chocolate

Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe

December 19, 2018

I can’t imagine celebrating the Christmas holidays without one of my all-time favorite recipes: My mom’s homemade fudge that is basically the best fudge I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.

My mom makes this fudge every single Christmas—and only at Christmas—and while every year she makes it to give as neighbor gifts, she always keeps a stash for herself, usually eating it for breakfast with her coffee.

Yes, it’s THAT good and yes, she is THAT smart to eat chocolate for breakfast. Hey, you only live once.

This recipe is a family legend, and originally comes from my grandma. But to me it’s all my mom’s. It’s rich, fudgy, and delivers a solid bite your teeth will easily sink into.

I first shared this recipe way back in 2011, the first year I started blogging. But when my mom stopped by when I was making the fudge, I asked her to step in and really worked her for the details of her secret fudge-making ways, because she IS the master.

Let’s make fudge!continue to the recipe… about Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe

The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

September 20, 2018

These easy no-bake cookies are loaded with goodness and even a little bit of healthy. Old-fashioned oats, chocolate and the surprise addition of coconut make these classic no-bake cookies (without the peanut butter!) the very best.

No-bake cookies are a starter-cook-in-the-kitchen classic recipe that’s oh so easy to make.

That’s the good part.

So what’s the bad part?

It’s just that they’re so dang easy to make you can whip up a batch whenever the craving strikes. And then eat the whole bowl. By yourself. In one sitting.

Just ask my husband. That was his M.O. when back in the day after high school football practice he would make no-bake cookies at least once a week. As all big brothers do (or more aptly don’t) he refused to share any of the batch with his siblings. Brotherly love. It’s real.

But here’s the best part…

Once you make these no-bake beauties yourself, you’ll see why he was so selfish. And you won’t blame him one bit for keeping them all to himself.continue to the recipe… about The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

German Chocolate Banana Bread

March 27, 2017

My favorite banana bread recipe gets a nutty chocolate chunk upgrade, making this quick bread a dessert lovers dream.

To say I have a fetish with German Chocolate anything and everything is a severe understatement. Proof in the chocolate pudding is right here.

I could try and blame it on my German heritage, but let’s just say it like it is: I am a load-it-up-with-all-the-nuts-chocolate lover and I have no willpower when this flavor-bomb combo is in sight. I mean, have you ever had Baskin Robbins German Chocolate Cake ice cream?

Has chocolate ever been considered a part of our DNA? Apparently so! Who-da thunk that someone (not me) was likely to investigate?

My favorite part of this banana bread is all the additional fixins, but the secret is what lies under the toppings, and proof that beauty is more than skin deep.

continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Banana Bread

Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

February 12, 2017

Classic dark chocolate brownies from Chelsea Market’s famed Fat Witch Bakery is a recipe every chocolate brownie lover should have in their “best of” archives.

Several years ago I was in a New York City photo studio above Chelsea Market, art directing a photo shoot with eighties supermodel and raw-food enthusiast Carol Alt. That day she shared how eating a raw diet improved her health and changed her life for the better. I mean, she was so devout she wrote a cookbook about it. She even had her personal chef prepare a gourmet raw food lunch for us. So healthy—and all raw food—but still, pretty good.

And then, as soon as the shoot was finished, I headed directly downstairs to the Chelsea Market food emporium and bought myself a big, chocolate, BAKED Fat Witch brownie.

Brownies vs. raw food. See? For me, it’s always been about balance. continue to the recipe… about Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake

January 11, 2017

Flipping through the glossy pages of Irvin Lin’s baking book, Marbled, Swirled, and Layered: 150 Recipes and Variations for Artful Bars, Cookies, Pies, Cakes, and More, puts those famous images of Wonka’s spectacular chocolate factory to shame. And as the creator of the blog Eat the Love, Irvin has many reasons to be chuffed at the success of his baking book, including the fact The New York Times recently included it on their list of the Year’s Best Baking Cookbooks — excellent work, Irvin.

From whimsically imaginative treats like hazelnut cocoa linzer cookies with blackberry-mint jam, to vanilla and peach-bourbon ice cream pie with honey-cornflake crust, each page is a dessert lover’s delight.

Just make sure you’re armed with a sleeve of cookies or something when you settle down with a copy, because it’ll definitely cue the sugar cravings.

With my birthday coming up next week, I knew a cake should be in the making and this Classic Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake immediately spoke to me. And there’s no reason to wait for someone else to bake one for me when I have a book like Irvin’s to guide me along the cake-baking way. continue to the recipe… about Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake

Peppermint Truffles Recipe

December 22, 2016

Refreshing peppermint and velvety ganache are the perfect match in these deep, rich truffle candies topped with crushed candy canes, and they will cure any chocolate craving!

This recipe is in partnership with McCormick

It was one of those always sunny-because-we-live-in-LA mornings where we were chit chatting in our office, trying to shed off a bit of our holiday spirit and get into work mode. Looking at the stack of manuscripts she had yet to edit, my bff Laura pulled out a white candy box and asked me if I wanted a truffle.

A truffle? Why would I want to eat a pungent, Italian mushroom all by itself? Where’s the pasta???

“No silly. They’re chocolates,” she giggled. “David (her ex) makes them every year for Christmas. You need to try one.”

Of course I did. And that, my friends, is where my choco-holic cravings were cured and my chocolate truffle obsession began.continue to the recipe… about Peppermint Truffles Recipe

Lighter Caramel Seven-Layer Bars Recipe

November 13, 2016

Greek yogurt, egg whites, unsweetened coconut and fat-free sweetened condensed milk make these caramel bars a lighter version of the classic seven layer bars.

Typically when you hear the words “baking” and “healthy,” they’re not in the same sentence, especially when it comes to the holidays. It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, eh? The holidays are the time to just let go, to overlook better choices. Or is it?

Luckily bloggers like Amy Atherton, of Amy’s Healthy Baking are changing the way people think about virtuous sweets.

With simple substitutions like alternative flours, healthier oils and natural sweeteners (and less of them), baked goods can in fact be healthier and tasty at the same time, and this is something Amy has undoubtedly figured out. So to all of you skeptics out there, her mindset is for you.continue to the recipe… about Lighter Caramel Seven-Layer Bars Recipe

How to Make Classic Tiramisu

September 14, 2016

This classic and authentic Italian dessert of ladyfingers dipped in espresso and Kahlua is layered with a mascarpone custard lightened up with fluffy whipped cream.

This post is in partnership with Kroger

It started out as just another photo shoot for the health publication I was the creative director for when we lived in Los Angeles. It was years ago but it’s one of the few I harken back to with a wee bit of envy. Not because of the beautiful model we were shooting that day, nor the perfectly celebrity-styled home in the Hollywood Hills we had rented as our location for the day.

No, it was actually because of a small-talk conversation I had with my wardrobe stylist. She was leaving the next day for Italy. For a month. And she was staying in a villa in Florence. Not just any villa, but a villa she had been invited to by restauranteur and chef Nancy Silverton of Los Angeles’ famed Campanile and Mozza empires. Their plan was simple: to cook together (with the amazing Nancy as chef!), eat amazing Italian dinners, drink local wines, and do all the things one’s imagination dreams up while envisioning an amazing vacation in Italy.

I have been jealous of that trip for the last 15 years.continue to the recipe… about How to Make Classic Tiramisu

4-Ingredient Pretzel Turtles Treats

December 23, 2015

Store bought caramels pretzel bites are dipped in chocolate and topped with nuts for a super fast, no-bake gooey caramel treat.

“You need to try one of these.”

“Mooooom! You know I can’t eat pretzels. Or caramel. Or nuts.”

“But, you’ve been helping me make them. Your braces will be fine. The warm chocolate totally softens the caramel. You still need to try one. They’re insane.”

“Oh. These are really, really good, mom.”

Yes, yes they are good. And easy. And there’s nothing better than that combo when you’re in a race against Santa’s sleigh.

continue to the recipe… about 4-Ingredient Pretzel Turtles Treats

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Treats

October 28, 2015

Rice Krispie treats get jazzed up with creamy peanut butter, a layer of smooth dark chocolate, and a sprinkling of flaky salt, for the ultimate marriage of chocolate and peanut butter!

My family has a favorite quote from The New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. It’s become our mantra for how to lead life.

“One day your hair dryer is working just fine. The next day it’s sending out sparks to beat the band.”

Basically, things are going just swell. Swimmingly even. And then in the blink of an eye…everything changes.

That’s what happened to the food blogging community when we learned this past week of the passing of a much respected member, Chocolate Chocolate and More’s Joan Hayes.

In celebration of her life, and somehow symbolically coinciding with National Chocolate Day, food bloggers are joining together to toast Joan and her influence the only way we can. With recipes from near, far, and everywhere in between. With recipes featuring chocolate. It’s what Joan’s wishes would have been and what we’re here to fulfill.

continue to the recipe… about Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Treats

4 Ingredient Ice Cream Pie with Peanut Butter Krispie Crust

July 27, 2015

Use whatever store bought or homemade ice cream you desire to fill this crispy, peanut butter crust for a super easy dessert.

The note with an asterisk at the bottom of the recipe reads, “*green peppermint choc. chip is gram’s fave.”

Apparently my grandma had some pretty wild taste buds. Green peppermint chocolate chip with peanut butter? She had cravings too.

I copied this from my grandma’s recipe book at an early point of my cooking career, it must have been when I was a teenager. I later transferred it to my master recipe book, handwritten at least 25 years ago. By the way, that book is now about 5 inches thick, with a broken bind and is a hot mess of recipes, some written but most of them torn from magazines, newspapers or written on scraps of random paper. It’s where I store all of my family favorites.

I’ve wanted to share this recipe for oh…say…ever since I started the blog. Somehow or another it would always get pushed to the back burner, but with summer in full swing and my wish for easy on the brain, it popped right to the top of this week.

It’s time to indulge in the easiest of ways.

continue to the recipe… about 4 Ingredient Ice Cream Pie with Peanut Butter Krispie Crust

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

March 26, 2015

These dense and chewy macaroons are dipped in dark chocolate for the ultimate decadent treat, and they also feature a fun crunchy surprise in the center!

Chocolate. It’s one of my favorite ingredients in the kitchen. This post is part of series of partnered posts with Hershey. As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you.

She dunks everything she eats.

She takes after her great grandmother, and her grandfather—whom she never met.

Toast in eggs. California rolls in her ramen broth. And last week? Her cheeseburger in milk. Things might be getting out of hand. But, I must say, I appreciate my daughter’s adventurous palate.

It was no surprise then, that when I was telling her about my cravings for coconut macaroons, her head went straight to dipping my favorite cookie into chocolate.

It was a no brainer in my head, too.continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

February 25, 2015

Havarti cheese, creamy mascarpone, tart raspberries, milk chocolate with almonds and orange zest get melty and gooey pressed in between hunks of angel food cake in this surprising and delicious take on grilled cheese.

Grilled Cheese—it’s standard fare at our house. Savory? Sure! But, sweet? Absolutely!

Sometimes we all get in a rut with that cheddar-on-white-bread-with-tomato-soup thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that there’s so much more cheesy goodness out there to be melted, gooed and strung into our mouths.

Especially when the cheese is paired with classic almond studded chocolate bars and a bite of sweet, fresh fruit for a savory take on a grilled dessert sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

German Chocolate Brownie Pie

February 3, 2015

An easy, from scratch, fudgy brownie is baked into a tart pan and topped with a classic coconut-pecan German frosting for a decadent dessert you won’t be able to resist!

It was my birthday last week and that makes me an Aquarian. And like all water-bearing astrological believers, that means I have an affinity for chocolate.

I know! I didn’t know that was an astrological trait either. But just look it up online. That fact is sure to be attributed as truth out there somewhere. Or at least…it is now.

I get it from my mom. We’re both chocolate lovers. I can pass all day long on vanilla cupcakes and caramel dripping anything. But slip a piece of chocolate in front of me, and I melt.

So it makes complete sense that when the stars align, this Aquarian’s all-time favorite birthday tradition is a toast of German chocolate flavored anything and everything. Cake. Jars. Heck, toss me a bite size ALMOND JOY bite-size bar and look at me go all weak in the knees like a lovelorn 13 year old who just set eyes on her crazy crush. continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Brownie Pie

White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn and Cashews

December 18, 2014

White chocolate, salty cashews, and refreshing peppermint oil make for a surprising trifecta of flavors for this festive popcorn you won’t be able to stop snacking on! It’s also perfect for stocking stuffers and gift giving.

December brings out the best in all of us with the bestest of intentions.

We overcommit. “Yes! We’d love to get together with friends we haven’t seen all year! I’ll host!”

We overindulge. “Oh why not? I already had one **___fill in the blank here___**, what’s the harm in just one more?”

And we overspend and overdo. “I just need to get a little something for the mailman, their teachers, my hairdresser, their coach, his clients, my Secret Santa, the neighbors, the dogwalker and the list never ends. never ends. never ends.”

At this stage of the gift giving game, your time to be a jolly old elf is slipping away like stealthy Santa and his reindeer-led sleigh. If you eschew gift cards (“they’re convenient but so lame!”) and Chia pets aren’t really your thing (Duck Dynasty, really?), jump into the DIY gift giving scene with an easy enough lesson from me.continue to the recipe… about White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn and Cashews

Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies and Santa’s Milk Drive

December 11, 2014

These simple and decadent almond cookies are sandwiched between a layer of rich dark or milk chocolate filling and are then dipped in dark or white chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts or crushed peppermint candy for a delicious crunch.

This whole thing started with my wish to teach my 10 year old daughter a little bit about the true spirit of Christmas. To reinforce to her and her friends that it’s better to give than to receive. And I have to say, my wish was granted in spades.

My daughter is an only child. And let’s face it, she is totally and utterly spoiled. And I am 100% okay with that.

We’re, ahem, “more mature” parents who’ve lived a lifetime of pre-kid fun, travel and experiences. So when she surprised us and showed up in utero with an unanticipated pee test (which is a whole ‘nother story for another day,) it was no surprise to us or those around us that she’d have 100% of our attention, our love, and the keys to our wallet.

But in turn, my husband and I agreed that this girl was in no way going to grow up a prima donna. A spoiled brat. A young adult who doesn’t appreciate the love and luxuries she’s been lucky enough to receive. And in my opinion, that’s our job as parents. To be sure to instill the work ethic and gratitude that damn well better be drilled into our children’s core.

And because of that, the idea of Santa’s Milk Drive was born.

continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies and Santa’s Milk Drive

Swirled Mascarpone Brownies with Hazelnuts

May 7, 2014

Me and my mom. The love of chocolate runs in our DNA.

Maybe she passed her love of the cacao to me through her umbilical cord. Or maybe she transferred her chocolate loving cravings to me with each chocolate shake we’d get at Arctic Circle with a side of burgers and fries.

Either way, when it comes to dessert, chocolate is our first bite of choice. And it’s just one reason we’re both partial to super rich, fudgey, chocolate loaded brownies.

It all comes down to flavor. While some think the best flavor come from big amounts of big ingredients, it’s really the little guys who coax out the intensity of the flavors behind the scenes. Small wonder, huh?

While chocolate and mascarpone are the big names in this brownie recipe, but the nuance that binds them together is one star ingredient: vanilla.

continue to the recipe… about Swirled Mascarpone Brownies with Hazelnuts

Crushing on Ashley McLaughlin of Edible Perspective and Boston Cream Doughnuts Plus a Giveaway

March 24, 2014

Ashley McLaughlin started her blog Edible Perspective in 2009, out of sheer boredom. She knew nothing about photography and not much more about cooking. Now she’s a food blogging cookbook author and knows a thing or two about these gluten-free Boston Cream Doughnuts. Why? Because she created them. And you could win a copy of the cookbook that holds their tasty secrets.

So how did Ashley get her start? One day she picked up her husband Chris’s camera to fiddle around with it, and she says it was one of the best decisions she’s ever made.

Now, photography is a staple in her everyday routine, and her blog is proof she’s really got a knack for it.

Healthy recipes are at the forefront of her blog, with many of them being vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free, and if there’s anyone who can make a salad look like a glistening plate of jewels, it’s Ashley.

continue to the recipe… about Crushing on Ashley McLaughlin of Edible Perspective and Boston Cream Doughnuts Plus a Giveaway

Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

March 5, 2014

So here’s a question for you. When you were a kid, why did savory foods always get segregated from one another and how come it never was—and still isn’t—the case with sweets?

Remember when you didn’t like your food to touch each other? How the lunch room divided trays were a godsend to just about any and every elementary age child?

Don’t let my gravy come a lick within the carrots!

Ew, I can’t eat my potatoes because they had a confrontation with the mustard!

But when it comes to sweets, it seems that the more sweet we can load into a single recipe, the more enticing it is.

Hence, Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. And if that isn’t a mouthful, just try eating one.

continue to the recipe… about Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Chocolate Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and 10 Romantic Pasta Dishes

February 13, 2014

Most gals yearn for chocolate. Put me in the “yes” category on that one. Romantic dinner for two? The occasion definitely calls for pasta. Combine these two ingredients for a romantic Valentine’s Day and wha-la! Chocolate Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.

Chocolate pasta? Say what? Did you do a double take?

Okay, I may have lost it this time. Chocolate with cheese? Why not? It certainly works on cheese boards, so why not in one hot bowl for me and my lover?

I’ve been harboring this package of chocolate pasta for a while now all in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. The moment I laid eyes on it while roaming the eyes of Home Goods (I find so many unexpected finds there!) my synapses snapped.

Chocolate. Spunky cheese. Cream. A few really good ingredients to make a really great dish. My head was in forward motion. My recipe practically wrote itself as I was standing in the gourmet foods aisle.

But then this recipe almost didn’t see the light of day.

continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and 10 Romantic Pasta Dishes

Apple and Pear Chocolate Hand Pies

February 8, 2014

Valentine’s Day. Just knowing that someone loves you should be enough. But…if that’s the case…then why is it so much fun to give, and get, a little love?

I vividly remember my 3rd grade Valentine’s Day. My doily and construction heart decorated valentine’s box eagerly awaited a valentine, any valentine, from the debonair, brown haired, almost as tall as me, Kendall.

To my relief, his valentine to me was deposited in my gussied up shoebox, along with the same valentine to the other 28 in my class, and it was just about as special as the carbon copy sentiment he gave to everyone else.

It was my first lesson in love: You have to put in the effort to make it special.

This year I’ve already received a warm-up Valentine’s Day Gift Basket from my friends at Harry & David. Once again they’ve proved that they are the experts at knowing how to make the recipient feel special. I wish they’d been around to talk to Kendall…

continue to the recipe… about Apple and Pear Chocolate Hand Pies

Spicy Chocolate Bark with Chipotle and Almonds

February 6, 2014

Sweet treats don’t have to be time consuming. They just have to be good. In my book there’s nothing quite as simple, and definitely not as good, as a decadent, rich chocolate. Hit it with a little Chipotle spice and a salty crunch and man oh man, I go weak in the knees. Sounds like every Valentine’s dream, right?

I’ve had a thing for chocolate bark ever since I featured Gerry of the food blog Foodness Gracious in my Holiday Issue of FoodieCrush magazine. Not only does the guy do savory, he also knows his way around the sweet side of the kitchen.

But that wasn’t the first time I fell hard for his confections. The first time I met Gerry was at The Big Traveling Potluck when he handed me one of his luscious specialty caramels. Let’s just say we started off on a very good foot which left me licking my fingers clean.

continue to the recipe… about Spicy Chocolate Bark with Chipotle and Almonds

German Chocolate Cake

January 29, 2014

Homemade German Chocolate Cake and it’s easy sweet and gooey coconut and pecan frosting is my birthday cake favorite that’s an easy recipe to make from scratch.

There’s nothing more traditional in my long-legged life than the cake I have every year for my birthday.

It may be made by someone who loves me, or purchased from a bakery to add to the celebration.

And because I love it so much, I am totally a-okay if I make this coconuty, nutty, frosted cake myself because this cake is one amazing cake. Just like me :)

January is birthday month for me. Time to take a look, evaluate and see who and what I am and what challenge I see in my future. Sometimes I love what I see, sometimes, not so much.

But if I don’t take a look at myself, and cross check my perception versus reality, then where is the next challenge to conquer, the next mountain to climb? Or even a reason to get out of bed?

continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Brownies Plus Friday Faves

September 27, 2013

In my book, there’s just one rule to live by: The more chocolate the better. These Dark Chocolate Brownies leave me praising the Cocoa Goddesses. Hallelujiah.

It’s kind of like kid treat week, where we started off with Stuffed Pizza Rolls (Did you enter? Today is the last day to enter to win the Weelicious Lunches cookbook) then Apple Pie and Oatmeal Rice Krispie Treats.

And now this. This beyond good brownie.

When the editors of Better Homes and Gardens asked me to do a guest spot on their food blog Delish-Dish, there was just one condition: choose something delicious I wanted to make my own.

But which recipe I made ended up not being of my choice. It was all up to Smudge. Luckily, we both share great taste. In chocolate.

continue to the recipe… about Dark Chocolate Brownies Plus Friday Faves

German Chocolate Brownies In a Jar Plus Friday Faves

June 7, 2013

It’s no secret for anyone who knows me that I am a chocolate girl when it comes to sweets. I have no problem passing up a Sour Patch Kid or Cherry flavored gummi bear. But pass a piece of chocolate in front of my face and it’s all but certain to be gone in a heartbeat. Or a mouth smack.

My favorite birthday cake for years has been German chocolate cake. Each year my mom would pull out the bundt pan and bake up my yearly request. It’s probably the reason I’m such a fan of anything with almonds, nuts and goo. Almond Joys and Snicker bars are my go to selections if I have my druthers.

When I was asked to create a recipe for something served up in a jar Go Bold With Butter, I put myself in my summertime shoes, aka flip flops, and envisioned myself at the beach. What would I most crave besides an ice cold beer and sushi while I sit on my pretend blanket digging my toes into the pretend warm sand.

continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Brownies In a Jar Plus Friday Faves

S’mores in a Jar and Friday Faves

May 17, 2013

Looking down at my calendar, I’m stunned to see it’s already Friday. The week has flewwwn by, thanks to lots of catch up after a great trip to Monterey earlier in the week with a group of other bloggers to tour the fields of Dole Salads (I hope you didn’t miss the Instgrammed hairnet shots? Just lovely.)

I almost didn’t want to come back, Monterey is one of my favorite spots in the world. More on my trip to come next week.

What else was on my dance card? I had Mother’s Day in the mountains, I ate lettuce in a field, watched a man make art at the ocean and was dubbed the solo coach this week for Smudge’s soccer team. Please Lord, let us play our best. And a win wouldn’t hurt either.continue to the recipe… about S’mores in a Jar and Friday Faves

Crushing On Lauren Brennan of Lauren’s Latest, a Giveaway and Chocolate Cream Pie

May 9, 2013

I’m so happy to share Everyday Ingredients, Extraordinary Meals: 30 Ridiculously Simple Family Favorite Recipes with you, and the chance to win a copy of your own. But first a love letter to it’s author, Lauren of Lauren’s Latest.

When bloggers connect with their readers by sharing their life through cooking, magic happens. For Lauren Brennan of the food blog Lauren’s Latest, that recipe for success is one that’s propelled her to the top of the foodie blogosphere.

Lauren has a talent not all of us possess by making what she does look effortless. But I know the real deal, what’s behind her rosey glow and beautiful smile that creates an immediate, friend for life connection. I know the real secret to her success: Good, old fashioned, hard work is what’s behind this young wife as one of the web’s most creative content creators and comfort cooking powerhouse.

Like many bloggers, Lauren originally had a different career path in mind. She graduated from college with a Health Science degree and was a Developmental Specialist working with adults and children with developmental delays before becoming a stay at home mom to her newborn, now 4-year-old daughter.

And then the blog was born.continue to the recipe… about Crushing On Lauren Brennan of Lauren’s Latest, a Giveaway and Chocolate Cream Pie

Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: Unexpected Rewards

April 9, 2013

In a world where work is sometimes hard, long and sometimes unappreciated, it’s important to give—and get—unexpected rewards along the way.

My workplace has changed in a big way over the past year. I’ve transitioned from 20 years of working for someone else to finally taking that plunge and working for myself. I don’t have a commute—except from the kitchen where I do most of my foodie creating, to my office where I get the design work done.

I can wear what I want, even though I pretty much did that anyway. When I run out of olive oil or am craving a new white dish for a photo, I can run to HomeGoods in the middle of the day and not feel the least bit guilty about it. Hey, I may even stop at 7 grocery stores on the way home. Yes, I do that too.

Working for myself is something I wouldn’t change for the world. But I do sometimes miss the company camaraderie, the daily interaction with co-workers (read that with a big emphasis on ‘sometimes’) because I really have the best set-up I could ask for. I work from home but I have the support of fresh ideas, willing hands and not yet jaded minds who are eager to learn.

I have interns.

For the past three years—has it been that long already?—I’ve been teaching Advanced Typography and Magazine Design at a local university. One night a week I meet up with senior college students about to embark on the transition of student to worker bee and teach them not only about design, but also about the real world, with real expectations and the hard work that will be expected of them once they get into it. Oh how I remember the days, my whole future was a glorious open field, ripe with opportunity. And it was so scary.

One of the reasons I enjoy working with these emerging careerists is not to teach them, but to teach me. To motivate me to be a better communicator and a wider thinker. To familiarize me with new technology I wouldn’t know was available as I work in my pigeon hole of doing the same thing the same way like I always have. To give me ideas and inspiration in an effort to keep fresh and relevant, and keep me up to date on the slang and fashion forward so I don’t seem like a total old fogie to my daughter and useful to my readers.continue to the recipe… about Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: Unexpected Rewards

Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: How to Host a Chocolate Tasting Party

March 26, 2013

It’s been a long, snowbound winter, and while the new rush of spring has officially arrived—along with blooming daffodils and bright colored shorts and cute strappy flip flops begging me to buy…Buy…BUY!—I’m still hanging onto the last few weeks of family and friend time in the snowy wonder of my beloved Utah mountains.

Spring skiing. It is the best. THE BEST I tell you. It’s the perfect escape from winter, an affirmation of the thaw ahead. Warm sun kissing my cheeks, the smell of burgers on the outside grills mid-mountain and slushy snow to guide my skis through. For some reason spring skiing always seems so much more freeing, like you don’t have as much to prove by getting better, skiing harder and weathering the storms. Which is why I savor these last few outings with Smudge and our friends.

Watching Smudge and her BFF *E* ski together is such a crazy experience. These two little girlies met in pre-school and became inseparable—they were one another’s first playdate, went to their first concert together and are always at the top of one another’s sleepover list.

Thank goodness Smudge has such good intuition, because *E*’s parents quickly became some of our best friends too, maybe because we share way too many coincidences in our life timeline to ignore that our friendship was meant to be. Michi and Adam—or A-Game as we like to call him—are the type who are always quick to the rescue and pretty much game for anything, especially when it comes to giving *E* as much life has to offer as possible. You can see why we’re friends, I mean, who WOULDN’T want to be friends with people like that?

For the past two years we’ve all gotten season ski passes so the girls can get outside and take advantage of living among some of the greatest snow on earth. It was pretty much a given Smudge would be a skiier since G Dawg and I grew up on skis. Smudge and *E* were both born in Los Angeles and we’re all convinced they will be pretty disgruntled when they realize they could have grown up as beach bunnies, rollerblading up and down the Venice Boardwalk instead of making snow angels. Ah, but we will do our best convincing that growing up a snow bunny will definitely have its merits. Hello, who doesn’t want to be Lindsey Vonn in the winter and Gabby Reese in the summer?

But until they decide they need to hang up their ski boots for boogie boards, we’re all about documenting and encouraging them to have fun. A-game is always at the ready with his camera, videotaping each event and documenting the memories we are apt to create. G-Dawg has the patience of a saint, teaching the girls how to move from “french fries” to slaloms with a bunch of snow ball fights in between. I’m just there to corral the cats.

Now Michi on the other hand, she’s the heart and soul of the group, the organizer, the one that makes things happen no matter how hairbrained a scheme it may sound to others. She’s all in, and I can’t wait for her newest conquest of acquiring an Airstream trailer comes to fruition. She has dreams of camping, whilst I have visions of parking it in the ski lot, pulling out the barbeque and camping out for happy hour after the day’s runs are done.

continue to the recipe… about Escape with Ghirardelli Intense Dark: How to Host a Chocolate Tasting Party

Stout Chocolate Brownies Plus 20 More Great Stout Recipes

March 12, 2013

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

As you’ll find out when you ask me over for dinner sometime—which I’m hoping you certainly would consider because on a good night I can be a pretty darn entertaining dinner guest and just might clear the dishes from the table if I’m feeling generous—and you ask me to bring a little something sweet to our potluck dinner—say for instance an Irish celebration that is happening this coming weekend—my dessert of choice usually veers from the frilly and delicate sweet treat variety to something a bit more sturdy and craveable. Macarons? Not. so. much. It will be a long, long time before I try my hand at making a macaron. I’m afraid I don’t have the patience or the skill to pull them off.

Basically, macarons scare me.

No, I’m definitely more of a hearty dessert type of gal, baking up something a bit more forgiving and a tad more freeform. Chocolate Stout Brownies in all of their fudgey glory are right up my dessert alley.

So are you staring at your computer right now thinking to yourself, “What the, whhhhaaat? Why would someone waste a perfectly good beer to ruin brownies, or any other recipe by dumping it into a recipe?”

Oh honey. Hold your horses and let the heads of your brews settle down. I have a selection of 20 great recipe reasons to add beer to your favorite recipes. But first we need to get to the bottom of these brownies.

Whenever I make chocolate brownies I find myself adding that little something extra to deepen the flavor and enhance the taste of the brownies. Most of my brownie making escapades involves the addition of instant espresso powder and kosher salt to add to the chocolateness. This time it’s the stout that does the trick. You won’t taste the beer taste at all, it’s merely a richness that enhances my love of chocolateness.

continue to the recipe… about Stout Chocolate Brownies Plus 20 More Great Stout Recipes