Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Nutty Nutella Banana Bread

So I’ve been told that today is National Banana Bread Day. This is the first time I’ve heard of this “holiday”, but I’m more than happy to celebrate. I love banana bread! It was one of the first things I learned how to bake as a kid — I still remember cutting the recipe out of my Sunday comics one…read more »

Rosemary Fried Chicken

Planning a meal for a dinner party is always kind of stressful for me. For one thing, I’m constantly worried there won’t be enough food, so I inevitably over-cook. I blame that on my mom — at Christmas one year she underestimated her guests’ appetites and had to resort to stealthily reheating leftovers from the previous night’s party…read more »

Raspberry Cream Cake…and a Giveaway!

You know, I had big plans for my Valentine’s Day post. I was going to poach lobster tails for dinner and make Mini Red Velvet Trifles for dessert. Sounds delicious right? Yeah…problem was, I couldn’t find cake flour at the grocery store, and by the time dinner rolled around I was feeling too lazy and…read more »

Boston Cream Cupcakes

It’s T-2 hours and 11 minutes until the Superbowl, guys. I haven’t glanced at a clock in a couple hours, so how do I know that? I’ll tell you how — Dan has been counting down the hours, every hour, on the hour, out loud, since he woke up this morning. Yeah. He is really excited about this…read more »

White Sangria

For me, Superbowl is as much about the eating and drinking as it is about the football. Maybe more, actually. That’s why it’s always a kind of a bummer when I go to a Superbowl party and the only thing around for me to wash down all those delightfully salty, greasy, junky snacks is beer….read more »

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…read more »

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…read more »

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…read more »

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…read more »

Apple Pie Pancakes

Breakfast is not a meal that gets eaten a lot in my 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 so early in the morning. The only time we really have a chance to sit down and make/enjoy…read more »