So the book signing on Saturday was a total blast. Several friends came in to town and stayed and I was so blessed. First of all it felt weird to walk into Barnes and Noble and see a sign with my name on it. A table that was for ME to sit at.

As you know, Kelly from Evil Shenanigans was my baking slave on Friday. We made enough cookies that I took some home. I wanted to have something there that said..”Hey this cookbook is awesome, just taste this!” So, with that in mind we made sugar cookies, chai chocolate snowballs, and snickerdoodles. Someone did decide to buy the book on the basis of one bite of the chai chocolate snowballs- Just sayin’. Read More – The Book Signing Party

The book signing was a blast. I will post about it soon. I did want to get the blogsurfing post up so you guys knew that I didn’t forget. This being Christmas week and all this post is gonna be a little hurried and rushed.

BittersweetFlourless Chocolate Chili Cake with Salted Caramel Gelato
Chocolate Salami
Layered Party Dip
Toasted Pecan Eggnog Ring
White Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Toffee Slice
Mini Snowball Cupcakes
Viennese Striesel
Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti
Butterscotch Cornflake Candy (addictive!)

image: Evil Shenanigans, used with permission

So…today is my book signing. I am gonna get on here and do the Saturday surfing this evening but I wanted to tell you about how cool Kelly from Evil Shenanigans really is…
First of all, she doesn’t live too far from me and we get together, although not nearly enough. When I was telling her I wanted to do cookies for the book signing she offered to become my cooking slave. Seriously. Those were her exact words. I would prefer oompa loompas but Kelly is a little too tall..she sings great though.

I was trying for lava cakes, got distracted and ended up with moist and yummy cakes that I drenched in a praline type sauce. One more time, repeat after me…. It isn’t how you start it is how you finish!

The cake doesn’t really soak up the sauce… it is more like the sauce swathes the cake in a rich, sticky blanket of yumminess. Between the hot sauce, the crunchy pecans, and the velvety cake you have a major  convention of flavor and texture going on in your mouth.

Have you seen iVillage’s new Food channel? Check it out at iVillage Food. They sent me this  news release and it sounds pretty sweet!
From iVillage:
We’ve got recipes for every occasion imaginable. In celebration of our Food re-launch, we are having an iVillage Recipe Contest on Facebook.
Submit a quick and easy recipe for a chance to win up to $1,000 in groceries! The contest begins now and ends January 17th, 2010. A panel of qualified judges will select three (3) finalists based on the following judging criteria:
• Originality (25%)
• Creativity (50%)
• Length of time in which it takes to prepare and …read more

Not only is this a mouthful to say it is a hearty, warm, filling soup. Perfect for this time of year and just different enough to demand attention. Please excuse the images of late. We have had dreary days and it has been difficult to take good pictures.

I know I haven’t done sneak previews in awhile. Some of that is that things got crazy and I couldn’t even keep up with my regular stuff. It has also been very rainy and gray…which means that my pictures are  more difficult to get.

But…here it is and I am giving it another try. I like letting you know what is coming up and I like being able to keep track of what I am supposed to be posting. So, here goes in no particular order -

Guinness Chipotle Cheese and Broccoli Soup
Mini Chocolate Cakes with Pecan Praline Sauce
Peanut Brittle
A Review of …read more

I am so unprepared this year it is awful! I don’t know about you but Christmas has sped toward me like a train on an icy downhill slope. I have exactly three items bought for Christmas and not one menu item planned and my checkbook looks similar to a black hole. It is a good thing I believe in Christmas Miracles AND Christmas Magic!
And this right here is one of the numerous reasons I will not give up, give in, or give out to a lousy attitude, empty wallet, or pure D. exhaustion. This is my almost 9  month old …read more

I never liked domestic beers too much. In fact, I don’t drink often and when I do it is more likely to be wine than beer. But if I am going to use a beer for cooking (with the occasional sip) it will more than likely be a Guinness Stout. Guinness has a sharp, sour taste that is reminiscent of granny smith apples followed by a smoky finish. So, when I was contemplating a Chicken Normandy last week I decided to see what would happen if the Stout was used rather than the fruity white wine I would normally use.

I …read more

O.k. y’all. December 8 was National Brownie day and I was not going to let that get by without taking a few minutes to scarf down allow my family the enjoyment of warm, chewy brownies. Right?

I like sticky brownies not cakey ones. They have to be intensely chocolate. They have to cause your tastebuds to jumping around and screaming for milk or coffee. They absolutely have to be worth eating. Seriously!