Baking and Cooking Blog – Evil Shenanigans

Fruit Cake

Wait!  Before you hit the back button just hear me out. I know fruit cake gets a bad rap, and most of the time it is well deserved.  Be it the candied citron, the fluorescent cherries, or insipidly sweet cake, most fruit cake is in fact very bad.  Terrible even.  I’m still asking you to [...]

Double Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I love to tweak recipes. Sometimes they are big tweaks, other times it is a small change with a HUGE impact. This is one of those recipes. In The Joy of Cooking there is a recipe for perfectly lovely Peanut Butter Cookies. They are traditional, with the crosshatch design on the top, in a way [...]

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Let’s talk about party food, shall we? When I host, or attend and help cook for, a cocktail party I like to think about finger foods and two-bite dishes that are easy to eat, pretty and not too messy.   I like savory dishes that stand up to a variety of cocktails and beers, and nothing [...]

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

On a recent trip to visit my Great Aunt Ruby I had the opportunity to copy down a few more family recipes. One of the recipes was for an oatmeal raisin cookie made with coconut and cocoa powder.  It sounded unique and I jotted it down to play with later.  Well,  later came sooner than [...]

Christmas Cookie Round-Up!!

I’m in a turkey related coma at present, but rather than leave you empty handed I am posting some of my favorite cookie recipes that are perfect for the holidays.  In the weeks to come there will be loads of cookies, cakes, breads, candy, and savoury dishes, but these recipes will get you started! I’ll [...]

Butter Croissants

Ready for something a tad more advanced?  It takes time to make, but it is SO worth it. I fell in love with croissant making a few semesters ago in my Laminated Dough class.  Bread making is among my favorite things to do in the kitchen, but making laminated doughs (doughs with butter sandwiched between [...]

Tex-Mex Macaroni and Cheese

Make no mistake, I adore macaroni and cheese. I have posted a recipe here before and it is sublime. It is one of my favorite things to eat, and I love to tinker with my original recipe and see what new variations I can come up with.   This new recipe combines macaroni and cheese [...]

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

Growing up we would go to Houston for Thanksgiving and spend it with my mom’s family. We would always have Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt Ruby’s house, because she had the largest dining room, and the food was always spectacular. Of course, as a child all I was only interested in stuffing, rolls, macaroni and [...]

Slow-Cooker Braised Short Ribs with Honey Garlic Glaze

Braising is one of my favorite ways to prepare tough cuts of meat. This slow method of cooking breaks down the connective tissues and fat making otherwise tough cuts of meat tender, juicy, and very flavorful.  I almost feel bad for people who have no idea how wonderful cheap cuts can be.  Of the cheap [...]

Maple Thyme Chicken Legs

I don’t know about you but after a long day at work, or a busy day out and about, the last thing I want is dinner that takes any kind of effort to prepare.  This is about as easy as they come. That is why I love, and adore, chicken legs!  They make dinner so easy.  [...]