buttermilk bananna muffins from william sonoma

crunchy warm muffins for a cold april day

its a chilly april morning...happens to be april fools day....and the furnace decided to take a rest....it's a new furnace... i throw on an extra sweater, turn on the oven and look around for something to bake.......i have an unopened quart of buttermilk and a bowl of brown bananas .......so i start hunting for a quick recipe for some hearty muffins to use up what i have.  nothing turned up in the cook books so i did a quick search on google and found this William Sonoma recipe.  this recipe looked good but the reviews made it sound like they were a bit savory and not sweet enough so i decided to add a crumble topping.....they came out so good.....delicious.....the furnace guy showed up...fixed the furnace and i sent him out the door with a bag of warm muffins........

recipe after the jump:

baked challah french toast

ok you are thinking Another French Toast recipe????? well, all i have to say to that is this one is perfection.  brit and i keep tinkering with the recipes...using stuff we have in the pantry...this one was fast, not messy...super delicious and great as left overs right out of fridge.  challah bread from nyc, zested mandarin orange....and crunchy crumb topping...warm maple syrup..ahhhhhhh

best french toast bake ever....not super sweet just good

recipe after the jump

ina's italian wedding soup

chase away the "winter" blues with some hot soup

it is cold and stark outside....grey....the winter that wasn't still isn't spring.  i feel the need to make something warm and comforting....soup!  not just your basic soup but ina garten's italian wedding soup.  i did not grow up with this...not by a long shot....no real italians in the family....tilly did produce some yummy soups but nothing with meatballs...what could  possibly be yummier for dinner than meatballs made with sausage, tiny little pasta with veggies in steaming chicken broth?  enough said ...try this....this one is online at the link above and also in  my favorite ina cookbook back to basics.
recipe after the jump

nigella's brownies 2 ways part 2

nigella lawson's cream-cheese brownies

ok are you ready for part 2? these are my favorite...a little chocolate cheesecake action in a brownie pan.  the cream cheese flavor adds a nice twist on the sweet rich brownie.  i especially like these chilled. these are easy to make and come out looking like you are a super star...remember the parchment paper.  they pack up nicely wrapped in parchment and stuffed in a zip lock bag for travel. gooey chocolate cream cheese is exceptionally good.


recipe after the jump

nigella's brownies 2 ways part 1

there are lots and lots of ways to make brownies...i like them chocolaty, not too gooey always with pecans never walnuts...... sometimes with cream cheese in the middle... both of my favorite brownie recipes are from nigella lawson's how to be a domestic goddess cook book. ....both are wonderful and fairly easy to make.   big tip...get some parchment paper...it is the secret to great brownies.

first up the plain brownies...though there is nothing plain about these...there is so much butter and chocolate in here the pan is heavy...trust me they taste great....make them for someone you love or want to impress or thank...or even say you are sorry.....i promise they will do the trick.

just cut still a bit warm...goooey ooooooh 

recipe after the jump

vegas, virginia,......travels

my nephew's first hockey game....... the monster bag of cotton candy 

for various reasons i've had to do a lot of traveling lately....while traveling can be fun or miserable ...depending on where you are going and why......going somewhere is an opportunity to try new restaurants or indulge in some celebrated favorites.
let's start with vegas. this was my first visit....really the food is pretty much the only thing i liked in vegas....not being a gambler or smoker and even though i love to shop...it is not the best place to find a bargain.  we sampled payard pastries...YUM...bobby flay's mesa grill at ceasar's palace  specifically the yucatan chicken taco and iced tea with some kind of honey syrup, best iced tea ever.... highly recommended.

deconstructed taco's with a peanut bbq sauce so good

more after the jump

ina's sticky buns

sticky bun heaven

i have tried lots of ways to make the classic cinnamon raisin sticky buns.....the "popping fresh kind"  (not so good),  an american test kitchen recipe  that is also pretty good but takes a little bit more time and... you have to make the dough ....best i have tried by far is this easy sticky bun recipe.....from my favorite ina garten cookbook back to basics (buy it!) easy sticky buns......there are a lot of steps but all are easy and i think it would be super fun to get kids involved in making these...a great family activity or for the grown up cook a rewarding sunday morning treat......they are best warm but they usually don't hang around long enough to get cold anyway.
recipe after the jump