I told you when I made the Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes earlier this week that I had something fun and spiked up my sleeve for the end of the week. No better day than Friday (happy hour at home, anyone?) to share this milkshake with you. Most milkshakes are reserved for summertime consumption (except, of course, the Shamrock Shake, which makes an appearance prior to St. Patrick’s Day), but when you include ingredients that are guaranteed to warm you up, I say winter is the perfect time for indulging. A week or so ago my Chief Culinary Consultant found a book that lost its home during his recent move and asked if I wanted to check it out for potential recipes. The book was full of hard milkshakes, mixed drinks, and all sorts of fun concoctions. There was a set of White Russian milkshakes, with four variations for each season. Seeing how this is winter, after all, I thought it would be more than appropriate to whip up the winter version. It’s delicious, and it will certainly keep you warm, whew!
Continue reading ‘White Russian Winter Milkshake’
The soup parade continues! I’ve kept up with my New Year’s resolution of making a new pot of soup every week, and up until now they’ve all been fairly healthy varieties – Chicken Noodle Soup, New England Clam Chowder, and Minestrone. So you had to figure that it was only a matter of time before I laid something a little heavier at your feet. For the most part, I have gotten away from eating very heavy or cream-laden soups since much of the beauty I find in eating soup is that it’s a pretty light meal and doesn’t leave you feeling weighed down. That being said, sometimes a bowl of creamy decadence can be just what the doctor ordered, especially during a cold and blustery day in the winter. And this creamy potato cheese soup will certainly fit the bill.
Continue reading ‘Cheddar and Ale Soup with Potato & Bacon’
Nothing says fun quite like turning one of your favorite drinks into cupcakes. So far I’ve introduced you to Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Limoncello Cupcakes, and Margarita Cupcakes. This time I decided to leave the alcohol behind (for a couple of days anyway, stay tuned for a fun treat later this week!) and create a cupcake tribute to one of my favorite sodas as a kid. I mentioned yesterday when talking about the Fig Bars that my parents didn’t routinely keep sweets or pop in the house while we were growing up, so we really only got them when it was a special occasion (birthday party/sleepover) or we were eating away from home. I always remember getting a Cherry Coke when we’d find ourselves at Eat n’ Park grabbing dinner. I don’t know why I associate my Cherry Coke consumption with that particular restaurant, but I don’t remember having it anywhere else. Needless to say, when I saw this rendition of a childhood favorite in cupcake form I knew they would be gracing my kitchen before long.
Continue reading ‘Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes’
When I was a kid my parents were pretty strict about not keeping “junk food” in the house. We never had things like potato chips, packaged cookies, or pop readily available to us. They were all reserved for a treat – a birthday party, eating out, sleepovers, etc. The only snack I remember being in the house pretty much all the time was pretzels, but forget it when it came to anything else. It wasn’t really until high school that I started trying different types of packaged cookies, and through four years of hanging out at friends’ houses, weekend retreats, and bus trips, I emerged with three loves: soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, pink-iced animal cookies, and Fig Newtons. Only one still tugs at my heart strings today – my beloved Fig Newtons. I can do without any other store-bought treat, but any time I see those in the store I immediately want to buy a box and then sit down and eat the entire thing. It’s the one treat that I never thought could be properly replicated at home. I really should know better. You can make anything homemade. And it’s guaranteed to taste a thousand times better than what you buy in the store. All hail Fig Bars!
Continue reading ‘Fig Cookie Bars’
