Do you cook differently in August than you do for most of the other year? I do. More salads, more likely to have Banana Splits or Shortcake for dinner, more likely to eat lighter. It seems like August forces us to slow down and recognize that the year is passing and we have only a little time left to enjoy summer.
I dislike modern society. We have lost the ability to relax in a hammock in the back yard with a book, because it is too hot to do anything in the house. We don’t relax as all anymore. We have …read more

This is a moist, dense, chewy dark chocolate brownie with a smoky-spicy-sweet raspberry swirl.  I would say it is a great combination but it is more than that. It is just so good.
The chipotle makes these have a little “bite ya back” in the after taste and the smoke flavor adds an interesting layer of flavor.  It sort of deepens the chocolate and gives it an extra layer and depth of flavor.

 
If you will recall I said that I made two cakes for Ethan’s party.  The peanut butter mousse cake…and a chocolate French Silk cake.
Everything is the same on this cake except the layer over the cake is creamy, velvety, chocolate-y French Silk…

 
I love chocolate pudding.  Chocolate mousse is nice, but for pure home comfort food chocolate pudding has to be right up there on the list.
It amazes me how many people grab a box of Jell-o instant when they could so easily have the real thing. Darn Bill Cosby anyway!  If I promise to give you a no fail, super easy, incredibly fast pudding recipe will you swear, once and for all, to never touch a box of powdered toxic chemicals in chocolate flavor again? Good. I knew you would.

 
I was really surprised at how quickly this cake went together.  You can have it baked and cooling within an hour, and on the table in less than two.  The thing is, it just looks incredible and fancy and people will think that you have been working all day.  Now THAT is my kind of dessert!

 
I don’t like to use cake mixes because, for one, they use a lot of genetically modified foods in them and I just am not comfortable with that. I mean, glowing in the dark would be cool and all but I am afraid of growing an extra foot.  My mouth might not be able to handle three of them.

 
I think I inherited a passion for chocolate from my dad.  He was a chocolate freak. His favorite besides chocolate cake was Hershey’s with Almonds.  Oddly, he disliked chocolate ice cream and chocolate pudding.  Go figure!
He was such a chocolate fan that when we lived in Pennsylvania he used to buy cocoa hulls (that came from Hershey, I think) to use as mulch in his garden. The entire yard smelled like Willy Wonka’s place.  I don’t know if you can still do that but if you can…you should!  It is amazing.
To me there are few desserts I like more than …read more

One of Marc’s favorite desserts is Boston Cream Pie. He isn’t the only one. Boston Cream Pie has been a favorite dessert for many people since it was created. The Parker House Hotel says that it has served Boston cream pies since it opened in 1856.
In 1996 the Boston Cream Pie was proclaimed the official Massachusetts State Dessert.A civics class from Norton High School sponsored the bill.
So, see? Boston Cream pie is important stuff. We are not the only ones that think so.
I wanted to do something just a little daring …read more

 
This was certainly a fun challenge. Little, 2 oz bites of cheesecake on a stick, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with anything wonderful your heart could possibly desire. Some of the things I thought of (but did not necessarily have the ingredients for) are

If you will recall, Chef Kyrie and I had picked up the Ratatouille Cookbook a few weeks ago and just had not had a chance to make anything from it. Well, until now. We gathered our forces:

(Those are my youngest three children;Sean 9, Nick7, and Kyrie4..and my grandchildren Amanda 6 and Gabe 4. Lots of help as you can imagine.)