As I was saying last week, something about fall just makes it so much fun to spend time in the kitchen. Every recipe I see makes me want to give it a try. All the warm spices, harvest veggies, and hearty soups and stews make me feel particularly joyful when I step into the kitchen. However, there is one thing that I’m decidedly not as crazy about. At least not as crazy as the rest of the world, apparently. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Cream Cheese
Strawberry and Rhubarb Cream Tart
As much as I enjoy food blogging, there is one thing that I decidedly do not love. And that would be the simple fact that when you blow it, there is photo evidence. When I make something new, I take pictures “just in case” it’s good enough to share. Because, you see, I don’t share it with all of you if it’s no good. And I won’t know if it’s no good until it’s all said and done. So the result it lots of pictures of in-process dishes that just don’t make the cut. Continue reading
Sopapilla Cheesecake: Two Ways
Food-snob alert: If you detest recipes that start with, “Take one tube of dough…”, avert your eyes. This recipe is definitely not for you. It is full of refined sugars, chemical preservatives, saturated fat, and processed carbs. It bears the name Sopapilla without having the slightest resemblance to the actual, authentic Mexican flatbread. The food snob part of me is embarrassed to share this recipe. The food lover in me can’t help it. It’s just so freakin’ good.
It’s so good, in fact, that I’ve made it three times in a week. So good, that the last time I made it, I fell into one of my common mental anguish moments while cooking something so tasty: Do I dare innovate, or leave it well enough alone? I can have an idea of how to make it better, but then I get worried that it won’t be as good as the tried-and-true original and I’ll be left still craving it. So, instead of just sucking it up and trying something new, I do what any neurotic baker would do- make both and recruit my friends and family for a side-by-side taste test. Obviously. Continue reading
Strawberry Cake
Honestly, sometimes I can’t just let well enough alone. I see a recipe, and something about it strikes my fancy. Then, I proceed to make it, changing whatever it was that originally grabbed my attention. I end up with something completely different, and kind of, well… disappointed. But what do I expect? I’m like that reviewer on epicurious.com that everyone hates…you know the one- “Well I loved this recipe for scrambled eggs with herbs, but I didn’t have any eggs so I used bread and I didn’t have any herbs so I used jam, and I threw some peanut butter on there, too, for a little extra flavor. It tasted almost like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Five stars!” Yeesh. I might do this, but I’ve always prided myself on not writing stupid reviews like that. Oh wait… that is about to happen.
I kind of fell in love a little bit with this cake when I saw it on the Saveur website. So unnaturally bright pink! But when I scanned down the list of ingredients, it looked a little weird and it called for Strawberry extract, which is even weirder. Not that I’m one to turn up my nose at processed ingredients, but strawberry extract? Doesn’t sound particularly yummy. (Please note that I have absolutely no problem pouring huge amounts of food coloring in batter, just extract. I never said I was rational.) But this picture of this insanely pink cake kept coming into my life, or at least across my computer screen, and so I bit the bullet and decided to give it a try. There has to be something delicious and unexpected about it, because it’s in Saveur, right? Continue reading
Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies
It’s a rainy Sunday, and I planned on spending the day cleaning the house, doing laundry, and doing a little baking. To me, there is nothing better than a whole day with nothing to do except look through your cookbooks and then bake a few things before starting on one of those dinner favorites that you don’t usually have time for.
Of course, it complicates matters when the cold and rain conspire to keep you inside. It makes for good baking weather, but not such great grocery shopping weather. The idea of bundling up, pulling out an umbrella and then standing all damp and cranky in a check-out line with a bunch of other damp and cranky people is completely unattractive to me. So I began rummaging through my pantry and fridge, trying to find inspiration for my baking project for the afternoon. Wow, pretty well stocked. I was just starting to get impressed with myself for having such a wide range of ingredients when I got this niggling little feeling about my eggs. I made eggs for breakfast yesterday… how many had I used? Uh oh. I wouldn’t have left one egg in the carton, would I? Oh, but I did. I saw my dreams of baking all afternoon dashed. Continue reading
