by TT on February 8th, 2012 | Desserts
With less than a week until Valentine's Day, it is time to start planning. If you're hoping to make a restaurant reservation, you probably should stop reading this article and make a few calls. When you discover that the only times available are 4:30 or 9:45, you can come back and learn how to make dessert for your at-home Valentines dinner. With a dessert such as this, ordering pizza will be forgiven.
I have to confess that this dessert is way too chocolatey for me; however, it seems incredibly romantic. Homemade truffles served with champagne sauce, the name alone screams
by TT on February 1st, 2012 | Desserts, Recipes
While it may seem silly to be planning your Valentine's Day menu so much in advance of the day, there are some definite benefits. First, there's no need for last minute panic and shopping. Second, you have the opportunity to try the recipe before the actual day, so that you are able to perfect it. Third, if you make a sample round of the dessert, you get to eat an extra dessert!
This week's dessert idea is a wonderful combination of wine, pears, almonds, and mascarpone. Not only is it a delicious dessert, but it also has a beautiful presentation.
by TT on January 30th, 2012 | Soups & Stews
Having one person that is vegetarian in our house doesn't make meal planning difficult, usually. When there are four or more of us for dinner, I simply substitute the meat item with a non-meat protein, and everyone is happy. In fact, quite often I make two of the non-meat protein, as I enjoy a good number of vegetarian items.
The tricky times are when there are only three of us dining. It feels more cumbersome to make two different entrées for a party that small. Our of deference to our vegetarian, I make a meal that is vegetarian and (hopefully)
by TT on August 28th, 2009 | Breads, Recipes
I broke one of my baking rules yesterday, which is that baking yeast breads should be done in cool weather only. It should be noted that though my house has central air, something about knowing the weather outside is hot make me not want to complete all the steps required.
However, yesterday I felt inspired to make some oatmeal bread for three reasons. One, I had bought a great aged cheddar that I wanted to use for an open face melt for dinner. Two, I needed to use bread as the base and thought oatmeal bread would be perfect. Three, my
by TT on August 26th, 2009 | Restaurant Reviews
After a brief stay at my in-laws' house last weekend, my husband and I headed to Washington, DC. It was a quick trip, just two nights and one day before I returned home and he headed to a conference in the area. Although it was a bit of a whirlwind, we did manage to tour a good number of museums and sample food at several different locations.
After a late night dinner on Friday, we weren't in a rush to eat breakfast on Saturday. Having seen what looked to be a popular cafe during our Friday night stroll through Dupont Circle,
by TT on August 21st, 2009 | Desserts, Recipes
Bringing two of the kids to Delaware for a weekend with their grandparents, we decided to celebrate PopPop's birthday a week early. Instead of purchasing some random golfing accessory, we opted to make his birthday dinner his present. Planning dinner was the easy part- he's a meat and potatoes sort of guy. Desserts are a little trickier. Spending the day driving from New Hampshire to Delaware would leave little time to bake for dinner that night, and many desserts would not survive that length of drive.
To start my planning I asked my mother-in-law to suggest a few desserts that would
by TT on August 18th, 2009 | Desserts, Recipes
We attended a friend's 40th birthday/housewarming cookout this past Saturday. As the hosts were providing the main part of the meal (a pig roast plus hot dogs and hamburgers), guests were asked to bring a dessert or side dish. With a family of six, we decided we should bring one of each.
My husband chose to make a pasta salad with an Italian flair. It had quite an assortment of ingredients, including homemade sausage, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, and caramelized onions. It produced a salad that was appealing to both the eyes and mouth.
Being the main baker in the house,
by TT on August 13th, 2009 | Breakfast Dishes, Recipes
On Saturday morning our two daughters weren't home as they were having a special girls only sleepover at their aunt and uncle's house. My husband decided to take our two sons fishing at a local pond, and I chose to stay home and make a special breakfast for the four of us.
With only boys and me at home, I decided to make coffee cake. Neither of the girls really like coffee cake, but the boys enjoy it, so it was the perfect morning to make this dish. Flipping through my personal collection of recipes, I found the recipe my mom
