I recently had the pleasure of reading Bonny Wolf’s “Talking with My Mouth Full” – a collection of memoir-style food essays that she describes as “kitchen stories” on topics ranging from Jell-O, aprons, fair food, southern BBQ, latkes, and many more – all with a few recipes.  Bonny feels the exact same way about the significance of […]

I’ve said it before and I will say it again…I am not really a chocolate person. This doesn’t mean I won’t eat it, it means I just don’t get all feverish and crazy for it like a lot of women people seem to do.  If you handed me a dessert menu, “death by chocolate” would be […]

I was the kind of kid that ordered bubble gum ice cream and actually ate the Peeps in my Easter Basket.  I complained loud and long whenever my mother put nuts in her brownies and cookies (which earned me the classic mom line, “Someday when you make your own brownies and cookies you can put whatever […]

Few things are more of a vintage tradition than supporting local culinary (both harvested and produced) offerings, so I was glad that I finally got around to visiting the Somerville Winter (Indoor) Farmer’s Market at the Armory last weekend, despite the fact that it was the final one.  Whoops! Once inside I was greeted by the warm and cozy bustle of […]

No special occasion in my family would be complete without my Nana Alice’s Pudding Pie, with its graham cracker crust and layers of vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and chocolate jimmies.  It is cold, creamy and delicious. This Graham Cracker Pudding Cake pays humble homage to Pudding Pie.  Graham crackers line the bottom of a […]

In honor of President’s Day (and because I am a total history nerd), I decided to pay tribute to our first president by adding cherries and bittersweet chocolate chips to my latest batch of scones.  You remember why we associate cherries with Washington, right?  In 1800 author Parson Weems spread the tale to America’s youth that a hatchet-happy […]

I don’t think I need to explain the inspiration behind these cupcakes.  The squiggle alone is a dead giveaway. The Hostess version we are all familiar with is arguably one of America’s most popular snack cakes (kissing cousins with the other Hostess favorite, the Twinkie).  While the Hostess chocolate cupcake has been around since 1919, it wasn’t until 1950 that […]

Marble cake is perfect for the indecisive.   When chocolate and vanilla hold hands, you get a little bit of both on your fork – no need to choose.  Cover the whole thing in a light, pillowy chocolate buttercream, and you’ve got yourself one classic birthday cake.

I know I always say that I don’t really go for chocolate, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its time and place…it absolutely does.  I was going to make something else last night, but it turned out that I only had a little over one stick of butter (butter never leaves the shopping list, my […]

These peanut butter squares are my original signature dessert.  I have been making them for years, and they have served me well.  My mom got the recipe from my first grade CCD teacher and they were an occasional treat in our family, until I got to college and started making them all the time. Peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and […]