Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I’ve been reading about Meyer Lemons for months now but never could find any at my local grocery store.  Every single Tuesday, I would scour the produce section with high hopes of spotting these special lemons, and every single Tuesday, I would pout a little as I moved on with the rest of my shopping, [...]

Perfect Party Cake

This month’s Daring Bakers’ challenge, hosted by Morven, was Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake.  I made this cake for Easter dinner with my husband’s family.  One of the neat things about this recipe is its flexibility because this basic recipe can be adapted with many different fillings, fresh berries, and other toppings.  I opted to [...]

Szechwan Chicken Chow Fun

This recipe is based on a dish that used to be on the menu at P.F. Chang’s.  The Picky Apple ordered this dish every single time we went to P.F. Chang’s until one day last year, it was no longer on the menu.  It was a sad day for him, and he was forced to [...]

S’murtle Cupcakes

The Cupcake Hero theme for March was Marshmallow.  Last month, for the liquor theme, I made Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes, but felt like they were kind of boring.  This month, I spent hours pouring over recipes and cupcake descriptions, agonizing over the “perfect” recipe, one that would really stand out in what I figured would be [...]

Fish and Chips

The Picky Apple doesn’t eat fish.  However, last year while on vacation in Kauai, Hawaii (where its all fish, all the time), when he was faced with the option of having a hamburger or chicken sandwich for the 100th time in a row, he manned up and tried some fish….and liked it.  Well, he didn’t [...]

Raspberry Swirl Cookies

Have you ever seen those studies on TV where they show tired people driving on a stunt course, and the drivers think they are fine, but then they run over stuff, don’t brake fast enough, and can’t stay on the road?  (Scary indeed!)  Apparently baking while sleep-deprived can have a similar effect.  Let the following [...]

Allspice Crumb Muffins

It wasn’t until early this year that I first heard of Dorie Greenspan.  Her cookbook, Baking From My Home to Yours, seems to be very popular with many of the food bloggers out there, and around the same time I started my blog, a Dorie “baking club” was created.  Tuesdays With Dorie is a group [...]

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Rolls

This recipe is from Stop and Smell the Rosemary, the cookbook of the Junior League of Houston.  I recently purchased this cookbook after eyeing it again and again at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  This is another one of those cookbooks where every single recipe looks absolutely delicious.  I love that it’s a local cookbook, [...]

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars

I brought this dessert to a dinner party last weekend when I needed something that didn’t have eggs or chocolate.  Gasp!  Baking without eggs or chocolate?!  I know, right?!  It’s kind of hard to imagine a world without eggs or chocolate, but I would eat this dessert every single day in such a world.  Assuming, [...]

Shredded Chicken Taquitos

Last week I made these delicious shredded chicken taquitos after reading about them on Picky Palate by Jenny.  Jenny recently appeared on The Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown for Comfort Foods, and has participated (and won!) many other cooking contests. (Her mac and cheese recipe featured on the show can be found here.)  She’s got [...]