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Versatile Chocolate Cake
Just a quick update to add pictures of the Birthday/St. Patrick’s Day cake I made for my Mother-In-Law’s belated birthday party. She loves this chocolate cake, but my 5 year old wanted a green cake. So – we compromised. A four-layer chocolate cake with milk chocolate ganache filling, frosted with green vanilla buttercream and decorated with green M&M’s. I definitely prefer the chocolate frosting over the vanilla frosting, but this was still yummy. Recipe and more details to follow.
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“Homemade” Honey
Ok, ok. This is the second blog post in a row that isn’t a real recipe. But I just had to share our newest kitchen creation – our very first honey harvest! Those of you that know me well have probably been subject to one of my beekeeping rants in the past year or so. From the swarms to the missing queens to the urgent need for more honey supers, I now know way more that I ever thought any one person should know about bees.…
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Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes
I’m back! I know, I haven’t really been gone all that long, but it sure feels like ages since I’ve blogged. November and December are just super busy months for me. I know most of it is self-induced – if I could somehow just let things be less than perfectly planned for once, if I could just go with the flow and ignore my messy kitchen or the piling laundry for an evening…if I could just go to bed before midnight – I’m sure I would…
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Tunnel of Fudge Cake
I think I’ve met my chocolate match. As you probably know by now, I am a definite chocolate fan. I prefer the chocolate version of almost everything (except ice-cream – that has to be vanilla or mint) and I will never, ever turn down a piece of good chocolate cake. But this cake? I got two bites in and I needed some milk. It’s so rich, dense and over-the-top chocolatey that even I couldn’t go all-in. Not to worry, a glass of cold milk and I was…
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Homemade Ricotta Cheese
My youngest brother is getting married in the spring. In preparation for the Groom’s family duties, my Mom, sisters and I are beginning the process of scoping out locations for their rehearsal dinner. Last night, while pouring over menus, venues and prices, I came across my favorite Italian restaurant, Lidia’s. I love that place. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients – from their bread to their pasta to their marinara and ricotta cheese…and that’s exactly the reason their food tastes so much better.…
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Ham & Cheese Sliders
This quick and easy party food has become one of my most-requested dishes lately. Which is completely fine by me, because there’s nothing better than a party food that goes together in no time, makes virtually no mess and can be made in advance. And, they’re fabulous. This picture does not do these sandwiches justice because I had to photograph them before they were finished so I wasn’t taking pictures of my food during the party=). They are gooey, melty, buttery little bites of yumminess. …
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Pumpkin Crumb Cake: A Throwback
Hi everyone! Starting today (!) I am going to use Thursdays to bring back some of my favorites from the archives from Lemon Sugar. This Pumpkin Crumb Cake is still a favorite of ours, and I haven’t tweaked the recipe a bit. Do yourself a favor and make this, STAT! Enjoy! ♥ So yeah, this is another pumpkin cake. And yeah, I thought I had sworn off pumpkin recipes for at least a week or two, but as it turns out I was pretty…
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Mushroom Marsala
I’ve talked about my obsession with pasta before…I don’t think I’ve ever met a pasta I didn’t like. When I make it at home though, we usually stick to the Mac & Cheese or Spaghetti variety so I thought it was time to branch out. Giada made this Mushroom Marsala with Artichokes on one of her cooking shows last week and for some reason, it called out to me. Strange, because I usually don’t care for mushrooms at all. Nonetheless, I bought all of the…
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Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake
Helloooooo! Happy fall! Ok, I know it’s not “technically” fall yet, but it was so beautifully autumn-like today that I think it’s time to take the leap. It’s time to close up the pool, plant mums and start buying cans of pumpkin by the case. I usually try to wait until after my birthday (in mid-September) before I whip out the pumpkin recipes, but the chill in the air this morning just put me in the mood! This felt like a perfect transition recipe…
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American Kitchen Stories
There’s just something magical about the kitchen. Since following GE Appliances‘ Our American Kitchen stories, I’ve been really aware of how important the kitchen is in the American family life. Just tonight, my extended family (all 20 of us) were jammed into my parent’s kitchen for Sunday dinner. This morning, my girls woke me up begging for our Sunday morning waffle breakfast. Last night, my girlfriends and I gathered in a friend’s new kitchen over appetizers and cocktails.
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Easy Cherry Turnovers
Ok, you caught me. As you know, I’m usually a pretty big advocate for home cooking with organic and non-processed ingredients. But sometimes, I make exceptions. I know, you can buy these in a convenient little box, straight from your grocery store. You can assemble, bake and eat them in under 30 minutes, but my version is just a little bit better.
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Stout Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
As a food blogger, I feel like – when it comes to all things culinary – I’m pretty much up to date with all of the trends. I spend a lot of time browsing food blogs, foodie websites, and have more food magazines in my mailbox every month than anything else. So, when I saw {this post} from I Am Baker a several months ago, I was completely stunned. It was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that???” moments. I’ve been putting roses on…