Cooking Local Blog

Mimosa Cupcakes

3 January 2011
Mimosa Cupcakes

What’s better than a mimosa the morning after a night of dining, dancing and drinking?
A Mimosa Cupcake! (more…)

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

21 December 2010
Pumpkin Bread Recipe

In a previous life, I was a third grade teacher.

Though I was one of the most huggy of the teachers I worked with, I also ran an extremely tight ship. As Christmas neared each year, it became more and more difficult to harness my students’ energy for meaningful tasks. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, my job was pretty much like herding cats. The control freak in me pretty much went insane. (more…)

Insane Pecan Bars

20 December 2010
Pecan Bar Recipe

WARNING ALERT. If you like to live in denial about how bad-for-you yummy things are, scroll straight to the recipe.
(more…)

Read More: ,

Creamy Mac and Cheese

14 December 2010

Mac and Cheese was never a holiday staple in my family until a couple of years ago. And, it was kind of a weird coincidence.

Right before Thanksgiving, our friends welcomed a new baby girl into the world. The mama was neck deep in a mac and cheese obsession, so I HAD to make it for her welcome home meal. It was such a home run, I decided to make it again when we spent Thanksgiving with her family a couple of weeks later.

At the very same time, my sister-in-law tackled homemade mac and cheese for Thanksgiving with my family. Everyone freaked about it (including Grandpa who was caught eating it straight out of the pan for dessert) and it became an absolute necessity for future family meals.
(more…)

Farewell Snickerdoodles

7 December 2010
Snickerdoodle Recipe

Dear Whirlpool Range,
It’s been a long road for the two of us. For five years, you were my one and only.
We’ve definitely been through trials and tribulations – hours of holiday cookie baking, endless batches of wedding scones, rehearsal dinners, couples showers, birthday dinners, my first Thanksgiving turkey.

For a while, things were great. I knew I could always depend on you – you never let me down.
But in the last few years, things just haven’t been the same. You haven’t always been there when I needed you. You’ve been inconsistent, undependable and downright disappointing.

(more…)

Read More: