Labor Day weekend traditionally is summer’s last hurrah, when everyone tries to scramble out of town for last-minute beach vacations, or backyard pool parties and barbecues with friends and neighbors before the weather (finally!) starts to cool down. I, myself, actually have a three day weekend, which is nearly unheard of in the restaurant industry. How am I putting this free time to good use, … Continue reading raspberry-vanilla moscato floats
DID YOU KNOW? JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH! TO CELEBRATE, AND TO BEAT THE HEAT, I’LL BE BRINGING YOU RECIPES FOR FROSTY, SWEET TREATS ALL MONTH LONG! FROM POPSICLES WITH AN UNEXPECTED INGREDIENT, TO A FROSTY LITTLE ICE CREAM CAKE, STICK AROUND CAUSE THIS MONTH’S SURE TO BE TASTY! Give me a bowl of ice cream, and I’d probably eat it. Throw in some … Continue reading national ice cream month: mini mocha ice cream cakes
Ah, the day after Valentine’s Day. If you’re very lucky, you were able to spend last night with someone you love. If you’re extra lucky and have the privilege of deciding what to share with your sweetie for breakfast, maybe some of these ideas will fit the bill? Grab your honey and hop into the kitchen to whip up some post-Valentine’s eats together — what could … Continue reading breakfast with your sweetie
Christmas is just a few days away! Are you ready?
There are some people who finish their holiday shopping by August. They’re the super planners, the people who make copious to-do lists, whose vocabulary doesn’t include the word “procrastinate”.
Then there’s another sort of person. One of those people who waits til Christmas Eve to finish their shopping. Someone who ends up rushing around at the eleventh hour in search of the perfect gift, only to be met with empty shelves at the store. Yep, I’m talking to you! What if you could quickly create the perfect gift that your friends and loved ones would absolutely adore? Good news! I’m here to save the day.
When I was a kid, my grandma lived right next door to us. Some memories of visiting my grandma include playing games of rummy at her kitchen table, watching The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, her two snorty little Pekingese dogs, classical music forever playing on the stereo, and leafing through her old copy of the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. When Christmas would come around, it meant sitting on her love seat next to the artificial Christmas tree while gazing at the Swiss Colony catalog that came in the mail every December.
Do you remember that catalog? It seems to magically appear in mailboxes every Christmas season, without fail. That catalog was seriously the best thing ever as an 8 year old. It was the closest thing to taking a tour of Willy Wonka’s factory that I’d ever have. The giant boxes filled with rows upon rows of chocolate truffles! All those cute petit fours! Super fancy cakes! Those almond-crusted cheese logs (for those weirdos without a sweet tooth)! There’s nothing like that catalog, man.
Well, Thanksgiving is over! Time for ornaments, twinkly lights, Bing Crosby Christmas music, and piles of baked goods. Why not start with this one, perfect for wintry morning breakfasts?
I don’t remember the first time I had stollen, but I think it might have come from Trader Joe’s, of all places. I was hooked immediately! Traditionally made into larger loaf shapes, these little fruit-packed German stollen buns are like a more refined version of fruitcake. All the familiar flavors are there, but instead of a sugar soaked “cake”, the fruits are jammed into soft, lightly sweet buns, sharing space with a sweet center of almond marzipan. Doesn’t that sound good to you? It sure does to me.
Continue reading “marzipan stollen buns with crunchy sugar glaze”
One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving (aside from all that stuffing!) is watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown cartoons were a huge part of my childhood, and I still love them to this day. See that picture of Snoopy and Woodstock? See how perfectly lovely that photo makes the weather look? A light breeze perhaps, scuttling dead leaves across the ground, barely overcast skies, … Continue reading charlie brown weather
Hooray, Thanksgiving is almost here!
For the most food-centric holiday around, I wanted to come up with a dish that wasn’t the usual green bean casserole or sweet potatoes with little marshmallows on top (though I do love both those dishes dearly!), but that still encompassed all the flavors and colors of Fall. I have to give props to one of my favorite Phoenix pizza joints, Federal Pizza, cause they came up with this flavor combination before I did, and I adore it!
Pie is the unanimously expected Thanksgiving dessert. The meal just doesn’t feel complete without a slice of pie at the end! I’m sure most people would argue that pumpkin is the best pie to serve at Thanksgiving, while others might think of pecan or maybe apple. In my eyes, my favorite Thanksgiving pie is mince — meat-free, please!
I have fond memories of waking up the day after Thanksgiving to grab a leftover slice of cold mince pie for breakfast. My mom never made it from scratch, it was always Sara Lee out of a box, but it was delicious to me!
Do you err on the side of safety (and your sanity) and go the frozen/store-bought pie route during the holidays? Do you consider your pie crust efforts to be a surefire recipe for disaster? If so, I’m here to help! Pull on your aprons and turn on those ovens because it’s time to make some delicious, gorgeous, impressive pies of your very own! I’ll show you how to make an ultra buttery and flaky pie crust, a sweetly spiced homemade mince pie filling, and three different finishing options — a full top crust, a lattice crust, and a pecan streusel crumb topping! Let’s get started, huh?
Happy belated Halloween! I hope you all had a fun, safe time filled with piles of candy!
The days after Halloween always usher in sort of a strange time. Now that trick-or-treating and ghosts are out of the way, it’s time for Christmas, right? Nope. There’s still a while yet. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here.
oven + apron 