Now that my microwave has broken again and for the last time, this versatile countertop appliance is serving me very well as a replacement. No, you can't nuke a cup of coffee in 30 seconds. Best to drink that fresh -brewed cuppa jo while it's nice and hot rather than letting it sit around! The Steam Convection Oven by Cuisinart is one of the … [Read more...]
Caribbean Inspired Ban-ango-nut Bread
Chef Dawn Buchholz You see them getting ripe. You smell them. Beautiful, yellow, organic bananas destined to grace your granola or top your peanut butter toast. And then, well, they're riper than that now (a bit more fragrant) so ... they'll sweeten up your smoothie. But what about the rest of the brown-spotted bunch? Time goes by and Oops! … [Read more...]
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Bars
Just because the weather is warming up, doesn't mean you have to give up baking. The Cuisnart CSO does a great job of baking without heating up the entire house-imagine that? Cookies in the middle of summer-Yum! And with the warmer months comes lots of produce. One of my favorite vegetables to bake with is rhubarb (yes, it's a … [Read more...]
White Chocolate Dream Cookies
I love baking cookies! I would say, "who doesn't?" but I know there are people (my friends included) who would rather someone else bake their cookies for them. I scour cookbooks and magazines when they feature cookies of any kind and save the ones I like to make. Years ago, while looking at Christmas cookie recipes in one of the women's … [Read more...]
Pastry Apple Roses
Last week I was in the mood to be a little more creative and remembered a post I saw on Facebook demonstrating how easy it is to make pastry roses using puff pastry and sliced apples. Hmmm...great idea! I had puff pastry in the freezer and apples sitting on the counter. And so I set to work, first thawing out the puff pastry (1-2 hours in the … [Read more...]
Apple Pie Cake
I love the beginning of Fall. Temperatures turn cooler and the leaves on the trees turn beautiful shades of red and gold as the days shorten. Fall also bring two of my favorite foods for baking--apples and pumpkin! I recently took a trip to Apple Hill, (a California community of apple growers and wineries set in the Sierras west of Sacramento) … [Read more...]