Category Archives: Sweets & Desserts

Raymi — Peruvian Cuisine

Okay, I’ll admit it — I was very nervous to go out to dinner on Friday night. Peruvian food isn’t exactly something I am familiar with; and after menu-stalking I was a bit overwhelmed. After reading over several ingredients I either didn’t know the word/translation or I couldn’t seem to envision what the plate would taste like. I even found myself re-reading over “habanero.” The embarrassing part: I know what a habanero is. I know how to grow the plant in my backyard. I know just a small amount of this pepper will clear out my sinuses. But yet, I was so overwhelmed by the menu I had to look at the word “habanero” multiple times.

Within only a couple of minutes of being at the restaurant, I knew my dinner was in great hands. The servers at Raymi have perfected how to describe every dish, they know how to pair your food with Peruvian-style cocktails, and over-all they are brilliant at making your Peruvian dinner a memorable one.

You can easily get away with eating the entire meal in a tapas-style sort of way. Our first dish: Causa of the day. Lobster was the catch of the day and the fish was placed over a cold aji amarillo potato puree. The rich, creamy texture of the lobster and potato puree was outstanding — but to add some extra flavor and crunch to the plate the chef added some roasted dehydrated corn. These little bites of crunchy corn was so delicious! I wish they were sold at the grocery store!

catch of the day

My boyfriend did a little bit of Yelp’ing before heading to dinner and everyone was raving about the restaurant’s Peruvian Corn Cake plate. It seemed like such a hit, so obviously we put this at the top of our list of plates to order.

The corn cake is topped with a mushroom ragout and watercress leaves. It’s incredible how all of the flavors fuse together so beautifully — especially on this dish. Without the peppery taste of the watercress, the mushrooms and corn cake wouldn’t have that necessary zing. And I’m sure you are thinking about the texture of this “corn cake,” and let me assure you it’s nothing like a corn muffin or corn bread that we typically eat in the U.S. This corn cake doesn’t have the distinctive grainy consistency and is smooth and creamy and makes it easier to pick up the rest of the ingredients on your fork. I would be happy to order this plate and eat it as my lunch or dinner — funny enough, one of the hosts said she did just that the night before! This plate seems to be a hit for those dining at the restaurant and those working there!

peruvian corn cake

And since Friday was date-night for me and my Valentine, the tapas style dinner made it more romantic. Sharing food and talking about your favorite plates makes a dinner so much more intimate. Which is why I loved the Ceviche & Tiraditos Tasting plate. This plate allows you to pick a total of 4 items from the ceviche and tiraditos section of the menu. Our choice (clock-wise from the top left): *the first one was my boyfriend’s pick and I forgot to try it, fluke, tuna and salmon. The manager recommended we eat these with a spoon — and boy was he right! Eating ceviche with a spoon rather than a fork allows you to scoop up the extra citrus juices at the bottom of the bowl — this gives the fish a refreshing flavor. This tasting plate couldn’t have been more of a hit between the two of us!

peruvian ceviche

And, a close-up of the tuna:

tuna ceviche

Another brilliant appetizer to share between 2 people was the Hanger Steak — specifically it’s skewered hanger steak seared and served with aji panca glaze, creamy ocopa sauce and rocoto salsa. Wowza — this plate sure was full of flavor! It tasted as if the hanger steak was soaking and marinating in the most complex mixture of seasonings and spices before being cooked. Hands-down this was the most flavorful piece of meat I have tasted in a very long time! In addition to the  Peruvian Corn Cake, this Hanger Steak is a must-order!

peruvian hanger steak

For our “main dish” the two of us shared the Chaufa Completo — which is served with jasmine rice, chicken char siu, shrimp and chinese sausage. I dug in around the sausage but the overall plate was just bursting with exotic flavors. I knew right from the start the jasmine rice was going to add subtle but important flavorings to this plate.

Even though we had just a bit of leftovers, sharing all of these plates together completely satisfied us for dinner.

peruvian dinner

Over course we had to end our evening with dessert. We followed the manager’s suggestion and ordered the Peruvian Crispy Donuts. I know what you’re thinking — donuts are such a big food trend these can’t be anything other than ordinary, blah blah blah. But you’re wrong! Yes, donuts are such a food fad these days but Raymi adds a perfect, sweet, twist to the homemade dessert. Honey is the ingredient that makes these donuts have a natural sweetness — I guarantee that you’ll agree with me that these donuts are anything but ordinary!

homemade donuts

I’m sure you are overwhelmed reading this post — because you can see how much I truly enjoyed my first dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. I’m sure you have also noticed that Peruvian food is highly influenced by the Asian culture and cuisine! Who would have thought that a blend of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, West African and Italian cuisines would be brought to the country of Peru and all of these cultures have been an influence on the food that is made throughout the country to this very day.  Luckily, for me, I found that Peruvian food seems to have a stronger influence from the Japanese — I’m not a huge fan of Chinese cuisine, but Japanese I love! There’s nothing like beautiful cuts of raw fish tossed in citrus and served fresh!

The Standard Grill

I’ve been wanting to head to this restaurant for a while now, but unfortunately it’s one of those places that you need to call a month in advance in order to get a convenient reservation time — and obviously, that can get pretty difficult to do when you have a crazy schedule. But with out-of-town friends visiting, we were able to snag an 8 p.m. reservation. Unfortunately, we weren’t seated until 8:45! I was very worried that the long wait we were put through was going to be just the start to an ugly dinner.

Thank goodness… I was wrong!

Located in the heard of Meatpacking, The Standard Grill is a hot-spot and will probably be for a while. They have a beer garden located right next door, and it’s open year-round. Tucked underneath the Highline, the beer garden is open rain or shine and in the winter time walls are put up in order to keep the heat in. When you arrive at the beer garden you will need to purchase beer tickets (if beer is what you want to drink) in order to get your drinks at the bar. It’s a great place to start your night out at.

Inside the restaurant there is a back room/ main dining room that I strongly suggest you request to sit in — the room is filled with stylish New Yorkers that not only came for the scene, but came for the food. While some of the booths are made from plush red leather, others are made from what looks like park benches — and they are perfect for large groups! Even though we had a rough start to our evening, our waiter ended up being unbelievable — he really knew the menu well and he was full of energy and was very attentive.

We started with a few appetizers — the calamari, yellowtail, and shrimp cocktail. The Standard Grill has a great raw bar selection in case anyone is looking for cocktails and raw bar as a start to their night out.

For a long time I had such a hard time with shrimp cocktail, to me biting into shrimp cocktail felt like I was biting through flesh (or something gross like that). Thank goodness I was able to get past that because I now love chowing down on these fabulous hors d’oeuvres.

Yellowtail on the other hand has always been easy for me to eat. This fish is full of flavor and paired with castelvetrano olives, uni and golden raisins tastes unbelievable! I loved scooping up all of these flavors onto my fork — the yellowtail is a must order if you eat out at The Standard Grill!

Everyone at the table really enjoyed the Charred Spanish Octopus that was served with sweet potato and chilies. The octopus was grilled to perfection and that charred taste was perfectly infused into every bite. I also really enjoyed the extra sweetness from the potatoes and they complimented the rich charred flavoring. Next Christmas when my family makes squid I will be sure to bake-up some cubes of sweet potatoes to serve with the fish!

For my main course I ordered the scallops that were cooked with sesame seeds on top. I had to show you all this photo at a larger size because I wanted you to see how beautiful the seeds look on the scallops. They also tasted incredible! They were served with what to me tasted like a pureed avocado dip that really livened up the scallops’ flavoring.

My boyfriend ordered the duck which was also a great pick off of the menu. Thanks to the blood orange on the dish, the duck had a sweet taste to it’s rich flavoring. Lately, I have really been enjoying duck — I don’t know how I went so long without eating it!

I loved our dessert too! We ordered the plate called “The Deal-Closer” which is described on the menu as a bowl of bittersweet chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream. This is actually made for two people or more and it was the perfect way to end our meal. The presentation for this dessert was pretty cool — the dessert chef got very creative. Personally when I bake, my favorite part is licking the batter off of a spatula. Which is why I felt like a little kid when our bowl of mousse was brought to the table in a traditional glass mixing bowl with two rubber spatulas that were used to scoop up the dessert to put on our own individual plates… But the cutest part was licking the spatula. This got me thinking… Why not use this as a way to serve dessert at a dinner party? People might not think that it’s a “pretty” way to serve chocolate mousse, but it sure will have your guests feeling like little kids again.

Even though I was disappointed that we had to wait an extra 45 minutes even though we had a reservation, I overall really enjoyed my dinner. Plus, the service was impeccable. When can I go back next!?

Bar Pitti in The Village

It’s one of those restaurants — cash only and no reservations.

I had expected a brutal wait for a table at Bar Pitti on a Friday night during a very busy time of night when most New Yorkers are just starting to get hungry. But to my surprise my boyfriend and I only waited 20 minutes for our table! It was luckily the last beautiful evening before the weather went back to being chilly — so the restaurant had indoor and outdoor seating available. We luckily got the best of both worlds and sat technically inside but right in front where the walls/windows were opened.

While waiting for a table, those waiting will stand outside on the sidewalk (which isn’t a big deal if the weather is nice, but if it was the middle of winter I can only imagine how upset I would be being both cold and hungry).

So we got a fabulous table and quickly began to eye down the menu to pick out what we wanted to order. The wait staff is fairly pushy and it’s obvious that they are running around trying to serve a jam-packed restaurant but they are rather sort and quick to the point. But who can be mad at a waiter who is very kind yet talks insanely fast?

First up was our appetizers and of course I had to order the caprese salad with fresh bufala mozzarella which came out beautifully seasoned with some salt and pepper and was exceptionally creamy and fluffy. I love a good bufala mozzarella but my boyfriend and I agreed that we loved Da Silvano’s unbelievable burrata. (Da Silvano is Bar Pitti’s sister restaurant and they are located right next to each other.) Although we did dig into our caprese and garlic bread was even served to the table (I’m not sure if it was part of the order or complimentary) but it was a perfect way to scoop up some bufala mozzarella and tomatoes. Besides being convenient it also added so much flavor to the cheese! Who would ever say “no” to garlic?

My boyfriend didn’t think that the caprese salad was enough to order so he wanted to snag one another item off of the specials menu (Note: the restaurant changes their specials menu daily based off of what is fresh). He picked the asparagus and veal dish. Hmmm, okay, this was a rather strange plate. The food didn’t taste bad in any way whatsoever but it was so damn odd. First of all, it’s a cold plate. Second, the asparagus is pureed. And third, you can’t see the veal, but the veal was literally just a thin layer of meat that was sliced and put on the plate before the asparagus puree was poured on top. Again, it didn’t taste bad, but the dish was just very unusual.

Next came our main courses. We both ordered off of the specials menu — I picked the spinach ravioli in a sage and butter sauce. This was such a phenomenal pick because after filling up on appetizers I desperately needed a light entree. I am such a sage lover. And I couldn’t help but laugh with my boyfriend over the fact that we were literally eating the same exact dinner that I had made him for the first meal I cooked for him. Aww, so sweet! (I made him a fresh caprese salad with a spinach ravioli in a butter and sage sauce — super easy to make at home!) But the chef at Bar Pitti did a great job infusing the fantastic flavor of sage into the butter. And I loved that there was plenty of butter sauce to scoop up from the plate onto the ravioli!

food at bar pitti

My boyfriend ordered a farfalle with salmon and asparagus in a pink sauce. I am not a fan of salmon when it’s cooked — I love love love it raw but forget cooking it and feeding it to me. Ick! But I surprisingly enjoyed this farfalle dish! Full of flavor and not an overwhelming taste of salmon, I really enjoyed all of the different tastes that were cooked into this dish. I was disappointed about one thing though — the farfalle aka bowtie pasta was wayyy over cooked. I’m such a typical Al Dente type of girl that loves her pasta just cooked enough that there is a slight firmness to the pasta. The texture of this pasta reminded me of the way my macaroni turned out the first time when I cooked it in the microwave back in college. Luckily the taste of the pasta was no where near Easy Mac!

Last but not least was our dessert. I have been on such a sorbet kick lately so I couldn’t help but order a serving of tangerine sorbet. (I think of my new obsession of sorbet is just a way for me to do research. My friend Brittany and her friend Gina recently gave me a KitchenAid ice cream maker as a thank you for letting them stay in my apartment for a long weekend. How nice is that! So now I have been learning all about what flavors taste great in ice cream and sorbet!) The tangerine sorbet was loaded with flavor and reminded me of my gelato experiences I had on my recent trip to Italy. The presentation was also fantastic — the sorbet was stuffed back into a tangerine! (My boyfriend and I were actually debating this… I thought that the tangerine looked like an orange, he thinks it looks like a tangerine. Please, someone agree with me on this that a tangerine looks exactly like an orange! )

And then my boyfriend ordered the tiramisu which tasted fantastic! I laughed at him though because this tiramisu tastes exactly like coffee/espresso and my boyfriend hates coffee (so I find it odd that he enjoyed this dessert!) Perfectly rich, and creamy this tiramisu really hits the spot for someone looking for both a sweet and savory dessert.

So besides having over cooked farfalle I am going to rate this restaurant a 9 out of 10. It really was a great experience and I was even able to speak the few words of Italian that I know. (I could easily order double of anything and I have fantastic manners saying please and thank you, and I know how to say “how do you say this in Italian?” So obviously I learned several new words as well.)

By the way, I do have to share with everyone something funny that happened at our dinner table. My boyfriend huffs and puffs whenever the food arrives because he can’t dig in right away. I always have to take a photo of our food first (of course, so I can share the pictures with all of my blog followers). But lately I’ve been noticing while I put my camera/phone away I manage to glance at my boyfriend who is snapping a few pictures himself…. Hmmmm, I think we might have a new food photographer!

Crispo, Meatpacking Restaurant

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to go out to dinner at a restaurant that was recommended to us by a coworker of mine. I am always up for Italian food! I could eat Italian cuisine every day for the rest of my life and be satisfied — I’m one of those people. Even though I enjoy sushi, thai food, Mexican, and French cuisine… I never really crave the foods! But Italian food, I think about it all the time.

Crispo is located right on 14th Street near 8th Ave. It’s so close to Union Square, but I’m going to guess that it’s technically in the Meatpacking neighborhood. If you’re looking for a restaurant close to the hot spots, fun night clubs, and rowdy bars that can be found in Meatpacking, this restaurant is just a 5 minute walk from all of those shenanigans.

The restaurant is loud but intimate. The lighting is magical and you’ll feel cozy at whatever table you are seated at. The low ceilings probably help a lot with the cozy and intimate setting.

The menu is gigantic and a bit over whelming and I was surprised that there’s an entirely different menu for the “specials of the day.” Can you believe it? Of the dayyyy!

Off of the main menu, we started with Parmigiano Crusted Roast Asparagus — this plate contained 4 massive pieces of asparagus spears cooked perfectly (not too over cooked and mushy and it had the perfect crunch to it) and half of the spears were covered with my favorite type of cheese — parmigiano reggiano cheese. The cheese was nice and crispy on top but there was a large amount of it on the vegetables so the cheese was warm and melted underneath the crispy layer.

Another appetizer we ordered off the of the main menu was the Caramelized Brussel Sprouts, Toasted Almonds, and Maple. If you are limiting yourself to only one appetizer, this is the one to get. It was my favorite (and my boyfriend’s favorite too). The brussel sprouts are cooked perfectly and the maple glaze on top adds so much sweetness to the vegetable you will forget what you are eating. Personally, I love brussel sprouts — they can be steamed in a Ziploc steam bag and I’d eat them just like that. But the maple adds loads of comforting flavor to it — I think I’m going to try to recreate these in my own kitchen!

Our final appetizer we ordered was off of the daily special menu — it was a zucchini popper dish that came with cheese stuffed on the inside of the popper and a spicy red sauce. This was our least favorite, the bread on the outside of the zucchini poppers was rather soft and kind of soggy. There was also so much cheese on the inside, I may have been lucky to have one full bite that included a piece of zucchini. The flavors weren’t bad, but the texture was lacking.

For our main dishes I knew exactly what I wanted I didn’t hesitate when ordering — the Butternut Tortelloni with Roast Italian Chestnuts, Sage and Parmigiano.

Anything with butternut I know I am going to love. Perfectly cooked and nice and sweet, exactly what butternut dishes tend to be like, I indulged in every bite. Not a single piece of food was left on my plate. The sage also brought out fantastic flavors in the dish! I recommending this plate as an order if you venture to Crispo.

My boyfriend ordered a pasta dish and he ranked it as just ok. There could have been some more flavors added into the plate. But for all your ordinary pasta lovers that don’t need much to say “wow” I’m sure you would have been happy with the order. (I believe his pasta dish came off of the daily special menu so I can’t tell you exactly what was in it.)

Finally, for dessert… We ordered the tasting of creme brulee and chocolate pot de creme. The creme brulee is definitely one of my favorite desserts and the chef at Crispo did a fantastic job with this! The brown sugar was perfectly torched on the top and all of the flavors were beautiful. The pot de creme was also very tasty and satisfied my chocolate sweet tooth!

Over all I really enjoyed this restaurant — thank you coworker for your recommendation! The restaurant isn’t too far from my apartment and I plan to go back. Hopefully I can bring my friend Stef… I can see her falling in love with the appetizers just like I did!

2012 Food Trends

I recently read over a USA Today article that talks about food trends for 2012 — I actually wasn’t at all that surprised about the selection that was made. For anyone who is living in a city and you’re surrounded by food trends whether you want to be or not, you know what the newest fads are.

It wasn’t all that long ago that cupcakes captivated our attention… Cupcake bakeries were opening on every other corner like Starbuck’s cafes. From Baked By Melissa here in New York City as well as Magnolia Bakery and of course Billy’s — to Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington, D.C., people were seeing these mini-cakes every where! Even Sex and the City (the episodes, not the movie) had Carrie and Mirada chatting outside of Magnolia Bakery in the New York City’s hip and trendy West Village neighborhood.

Then came the popsicle shops and stands. And this food fad came at the most perfect time — right at the start of an insanely hot and almost unbearable summer in 2010. But who wants popsicles in the middle of winter? Plus, you can’t box up a half dozen pops to take into the office for a co-worker’s birthday. So, popsicles had a shorter life-span than cupcakes. And even though everyone will love cupcakes for generations to come, the popularity of going out with a friend for just a cupcake won’t last too much longer. Actually, it’s not even on the radar for popularity any more. And these things are not only costing your wallet a good chunk of money, but they are insanely fattening. I do admire the idea that the cupcake shop Baked By Melissa has. They make insanely small, bite-sized cupcakes. I actually was at an event recently and these little cupcakes graced our tables for dessert — if a large cupcake came my way, I doubt I would have eaten it. Cupcakes actually get pretty messy, they get all over the place, they crumble after you take a bite, and there is not lady-like way to dig into a cupcake the size of your fist. So these petite-chic treats were the perfect touch to the dessert table.

The Meadow in the West Village in NYC

The Meadow in the West Village in New York City

So, a new food trend according to USA Today is salt. Yes, salt. I’ve been chatting on and on for a year now about my favorite salt shop in the West Village called The Meadow. I love that an entire shop is dedicated to selling only the finest salts from all around the world. Not only are they beautifully colored, they also provide your food with an outrageous amount of flavor! Whether you are sprinkling a bit of salt into a dish, or actually cooking your food on a block of pink Himalayan salt, you are guaranteed to love whatever food it is you are making. Even a new hidden gem in the Chelsea Market called the Filling Station is selling a nice selection of salts — but in all honest, head to The Meadow for a wider range of this seasoning.

a shop for salts

Salts from around the world in The Meadow in NYC

Food trucks are another food trend for 2012, but I had thought that these mobile “restaurants” were already winning over people’s attention? The Food Network has already had 2 seasons of The Great Food Truck Race (and I’ll admit, I’m hooked). Maybe food trucks have won over the hearts of city dwellers but now they are off to captivate the rest of America’s suburban inhabitants. We will see.

What other trends are there? “Drugstores as food stores,” is one of them. Well, duh. CVS has all of a sudden added grocery-like items to their store, as well as Duane Reade in NYC… and would anyone ever consider Walmart as a semi-drugstore as well as Target? Because for so long these two stores didn’t exactly have the “mega store” label. Americans just love that one-stop-shop sort of store where they can purchase everything at once. So, naturally brands like Target and Walmart are going to have to make this possible.

Other trends include: Mindful Snacks, Pickles, Butcher Shops, DYI Food, Gluten-Free Food (even if you don’t have a gluten allergy), Seaweed (for lunch!), Quick Response codes on food packaging, Artisan Chocolate, and finally — Korean food.

What other possible food trends are there going to be? I’d love to hear what everyone out there is thinking because you just never seem to know these days where and when a new trend is going to launch.

Happy New Year 2012

I hope everyone is off to a fantastic New Year! How did everyone spend their New Years Eve? Hopefully with a glass of champagne in one hand!? (I love this photograph from Red Haute and Bothered on Tumblr. I just had to share it with you).

Instead of going into all of the stereotypical New Year’s resolutions… I want to share with you a few of my favorite posts from 2011. I’ve discovered so many fantastic restaurants here in New York — and I hope everyone is able to try some new and interesting cuisine in this upcoming year!

For the overall tastiest dish in New York City — Al Di La Trattoria in Brooklyn, New York — fits the bill! I never go to Brooklyn, but I would happily go any time if it meant I would be eating at Al Di La.

My favorite meal while out of New York City was from — Antico Noe — a sandwich shop in Florence, Italy. I never imagined that a sandwich could be this delicious! I plan to go back to Florence one day, just so I can eat here!

The best burger award goes to — Minetta Tavern — their Black Label Burger is the reason why you need to make reservations one month in advance! And do not offer to share this burger with anyone. Trust me, you’ll want it all to yourself. (*and eat it the way the chef prepares it, do NOT add ketchup.)

For an affordable, yet trendy and sophisticated menu, the award award goes to — L’Artusi — I love that the menu changes seasonally, and the portion sizes are fantastic!

The most exotic restaurant surly is — Ventanas — this Spanish-Moroccan fusion restaurant has mastered the tastiest dishes and has an incredibly entertaining ambiance.

The fastest and tastiest restaurant award goes to — La Esquina’s Taqueria in Soho — it’s hard not to stop here for some tacos and grilled corn whenever I am shopping downtown! Plus, it’s a great place to take friends to when they visit, no one dislikes their food!

The best comfort food award goes to — The Meatball Shop — the unfortunately long wait keeps me from going back, but the food is delicious and insanely cheap! Who wouldn’t want a bowl of spicy pork meatballs?

Pizza may have been around for centuries, but Co. in Chelsea knew what to do to have people re-discovering it again. Even though it’s a bit pricey for pizza, you’ll love every bite!

The best South American food goes to the 24/7 joint in Hell’s Kitchen — Empanada Mama. The avocado salad is to-die-for but all of the empanadas are fantastic! This is obviously what they are known for, so you must order a bunch when you go (plus, they are wicked cheap!).

All Things Nutella!

Over a year ago, someone had the audacity to comment on my Nutella post saying, “I just don’t get it with you people and your love for Nutella.” Excuse me? You don’t get it? What is there to get? I truly enjoy Nutella. I’m not obsessed with it in any way whatsoever. When I run out of a jar, I don’t rush out to the store to get more. Nor do I find myself eating it every week. It’s a great sweet to have in the house because you can do multiple things with it! Really, you can. It’s a versatile sweet that can be used at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Have you ever made french toast, skipped the maple syrup and added Nutella and loads of berries (like: raspberries and blueberries)? It’s a great topping, especially if you have run out of maple syrup! Have you ever put Nutella on waffles? Another fantastic surprise! It tastes great!

While browsing on tumblr. I discovered that there are so many people out there that are in love with Nutella. It’s a universal name — no wonder why people all around the world are turning to this chocolate hazelnut treat! While checking out photos, I realized there is so much out there I can be doing with my Nutella — add it to donuts, dip a chocolate bar into the jar, spread it on your pancakes, make homemade Nutella ice cream, buy the little packets so you can carry some in your bag (I do this with Jiff peanut butter), dip strawberries in it (I do that with raspberries), and put it in between layers of pound cake for a decadent dessert.

So, I must know… what is everyone putting their Nutella on? How are you eating it? My good friend Jesse just likes to eat it right out of the jar with a gigantic spoon. But I prefer it with food!

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Triple Chocolate Chunk Brownies

chocolate browniesYes. I am from Hershey Pennsylvania. Where the air smells like chocolate, where teenagers call the town “the chocolate bubble,” and where all of the amazing chocolate candies are created.

I don’t really enjoy Hershey’s products that much any more. There used to be bite sized chocolate covered pretzels that I loved but they discontinued them. I still do enjoy putting a Christmas Tree shaped Reese’s peanut butter cup on my s’mores, and I love Take-5 bars that are chocolate covered pretzels with peanut butter and caramel. Yum. How amazing does that sound?

Betty Crocker has a Hershey’s Triple Chocolate Chunk brownie mix that is to die for. You can also bake them from scratch with a recipe that you can find here. But if you make them from the box I would suggest adding some chunks from a Hershey’s bar to the top and then top it off with a sprinkle of powdered sugar (not pictured in the photo, but that’s the final touch I always put on my brownies).

These brownies are always such a big hit! When I make these from scratch everyone always asks me to make them more! So be sure to check out the recipe and make these for friends and family this holiday season!

I’d love to hear all about what everyone is baking this winter. Either post a comment or contact me!!!

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

Milk and Cookies, A Perfect Dessert

Who said that cookies and milk are just for Santa?

If you ask me, it’s a perfect dessert to serve for friends at a party — especially this time of year! By using double shot glasses for the milk and by placing a small cookie over top — it turns into a perfect mini-dessert at a cocktail party! Be sure to bake the cookies nice and fresh so they come out perfectly warmed up for your friends. Not only are they the perfect serving size, but they are also seasonally themed for the holidays and it will bring back so many memories for your guests. Those that celebrate Christmas surly remember the times they put out cookies and milk for Santa!

My Santa Memory:

I must have been about 6-years-old and my family was still living in our New England home… I remember it being a very cold winter in New Hampshire that year. The design of our home had our wood-burning stove downstairs in the basement and our nice decorative fireplace upstairs. So we would hang our stockings at the nice fireplace so they wouldn’t catch on fire. The big Christmas tree was set up in our gigantic sun room that was technically located between the two floors in the back of our house. On Christmas Eve I put out the milk and cookies by the decorative fire place upstairs. Naturally, I was anxious for Christmas to arrive and I woke up very late (probably around midnight) to peek to see if Santa had come yet. I quietly walked down the hallway because I knew my parents were still awake downstairs. I saw that the stockings were stuffed! And the milk glass was empty and the cookies were gone! I ran over to the staircase that over looked the sun room to see if the presents were under the tree. But to my surprise, there were no gifts! I realized this when I was half way down the stair case. I froze in my steps realizing this: the stockings were stuffed, but the Christmas tree didn’t have any presents under it. What the hell was going on!?! And then I realized the most petrifying part: that must mean that Santa is in the house!!!!! I clung to the stairs, completely frozen, and scared that Santa would take my life if he saw that I was out of bed. I think that was the last year I believed in the Jolly ol’ man.

To this day, it’s a pretty funny story. My parents were probably peeing their pants when they saw me clinging to the staircase. I refused to go upstairs, and I refused to go downstairs. I seriously thought that Santa was in the house some where. And for some reason the man that brought so much Christmas cheer to my life was now a serial killer out to get the children who were out of bed! I have been laughing while telling this story to you all. I would love to hear your holiday stories too!