August 26, 2017–Made these for a party I attended before flying to Hawaii.
Cheesecake Bars with and without Bourbon Dulce de Leche
One for the Road
August 15, 2017–In honor of Julia Child’s birthday on Tuesday, also happens to be the day I’m flying to Oslo; and the fact that I’m actually home over a weekend I decided to do a little baking.
My friend who gave me this recipe is not one to lie, but I will say she stretched the truth when saying these blondies are good. They are sinful, amazing, fantastic,… I can think of numerous ways to describe these blondies but good is not one of them.
I will definitely be making these again. A symbiotic combination of bourbon, toasted pecans and sweetened coconut flakes, and chocolate chips (semisweet, dark and milk). Next time I will probably add some bittersweet and white chocolate chips and drizzle some homemade bourbon caramel sauce on top. This would also be the perfect accompaniment for some vanilla bean and buttered pecan ice cream. So many options…
Ricotta Cheesecake Pie with Chocolate Coffee Ganache
August 14, 2016–So my travels over the past few weeks have prevented me from making any goodies. My office mates reminded me that I was not going anywhere last weekend so the expecataion was that I would bring something in today. I saw this in one of the magazines during my travels so figured it was the approiate item to make! Almond Slivers, mini-semi sweet chocolate morsels, and a crust made from graham crackers, biscotti & almonds.
Although tasty it doesn’t look very pretty so I covered the entire pie with a Chocolate Coffee Ganache. Um, yes Please!
B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
July 23, 2017–So this is ACTUALLY the last weekend I will be home for a while and since I had a few items, mainly bananas, that were going to go bad I decided to bake one more thing for the road.
The first is your traditional banana bread made with walnuts. For ease of distribution I decided to make them in mini-loaf pans.
To add a little tropical flavor I looked south…Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Colombia. Hmm, Jamaica! What makes it Jamaican? To the batter I added dark rum, toasted pecans, sweetened coconut flakes, lime zest, and lime juice. For a little extra island flavor I made a topping of brown sugar, butter, rum, pecans, and coconut flakes.
Pecan Bar
July 15, 2017–Pecan Bars-enough said!
TfO
June 30, 2016–Although I have produced sweet and savory dishes over the past few weeks, I have failed in my duties of bringing disdain and scorn to those of you not able to enjoy these creations. (-:
Attached you will find some of my recent desserts. I never include the other items I prepare because I fear I would lose friends and/or have people asking non-stop if they could visit/move in with me!
Enjoy.
June 29, 2016–Mango-Key Lime Tart: Since I still had/have mangos (one of my employees has a tree in his backyard) and I’m heading to Key West this weekend I decided to make Mango-Mint Margarita’s (not pictured) and a mango-key lime tart. I made two–one for my office, to thank the mango provider, and one for Key West. The guys who work for me have said, “You out did yourself, Sir!”, “OMG!”, etc but as I said they WORK FOR ME so there opinion is jaded.
June 25, 2016–Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes: Almost immediately upon my return to Miami I was invited to a farewell party of a friend. I won’t embarrass her but will say that we are all very proud of her as she assumes her new role as a Texas Judge! Anyway, a guy in my office has four mango trees so he has been bringing in bags of sweet mangos almost daily. I made a spicy mango-pineapple salsa (not pictured) with the mangos and lemon blueberry cupcakes topped with a cream cheese and lemon zest frosting. Once again, did not receive very positive reviews 😉
June 18, 2017–German Chocolate Brownie Cookies: During a short visit to DC to attend Jose Andres’ Dine-N-Dash event (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), I also had the opportunity to attend the monthly themed dinner at a friend’s house. June’s theme was Luau. I made Rum Glazed Spare Ribs (not pictured) and cookies. The soft German chocolate brownie cookie serves as the base for a topping of toasted coconut and pecan caramel frosting. T o make it tropical, I added a dab of crushed macadamia nuts that were mixed with lime zest, lime juice and rum. Finally, I drizzled some chocolate on top. They were not very good 🙂
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable 4th of July Weekend!
Three for One (TfO)
FRAMLY Visit
June 27-July 6, 2017–In preparation of a visit by FRAMLY (FRiends that are fAMILY) I put together a few sweets.
Raspberry Pops
Mini-Lemon Tarts
An Almond Cake to celebrate Fe and Sucrro’s Birthday!
Buttermilk Biscuits
June 8, 2017–Had a blast yesterday eating some amazing food at José Andrés’ Dine-N-Dash event. You would think that no one would be hungry but who can pass on my homemade buttermilk biscuits (thanks CIA) served with scrambled eggs and my famous spicy maple bourbon bacon.
Caprese Stuffed Mushrooms
May 19, 2017–The first time I had these caprese stuffed mushrooms was at my friend’s Mel’s house. Not sure if this is the recipe she used but I’ve adapted from this one. They can be a light appetizer or served as a main dish. They are very tasty and may even be healthy for you.
DARKNESS
May 17, 2017–If you like chocolate, and who doesn’t, I decided to hook up my friends with some ‘Darkness’ (if you’ve watched The Chappelle Show you get the reference).
The cake is made with cake flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, brown sugar, buttermilk, and espresso powder.
If that wasn’t enough chocolate it is then iced with a combination of unsweetened cocoa powder, espresso powder, heavy cream, and mascarpone cheese
Recipe adapted from Abigail Johnson Dodge
