Baking and Cooking Blog – Evil Shenanigans

Lemon Cherry Cake

When I buy fruit I find that I almost always buy more than I need.    In fact, I would go so far as to say I do that with most food.  That isn’t to say I am forever throwing away perfectly good food, but I plan for a dessert or salad and then overbuy [...]

Croque-Madame Panini

What is better than a ham and cheese panini?  How about a ham and cheese panini topped with a fried egg and some creamy mornay sauce?   While dining out at a local French cafe I had a Croque-Monsieur which was quite nice.  I promptly went home to research what went into this sandwich when [...]

Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Cheese Burgers

A well grilled burger is a thing of beauty.  Add jalapenos, sharp cheddar cheese and thick cut bacon and it is the stuff of dreams. I have a few requirements for a good burger. It must be made with fairly lean  meat (around 90%), it must have salt and pepper, and it must remain moist after [...]

Cherry Cheese Tart

I love fresh cherries, and at this time of year they are plump and sweet.   When the cherries hit the produce section I grab them up for cherry pies, cherry sauce, and for eating ice cold on a hot day.  However, I must warn you, cooking with fresh cherries in season will spoil you [...]

Spicy Red Bean Soup

 Sometimes you just need a good bowl of soup.  The funny thing about soup is that despite how easy most soups are to make at home we, as a society, so often turn to the cans of soup that line grocery store shelves.  Yes, they are easy to prepare, but for all their ease of use they lack [...]

Creamy Orzo and Mushroom Pasta

Ever since I was invited to the Mushroom Council lunch a few months ago I have been looking for new ways to add mushrooms into my everyday meals.   I have also been looking for new ways to use favorite ingredients because I can sometimes get into a cooking rut.  Orzo pasta is one of my [...]

Fresh Peach Cobbler

When the weather turns from warm to hot, and the scents of grilling fill the air, my thoughts turn to cobbler.    I would like to take moment to clear up a misconception about cobbler.  It is not just fruit with a layer of pastry crust on top.  That is NOT a cobbler.  That is pie.  [...]

Slow-cooked Beef Roast

I love a good old-fashioned roast beef dinner, but I really do not have the time to make it during the week.   Well, I didn’t until now. A few weeks ago I had a serious craving for some roast beef, the tender, fall-apart kind my grandmother used to make when we would go to her [...]

Strawberry Jam Tarts

 Last October I had the opportunity to go to England and Ireland and the trip changed my life. Overall, I must admit, the food was pretty bleak.  I was so busy preparing for my friend’s wedding (in which I was not only the Matron of Honor but I was the cake designer) that I ate a lot [...]

Buttermilk Biscuits

Tomorrow is the 4th of July here in the US, and I can think of no better way to celebrate our nation’s independence than with a hearty breakfast of flaky and tender buttermilk biscuits.   For years I struggled with buttermilk biscuits.  Drop biscuits I had down pat.  I could make batches of those fluffy little [...]