butter | Mommie Cooks!

Family Friendly Fridays: A Review of Small Batch Baking For Chocolate Lovers

May 6, 2011 By Julie 55 Comments

Debby Maugans is my new best friend. No I’ve never met her, but let me just say this. Any woman that can put together a cookbook like the one she did, most certainly should qualify for best friend status.

I recently received her newest cookbook for review entailing a treasure of recipes for small batch baking. But we’re not talking just any old recipes. We’re talking all chocolate, all the time recipes. With everything from strawberry chocolate tarts to chocolate chip cookie souffles to white chocolate lemon creme brulee to this beauty pictured above, the diva milk chocolate layer cake, she fills my chocolate sweet tooth like no other cookbook ever has. And get this, it’s all done in manageable proportions. The recipe for that cake you see above makes two of those little chocolate gifts; one for me and one for my husband. One indulgence and that’s it. No extra cake waiting around to taunt your waistline day after day. Just one glorious craving fulfilled in a personal sized portion.

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Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms

May 3, 2011 By Julie 36 Comments

Kids say the darndest things. Last night we were sitting down to dinner, enjoying some quality time, when Alex made a sudden declaration that he didn’t like meat. “All meat?” I inquired. “No meat.” he replied. So I asked him the next logical question that came to my mind. “Do you think you might want be a vegetarian when you grow up?” An overly exaggerated look of utter frustration washed over his face as he rolled his eyes at me and sighed. “I thought we already discussed this. I want to be an ice cream truck driver when I grow up!” Silly, silly mommy for asking such a ridiculous question. But hey, as long as he drives his truck through my neighborhood it’s all good to me.

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Grandma’s Creamy Lemon Pie with Boysenberry Sauce – A guest post with Lyndsay from Pinch of Yum

April 20, 2011 By Julie 24 Comments

Lyndsay is one of my favorite food bloggers. I’ve been following her recipes for awhile now. She always seems to know exactly what I’m in the mood for and then she seals the deal with gorgeous shots that would make anyone crave a bit of what she’s just created. If you don’t believe me, check out this incredible lemon pie. And when you’re finished oohing and ahhing, head over to Lyndsay’s blog; Pinch of Yum for more taste tantalizing treats.

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Calling all lemon lovers! And all non-lemon lovers! It really doesn’t matter what your thoughts are on lemon desserts, because this is a dessert in a league entirely of its own.

I will be the first to admit that I typically don’t like lemon-y sweets. Lemon bars, lemon pies, lemon curd? None of it really appeals to me. However, I absolutely love this pie. That’s my testimonial for all the non-lemon lovers . Just give it a try. I dare you not to like it.

And why wouldn’t you try it, since you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now?

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Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mushroom Sauce

April 13, 2011 By Julie 30 Comments

The voting over at the Rice Krispies Facebook page is officially up and running! If you have a minute head over and cast a vote for Team Asheville’s entries. We’re the top four pictures listed. Thanks so much and I’ll let you know the results as soon as they’re announced.

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Cordon Bleu is one of those dishes that instantly takes me back to my childhood days. My family spent all their vacations up in Northern Wisconsin at my grandparents cottage on Rest Lake. We enjoyed summers frolicking in the water and digging never-ending holes to China, and winters planting our tip-ups on the iced over lake in the hopes of catching that one lucky fish. I still remember venturing out on the boat one warm summer morning with my grandfather on a hunt for muskies; one of the biggest and baddest lake fish there is, and the exact moment that one actually started to follow my line towards the boat. I began to reel faster and faster; there was no way I was going to let that fish actually catch my line!

When we arrived home from our fishing expedition, my grandmother had put together a lunch for us of cordon bleu with mushroom sauce. She was a big fan of the Schwan man (still is) and would always have a pack of their cordon bleu on hand. Oh how I loved those chicken filled treats. I used to look forward to visiting my grandma Mimi just so I could get my hands on one of them.

Today my grandmother lives in Arizona and we don’t get out to visit her and my grandfather nearly as much as we’d like. My grandfather’s 87th birthday was a few weeks back and it reminded me of those younger times up at the cottage. This dish is a way to bring back those cherished moments and to say thank you to my grandparents for all the wonderful memories and love they continue to pour over me to this day.

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Family Friendly Fridays: Cherry Almond White Chocolate Scones

April 8, 2011 By Julie 21 Comments

Is it just me, or has Family Friendly Fridays turned into a weekly display of rich and decadent “gotta have it now” desserts? Just thinking back off hand, I can recall a caramel apple cake that threatened to not only put apples back on the map, but permanently launch them to the top of the charts. And then there was the pretzel toffee crusted chocolate cake. Mamma Mia, bring out the milk cuz a second slice of that beauty was inevitable. And let’s not forget the chocolate churros. And I know I wasn’t the only convert to those. My friend Mari over at Mari’s cakes reported back to me that she made them a whopping six times! Seriously sweet.

Not that I’m complaining. I never meet a sweet I don’t like and am quite talented when it comes to engineering an excuse to bake up a meal-ending confection. Especially if it’s a treat like this one.

Now I know that scones are typically a breakfast food, but honestly, who made that rule up anyway. Certainly not me. And with the creation of this recipe, you can bring on the dessert. And hey, if you want to have it for breakfast. I’m all for that too.

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The Rice Krispie Challenge Part 1: Easter and a $100 Visa Card Giveaway

April 4, 2011 By Julie 171 Comments

Ok guys. It’s time to have a little fun around here. I am participating in a year long competition sponsored by Rice Krispies where four teams of four bloggers each, get together once a quarter and create a rice krispie treat and centerpiece based on a given theme. The submissions are then voted on by you and judged by the folks at Kelloggs. The winning team has their recipe featured and after all four competitions have been completed, an overall grand prize winner is announced.

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