Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Who doesn't love a good dip?! And since it's what I officially call "dip season", why not enjoy the heck out of it. Dip is what we all get together for anyway. Isn't it? Maybe I'm misinformed.

This particular Fancy Artichoke Dip is an elevated version of the classic. It almost looks like there is sausage on top, but it's really wheat bread crumbs. There are many layers of flavor in here, I just kept adding things until it was right.

I know you are going to enjoy this one, it will disappear before your eyes.

I was methodically chopping chives into 1/4 inch batons to balance on top of the mini crabcakes I would soon serve. I was lost in thought about my 4 ½ year relationship that I had ended earlier that day. 4 ½ years. Sigh. I was thinking about the love and all the amazing moments we shared over that time. images (1)I have no regrets, only appreciation for the incredible man that Shannon is and an understanding that love sometimes changes into something else. I glanced down at the cutting board and realized I had cut enough chive batons to feed a sizeable army – which this crowd was not. I slid the greens into a bowl as one of the servers walked into the kitchen.

“Do you have sugar for the coffee and tea service?” the waiter asked the house manager of the apartment on the 33rd floor of the Ritz Carlton Residences where we were catering. The manager opened the ample pantry and started off-loading sweeteners to the side table. “We’ve got Splenda. We’ve got Equal. We’ve got Truvia. We’ve got Sweet and Low.”

A small herd of boxes – yellow, blue, green, and pink - collected on the table.

“We’ve got agave. We’ve got honey. We’ve got stevia. And we’ve got gluten free sugar.” We all stopped and looked at each other. “Gluten free sugar? Huh?” the waiter said. “I thought sugar WAS gluten free.” And he turned to me because, well, because I was the one in the chef jacket.

I have made four turkey dinners this month, needless to say I have had a lot of leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge! They are never really the same when reheated, so it was time to turn them into something totally different.

Since the mashed potatoes are already seasoned, they are the easiest thing to turn into soup. In fact, regardless of what you have added to them flavor wise, it's most likely going to work. Potatoes are versatile that way.

Anyway, I had this simmering on the stove and my oldest son insisted on having it as an after school snack, he loved it. It's delicious and naturally thick. It takes only minutes to make since the potatoes are already cooked and you're really just heating them through.

This will be a great way to use up holiday leftover mashed potatoes or you just might find yourself making extras just so you have leftovers. Either way, enjoy this dish.

I have been craving my favorite spicy hot chocolate, but instead I turned on the oven and made these.

I have been on a late night baking kick. It seems like the perfect time to get into the kitchen and make some magic. Oh who am I kidding, I have no other time to do it. But I still like it!!

And these muffins. I love them. I mean really love them. I wanted spicy and chocolate-like, not to mention I was slightly motivated by the very ripe bananas sitting on my counter. They needed to be made into something or into the freezer they would go.

Now, let's get back to the spicy. Have you had chile and chocolate? You're missing out if you haven't. I used chile powder and cayenne to create the heat and flavor I wanted. The spicy taste lingers and heats up. It's perfect...PERFECT. You could even add a cream cheese frosting if you wanted to be fancy, but it doesn't really need it.