12 Jan
Maple-Oatmeal Scones
Posted by Michelle as Scones | 30 Comments
This is somewhat of an embarrassing confession. I have never eaten a scone that hasn’t originated from my kitchen. I don’t do the Starbucks thing and I don’t really frequent bakeries all that often, and when I do I’m typically more drawn to the sugary-sweet and chocolate confections, rather than breakfast-type treats. So all I know of scones I have learned from reading about them and baking them myself. Although this may seem like a narrow glipse into the world of scone goodness, I have tasted and experimented with many different types of scones – those made with cream, with butter, with buttermilk. Those that are sweet, some that are savory, some great for breakfast and some you could easily enjoy for dessert. I hadn’t made scones in a little while and after catching a glimpse of the description of Saturday’s “Barefoot Contessa” episode in my DVR and seeing Maple-Oatmeal Scones listed, I didn’t even watch the episode – I hurriedly Googled the recipe, printed it and prepared to bake!
25 Sep
Peach Crumb Bars
Posted by Michelle as Brownies and Bar Cookies | 41 Comments
My recent obsession with peaches started not long after crossing the Georgia state line en route to Florida on our vacation. My Chief Culinary Consultant mentioned how we should stop to get a slice of peach pie since we were, in fact, in Georgia (the Peach State). I think my face lit up like a Christmas tree and then that was it – I had peach pie on the brain. We never stopped for pie since we were in the middle of a 16-hour road trip, but my craving was fulfilled a couple of days later when we couldn’t stop talking about peach pie and finally went and bought peaches and made a pie. It absolutely hit the spot and was probably the best peach pie I’ve ever eaten. And so my peach spree began.
25 Aug
Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones
Posted by Michelle as Scones | 27 Comments
Ahh scones. Tender and flaky, part biscuit and part muffin, sweet or savory. Perfect for breakfast or dessert. Is there a more perfect concoction? I should think not. I fell in love with them the very first time I made Dark Chocolate Chip Scones, which was years before Brown Eyed Baker was given life. Admittedly, I haven’t made nearly enough different varieties of scones, but the ones I have made have been spectacular. In addition to being delicious, scones are also extremely versatile and unbelievably quick to pull together. One (or two, at the most) bowl, a little mixing, a knead or two, patting into place, cutting, and then into the oven they go. They are perfect for last-minute company when you only have a few moments to throw something together.
17 Aug
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares
Posted by Michelle as Brownies and Bar Cookies | 42 Comments
It’s no secret that I have a deep, passionate love for cheesecake. It’s by far one of my favorite desserts and I will try any and every variation that I can find. So when Annie asked if I’d be interested in doing a virtual bake-along with her and suggested these cheesecake squares, it took me about 2.2 seconds to eagerly agree. Not only did they involve cheesecake, but also dulce de leche and a chocolate glaze. Bonus! For those that aren’t familiar with dulce de leche, it hails from Argentina and is very similar to caramel, made by slowly heating sweetened milk. Dulce de leche is typically sold by the jar and can sometimes be hard to find in the store. I have seen it in Italian groceries near the Nutella, and in regular grocery stores in the International aisle by the Mexican or Hispanic foods. If you are unable to find it, you can substitute caramel or make your own (I have included the method with the recipe below).
31 Jul
Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 22 Comments
When I asked my Chief Culinary Consultant last week if he had any ideas for new ice cream flavors since I still had two more Fridays left for celebrating July’s National Ice Cream Month, he offered up quite a few great ones, but the one we both got excited about was spumoni. I haven’t had spumoni since I was much younger, and was excited to tackle this traditional Italian frozen dessert. Little did I know when I decided to make this that in addition to another baking project I would also be tackling a research project. There was much to learn about spumoni! I wanted to make it as authentic as possible, so I went about reading everything I could find both online and in the cookbooks I own. Spumoni, known in Italy as Spumone, is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, and containing a variety of fruits and nuts. The most traditional flavors are chocolate, pistachio and cherry with various nuts and fruit. In mine I chose to use hazelnuts with the chocolate layer, left pistachio as-is, and after reading much about the cherry layer finally settled on maraschino cherries, pineapple and almonds.
02 Jul
Stained Glass Jello – Red, White & Blue for the 4th of July
Posted by Michelle as Jello Desserts | 31 Comments
Are you still looking for that perfect something to bring to the 4th of July cookout on Saturday? Well, look no further. This Jello is fun, festive, easy to transport and eat, a sure-fire kid pleaser, and will make the adults wax nostalgic about the good ol’ days of Jello Jigglers. This impressive-looking Jello dessert couldn’t be easier to make and is a simple variation of the classic “rainbow Jello” layered dessert. You know, the one with all the colors of the rainbow with layers of white in between? I knew you’d remember 
07 Apr
Banana Cream Pie and Tips on Pie Crust
Posted by Michelle as Cream, Custard and Nut Pies | 10 Comments
If I were given this recipe and told that I had to come up with my own name for the pie, it would be Bananas Foster Cream Pie. With the exception of setting bananas on fire, the flavors in this pie are reminiscent of the classic dessert, Bananas Foster. In place of a typical vanilla pastry cream, Dorie subs out the white sugar and uses brown sugar, and adds cinnamon and nutmeg for an extra punch of earthy flavor. As I was whisking and whisking, and smelling the cream as it thickened, I couldn’t help but think that this pastry cream would be a perfect pairing for so many fall-inspired desserts – anything from apple to pumpkin, and everything in between.
04 Jan
The Best of 2008
Posted by Michelle as Favorites | 8 Comments
Although I am a couple of days behind, I wanted to do a “year in review” of the food I featured on my blog over the past year, similar to what I did for 2007. I took a lot of new leaps in the kitchen during 2008, tried many new things and conquered a number of culinary fears so it was certainly a successful year! While I enjoyed everything that I blogged, of course I have my favorites so below is a review of my “Favorites of 2008″. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year!
January 2008
Homemade Gnocchi
Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte
February 2008
Almost Fudge Gateau
Homemade Granola
Spaghetti & Meatballs
March 2008
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche
Apple Pie-Cake
Tiramisu
April 2008
Cheesecake Pops
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
May 2008
Pita Bread
Enchiladas
June 2008
Danish Braid
Pizza Dough
Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
New York-Style Crumb Cake
French Chocolate Brownies
July 2008
American Sandwich Bread
Pasta Fagioli
Blueberry Pie
August 2008
Strawberry Pretzel Squares
Croissants
Cheddar Ale Spread
Italian Bread
Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo
September 2008
Grown Up Mac and Cheese
October 2008
Buttermilk-Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake
Chili
Challah
Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
December 2008
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Dirty Risotto
27 Aug
Strawberry Pretzel Squares
Posted by Michelle as Jello Desserts | 41 Comments
Let me start off by saying that I rarely use recipes that come from Kraft Foods, mostly because it seems that almost all of them use the same bottled or prepackaged ingredients, and I really have come to respect and enjoy things that are truly homemade and from scratch. That being said, I LOVE THIS DESSERT. I started eating this sometime in high school when my aunt would bring it to any family gathering that occurred in the summer. I immediately fell in the love with the combination of salty and sweet and would have to restrain myself from eating the whole pan. In all the time that has passed, this is the first time that I have ever made this myself and having leftovers in the house = pure heaven!
07 Jul
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Posted by Michelle as Fruit Pies | 6 Comments
Everyone seems to go crazy for blueberries and strawberries around the 4th of July holiday, so it seemed like the perfect weekend to whip up a blueberry pie with one of my favorite people, Annie. Annie, by the way, appears to be superhuman – she gave birth only a little over 2 weeks ago and has been in the kitchen whipping stuff up left and right. She is definitely my hero! I have only made pies twice before and was anxious to give it another go and, more importantly, I wanted to try making a lattice top. After finally settling on a recipe, we were off to gather blueberries and assemble this beautiful pie!
More about assembling the pie and recipes after the break.
