Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover's Brownies

    Well......the obsession continues!!  The combo of chocolate and peanut butter, especially in the form of "Reeses Peanut Butter Cups", is always a winner around here.  So, when I saw this brownie recipe, containing semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, peanut butter, milk chocolate, Aaaand peanut butter cups........well, the Valentine's Day treat for this year was obvious!!

Raspberry Tiramisu

    O.K., so, definitely not "berry season" in my neck of the woods, but I think something fresh, sweet, and delicious is always an appropriate thing to serve, right??  (And, besides...... my local grocery store had 1/2 pints of raspberries on sale for $1.00 each!  I couldn't pass them up!!)

    Let me first say, that I love a good Tiramisu.  Surprising, since I'm not a coffee drinker.  But....add coffee to a dessert, especially one containing chocolate, and I'm all over it!!  This version, although not containing coffee or chocolate, is delicious!  A fresh, sweet and fruity version of an Italian classic!!

Stracciatella Tortoni Cake w/ Espresso Fudge Sauce

    So.........what's a girl to do with her time, when the temperatures  have been struggling to rise above single digits, and outdoor activities are "less than appealing"??  Get in the kitchen and make a frozen dessert, of course!  No....really!  Now, I admit, freezing temperatures usually launch me into a full-blown "baking mood".  Don the apron, crank up the oven, and get to baking! But, coming across this recipe, from an old issue of Gourmet Magazine, sent me in a whole new direction!  I just couldn't resist!

Holiday Peppermint Fudge

        Remember when you were in grade school and time went by so slowly? Christmas break and summer vacation seemed to go on forever!  Well, not anymore, folks!  Christmas is almost here!!!  I can hardly believe there's only about a week left until the big day!

    The tree is up and the house is decorated, but the real baking has yet to begin.  I've just started with a couple of candy treats.  My well-loved, Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, have already made their way back home with our oldest son, visiting from Seattle.  More are to be made and, hopefully, sent off to another son in Sarasota.

    Now, I've shared with you my family's love of anything containing peanut butter and chocolate, but ........have I mentioned that I also have a bit of "a thing" for the combination of chocolate and mint??  So, you'll understand my desire to share this rich and yummy Holiday Peppermint Fudge!!

White Chocolate and Banana Cake w/ White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    Is it just me, or does banana eating go in spurts?  It seems that, when I only buy a few of them, they're gone in a day or two and everybody's looking for more.  I can't seem to keep them in the house.  Then, all of a sudden, just when I think I've got a handle on the whole "supply and demand" thing, I have bananas turning speckled and black left and right!  What is going on?  

    I recently found myself in this predicament and decided to use it to my advantage.  Banana cake it would be.  But, not just any banana cake.  A White Chocolate Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting!

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake

    So, have I ever mentioned my slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint??  Well........I have a  slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint.  There, I said it.  I feel better.  Now, let me tell you what I decided to do for my birthday this year.  I decided to bake myself a birthday cake!  But, not just any birthday cake.....a Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake!!  This delicious dessert has a layer of scrumptious peppermint cheesecake, sandwiched between two layers of dark chocolate cake.  And to top it all off...a generous coating of peppermint  frosting!!  I had seen this recipe on another food blog called Shugary Sweets. (With that name, you know I had to check it out....and Aimee, the writer of that blog, did not disappoint.)  I had every intention of making it over the Christmas holiday, but I just never got to it.  I still had some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses and a couple of the bars in my cupboard, just waiting to be eaten, so...... the choice was clear!  After a couple adjustments, this would become the cake for my special day!

Sweet Pumpkin Fritters

    Well, it seems that fall will soon turn into winter, as evidenced by our first real snowfall of the season.  That's right.  We woke up to a lovely covering of snow this morning......so pretty!  But, snow means cold and cold means we all want hearty, comforting foods.....Things like soups and stews, roasted meats and winter vegetables, like sturdy greens and squash.  And......let's not forget about pumpkin!  You'll find pumpkins around my house, used as part of my fall decorating, and I love to make the usual pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies (remember this recipe?) and pumpkin pie.  But, this recipe was a bit of a revelation!  I've shared a delicious version of apple fritters with you, but hadn't thought of using pumpkin as a main ingredient instead of apples.  Well, now I know....Sweet Pumpkin Fritters.....a great idea!

Panforte di Siena

    Well, Christmas is almost upon us!  I can hardly believe it!!  In just shy of two weeks it will be here!!!  Every year I tell myself  I'm going to get all my baking, etc. done early, but......somehow that never seems to happen.  We usually take our vacation toward the end of October and, when we get back, it's time to start thinking about the holidays.  Well, we have several birthdays in October and November, then there's Thanksgiving, and then Christmas is....well....HERE!  (And this year we didn't get back until two days before Thanksgiving!!)

    O.K., now that I've vented a little about my lack of time to prepare for  this WONDERFUL HOLIDAY, let me say that  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! 

Fudge-Glazed Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

    Today's cake......not an Italian recipe......but sometimes a girl just has to have her chocolate, Italian or not! Throw some peanut butter in there and I'm a happy camper!  A chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter filling, chocolate ganache topping, and salted peanuts......I mean, come on......really.  This is scrumptious!  Did I mention that chocolate and peanut butter is one of my family's favorite combinations?  (As I type I'm actually munching on a chocolate and peanut butter protein bar.) 
    Anyway, I have so many recipes that have peanut butter and chocolate in them, but this is one I had cut out of an issue of the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue forever ago and hadn't tried yet.  As I was frantically searching for something to make that would quiet the chocolate cravings I came across this recipe and thought....Yes, this should do it!  So, here it is! I hope you'll try it. A big  little splurge now and then won't hurt, right?

An Italian Market and a tasty Plum Tart

      Where I grew up in upstate N.Y. there is a large Italian population, so there isn't much of a problem finding typical Italian foods and ingredients.  If you go into a grocery store and ask for broccoli rabe or capicolla you won't have a problem.  And there are always the Italian markets, bakeries, etc.  But, in my present location, not so much.  So, after asking around a bit and researching on the internet,  I discovered a great little Italian market called Carfagna's in Columbus, just under an hour away.  We usually make the trip every couple months (when the extra-virgin olive oil gets low. . . we go).  
       Well, Saturday was one of those days.  It goes without saying that there would be quite a bit of time and money spent, but it's something I look forward to.