Monthly Archives: January 2012

Open Faced BLTs

Open Faced BLTs

Have you guys discovered the joys of oven-crisped bacon yet? If you haven’t you’re really missing out. It is so good! Better than griddle bacon, better than pan-fried bacon…this stuff is in a league of its own. For real. To be fair, bacon is pretty much always delicious; but, something magical happens when you cook it on a cooling rack in the oven. I think it’s because when the meat’s not laying in a pool of grease, it gets crispier. Combine that with the fact that the oven’s heat cooks each strip from all sides, and you get the crispest, most evenly looked bacon you’ve ever eaten. Oh, and as a bonus, as the meat sizzles away inside the oven, its heavenly, porky scent fills your...

Read more »

Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes

Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes

Guys, I slept until noon today. It was amazing. To be honest, I probably could have slept for at least another hour or two, but I felt kind of guilty. It’s not like I had errands I needed get done or anything, but Dan had been awake since 9am, and even the cats, who are without a doubt the laziest creatures on the planet, were up and about. Bastards. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked any real food for us to eat, so when I finally managed to haul my ass out of bed, I figured it was time to get back in the kitchen. I didn’t have to ask Dan what he wanted — in Dan’s mind, weekends were made for bacon-eating,...

Read more »

Strawberries and Cream Pie

Strawberries and Cream Pie

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year, everyone! I wanted to make something special in honor of the holiday, but I haven’t had much time to cook lately. If I get a chance, I might put together a post featuring some of my favorite Asian recipes. But not today. Today I want to talk to you about pie. Specifically, a luscious, creamy pie loaded with strawberries, drizzled with chocolate, on a sweet graham cracker crust. A pie that’s so rich, so decadent, yet somehow so light that every bite just melts in your mouth.  Mmmmmm. Now, I know I tend to get really gushy and poetic every time I talk about desserts, but trust me when I say that this is a really good pie. If you...

Read more »

Nutella Double Chip Cookies

Nutella Double Chip Cookies

Hello, my name is Tina, and I am a Nutella addict. I eat it slathered on anything remotely slather-able so that it doesn’t look like I’m just eating Nutella, I order strawberry and Nutella crepes so that I can very casually suck out all the filling, and I have to stick any jar of the stuff that somehow makes it way into my shopping cart in the freezer because (1) out of sight, out of mind (sometimes) and (2) frozen Nutella is harder to eat with a spoon. I’ve managed to kick my Nutella habit for a couple months now, but recently one of my favorite food bloggers has been posting recipe after recipe featuring Nutella baked into delectrable treats, and it’s really put my...

Read more »

Apple Pie Pancakes

Apple Pie Pancakes

Breakfast is a meal that rarely gets eaten in our house. Dan and I both wake up early for work, and neither of us has the energy, motivation or appetite to cook or eat anything in the morning. The only time we really have a chance to sit down and make/enjoy breakfast is during the weekend, but then all Dan wants to do is play video games, and I just want to do sleep until noon. So, it’s a pretty rare treat when one of us gets motivated enough to whip up anything more complicated than coffee in the morning. I was feeling uncommonly energized this morning, so I decided to cook something delicious for us to eat — Apple Pie Pancakes. Let me...

Read more »

Triple Chocolate Cake Balls

Triple Chocolate Cake Balls

Happy New Year, everyone! Can you believe it’s 2012 already? 20-frickin-12. That means it’s been 20 years since I came to America, 15 years since we left Texas, almost 10 years since high school, a little less than 7 years since Dan and I got together, 5 years since college, 2 years since I left the warm cocoon of higher education/student life forever, and a little over a year since Dan and I successfully navigated the murky waters of home ownership. Yikes! Where does the time go? I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a good year though. New job, new fiance, new furniture (Dan’s uncle gave us a gorgeous Queen Anne hutch over the holidays), new power suits (necessary evil) and, of...

Read more »