Baking and Cooking Blog – Evil Shenanigans

Chocolate Swirl Pound Cake

When I was a child swirled pound cake was an utter mystery to me. I wondered how they were able to get the chocolate batter to make such intricate designs in the finished cake.  Now that I am older I understand that the oven does nearly all the swirling because as the cake bakes the [...]

Pasta with Zinfandel Tomato Sauce and Ricotta

Don’t you just love meals you can make in the snap, but taste like you cooked all day? I work three part-time jobs at the moment (long story) and I also attend culinary school at night, so I understand and adore quick meals that do not taste quick.  What makes this pasta sauce so tasty [...]

Watch Out NYC! Evil Shenanigans is Comin’!

Big news kids!!  I am going to New York City!      I was selected, along with 14 other FoodBuzz Featured Publishers, to attend a special event in New York City sponsored by Electrolux to help raise awareness of ovarian cancer for The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund!  We also get to meet Kelly Ripa and have a [...]

Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes

The combination of chocolate and banana is highly underrated.   Aside from some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, and chocolate chip banana bread, the combination is largely overlooked.  Well, break out your bananas because we are going to make something that will make chocolate lovers rejoice.    The crepes are chocolate but they do not have [...]

Slightly Less Evil Shenanigans – The 10 in 10 Challenge Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Ten in Ten Challenge! Believe it or not, I really like food that is terribly bad for you (I’ll wait while you pick your jaw up off the floor). The fastest way to wreck a healthy eating plan is to say that certain foods are forbidden. All that does [...]

Mushroom Risotto

When the weather turns cold and the wind begins to howl, nothing warms me up faster than a bowl of creamy risotto. Shockingly, I have never had Risotto until last year!  To be honest with you, it was always the last thing I considered ordering because I love pasta so much, but one night at [...]

Apple Carrot Maple Cakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Nothing makes me happier than when I can combine two things I love into one thing I really love! I love apple cake and I love carrot cake.  While looking at some apples in the market I noticed carrots on sale also, and inspiration struck!  Why not combine the two?  Tart apples, sweet carrots, warm spices, [...]

Pan Seared Polenta with Chicken and Tomato Sauce

Last year I had the opportunity to attend a mushroom event in Dallas where we were provided a cooking demo by Chef Kent Rathburn of Abacus restaurant. My favorite dish of the event was a polenta cake with mushroom ragu.  A few weeks after the event I received the recipe for the polenta with mushroom [...]

The 10 in 10 Challenge! Week 1 …

Let’s all just take a moment and collect our thoughts … take a deep breath … here we go. It is the New Year and I know we are all plotting resolutions that, sadly, will be broken within two weeks.  That is a sad statistic.  Resolutions don’t work, but lifestyle changes do.  Did you know [...]

Best of 2009!!

Today is New Years Eve, and before we get too deep into things, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Today I am busy recovering from the last month of cooking, baking, and entertaining.  While I spend the day with family and friends, and take down the Christmas Decorations, I will leave you with some of my favorite recipes from [...]