Category: Desserts

Fun with Florida

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How many of you guessed our Florida dessert for this week? I mean it was probably one of our easiest choices yet, with the only surprise coming from how easy it was to make. Are you ready….of course you’re ready – Key Lime Pie!

We adapted this recipe from Cooking Light simply because when you consume this many desserts in one week you have no other choice. We also chose an almond pie crust in place of the graham cracker crust thanks to some of the  kitchen tips Mandy posted over at The Complete Cook Book. It turns out the almond pie crust is much healthier than the graham cracker crust, and it holds up better at cold temperatures. Thanks for the tips Mandy! Continue reading →

A Sweet End to Our Anniversary Meal

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I wanted to make something special for our anniversary dessert. I mean how else can you follow Champagne Risotto. Then when I came across a recipe for Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Bars in the July 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine, I knew I had a winner. Plus I still had bags upon bags of cherries that I had bought when I freaked out that they were going out of stock.

I’ve adapted the recipe quite a bit. For starters, after reading the recipe, the crust sounded an awful lot like a shortbread bar crust. That being the case, I knew I had to use the crust from my new addiction.

Continue reading →

Quest for the Best Banana Bread Numero Cuatro

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A few months back we started our quest for the best banana bread. In large part it was due to this recipe. Several years ago when we lived in Minnesota, a good friend brought over her banana bread. At the time it had been years since I had actually had any banana bread. I knew I liked banana bread, but since making it with my dad I had never really been wowed by it. That is until I took a bite of Doree’s banana bread. I was hooked – we were all hooked.

I kept telling Doree that she should sell this stuff to the local coffee shops. It is that good. Throughout our years in Minnesota Doree kept us supplied with this wonderful treat (It came in particularly handy when I was pregnant with Miss A!). After several months away from Minnesota and in our new hometown, I began craving this bread. I was so honored when Doree shared this recipe with us and so excited when it turned out just as good as her’s.

Doree’s banana bread is loaded with bananas, four or five to be exact. We combined the bananas with the other wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat them together. The wet ingredients include eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Continue reading →

A Pineapple Treat for the Dads

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I know this is a few days late, but last night was a special night for Mr. N and I. We went to a local cooking school for a “cook with your kid” night. And let me tell you, this wasn’t the typical cook with your kid’s class. No chicken nuggets or pizzas at this school. In fact, we made baby back ribs (using a very similar rub that dad did on Father’s Day), homemade corn bread, Caesar salad with homemade croutons and a semi freddo. It was phenomenal! Mr. N is already talking about how we have to make the semi freddo for the blog, so I think there’s a good chance we’ll be sharing that one soon!

In the meantime, we’ll get back to Father’s Day. After all of that work dad put in on the ribs, the kids and I wanted to make something special for him. We chose a Pineapple Ice Cream treat that dad had pulled from a Cooking Light magazine back in March 2011. We thought it would be a good complement to the ribs (well, ok, I thought that) and what a better time to make it than dad’s special day.

We started with about 2 cups of chopped pineapple, placed the chunks on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkled them with brown sugar. Continue reading →

Cherry-Oh So Good

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If you’re a regular reader, you knew this was coming. We can’t wrap-up Michigan cuisine without a dessert, and this one again puts cherries center stage.

The recipe is a simple fruit crisp that my friend Beth sent me years ago. It is easily adapted for a variety of fruits. In fact, until today we had only ever made it with raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. So if it sounds like something you’ll enjoy – feel free to be inventive. As for us, we’re still sampling the tastes of Michigan, so we chose cherries, obviously, and apricots because we had some needing a home.

Quick side note here: We used up our cherries the other day, so I need to run out for a fresh batch. And I swear this has happened nearly every time I need a specific ingredient for a recipe we’re working on, the first store I went to (the one I can usually count on for everything) didn’t have any in stock. They did, however, have the two items that I couldn’t find the last time. Ugh. So it was a multiple store run again. At least this time it was only 2 stores…a few other times this same scenario has resulted in 3 or 4 stores. Am I the only one this happens to – or is this a common phenomenon? Continue reading →

A Special Recipe for a Special Day

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This weekend we celebrated Mr. N’s birthday. I can’t believe my little baby boy is now seven years old! Where does the time go? We had a wonderful weekend full of birthday activities – a party, a trip to the zoo, a big dinner and lots of play time. Tonight, since it’s Mr. N’s special day, we let him choose our meal and his dessert. We’ll share all the deliciousness with you over the next few days, but since it is a celebration, we thought we’d start with dessert.

Every year for the past four years, Mr. N has requested a blackberry cobbler for his birthday dessert. But this isn’t just any blackberry cobbler, it’s my Grandma’s Blackberry Cobbler. This has been my all-time favorite dessert since I was running around in pig-tails and it’s been the family favorite for at least four generations!

I still remember the first time I tried to make this dish. I baked it for my dad – and it was awful. He tried to choke it down, but it was honestly so bad that he couldn’t finish his bowl (and that’s saying something!). Then I found a raspberry tart recipe and it came close to replicating Grandma’s cobbler, but it was still off. So when I was expecting Mr. N I asked my grandma if I could come for the weekend to learn her cobbler recipe. Like most good cooks, she doesn’t have a recipe or measurements written down; and this was one dessert I needed to know how to make and share with my growing family. I’ve made several cobblers since that weekend and if Mr. N and my dad are any indication – I’ve gotten this thing down pretty good. Thanks Grandma! Continue reading →