Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Red Grapes in Muffins? Oh Yeah.

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.

Earl Grey Infused Hot Chocolate

earlgreycake While I don't like to rush the holidays, I do welcome them with open arms. To celebrate the season, my lovely friend Holly (of Turquoise Autumn) invited me over for treats and talk of wintry recipes.

Even though her kitchen was beyond comforting (endless rows of glorious cookbooks, Judy Garland's Christmas Pandora station and the scent of freshly baked bread), she setup and styled the most precious tea party in her beautiful backyard. If it wasn't for the whipping winds I could have stayed there all day.

I couldn't help but admire her Pumpkin Chai Chocolate Chip Bread. Isn't it stunning? The rich chocolate paired perfectly with the warming chai spices and sweet pumpkin flavors. I could imagine that beyond being served hot from the oven, it would be wonderful toasted (with a bit of pumpkin butter) and served with tea for a holiday breakfast bite.

Hot Dog Bar ~ Hot Dogs Five Ways

hotdogparty A "hot dog bar" is the perfect solution to not feeling guilty about serving "hot dogs" at your next gathering. Let's face it, we all love outdoor grilling (especially for a crowd), however, if Ribeye Steaks for 20 are not in your budget, this is a great, creative alternative. Have your guests contribute the side dishes and you will have a great interactive, food-friendly party. Of course, you can also scale it up or down by the quality and types of hot dogs and buns you serve.

There will obviously be some pre-prep work, but that's better than slaving over a stove during the party. I would set a large table with cute bowls for the ingredients of each hot dog combination. Then I would print instructions on how to assemble each one. Your job will be to have lots of buns and hot dogs coming off the grill.

There is something here for everyone's taste and the kids can still have their plain ketchup and mustard dog...no need to make something different.

Gimme Some Sugar

chives 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.

"Ad Hoc" Brownies

brownies.adhoc Levi has been begging for brownies. I had to honor his wish. Upon walking up to my large bookcase that holds my vast collection of cook books, it was Ad Hoc at Home that jumped out at me. I turned to the back of the book and I instantly opened the page to the brownies. I had no choice. Along with laundry, preparing my meals for the week, brownies had become part of my Sunday morning routine.

Brownies are effortless. One bowl, few ingredients, a pan of some sort, and a short baking time. Unlike cookies, where every seven minutes you have to rotate the sheets, scoop and drop your batter, brownies are the equivalent to a one pot dish.

I have made a lot of brownies in my day, but these are not only super moist, but light and fudgy all at the same time. So, I say thank you to Levi for making me cook from this book that I don’t nearly use enough and for sharing your smile when you walked into the kitchen that morning, bed hair and all!

Comfort Foods and Indulgences