I saw this Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding recipe on the Southern Living Website and I knew that I was making it. I am, as you know, on a bourbon and pumpkin kick right now..so I added bourbon. You can certainly leave it out..but it is SO good with it.

Soaking the pudding overnight allows the flavors to blend before baking. This was an extremely moist, flavorful bread pudding, which by the way isn’t usually one of my favorites. I am thinking a steaming plate of this …a good cognac and a fire in the fireplace would be a great end …read more

First of all, I had the coolest email. Totally unexpected; BonAppetit blog asked me to participate in their Blog Envy contest this year. Bloggers will submit their best holiday recipe and readers will vote. The top recipes will be made in the test kitchens of Bon Appetit and the prize is a trip for two to NY and dinner at Le Bernardin restaurant with Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild and the BA Foodist himself, Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton.

Would I like to win?
Uh…YEAH.

Can this recipe win?

Marc loves strawberry rhubarb pie. I like it…but it isn’t a passion for me the way it is for him. We get along well, have done for nearly 30 years and this is why. I like to cook but I don’t like to eat – he likes to eat but doesn’t like to cook.
It is, by all counts, a match made in Heaven.

He has been taking me shopping because I am still not up to my usual energy level. This is good in that it allows us some time together uninterrupted but it is bad for the same reasons I …read more

So, today is none other than National Cheesecake Day! In celebration I wanted to post yet another cheesecake.
I love doing cheesecakes. Even though people think they are really hard, and impressive–they are a cinch. Just a few tricks and tips will guarantee your success. Once you have the basic formula down you can change flavors and crust and topping to your heart’s content.

This brownie cheesecake was actually an accident. I was trying out a new chocolate cake recipe for Matt’s birthday party (7/24)  and the texture of the cake was not what I wanted..too dense to be cake, too dry …read more

By now you know about the ice cream addiction around here, right? I swear, every time I turn around I am pulling out the ice cream maker. Marc loves ice cream… the kids love ice cream..and I like playing with the flavors.
O.k..not that I don’t like to eat it, I do. But not as much as I like creating a perfect flavor. The thrill for me is in the challenge, not in the eating. I think I am like that with everything. I like the challenge of accomplishing something but after that? Meh.
This coffee ice cream was, quite possibly, the …read more

I wanted to share one of the recipes from my cookbook in case you wanted to pre-test it.  This is one of my favorites, and very unusual- blueberry white chocolate chip cookies.  I developed these because I loved the blueberry white chocolate muffins I made so much.  I kept thinking that it would make such an awesome flavor combination in the right cookie-and I was right!

These are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a buttery combination of flavors that just keep revealing themselves as you eat: lemon, white chocolate, nutmeg, blueberry…

These butter bars are a family favorite.  They are sweet, very sweet and very rich.  Most people can’t eat a lot of them, in fact many times I can only eat a bite or two.  My family thinks I haven’t trained hard enough, most of them are able to gobble down several.  Cut them small unless, like my family, your family has been in training.
This is one of the recipes from my cookie cookbook, Everything Cookies and Brownies. This is perfect for potlucks and bake sales and just when you want to do something easy.

Basically, you can add anything to …read more

I obviously have been on an ice cream kick lately.  In fact, one day last week Erin and I fired ice cream flavor ideas back and forth.  There were flavors like:

chocolate chip mocha Irish cream
caramel apple with chopped peanuts
white chocolate blueberry pecan
vanilla apple pie

Eventually you will probably see all the flavors end up here.  One of the cool things about Erin and my relationship is that we can bounce those flavor ideas off each other..Lots of fun, and if you add the rest of the kids..well we can sit around and toss flavors back and forth the way some …read more

That is an amazingly long title..but Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea Tart is harder to say than it is to make, seriously.  First of all nothing mysterious about the flavor.  I made it with a Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle tea infusion.  The flavor is absolutely amazing …I am almost at loss for words to describe it.  Almost.

Rich caramel with a vanilla midnote melting into black tea flavor on your tongue.  It is very complex, very sweet, very rich, and very good.  The filling is light and creamy, just the way a mousse should be, meltingly rich texture to compliment the flavor …read more

I am literally on my way out the door for another appointment, and will post when I get back.  I realized I never posted the recipe for Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea Tart!  So…I will be doing that this afternoon.  In the meantime..have a look at these images, and drool..

images:(c)maryeaudet 2009