mini

Mini Blueberry Sage Trifles with Mascarpone Whip

There’s been quite a stir in the food-blogging world the last couple of weeks over an opinion piece posted over on the International Association of Culinary Professionals website, wherein the article writer voiced her disgust that high-profile companies in the culinary business are paying food bloggers (gasp! food bloggers?!) to develop and photograph recipes using and endorsing their products. One of her concerns was that there are no guidelines for how many times the recipes must be tested by us lowly food bloggers (who have a “cooking hobby” and “too much time on [our] hands”) and that we’re faking culinary expertise.

Luckily, there are eloquent bloggers like Julie from Willow Bird Baking who write fabulous, non-inflamatory responses like this one.

In any case, I’ve never been paid by anyone to write a post or develop a recipe. But in the interest of full-disclosure, I’ll tell you that I’ve only made this recipe once. Most recipes I post here are ones I’ve made over and over, or ones I’ve had handed down from my grandma that have been made more times than we can count. But sometimes I just like to show you something I threw together that worked so you can try it, too, or at least be inspired. I hope none of you are confusing me with America’s Test Kitchen. I’ve had no formal training. I just love to cook and share recipes with anyone who wants them. And if you ever try one of my recipes and it doesn’t work for you, I hope you let me know and we can figure it out together. And if you have a great idea for taking any of my recipes up a notch, please tell me that, too!

Ok, let’s get down to business. I really liked this dessert. It’s great for any summer get-togethers you might have coming up. I made it for a mother’s day get-together a few weeks ago. I was inspired by this recipe from My Baking Addiction.

(more…)

Forgotten Kisses

Well, friends. It’s nearly Christmas. And if you’re thinking you might want to bake just one more batch of cookies before the weekend, may I offer up one of my favorites? It’s different than most Christmas cookies, plus it’s easy to make and light to eat.

Forgotten kisses. It was my Lola‘s recipe and we’ve made it at Christmas for as long as I can remember. They’re mint meringues with bits of chocolate that just melt in your mouth. (more…)