All the notes from my kitchen, including the Barefoot Contessa recipe reviews, my original recipes, herbal recipes, and more.
Now that it’s February of 2022, I am doubling down on my efforts to cook more recipes out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. January was a slow baking month for me. I only made one recipe from the book, and it didn’t really turn out as I had hoped. The other recipe I made was my son’s birthday cake, which was underwhelming as well.
Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery #20 – Cappuccino Chip Muffins”
If you happened to see my post from Saturday, you’ll know that my area of the country was hit by our first major winter-storm of the season. In fact, it was the first really major storm in the last couple of years. Parts of the state I live in experienced blizzard conditions. Though we had a lot of snow at my house, we didn’t lose power, have the blizzard conditions (according to meteorologists) and overall fared pretty well. The fact that it fell on a Saturday was also nice. In the end, it basically meant I was snowed in on Saturday which gave me plenty of time to hang out in the kitchen.
I did bake, though not from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I also tried my hand at some more vegan recipes. Here a rundown of my time in the kitchen last week.
Continue reading “What I Cooked Last Weekend”
Long-time readers of the blog will remember that every now and then I get on a “plant-based kick.” As I continue to read more and more about the health, ecological, and economical benefits of removing animal-based products from one’s diet, I keep getting the urge to do so. But one of the things that would be quite difficult for me to give up would be baking and making desserts. So, I am “testing the waters” so to speak.
Continue reading “A Quick Foray into Vegan Baking”
Being good on my goal to start the pie chapter of the MB cookbook this year, I decided my first bake out of the book for the year would be a recipe from that chapter. Blueberries were on sale last week at the grocery store, so I decided to make the Blueberry Crumb Pie. “It’ll be easy!” I said to myself. “Really, how difficult could pie crust be?”
Well, it turned out to not be as easy, or as exciting as I thought.
Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery #19 – Blueberry Crumb Pie”
In the colder months, I typically like to bake bread. It’s a process that kind of lends itself to needing to be done on days when you are home more. While a lot of the time is passive, I have found that the stretches of time are not exactly long enough for me to leave the house to run errands. I also tend to stay home more in the winter months. The darkness that comes at 4:30 isn’t fun.
Continue reading “January Bread Baking”
Now that the whirlwind of the holidays has ended, I am able to focus on blogging and baking once again. As the first bake of the new year, I decided to make something out of an Ina Garten cookbook. After looking over her recipe index, I decided that a fall/winter fruit dessert would be the perfect choice. So, Pear, Apple, and Cranberry Crisp!
Continue reading “First Bake of 2022!”
2021 was a great year for me — and for the blog! This year, the blog reached over 230 posts and it received over 5000 views! I can’t thank my readers enough for supporting me and stopping by. When I started blogging I heard that it does take time for you to gain your footing and find your place online. It wasn’t until recently that I started feeling like my blog was starting to take off.
As the first full year of my blogging journey comes to a close, I thought we could look back on things over the last twelve months.
Continue reading “2021 Year in Review and 2022 Plans”
This week I only have time for a quick post. It’s not because I’m busy, but more so because I’m not really doing any baking or cooking this weekend. As you may recall, last year I made a Yule Log. But this year, I do not have the luxury of the time it takes (and to be honest, the energy or desire) to make a Yule Log.
Continue reading “Holiday Week Update and MB Recipe 18”
As I alluded to last week, I spent a good portion of my weekend in NYC. Our first stop was Brooklyn where we spent the afternoon with two other couples playing board games, consuming yummy brunch bites, and the cookies I made for the occasion.
After that, my boyfriend and I made the trek up to the Bronx so we could see the NY Botanical Gardens Train Show and NYBG GLOW event. This is something that I never knew I wanted to do…in fact, I didn’t even know the Train Show was a thing. I’ve heard about the Gardens before, but never went. Come to find out, the Train Show is kind of a big draw for New Yorkers and those of us in the suburbs alike.
Sunday was movie day. We met up with yet another couple to watch the new West Side Story movie and I highly recommend it. The movie blew me away and I have no complaints. Afterwards, the four of us went to dinner at a restaurant near the movie theater. The food was mediocre, but the company was wonderful.
While I was driving home from the dinner, it hit me. This was the first time in nearly two years where my weekend was this busy. Everyone I had socialized with was vaccinated and boosted so we all decided we would be as safe as we could be. It was definitely nice to relive the “old times” before the modern plague. Hopefully one day, we can get back to doing this more regularly.
This week my workplace is having its annual Holiday Party. We are fortunate enough to have it catered but some of us are still bringing desserts or appetizers. Obviously, I am bringing a dessert. I decided on the original Banana Pudding recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Handbook. I realized that I haven’t made the basic version yet, just some variations on the original. Plus, this dessert is somewhat easy to make and it looks stunning when done!
Though the banana pudding does not require any true “baking,” this weekend I’ll be making and decorating sugar cookies. Pics to come!
The second dessert I made for Thanksgiving weekend was not the cake the was supposed to be made for Second Thanksgiving. The reason for the change? The frosting! However, I was able to make a quick change to the idea and get the flavor profile across that I was hoping to.
Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery 17 Chocolate Cake with Caramel Buttercream”
