Easy artichoke dip of artichoke hearts and manchego cheese for any casual party. Bonus: make it in 10 minutes! It's all about tapas this week on #SundaySupper. Tapas are appetizers, finger food, or small plates that are shared, all perfect for watching football or just gathering with friends. Many thanks to Constance at the Foodie Army Wife for hosting us this week. I could have gone all complicated with something tasty but requiring 10,000 steps, but in the interest of simplifying my ...
Chocolatey Chocolate Brownies
Decadently rich brownies from Alice Medrich with a little warming spice. I know. You're totally done with dessert. Chocolate is history. Sugar is packed away. You're actually craving some winter kale sautéed in miso with raisins. But, I've got this fantastic little recipe, actually one of Alice Medrich's of chocolate fame, that you can just tuck away until, say, Valentine's Day. I didn't change it much, but if you've got the recipe in one of your cookbooks, I have made some changes to the ...
Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
#Secret Recipe Club: Slightly chewy, old-fashioned peanut butter cookies, with chocolate chips. This is my first month to post with the Secret Recipe Club, and I'm really excited. But there was a little bump in the road on my way to this post. I came home one evening a couple of weeks ago, checked email and Facebook before heading to bed (please tell me I'm not the only person here who does that), and noticed a cascade of emails from the SRC group chirping about their posts that had ...
Meaty Roasted Tomato Sauce
Thick tomato sauce that combines heirlooms and balsamic roasted tomatoes for a meaty flavor. One of things I think about when all the heirlooms show up at the market is making homemade tomato sauce. I don't eat beef much more than once or twice a year, but I grew up loving a tomato chunky, meaty sauce for pasta. I've had to experiment a bit to get a tomato sauce that can match it. I won't kid you that this is exactly the same as a meaty tomato sauce, but it's a kick-butt serious tomato ...
My Best Blueberry Coffee Cake
High Altitude Baking: Fabulous lightened version of my best blueberry coffee cake, made fluffy with egg whites. I had a ton of blueberries this week, and ate them every morning with some cantaloupe sprinkled with lime juice and mint. Sometimes with a mound of yogurt, sometime not. Very healthy. Very virtuous. Very delicious. But then I started thinking about blueberry coffee cake. By Wednesday, fluffy, streusel-crusted coffee cakes filled with blueberries were all I could think about. ...
Lemon Coconut Shortbread Bars
Easy dessert of lemon coconut shortbread bars for a casual nibble or throw in the picnic basket. Yes, I know I promised another recipe for my Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes next. But I've been thinking about posting desserts on Fridays, and here we are at Friday already. I swear yesterday was Monday, but somehow I slammed through TuesdayWednesdayThursday in the time it takes to make an omelet. When I was in school, Friday was dessert day. It was one of the only days we weren't on a strict ...
Bizcochito Cookies
New Mexico favorite Cinco de Mayo cookie: anise flavored shortbread cookie spiked with brandy. Does your state have an official state cookie? As someone whose first word was cookie, according to my mom, I think my state should have one. The bizcochito, also spelled biscochito, is New Mexico’s official state cookie and is a traditional favorite there for Cinco de Mayo celebrations. This cookie isn’t well-known outside of New Mexico, it's true, but the recipe has been around for a few ...
Chocolate Coconut Truffles & Jam: #SundaySupper
Decadent chocolate truffles with super creamy centers of chocolate-coconut-strawberry jam ganache. It's time for another SundaySupper and it's all about Valentine's Day. I went traditional with chocolate, how could I not? And I settled on truffles. It's been way too long since I've made them. Truffles are show-stoppers. Decadent, hard chocolate shells protecting luxuriant, silky centers. When I was in school, I was lucky enough to attend a few of Alice Medrich's chocolate classes when ...
{High-Altitude} Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies
With butter switched out for coconut oil, and sugar sidelined for honey and pomegranate syrup, these cookies are loaded with oats and pure goodness. My husband thinks we have way. too. many. leftovers in the refrigerator. What he sees as a scrap that should be tossed, I see as a paint to play with on my artist's palette. I'll admit our refrigerator gets pretty crowded with containers of things I have no idea how I'll use, but I love the rush of creativity as I pull them together into a ...
Granola Bars: #SundaySupper
Easy granola bars of oats, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, peanut butter, coconut oil, honey and pomegranate molasses. I've been trying for awhile now to make granola bars, and these might be the easiest ones I've ever made. I don't know about you, but I find that the biggest challenge in making granola bars is getting them to stick together without loading up on syrups or fats that act as the glue. I've been reading some disturbing articles lately on the effects of sugar, and am determined ...
Boozy Pumpkin Bread
Moist, old-fashioned pumpkin bread loaded with spices and topped with a sugar crust. Welcome to my new blog home!! I'm very excited about it, and hope you enjoy the new digs. I'm still re-orienting a bunch of the photos and getting all my recipes integrated into recipage, so please be patient with me while I get this done in the evenings (in between gift wrapping, holiday get-togethers, and life). Meanwhile, I want to do a big, huge thank you to Julie Grice of Savvy Blog Services who did ...
Spicy Harissa: #SundaySupper
Harissa is a spicy, North African condiment made from chiles, served with couscous, potatoes, soups and stews. This week at #SundaySupper, we're sharing our Gifts From the Kitchen with you. If you're wondering what gift to bring to a holiday dinner, or to a holiday gift exchange with friends and family, nothing is more personal and savored than something from your kitchen. This week I'm bringing harissa. Even the name sounds exotic, like a belly dancer sheathed in ...