You have to love the color of cranberries. They add vibrancy to any table, holiday or otherwise. And the tangy flavor is perfect with the heavier meals we eat in the fall and winter. I wanted a crisp that was purely cranberry yet not too tart. I didn’t want apple or pear or anything else with it…just pure cranberry flavor bursting open in every bite.
I put a layer of streusel on the bottom as well as on the top for added texture and sweetness. I really like the result.

This is a great, comfort food type dessert but would also work …read more

You know, my rule of thumb is that seasonal ingredients go together. Some ingredients span seasons but most of them are spring-summer/fall-winter oriented. So I don’t usually try to mix watermelon with cranberries. You know what I mean?
Bourbon is, to me, a winter ingredient. I say ingredient because I don’t drink hardly at all..and rarely hard liquor. Strawberries are spring and summer…the two should not mix….except…

Except this worked. I was amazed. The flavors just all blended into a mass of incredible. This went way beyond

Mmm…pumpkin recipes…are you looking for moist? How about earthy-spicy? How about something to make your house smell like the Yankee Candle Company? How about if I throw in easy as well?
Yeah. You want this cake.

Now that you know how easy it is to roast your own pumpkin you can create magic in the kitchen with this recipe.  And…did you know…Pumpkin and vanilla are supposed to be very…VERY attractive scents to men…you must keep that in mind and use this recipe responsibly.

These pumpkin muffins were awesome..there is just no other way to describe them. The pumpkin and browned butter worked together to add a beautiful color and an amazingly rich flavor. The ingredients list is long but it is easy to put together.

These are perfect for a breakfast, brunch, or snack. Moist, dense and spicy; pumpkin muffins are autumn in a hand-held package.
Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK on Baking Delights! If you ever wondered:

Any time you see the term “bonne femme” in a dish it will be something very comforting, thrifty, and wonderful. Loosely translated it means “good wife”.
Poulet au Bonne Femme was a recipe long before Julia Child wrote her amazing version. I think that we can get stuck in a recipe rut, afraid to deviate from what someone else has done. I hear from women all the time who feel that there is some insurmountable difference between a “foodie” and themselves.
I used to tell people that the only real difference between a chocolate pudding and a chocolate mousse is that you …read more

One of my favorite snacks or sides is homemade onion rings. I can’t stand the way they do it in the fast food industry …I want mine delicately flavored, light, crispy, and perfect.
Is that too much to ask? I think not. Check it out -

The batter is so light it just adds a little crunch… The flavor of the onions is delicate and perfect. I have served this numerous ways but my favorite? Powdered sugar. Yep. Seriously. They are that delicate and perfect.

Blueberries have always been one of my favorite fruits. There is something about them that draws me. I love the color, the flavor and everything else about them.
I love blueberries.
I wanted to make blueberry muffins but I wanted something a little different that just blueberries. I couldn’t think of a compelling flavor combination and I happened to set the blueberries down next to a bowl of limes.
Well maybe the flavor didn’t strike me as having the potential to be amazing but the color combination of the deep blue and vivid green did. I decided it would be blueberry lime muffins.

They …read more

October seemed to hit and bring autumn with it all in a rush, didn’t it? The Crimson Maple out front has a tiny blush to the leaves and we have gotten massive amounts of rain. The raccoons wake me up nearly every night with all of their partying in the creek bed. I think it is time to put the flannel sheets on the beds!

The salad that I did for the church luncheon on Saturday was full of fall flavor. I used a bed of baby lettuces and arranged maple caramelized pear slices on one side and two wedges of …read more

Slow cooker beef recipes are a big part of our autumn days around here. Beef is a favorite with all of us and the crockpot makes it easy to come up with yumminess without even trying, really. I mean, how do people do Sundays without a slow cooker?
This beef recipe will remind you of the French countryside even if you have never been there. Red wine, sliced orange, sliced lemon,  mushrooms and a long cooking time make this meat fall apart, buttery tender with an aroma that may have you neighbors’ knocking at your door. You better close the windows.

I …read more

Tex-Mex recipes, if you have lived on another planet most of your life, are the fusion between true Mexican cuisine and what the cowboys ate. It is not at all Mexican food and should not be confused with it. Mexican food is complex with layers of flavor while Tex-Mex is more upfront, in your face, and simple.
It’s the difference between eating at Frontera Grill and Don Pablos.

If you are thinking that that looks like some pretty good nachos – think again. That is one of the diet staples of the Audet household…none other than Tex-Mex Hash. The hardest thing about …read more