically make my favorite recipe in my sleep – so they were naturally one of my first attempts at gluten-free baking. (more…)
Homemade Granola Bars
This month for the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned The Culinary Enthusiast written by Kelley. Her blog tagline is “For the love of cooking…and more importantly, eating” which pretty much sums up my life, so I was excited to see what recipes she had to offer. I went through all of her bread/breakfast/dessert/snack recipes (my favorite types of food to make), and picked out a bunch of things I was interested in trying. On that list was granola bars, and since I’ve had granola bars on my to-make list for ages, I decided to give those a try. (more…)
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Cookies are a great dessert. Simple to make, entirely portable, perfectly sized, and always delicious. I’ve been making cookies for as long as I can remember – in fact, they were probably the first thing I ever made. I’ve always had a soft sport for chewy oatmeal cookies, and plain old chocolate chip cookies. Individually they are always fantastic, but putting them together makes pretty much the most perfect cookie combination I can imagine. There’s just something about the way it feels to bite into an oatmeal cookie that is crispy and crunchy and chewy all at the same time, studded with bittersweet chocolate and sweet dried fruit. It’s a euphoric experience! (more…)
Back to the Basics: Scones for Daring Bakers
Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens! This month, we were assigned a super simple task for our monthly challenge: scones. But not the scones you think about seeing in your local bakery, a traditional British scone, or Australian scone, which would be better known to many of us as biscuits. The recipe we were given to replicate has no sugar as most American “scones” do, and simply consists of flour, leavening, fat, and liquid. The recipe was created to be quick, easy, and cheap – all of which it is, in addition to being delicious. (more…)
Eggnog Cranberry Crumb Coffee Cake
Happy New Year! Welcome to the first post of 2012… probably should’ve been posted in 2011, but I got a little excited in the kitchen, and a little lazy on the blog, so I’m still working through holiday posts. Not to fear – there are only a few left, and I have so many fun and exciting ideas for the new year! In the meantime, this recipe would be great for using up any leftover eggnog you’ve still got lying around from the holidays. It’s not heavy on the eggnog flavor, but is still extremely flavorful. (more…)
Pumpkin Cranberry Biscuits
Welcome to bread post #2 today! In an attempt to get all most of my holiday posts up before the New Year, I’m doubling up on posts today, and the both happen to be on my favorite subject: carbs. I love them in every way – for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, as a snack; savory or sweet, and anywhere in between. I like muffins and cookies and cakes and breads and biscuits and EVERYTHING else your mind could imagine. These biscuits are a more healthful carb option, because they use some wheat flour and pureed pumpkin, plus fresh cranberries for some extra flavor. They are moist, moist, moist, and a great accompaniment to any meal. (more…)
Boston Brunchers at Harvard Common Press
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending another Boston Brunchers event, but this one was totally unlike any before. A whopping 40 bloggers were hosted by the Harvard Common Press (HCP) right in their offices in the South End, free to roam around and explore before we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. It was great to get to mingle with and meet some new bloggers before the more formal portion of brunch, and then to learn about the company, and specifically what business bloggers have with a cookbook publishing company. (more…)
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
Even though Thanksgiving is long gone by now, I’m still dreaming about this dessert I made for it. Better late than never, and this recipe is too good to pass up! When I was in high school, I was part of a culinary arts program, and I can still remember to this day a particular pumpkin cheesecake that we made, which I enjoyed with my mom and her best friend in the car en route to a couple of college visits I had lined up. I’d just made it that afternoon in class, and when I got in the car we were all a bit hungry, so forks dove into the cheesecake as soon as we hit the road and it was just SO GOOD. I came across that same hand-written recipe from class earlier this year amongst a stack of my mom’s recipes, and it reminded me of that day and of that cheesecake, and made me crave it in a serious way.
