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

O.k. I bet you are wondering why I would call this Pumpkin Pie Noir aren’t you? It isn’t just the color here. I intentionally caramelized everything so that the filling was dark and sticky and very intense pumpkin.
Now, usually when I am making a pumpkin pie I stick with the Libby’s recipe. I know, I know…in a rut..but there is just not that much that can be improved there for a traditional pumpkin pie. This time, though, I wanted something that was sultry, and smooth, and sophisticated…sort of like the Libby’s recipe wrapped up in black leather, you know?

You have …read more

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.

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

This is the cake that I had decided on for the luncheon I catered last Saturday. I wanted a recipe that would go together quickly and easily but be a delicious ending to the rest of the meal, and sort of pull all of the other flavors into it. When I need inspiration I have a couple of cookbooks I invariably turn to – Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours is one of them. I knew I would find exactly what I was looking for and I did.

I used her Double Apple Cake as the basis for my …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

Autumn has hit North Texas with all of the enthusiasm of a Golden Retriever puppy chasing a stick. We have gotten plenty of rain so the leaves are actually beginning to tint a little, the nights are sweater chilly, and the afternoon breezes carry the fresh, earthy scent of autumn. It is time for soups, stews, and slow cooking dishes; comfort food from all over the world.
Autumn is my favorite season of all. Back in the day when women were having their colors done I found that I was an autumn, with near black hair that was actually the darkest …read more

Although it is not quite slow cooker weather here, for many of you it is. Actually, I tend to use the slow cooker all year because it doesn’t heat up the kitchen and it really is a great way to cook meals.
This is so good. You can substitute a good dark ale for the wine if you like with excellent results.
Serve it with a dark rye bread, some sliced Swiss or Gouda, noodles, and you have a great meal happening.

Slow Cooker Red Cabbage and Sausage

1  head red cabbage, shredded
4 tart apples, cored and diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 …read more

Pumpkin Gnocchi is an easy pasta to make. No eggs, no fat, nothing really but pumpkin, seasonings of choice, and flour. How simple is that? And yet..the result is a faintly pumpkin-y pasta dumpling that goes with anything. Use it as a side, or a main course …and I am thinking it would be amazing added to soup.
The thing is that I have been getting behind on grocery shopping. We have pretty much had to make do with the scraps and bits left on the empty pantry shelves. In fact, the refrigerator echoed the other day. I swear it did. …read more

You know, there are some recipes that you just can’t make look good.O.k…so there are some recipes that OTHER people can make look good but I can’t. This is one of them.

Sigh, no matter how many images I take …it still..looks like…ABC food. You know, A-lready B-een  C-hewed? Yeah. So, if you are big enough to NOT judge a book by it’s cover then you will probably be treated to one of your new favorite comfort foods.