New Year's Eats (Black tie mini cheesecakes, cherry sauce)

Happy New Year, everyone! Heading into February, love is in the air, and I always like to include a sweet treat for Valentine's Day. Usually, I've focused on treats for a smaller gathering, but this time around, it's sweets for a crowd. The more the merrier! This recipe for black tie mini cheesecakes and boozy cherry sauce makes enough for 24, so you can splurge with a special someone, have a party for all your friends, or hoard a private stash of cheesecake for days on end. Whatever February throws your way, I've got you covered.

Covered in cherries

Decadent Delight (Gateau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie)

Chocolate cake is like the little black dress of dessert. It can be dressed up or down from the homeliest of meals to the pinnacle of haute cuisine and remain equally enticing in either environ. As a culture, we are given to hyperbole (and, as an individual, I am more so), so it would be no surprise to me if, when I say "this is the best chocolate cake in the world," you take it with a grain of salt. It helps that salt and chocolate pair so nicely. Perhaps it would change your mind, however, if I mentioned that a sizeable shard of the fractious and chaotic internet generally agrees this is, indeed, the cake of cakes? 

Truly, you are the cake of cakes

Setting the Mood (Chocolate Raspberry Trifles)

Now that January is drawing to its close, the last big holiday of the winter approaches: Valentine's Day. I think a singular day of romance is rather silly, as if people need a reminder once a year to be good to their partners. There's also much to be made of the rampant commercialization of the practice and for those who happen to be single, it's simply annoying. It will most definitely always have one saving grace, though, and that's as an excuse for chocolate.

Best excuse, ever.

Much Ado About Mocha (Mocha Cheesecake)

This post is also available as an article in the 8/29/2012 Williamsport Sun Gazette.

August marks the beginning of one of my very favorite times of year, as blistering heat ebbs and gives way to fresher air, bluer skies, and cooler breezes. Living in the valley, our mornings are often deceptively shrouded in thick fog, only to burn away into the clear light of day. As the season turns, my sister-in-law Sarah and her husband, Seth, take different tasks on their farm, like gathering fresh honey from their many hives. While I had originally intended to feature that glowing, liquid sweetness for today's article, an even more momentous occasion cropped up: Aaron's birthday.

Increases happiness by at least 5%

The Morning After (Chocolate Sandwiches)

On weekend mornings, I tend to be grumpily awoken by passionate, plaintive meowing for breakfast. Cats being fed, I trudge back to bedroom and try to get some more sleep. Early Morning James has one objective: more sleeping; and he will go to great lengths to ensure it. Of course, on some mornings you want to do something special and, at those times, it's nice to have a meal that can be easily prepared and quickly returned to the bedroom, too.

Morning pick-me-up

Cravable Cookies (Cranberry, White Chocolate, Macadamia Nut, Lime Cookies)

I may have declared a previous recipe "the best cookies, ever" but I think I have a close contender for second place. I came up with this as a last-minute treat for our friend Pauline's birthday, the night before her birthday, when I found out. Like us, Pauline is a transplant from Massachusetts, so I first thought Boston Cream Pie, but I didn't have the time for anything but the quick and dirty version. I don't think people want something described as "quick and dirty" for their birthday, or maybe they do, but that's not a topic for this blog.

A challenger appears

Just Desserts (Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse, Poached Cherries)

I'm not afraid to admit it: I love dark chocolate. It's rich and full-bodied, and in my opinion, far superior to milk chocolate in every way. Seeing as it's getting close to Valentine's Day and I was craving something chocolatey, salty and sweet, I came across an idea for a Dark Chocolate Mousse with Poached Cherries and knew that would hit the spot, so to speak.

Your other half will love you for making this

Sweet Heat (Chocolate Chipotle Cookies)

Hello, ladies and gents!

Sorry to keep you waiting, we took a bit of a holiday hiatus. With all the running around between San Diego, Chesapeake, and Pennsylvania, I think we needed it. Now we're back in the kitchen and I have a new treat to share:

Mountain of cookies

Messing with a Classic (Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread)

Banana bread, it holds a mysterious power. Dense, moist, impossibly fragrant... I am hard-pressed to encounter one and not want to eat the whole thing. I had intended for today's post to be a variation on my mother's Blue Ribbon Banana Bread, I know I have the recipe somewhere. Unfortunately, fortune did not smile upon my quest and a quick Google search demonstrates that everyone and their mother has a recipe for Blue Ribbon Banana Bread. Which is the "true" version? The world may never know.

Blue ribbon added for effect

Best Cookies, Ever (Chocolate, Cherry, Almond Cookies)

We agreed to watch the boys for Seth and Sarah over the weekend, to give them some much-needed free time to complete some household projects. I had once set the goal that, every time the boys came to visit, I wanted to have a different cookie recipe baked and ready for them. That dream did not live long, but I guess it's the thought that counts. This Saturday, I wanted to be ready for them.

It's the only way to be sure

Seasonal Offerings (Pumpkin Chocolate Oat Bars)

Hello, Ladies & Gents!

The weekend before last, when A and I spontaneously decided to go live, I spent a few hours madly scribbling out recipes I'd like to share. I wrote down over 235 of them. Today's recipe, however, is not one of them.

Today, I have a new recipe to tinker with:

Eureka!