Cookies!

Well, this month has been a happy blur.  Anytime we are all under the same roof is a happy time!

Despite their somber expressions in this photo, Gus and Clyde have also enjoyed having the kids home for the holidays.

We also filmed another episode of the cooking show.  It was cookie-themed, but not necessarily Christmas-themed, because by the time it finishes airing it will be past the holiday season...and we didn't want to be pushing Christmas in January!

So we baked a bunch of cookies that were Christmas-festive, yet plain enough that they can be enjoyed year-round!

Printable recipe

Click here to be taken to the blogpost with the step-by-step instructions.

And before you begin to think that maybe I got the gift of mad photography skills for Christmas, I need to confess that the pretty photo above was taken by my daughter, Caitie.

Now that I've hooked you with a pretty photo, I'm going to pull the old bait & switch.  Continue on for the usual lackluster photos.

Almond Cookies

Most definitely my go-to cookie recipe.  Switch out the red & green sugar for ocean hues in the summer, add in some funfetti, or just bake 'em plain.  Click on the above link for step-by-step instructions or use the printable.

Sea Salt Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

My personal favorite!  Sea salt & caramel is a match made in heaven, and I simply won't make these unless I can bring them somewhere...because if I keep them here I will eat every last one of them!  Printable Recipe

Hope you are enjoying this final day of 2014.

Happy New Year!!

Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

I made this lobster mac & cheese on my last cooking show.  The theme of the show was cooking new dishes/developing recipes, and this recipe fit in with the theme because I had never tried to make lobster mac & cheese before.

And the reason why I chose this specific dish?  My friend, Trish, was cooking with me and I knew that lobster mac & cheese was one of her favorite foods.  

I didn't come up with this recipe on my own; my brother is a really good cook and he has a lobster recipe for everything so I simply asked him how to prepare lobster mac & cheese.  I only tweaked his recipe a little, using less black pepper (actually, I didn't use any, only white pepper) and adding a bit of milk to thin down the cheese sauce.  

I wish I had thought to record all of the comments that my friends made when we sat down to eat after we had finished taping.  I definitely remember one of them saying, "I just want to sit here and eat this for the rest of my life," and another one saying, "This tastes like something I would order at the best restaurant I ever went to."

If you make this recipe, I hope you like it as much as my lobster-loving friends do!

Cooking Show--Trying Out New Recipes!!

Warning!  Long, rambling post right here!  But if you work your way through to the end, there will be recipes for Lemon Drop Martinis, Caesar Salad Dressing, Lobster Macaroni & Cheese, and Churros Poppers!

I promise that all of these recipes will eventually be posted with the usual step-by-step photos!  However, I have been receiving a lot of emails from viewers of the cooking show who would like to have the recipes that I prepared on the last show.  Please be warned that I'm still developing some of these recipes, and my notes will reflect some tweaks that I'm planning for the next time I prepare them!

We filmed another cooking show a couple of weeks ago.

The best way I can describe the theme would be "Attempting to prepare or develop recipes that I've never made before."

We happened upon this theme in a roundabout way.  I went out to dinner with my friend, Trish.  She ordered the house donuts for dessert, and our conversation went something like this:

Trish: Can you cook donuts?

Me: I never have, but I guess I could.  I don't deep-fry anything...it's one thing to eat them when you go somewhere and they're already prepared, but to pour all that oil into a deep-fryer...yikes.  I may as well just get a syringe and inject it directly into my thighs.

Trish: Do you have a deep fryer?

Me: Yes, I've never used it, it's sitting in my basement, unopened.

Trish: You should do a deep-frying cooking show!

Me: Only if you'll cook with me!

During the past year, I've asked her a couple of times if she would cook with me on the show, and she always said no.  I'm guessing that on this particular night, her defenses were lowered by the lemon-drop martinis that we had with dinner.  Lower defenses + joy at the thought of more deep-fried donuts in her future = YES!  If only I had figured out sooner that plying her with donuts was the key to getting her on camera.