Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Prior to blogging, I rarely made muffins. OK, I never made muffins. Now I find it difficult to go a week or more without baking some. There are so many things to love about muffins: They're easy to make. They're endlessly versatile. And, unlike many baked goods, they're portion controlled. (That is, as long as you don't eat two or three per sitting.)

While I enjoy baking traditional muffins like my Mom's Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins, I really love to play around with ingredients and concoct unique muffins such as Fresh Apricot and Kiwi and Coconut.

Up until a few weeks ago, however, I had never made muffins with red grapes. I mean, red grapes in muffins? Is that natural? Oh, it's beyond natural. It's extraordinary. I should know. I have made them three times within the past few weeks, including for a brunch, where they received rave reviews.

So this isn't just broccoli with Cheetos crushed over the top, that would be silly. This is broccoli with a garnish of Cheetos served on top of a rich, garlic-shallot infused sauce made from Gouda and Parmesan cheeses. Perfection.

Now, when I placed this on the dinner table, my kids looked at me like I was half-cracked or had lost my mind. But at the same time they were cheering because Cheetos were going to be a part of dinner. Score.

Apparently this dish is all the rage at Park Avenue Winter, a New York City restaurant that serves this dish up as a side dish on their regular menu. The Cheetos-loving chef, Craig Koketsu, claims this dish sells better than the French fries on the menu. I believe him.

The sauce has depth and complexity and the Cheetos change up the texture in a nice way. It just rocks.

Everyone ate their broccoli last night. First time ever.

My girlfriend took one bite of these and said, “this tastes like Mac ‘n Cheese”.  Voila, the Mac ‘n Cheese cracker was born.

I had been wanting to make more savory snacks and this was a really great place to start.

What I love most about this recipe is that these can be made in big batches, baked right away or frozen for future use, making last minute entertaining, either in our own home or at others, easy and stress free.

Next to chocolate chip cookies, brownies and blondies are some of the most popular sweet treats. Unfortunately most people bake them from boxed mixes when in fact they are too easy to make from scratch. You can find all the ingredients you need in your pantry. One of my most popular recipes on this site is my best brownies. I love the rich dark chocolate brownies, but I also love blondies just as much. I make them quite often. They might not be as well known as their chocolaty counterpart, but there just as good—if not better.

This recipe is my go-to, all-in-one blondie recipe. I adapt this recipe over and over again. Here it's made with chopped semisweet chocolate and chopped peanuts. Chopping the chocolate results in fudge-like blondies. Use chocolate chips and the blondies will turn out a bit more cake-like since the chocolate won't melt as much. Any chopped nut can stand in place of the peanuts. Instead of milk or dark chocolate, try white chocolate, carob, peanut buttter chips, butterscotch chips, or toffee chips. Variation is encouraged.