So what are chilaquiles? They’re like nachos but far more awesome and actually authentic rather than some over-priced pub appetizer. I think the best way to describe it is a casserole of stale/fried corn tortillas, a sauce of your choosing (red, verde, molé–whatever), and a whole bunch of whatever else you have handy (chicken, eggs, avocado, radish, cheese, crema, etc). This dish is meant to be relatively simple to prepare, a great way to make the most of leftovers/random odds and ends, and most of all, is said to be great hangover food. Chilaquiles are… click to read more…

1. Chicken Burritos with Salsa Verde I’ve had Mexican flavors on my mind lately, and with...
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French Toast, like many “common” breakfast items, might seem less than exciting to many given how many sad, sorry versions are so readily available out there. This is meant to change that in a big way. Heck, this borders on dessert given how incredibly rich this is.

The secret here is simple: the key behind a good French toast is good bread. For this, I baked a loaf of brioche–a dense, rich, buttery bread that is delicious in it’s own right (which is why I had to eat some just with a dab of jam). You want a bread that can absorb a respectable amount of custard, has a lot of flavor,… click to read more…

1. My Mom’s entries for Strawberry Seduction: Strawberry Cheesecake and Pancakes w/Strawberry Compote My mother has been a loyal reader of my blog...
2. Strawberry Cream Pie in a Thyme Scented Almond Crust Strawberries were in season when I made this pie, but...
3. Strawberry Oat Bars I don’t typically do much for breakfast, especially during weekdays...

The core behind any sticky bun recipe is simple: awesome, sweet, sticky buns. The variety then comes in two fashions: how to make the dough and what to dress the buns up with (e.g. glaze, cream cheese frosting, nuts, etc). In making these, I chose to follow the sage approach from one of my favorite baking-oriented books: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The buns themselves are made of brioche, a dense, rich, buttery, yeast-based bread. The… click to read more…

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Just about everybody out there has had banana bread before–its a favorite for so many people for good reason. One of the problems with such popularity though is that there’s also many a banana bread recipe out there that kind of give banana bread a bad name. You know the kind–those fruit breads where, that, no matter what the fruit is, all taste exactly the same? All you taste is semi-moist bread and a bunch of spice, usually stale nutmeg? Kind of a downer. Apples don’t taste like bananas–why should they in bread?

This banana bread is nothing of the sort. I derived my recipe from this one and fell in love. Aside from the beautiful look and texture of this… click to read more…

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2. Nutella Crêpes w/Strawberry & Banana Crepes were always a rare but special treat for me...
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First, one thing worth mentioning in case you’re also in need of a waffle maker–this is the one I got: VillaWare V2002 UNO Belgian Waffler. I love it!

Now back to the food. These waffles were delicious and all that belgian waffles should be–crisp, tender,… click to read more…

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This was a delicious bread, kind of like a banana bread (which I’m sure we’ve all had before), but well, pumpkinny instead of banana-y, and richer in color. I included some of the usual suspects as far as pumpkin-friendly spices and a mix of nuts (walnuts, pecans) and chocolate chips. I’ve had images of deliciously frosted pumpkin cupcakes in my head for a while, so I also thought a swirl of cream cheese throughout the loaf would go nicely while still making a decent claim at this being breakfast friendly and not all out dessert.

I’m also submitting… click to read more…

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I’ve come to appreciate how easy it is to make preserves and that you can make some pretty neat things that you might not find in the grocery store, so why not make home canning and preserving a regular occurrence? If you haven’t tried it yet, go out, buy yourself some mason jars and give this one a try–it is so easy and so enjoyable to have jars of your own home-made jam to dip into throughout the year. Plus, if you ever use jelly or jam at all (usually goes on a bagel on a Saturday morning for me), home-made… click to read more…

1. Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Seeing how I knew my steamy love affair with strawberries...
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After having made my first batch of crêpes, I still had a ton of nutella in the pantry, and nutella just screams crêpes to me (and in unison, my belly was also screaming crêpes, so it was decided). So while local strawberries have come and gone, it was onto another favorite fruit that has been looking pretty darn good on the store shelves these days: mangoes! Yes, this isn’t tremendously different from the prior crêpes, but can you ever have too many? click to read more…

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In addition to the obvious inclusion of oats and nuts, I also employed some spices (cardamom and ginger) as I thought these would rather nicely complement the filling: strawberries (since I know how nicely they can go together)! I was a bit worried that using fresh strawberries would result in a wet, mushy granola mess (since they macerate and get quite wet in the presence of sugar), so I sliced them thin and insulated the granola from them with a thin layer of strawberry rhubarb jam,… click to read more…

1. My Mom’s entries for Strawberry Seduction: Strawberry Cheesecake and Pancakes w/Strawberry Compote My mother has been a loyal reader of my blog...
2. Very Strawberry Cupcakes! As if cupcakes on their own aren’t spectacular, these cupcakes...
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Without a blog of her own, I am hosting her entries here, so please say hello, readers! So enough of my interruptions, here is her post:

Strawberry Supreme Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

• Crust:
  • 1.75-2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 Tbsp butter
• Filling
  • 24 oz

… click to read more…

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3. Strawberry White Chocolate Mousse Mousse is a delightful dessert: rich, creamy, light, and fluffy–some...