No Shortcuts Anymore

Posted on December 21, 2005 - Filed Under lessons | 1 Comment

I confess.
I bought a bag of that granulated brown sugar (Domino’s calls it Brownulated, or something like that). Anyway, I used that instead of packed light brown sugar in a few recipes with varying degrees of success. But yesterday, as I blended, stirred, dropped and baked double chocolate chip cookies, I realized that the fake [...]

The Best Jelly Thumbprint Cookies Ever

Posted on December 14, 2005 - Filed Under cookies, dessert | 3 Comments

Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
jelly, jam or fruit preserves
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, brown sugar and eggs. Add vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix on low as you slowly [...]

Mounds of Cookies

Posted on December 14, 2005 - Filed Under cookies, dessert | 5 Comments

It’s almost time for me to start baking. Christmas is 11 days away and I have dozens of cookies to create. I am not the best baker, honestly, but for some reason I just love baking Christmas cookies.
Maybe it’s a sickness. I just like to see mounds of sweets piled high for the holidays. And [...]

Easter Bunny Hot Chocolate

Posted on December 13, 2005 - Filed Under dessert, drinks | 2 Comments

After forgetting the cocoa at the grocery store Thursday and getting snowed in on Friday, I was jonesing for a nice hot chocolate. Alas, we had none left. At least, we didn’t have any of the usual suspects: Nestle, Swiss Miss, etc. But I wasn’t going to be deterred by that unfortunate fact.After a bit [...]

Notes on Herbs and Spices

Posted on December 10, 2005 - Filed Under spices/herbs | 1 Comment

I am obsessed with flavor. And by flavor I mean poignant, memorable, recognizable aromas and tastes. I don’t know why, but everything I make has to “sing,” as an editor of mine always says.
I’ve noticed that there are a few things in my spice cabinet that get pulled out a lot. And it’s those spices [...]

Easy and Cheap: Beef Roll-Ups

Posted on December 1, 2005 - Filed Under beef, dinner, lunch | 1 Comment

My husband loves beef. Sirloin, filet, ground, flank, stew, tips – it doesn’t matter as long as it’s red and juicy. There was a time during our courtship where I allowed him to do the majority of the cooking. Adhering to his love, it was sirloin strip steaks all the time served in two varieties [...]

Thoughts on Meal Planning

Posted on December 1, 2005 - Filed Under meal planning | Leave a Comment

I’ve never done this before. I never thought I would do this before. I mean, how can you plan a week ahead for what you’ll want to eat on Wednesday? But truth be told, I think it’s going to positively effect our wallets and waistlines. It will also ensure that we don’t go through eight [...]