Lefse (Norwegian Potato Crepes)

There are some dishes that, upon hearing about them for the first time, you're immediate reaction is "hm."  Sometimes that is warranted, but sometimes you need to try the dish to understand how delicious it is. Lefse is one of those dishes.

Sugar Plum Pudding with Anise & Cajeta

Hello, friends.

I have someone I would like to introduce you to. This is Cajeta, the goatier version of Dulce de Leche.

Cajeta is a rich, creamy caramel sauce made with goat's milk, rather than cow's milk. The goat's milk adds a very subtle tang that helps to subdue the sweetness of the caramel. I used it as a topper for my sugar plum pudding, and because I like to incorporate a bit of the spirits into my desserts during the holiday season, I drizzled some congac onto the pudding while it was cooling off so that it would be absorbed into the cake like a sponge.

Cencioni Pasta with Caramelized Shallots in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

As you may have been able to discern from my seasonal seed giveaways, I am addicted to gardening. I've tried my hand at growing many a vegetable, fruit, and flower, but up until very recently, never had I tried cultivating a fungi. I was always intrigued by the idea of growing them. My Theio Niko had a large mushroom-growing heap in his backyard that I remember being covered with mushrooms, and when I thought about how expensive many types of mushrooms can be when purchased from the store, growing them at home made a lot of sense. This inexperience in fungi-growing was remedied when I got my indoor brown oyster mushroom growing kit from Gourmet Mushroom Products. It arrived as a little white log, about 4 inches in diameter and 10 inches tall, with a large and perforated plastic baggie, a sponge, and detailed instructions

Minted Rose Peppermint Bark

It is that beautiful time of year again. Where noses turn pink from cold, homes are dressed to the nines with holiday sparkle, and the flavor of peppermint finds its way into the most delightful of treats. One of my standby holiday sweets is Peppermint Bark, melted down white chocolate mixed with peppermint extract and chopped hard candy, it pretty much guarantees that it will satisfy your sweet tooth.