Author: icookueataz

PB&J OATMEAL

Oatmeal isn’t sexy. It’s dull and mushy, and no one every food dreams about oatmeal. And yet on a cold morning, a bowl of oatmeal is kind of nice. The great thing about oatmeal is it’s a good “blank canvas.” You can put anything in oatmeal and it’ll taste like whatever you put in it. …

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LADY in WHITE COOKIES (DAME BLANCHE)

In French, they’re called “Dame Blanche,” which translates to “White Lady.” There’s an old French opera by Boieldieu, “La Dame Blanche,” which some people speculate to be the namesake, although it could be completely unrelated. I like to call them “Lady in White Cookies,” which might make you think of a bride, innocence… Because if …

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HOT/COLD: AZTEC HOT CHOCOLATE/RUBY RED “LEMONADE”

The weather’s been weird here lately. We’ve had record lows one week and then record highs the next. I couldn’t decide whether to post a hot drink or a cold one, so I did both. AZTEC HOT CHOCOLATE The drink’s a little thicker than your typical hot chocolate, although you can thin it out with …

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CHOCOLATE SEA SALT CARAMELS

I wish I could tell you the ingredients for this recipe are: kale, lemons, and water. You might be able to eke out some health benefits from the 60% cacao chocolate, but the truth is caramels are comprised of cream, butter, and sugar. That’s why they taste good. I’m sorry if you didn’t already know. …

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PROSECCO with RASPBERRIES + BITTERS

Happy New Year! Did you make any resolutions? I make a lot of them. I figure if I make only one and don’t keep it, then it’s disappointing, but if I make, say, 26 resolutions, and achieve just one, I can still say I kept one… On one hand, it’s setting me up for failure, …

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CHAMPAGNE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

People have champagne and chocolate together all the time. So why not have champagne in your chocolate? RECIPE makes 8 2 c heavy cream (divided into 1 c portions) 4 egg yolks 1/4 c sugar 2 oz champagne 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces 1. Heat 1 cup of cream on the stove until …

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META’S MACARONS (PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE)

My friend Meta, who I met at Italian language school in Siena, asked me for a macaron recipe. I’m not sure if chocolate with peppermint are her favorite, but we used to go to this cafe down the street from our school for a piece of torta cioccolato, so I know she likes chocolate. The …

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CLASSIC EGGNOG COCKTAIL

It’s sort of like tiramisu in a cup. If you want to get fancy, you can swirl chocolate inside the glasses. Prep some glasses and freeze them, so you have them on hand for your holiday party. RECIPE makes 2 drinks For the Chocolate Swirl: 2 T cocoa powder 2 T sugar 2 T water …

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ROASTED TURKEY

People do some crazy things to turkeys: deep frying them, sticking them inside ducks, sticking cans of beer, soda, or whole chickens inside them, stuffing them with Twinkies, or even microwaving them… Seriously, you should check out some of the recipes online. Some of the ideas are enticing (minus the Twinkies and microwaved options), but …

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APPLE WALNUT STUFFING

My mom is a cornbread purist. Every year, she strives to find the perfect cornbread recipe to cube up and shove inside our turkey. She’s never completely satisfied, though, and continues to search for that one recipe where the cornbread won’t crumble. If you have any ideas, please pass them along… I like to make …

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