When I was a girl, my grandmother used to call me ‘Spuds’.   Today, I’m not fond of that childhood nickname, but in hindsight, I see now that my Memah gave me this endearing nickname based solely on my potato obsession.  Potatoes are simply one of my favorite foods.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met a tater I didn’t like.  I collect as many recipes as I can that tempt me, especially if they involve that lethal combination of cheese, potatoes and butter.   

So when two blogger friends sent me two new potato recipes, I had to add them to the Guest Blogger Week lineup, especially since they have dramatically different views on the sweet potato.  I’ve never made sweet potato pie myself (gasp!) – I’ve always been a pumpkin pie gal, so when Sarah from Sarah’s Musings sent me her recipe, I was really very excited to try it. 

And then there’s my hilarious friend Erin over at The Fierce Beagle who cracks me up with her witty banter in her daily blog posts.  You really must pay her a visit sometime – her humor is incredibly infectious.  She’s going to give us a version of her Irish Thanksgiving Potatoes. 

Read the rest of this entry »

If it happens to me, I know it must happen to you too.  You’re sitting there minding your own business when all of a sudden you are hit with an overwhelming feeling.

Must. Have. Cake. Now.

Are you familiar with this phenomenon?  The sudden urge to bake something moist and delicious?  And then shovel a big slice down the hatch?   Oh, ahem.  How unladylike of me.  Let me rephrase.  Delicately take small bites with your pinkie in the air. 

In my region, we were hit with some unexpected rain over the weekend.  It must have been that smell of the first rain mixed together with the wind blowing the first leaves from the trees that caused something to click inside of me.  I just had to make my oh-so-autumn Spiced Pear Cake.  And I had to make it now. 

I take some of these pretty little Bartletts and transform them into the most moist and delicious flavor of fall. 

My spiced pear cake has a little of everything.  A glazed fruit topping, a down home ingredient like molasses, and the spices often found in the best fall comfort food.  What’s my secret ingredient to guarantee a moist cake?

Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps it was the decadent menu at Bouchon, or perhaps it was the crisp morning autumn air.  Or perhaps it’s just the color caramel itself.  But all of a sudden I was craving French Onion Soup.  Oh.  Pardonnez-moi, Monsieur Keller.  Soupe à l’Oignon. 

Now you know I love a good transformation.  Especially one where a raw bland object with hidden potential gets transformed into sweet and sassy goodness.  And I’m a sucker for a great before and after.  It must be why I love how a yellow onion becomes the most savory gourmet delight in an hour. 

I have a serious love affair with caramelized onions.  I could eat them on my scrambled eggs, over potatoes, on steaks, over flatbread, and always with cheese. Glorious oozing melting cheese.  They are one of those culinary delights that make a germ sensitive mom like me lick her fingers without any regret.

And with my caramelized onions, I make the most fabulous French Onion Soup.

Read the rest of this entry »