BYOG - Build Your Own Gingerbread (House or TARDIS)

The holidays are a time for traditions, and a few years ago, my roommate and I started one of my favorites:  gingerbread houses.  We grabbed a couple of the pre-baked kits from the craft store and spent an evening covered in frosting and candy and watching Christmas movies.  We've stuck with those little kits for the past couple years, and they are a great option for a beginner, but this year I wanted to take it to the next level and build the whole thing from scratch.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Sure, there were only 5 of us, so I didn't have to worry about things like a big giant turkey or whether or not we had enough booze, but there's still a lot to get done when you host Thanksgiving, so I wanted to be sure to have one thing ready to go before the big day:  the pie.

Holiday Cookies: Sparkling Molasses Chewies and Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

Whether you're attending a party, making a care package or just looking for something to snack on, you may find yourself in need of some tasty cookies this holiday season.  One of my favorite sights as a child was at the church's annual living nativity, where the snack table was often stacked high with chocolate crinkles, butter spritz cookies and italian pizzelles.

Pumpkin Hand Pies with Maple Glaze

Sorry for the hiatus folks, but don't worry, I've got plenty planned for the coming weeks.  After all, with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, 'tis the season for Holiday baking, which is my favorite kind of baking.  Cold weather flavors are deep, rich, warm and comforting, like a blanket for your mouth.  Actually, that sounds disgusting, forget that.  I need to work on my metaphors.

The Flavors of Fall

This week something magical happened:  It got cold.  Well, it got chilly.  Ok, it got slightly cooler than warm.  In L.A., the word "cold" is relative, but when I have to put away the jean shorts and tank tops, I say it's officially fall.

I might be a wimp about cold weather, but there is one very big benefit to the yearly drop in temperature:  the food.  It's not like people have to be a slave to the seasons when it comes to cooking, but there are certain flavors that just feel more appropriate when there's a crispness in the air.  Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg...they're warm and comforting and fill your home with inviting fragrance.  And it's just not the same when the temperature in your oven is the same as the temperature outside.

Lemon Bars

We're 3 days out from the official start of Fall, but, apparently, nobody gave L.A. the memo.  The sun's still blazing away out there while we puny humans huddle around our fans and air-conditioning vents in the shade of the indoors.  Well, if summer's going to overstay its welcome, then I'm going to make the most of it.  Make lemons into lemonade, if you will.  Or, in this case, lemon bars.  

5 Ingredient Nutella Mini Brownie Bites

Nutella is a dangerous thing.  Sure, it looks innocent with its cute little jar and its use of "wholesome" ingredients like skim milk, but let's not kid ourselves - this is pure chocolate-y, sugar-laden, spreadable indulgence.  And it's far too easy to keep a jar in the pantry for use on toast, fruit, pretty much anything you can get your hands on.

Green Bean Fries with Ranch Dip

Eating your veggies is hard, even when you're an adult.  Sometimes you bring home a pound of something raw, fresh, and green with the purest of intentions.  You'll steam these with some chicken stock, or maybe just blanch them and make a nice salad.  But then you get ready to make dinner and a little voice in your head says, "hey, let's make something fun and tasty and fried."  

Now, as a rule, I try not to listen to disembodied voices.  So, as I munched on crispy, salty green bean fries I thought to myself about what a stupid rule that is and how I should break it more often.

Thick & Chewy Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like many bakers, I'm constantly in search for The Perfect chocolate chip cookie.  I make batch after batch of cookie dough, varying the ingredients by degrees each time in the hopes of one day biting into a fresh cookie and knowing - this is The One.  I'm starting to think that day may never come.  I'm also starting to think that might not be a bad thing.  It just means I'll never stop making chocolate chip cookies.

Baking Bad

The Cook

Sometimes, I'm really reminded of how awesome it is to live in L.A.  Sure, it's expensive and smoggy, and you can't go to a Starbucks without hearing some douchebag broadcasting his conversation to the whole room as he takes a "business call".  But it's also a city of perfect weather, with nearly every landscape you can imagine a short drive away.  It's filled with great food and plenty of culture.  Especially pop culture, which, not gonna lie, is my favorite kind. 

"Fish Fingers" and Custard

For those of you familiar with Doctor Who, this dish requires little explanation.  For those of you who aren't, here's a crash course the good Doctor and the origin of "fish fingers and custard".

Fig and Strawberry Ricotta Tart

Another Saturday, another trip to the farmer's market, and another new inspirational ingredient.  Figs are in season, folks.  And I made sure to snatch up a few along with my usual fruits and veggies.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them,  but after the recent and very rich S'mores Pie,  I knew I wanted something light and fresh.

S'mores Pie

Some desserts are so universally good, you feel like they could probably make you 100 new friends, end decades-long feuds and generally make the world a little better if only everybody could have some.  This is one of those desserts.  S'mores Pie.  Who doesn't like S'mores?  Nobody.  Nobody is the answer to that question.  Even people who think they don't like S'mores are probably just mistaken.  They'll figure it out one day, and then they'll look back at their old, S'mores-hating self and laugh at how wrong they were.

Simple Roast Chicken and Homemade Chicken Stock

Don't let it intimidate you.

Roasting a whole chicken probably seems like overkill when you're cooking for one (sometimes two, but my roommate's eating schedule doesn't always match up with my own).  But one whole chicken and a free afternoon can yield a week's worth of future meals if you use it right.  And, the best part is, it's really not that difficult. 

Green Monster Smoothie

My parents are visiting me for a couple days on their way back from a trip to Alaska.  Last night, we were catching up and making plans to meet this morning after breakfast, when I mentioned one of my favorite breakfasts these days - smoothies, or more specifically, spinach smoothies.  My mother made a face that I'm pretty sure I made myself the first time I heard about these popular "Green Monster" smoothies.

Peachy Keen Kuchen

Growing up in Texas, it's kind of a given that I'd be a fan of peaches.  I can remember family road trips out to Texas Hill Country each summer for our church's annual 4th of July retreat.  My parents would always stop and pick up some peaches from one of the many roadside stands.  My dad would slice up the fruit and hand it out as we continued on our way.  They were always juicy and delicious, but I have to admit, I didn't get what the big deal was.  It wasn't until I moved away that I realized just how good I had it.

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Whipped Cream

Pie is one of my favorite desserts.  It's pretty even when it's messy, it's so versatile that it can be a meal or a dessert, and it's comforting.  For most people, it brings to mind family gatherings and holidays - Christmases and Thanksgivings with Pumpkin, Pecan or Apple all laid out on a table like a pie buffet.

Father's Day French Toast

Most Father's Day recipes are probably dedicated to "manly" foods.  Beef!  Pork!  Potatoes!  But, when it comes to my own father and food, I think of one thing: Breakfast.

Louisiana Lemon Cake and Pluot "Blood" Sauce

Instead of writing a first post about how hard first posts are, I'm just going to jump right in as though I've been updating this blog for a while.

Today is Sunday, which is the Day of Rest to many,  but is also known to my own group of friends as the Day of Quality Television.  We typically get together on Sunday evenings, before the start of a new work week, and gather around the idiot box for one or two of our favorite shows.  Tonight sees the finale of perhaps the best season of Mad Men the show has given us, while, sadly, last week marked the end of the second season of Game of Thrones.  Luckily, when one door closes, a creepy basement hatch flies open, and tonight we get to indulge in the premiere of one of our favorite guilty pleasures: True Blood.