Moroccan Spiced Beef with Herb Parmesan Dumplings

Sometimes, delicious meal ideas begin with the age old question of 'what's for dinner?'  And, so, I asked this of Brian a couple of weekends ago.  This is normally a fruitless exercise because he'll tell me that whatever I choose is fine.  But, every once in a while, he'll throw out an idea which leads me to another idea and something tasty may result.  That sounds a little convoluted, doesn't it?  How do you decide what to make for dinner? 

Fudgy Peanut Butter Brownies

I have to admit that I'm not the world's biggest fan of brownies, although Brian certainly is.  I am, however, a leading contender for biggest peanut butter fan.  So maybe combining the two would make us both happy.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I was so tempted to call these Pretty Perfect Pumpkin Whoopie Pies because...they really are!  Although I'd heard of them, I never actually ate one until the first time Brian and I vacationed in Maine.  When we checked into our cottage, two of these soft, pillowy, marshmallowy treats were waiting for us with a welcome note.  I knew they were considered a New England tradition and they seem to be most closely associated with Maine.  Certainly we found them in pretty much every bakery and provisions store we visited whereas I'd never seen one in New York.

Reese's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Crust Pie

The last time I got together with my friends from the Holiday Food Party Bloggers, we were baking up patriotic treats for the the 4th of July.  I don't know where the past four months have disappeared but I'm excited to be reuniting with them to make Halloween goodies.  Our group always knew we couldn't pass up such a fun, sweets intensive holiday and we've been brainstorming for a while now.

Life in the Big City - A Little Fall Housekeeping

When you were a kid, did you ever press leaves between paper to preserve them?  I haven't done that in years but, looking at all the pretty leaves lately makes me want to save them.  When we strolled through the park yesterday I found myself picking up some nice ones that had kept their shapes.  In fact a few years ago, Brian and I took an autumn vacation in Vermont and an absolutely perfect leaf somehow ended up in our car.  It was so lovely that we left it there and it lived in the back seat for a couple of years.  I used to love looking at it.

Red Wine and Herb Beef Stew

Chilly evenings, big bowl of warm stew.  You don't need any explanations for that, right?  Sure enough, first sign of cooler weather and I'm buying stew meat.  But I was also craving some of the flavors in my Pot Roast a la Giada with its sweet red wine notes and fragrant herbs.  So I just updated my long-time, tried and true stew recipe to include those flavors.  One pot, inexpensive but with all those rich, earthy flavors.  Now this stew is in regular rotation until spring.  Enjoy!

Apple Dumplings with Salted Caramel Sauce

For years I've seen apple dumplings for sale at local bakeries and they just didn't tempt me.  The idea of them was appealing but what I saw looked dry and boring and I didn't get the attraction.  And the couple of times I've bought them to try, my instincts proved correct.  But this year I decided that, since my idea of what they should be was so different than what I was finding, I should just create my own.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

When the weather started cooling down, the first autumn recipe that went into my oven was pumpkin bread.  It was a Friday afternoon, last month, and I was finally able to turn off the air conditioners and open the windows.  A fresh autumn breeze blew in and the smell of pumpkin was coming from my kitchen.  I hate letting go of summer but that made it bearable.

Antica Formula Manhattan

When Brian and I first met, he was a bourbon drinker but doesn't recall ever having had a Manhattan.  I loved Manhattans but always had them made with the traditional rye whiskey.  Now, years later, we both enjoy the happy marriage of bourbon Manhattans.  We've tested bourbons, we've found our favorite but we never gave a second thought to the vermouth.  We had the standard label, found everywhere, in the back of the liquor cabinet forever.

Caramel Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Given a choice between a regular cake with lots of frosting or a good old fashioned coffee cake, I will almost always choose the latter.  And a coffee cake with a thick crumb topping?  That I'll choose every time.

30 Minute Loaded Pasta

Weekends are my time to get busy in the kitchen.  Long cooking stews, fancy salads and creative desserts get tested, tasted and devoured.  But weeknights are hectic, I'm hungry and time is short.  Did I just describe your weeknights, too?  Take-out meals are a rare event here and I much prefer to cook my own food.  But weeknight meals have to be simple, quick and use a minimum of pots and pans.  So, when the folks at OXO and Plated invited me to participate in the Very Vegetarian Recipe Challenge and asked for a quick easy, yet nutritionally sound, dinner idea, I knew it was right up my alley.

Chocolate Hazelnut Candy Bundt with Nutella Glaze

The bundt bakers are back today!  A year ago, when I first joined the group and told Brian I was baking a bundt cake, he didn't seem too interested and informed me he prefers pie.  But, oh, how times have changed and now bundt day is happily anticipated each month.

A "Yummy" Addition to Our Family

No, it's not a new recipe ingredient, not a new puppy sibling for Hadley (don't tempt me!) and no, we didn't have a baby.  Although, in a sense, we did.  A while back Brian and I purchased a web site called Yum Goggle which featured beautiful food photography and links back to the recipes.  It was small and rather poorly designed but we saw an opportunity.