Okay so maybe I could make these pumpkin cupcakes anytime of the year, but for some reason fall rolls around and the cool weather and falling leaves just makes me want pumpkins and sweet potatoes and turkey...not that we actually have cool weather in New Orleans right now. Yesterday's high was 84. 84!! In mid November! I keep trying to brainwash myself to think fall and it will feel like fall...but the weather gods are just ignoring me.

Anyway...my coworker bought me this pumpkin cupcake pan from Williams-Sonoma as a gift a while back and I instantly fell in love with these cupcakes. I've been waiting all year for fall to come back around to make these again. They have a great soft crumb with a good pumpkin flavor that's not too overpowered with spice. Again, I love the bit of salt in there too, and although the original recipe comes with a frosting, I like them plain. When they're naked I can delude myself into thinking they're appropriate breakfast. 

So the first time I went to Finn McCool's was to catch a world cup game back in '06. The place was hopping and I instantly fell in love with Katie Jean's (then one of the bartenders) infectious energy and the bar's awesome familial camaraderie. It's so much more than just a neighborhood bar with the best owners, coolest bartenders and a pretty awesome collection of patrons: this past weekend that group raised over two grand to help out a patron who had been shot in the head in an attempted carjacking. The list of charitable organizations that have raised money at Finn's is seemingly endless because the owners Pauline and Stephen are just that cool.

Each week for the Saints games, they cook the competition in a pot luck style cookoff and everyone who brings food gets a free drink, gets to the front of the line each week and a chance to win a $20 bar tab for the best dish. I've always liked bringing desserts when I have a chance to make something, because no one else ever brings in sweets and I have such a sweet tooth even after I gorge on all the other deliciousness everyone else makes, I still always want a little sugar too.

Now, this may come as a shock since I have such a sweet tooth, but as much as I love sweets, I'm not usually a fan of sweets that are just too sugary. I think that's why this is one of my favorite cookie recipes of all time. I love the less sweet tea-style cookies (thumbprint and shortbread cookies are my favs too) and cookies with a bit of salt in them (like my new favorite chocolate chunk cookies).

This recipe comes via Cook's Illustrated, and I don't have any suggestions for improvement, because more often than not their test kitchen is right on the money! If you've never had these before, Mexican wedding cookies go by many different names, all with a similar nutty flavor in a cookie that is so soft it just crumbles away in your mouth. This recipe has just a hint of salt, but combined with a powdered sugar coating they have that wonderful salty/sweet flavor that I can't get enough of.

It's a simple recipe and not very finicky, so it doesn't take a baking expert to get these to come out right. I made two batches yesterday to bring to Finn McCool's weekly cook the competition cooking contest during the Saints game and while the second definitely started with a better butter temperature and the texture of the dough was noticeably different, the end result was virtually the same. I'm always whipping up a few batches during the holidays and it wouldn't be Christmas without these and pralines strewn about the kitchen. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Usually when I'm making a cake for someone else, I try not to use recipes I've never tested before because who knows how it will turn out. Then you've got this terrible cake that you would never eat yourself, much less give it to someone else and tell them, "I baked it with love!!" Yikes.

I had no time to test this Italian Cream Cake before I made it for one of my husband's co-workers, but thank goodness it was delicious! He was able to bring a slice home for me to taste and even I was surprised how yummy it was. No wonder they were all still talking about it the next week! I can't wait to make it one week to bring to Finn McCool's for one of the Saints game cookoffs!

I haven't been baking much at all this summer because it's just too dang hot to turn on the oven and the little baking I have been doing is in the weee hours of the night when I can at least turn it on without suffocating in the kitchen, but finding this little gem was totally worth it! I used the organic coconut you get from the bulk foods section and I really liked that this recipe didn't have any coconut on the outside of the cake. The overall  texture was really nice without having too much coconut. My husband hates coconut cakes and even when I had him taste the batter he wasn't too impressed. The final product comes together nicely with the cream cheese frosting and I think this recipe is definitely a keeper!

I had so much fun at the Locavore Market! It was great to meet so many other locavores. Plus, it always warms my heart to see people enjoy something I've made and I sure got plenty of smiles and oohs and ahhhs at the market.

I was actually surprised that my pralines weren't the biggest seller. Top honors went to the pecan macarons, which actually sold out. Another big shocker was everyone's praline preference. I made two different batches: one with butter I made myself from Kleinpeter heavy whipping cream and the other with Kleinpeter salted butter. I was very much opposed to the flavor of the salted ones because they just didn't taste right to me, but my mom convinced me to bring them anyway and let people taste both and decide themselves. Taste testers overwhelmingly liked the salted ones better. Go figure.

Anyway, here is another sweet treat I made for the market that can be locally sourced. It's easy enough to make, but if you don't have any experience making candies the hardest part is making sure you've cooked it long enough. This recipe said about 15 minutes but I found it was closer to 20 before the mixture had boiled down enough to make a nice chewy caramel, otherwise you just get something that would be better as a warm ice cream sundae topping (of which I now have a jar-full of!) rather than stand alone as a candy.

So if you didn't know, June 21 is National Peaches and Cream Day. Yes there is this big list of food related national [insert delicious food] days. For the breakdown, check out this list of American Food Holidays. Coming from New Orleans, where we'll use pretty much any excuse to have a party, festival or just good eats...it sounds like a good enough reason to me to celebrate. 

I did a little google search and looked at a few different recipes and finally found my inspiration in this recipe from What's Cooking America. But what's a celebration in Nola without booze? Not a celebration at all...so I made a few modifications.

I also foolishly thought that it would be nice to make it into individual serving sizes, but in reality it just made me feel guilty picking up the second one, which I inhaled as quickly as the first... I'd say it probably works in the ramekins like I did just as well as the original single baking dish.

I know I probably say this all the time, but it's mostly because I only share the good recipes with you....so here it is, this is totally one of my new favorite recipes. The rum flavor hit the spot! If you've got some fresh juicy peaches laying around, I promise you won't regret diving into this recipe.

So we had a swap meet for all the locavores to barter or sell any specialty items they might have growing in their yards. I was hoping my bananas and grapes would be ripe in time, but it's been so hot and dry in New Orleans they just aren't quite ready.

Then I realized there would be a need for sugary sweets--if I'm having a hard time coming up with goodies for myself, then the not so baking inclined probably aren't having much luck either. I made some pralines, pecan macarons and some caramels too, which I'll hopefully post soon.

Canillas de leche are a Guatemalan candy that I usually only get to enjoy when my aunt comes back from Guatemala with her stash of specialty candies. I'm pretty excited my mom and I thought about them when I was brainstorming things I could make--she's uber excited that I know how to make them now, which actually could be very dangerous. I'd say they're like a Guatemalan fudge.

Anyway, hope you like them, and special shout out to Ms. Gamble for helping me translate the recipe. FYI, only do this when you're up for the workout and have a good two hours of mostly undivided time to spare. I didn't make these for the swap because they just take too long to make, but if you have the time they are well worth the effort.

I really have no business walking into a bookstore--or really any brick and mortar store for that matter. I have a compulsion. If I could just stay away, actually sticking to my monthly budget would be soooo much easier. See when it comes to online shopping, the VAST majority of items I add to my shopping cart never actually get purchased. When it's just a pretty picture, I can usually remind myself that I don't actually need this. When it is actually in my hand in the store and there is the instant gratification of going home with it and using it right away, well then duh! I must have it.

Anyway, I made the mistake of actually venturing out of the kitchen and into multiple stores a couple weekends ago, and I have the credit card bill to go with said mistake. The upside is that I finally treated myself to David Lebovitz's latest cookbook, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes. And of course the first thing I tried were the brownies because they just looked so good...and they are! Just the perfect combination of crusty outside and ooey gooey rich chocolatey goodness with the delicious crunch of nuts... I can't wait until June is over so I can treat myself to these bad boys again.

According to Lebovitz, don't skimp on the "stir energetically for 1 full minute" step because this is where the magic happens! Hope you enjoy.

So our anniversary was last week. It makes me think about our very awesome wedding. (For a run down of some of the awesomeness, check out the post on Offbeat bride.) It also gets me reminiscing about our honeymoon in Paris. God knows when we'll have the money to go back, but I'm so glad we at least got to go once in our lives.


At the same time, I've been trying to brainstorm what kinds of goodies I'll be able to make this month since I decided to join Nola Locavore's Eat Local Challenge. Thank god Louisiana grows sugar, because otherwise I think I'd be SOL. I'm having a hard enough time trying to go without wheat flour, baking soda or baking powder--don't even get me started on the no chocolate.

YES, that's right. I'm a foodie baker and I willingly and happily joined the challenge because I figured it would be interesting and educational---pah! Sometimes I jump in feet first and kind of forget about the little details, because I've made it through a week and it has been freaking hard. BUT it has been really educational. The crumby husband on the other hand....again is filing this away as one of the many reasons he thinks I'm insane. If you want more deets on what I'm cooking or what I'm up to in general, check out my personal blog, Magic Stixx.

Anyway, this is hopefully just the first in a month's worth of delicious locavore sweets. With my mind on Paris and locavore foods, I took Martha Stewart's recipe and modified it with pecans for a New Orleans twist. I used a french buttercream filling so I could use the leftover egg yolks, but I had a bit left over...use it as you see fit. Under non-locavore circumstances, I think a chocolate ganache filling would pair nicely with these. 

You'd think it would be easy to find great pralines at every turn when you live in New Orleans, but my own pickyness has hindered this ability time and again. I just hate pralines made with evaporated milk!

I originally got this recipe from The New Orleans School of Cooking, but I've seen it plenty other places too. It's a classic New Orleans style recipe and by far my favorite--I love the texture. Texas style recipes are of the chewier variety and to me they just seem like they should accompany something else, like a topping on a cheesecake or ice cream, rather than standing alone.

Also, if you've never made pralines before, don't get discouraged if they aren't picture perfect the first time around. Even a great praline recipe can yield less than ideal results; it takes practice to perfect your timing and technique. As many times as I've made them, every once in a while I still make a batch that has to be thrown out.

There was a time in my life when I didn't really like chocolate mousse very much. Then we went to Paris for our honeymoon and I realized what I had been missing. Our first night there, we went exploring and after seeing the Eiffel Tower, we stopped at a restaurant nearby to enjoy dinner on the sidewalk. Dusk in the city of lights is picturesque and coupled with delicious food, it's a moment I will always remember. Le crumby husband ordered mousse au chocolat for dessert while I ordered....er...who knows what? I honestly don't remember because whatever I ordered just did not compare to this chocolate mousse.

After we got back home, I kept thinking about that silky chocolatey perfection. I couldn't get it out of my head so here I was thinking I'd have to go on some ridiculous quest in search of said perfection--I would have to try countless recipes because of course in reality nothing would match up with the awesomeness that I've been reminiscing about. As things often pan out differently in reality than they do in my head, the first recipe I tried was all it took. Seriously best chocolate mousse ever, thanks to David Lebovitz's adaptation of the classic Julia Child recipe.

So whenever the crumby husband and I finally got around to discussing cookie preferences, he not only said that my favorites were old lady grandmaw cookies, but was dumbfounded when I told him I didn't really chocolate chip cookies. He said that was just down right blasphemous--how can someone who loves to bake so much hate chocolate chip cookies? I don't know; I just did. Then my lovely coworker and fellow baker brought in his favorite recipe and I fell in love.

So what makes these chocolate chunk cookies so much better than anything else I've ever had? They aren't super sweet and they bake up oh so soft and chewy. I really love the saltiness of these cookies because they have just the right combination of bam! chocolate with some subtle saltiness to give them great depth. Whole wheat flour, nuts and rolled oats give them good texture and I swear you will not believe their "healthy"--alright so with 10 tablespoons of butter, I wouldn't exactly call these healthy, but in comparison to a standard chocolate chip cookie, you're much better off with these.

My garden is freakin awesome (especially pre-Winter 2009). Unfortunately that winter was just a bit too cold for too long for most of my tropical plants. I still love the look and layout of the garden space though and it was really what sold me on the house. The previous owners wanted to plant lots of edibles and butterfly attractants. Unfortunately most of the butterfly attractants didn't survive that winter either, but I do have plans to start bringing some back into the space.

The edibles are just fantastic though. There are two varieties of banana trees, two varieties of lemon trees, a satsuma tree, a key lime tree, and another mystery citrus that is still pretty young and hasn't produced fruit yet. There is some sugar cane I have yet to figure out a use for and a fig tree that the birds always seem to pick at before I do. There is a strawberry guava tree that I think will never produce fruit here because of winter temps. The grape vines that grow on a trellis above the walkway to the backyard are just gorgeous and our wedding picture standing underneath it is one of my favorites. All of that and those are just the big ones! We have lots of herbs too and whatever veggies I attempt to grow in a given year.

Of everything we have, nothing gets me more excited than the Meyer lemons. I'm like a giddy school girl when I pick the first one of the season and the last one makes me want to cry as if I'm saying goodbye to a good friend. This year the last one made an individual sized lemon icebox pie for National Pi Day on 3.14. This recipe is perfect for anyone who loooovvvvess lemon. It has a bamn! in your face lemony tartness that I loved. If by chance you are looking for a more subtle lemon pie check out Emeril Lagasse's recipe. I made it a while back and really liked it, but since he incorporates cream cheese it has a more mellow lemon flavor that I liked but wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

Although you can't argue with the simple truth that this recipe is divinely delicious, it actually holds a very special place in my heart because of a very very eventful summer in 2007. Even reminiscing now, I still can't believe how much happened in those few months. There was a new job, an old flame newly rekindled, new friendships forged, familial ties shattered and a devastating loss very dear to my heart.

In all the craziness of that summer, this recipe made two appearances and both birthday parties will stay with me always. The first was for my cousin's birthday. My grandmother was already quite ill then and we got the whole family together at her house. I still see it as if it were yesterday with my grandmother in bed with all of her grandchildren around her as I was cutting this cheesecake. It was the last thing I baked for my grandmother before she passed away.

The second appearance was for Meredith and Rhea's joint birthday party at the cabin--not an actual cabin, just a house in the burbs we all used to hang out at (but to us it was never just a house). Actually, let me rewind a bit. I know from experience exactly how intimidating our group of friends can be to meet. It's quite a large group and one time I actually got the full run down of how everyone knows each other. It's a very complicated web and no lie, that conversation lasted about 30 minutes.

Anyway, the very first time I met most of them, everyone was hanging out at The Bulldog. Blake and I somehow got around to a cheesecake discussion, and I couldn't rave enough about the Baklava Cheesecake. Although Blake has absolutely no recollection of meeting me that night, her enthusiasm for Baklava Cheesecake totally hooked me. I made it for the next party and I like to think this cheesecake sealed my fate. It's the first thing I ever made for these guys and we've been besties ever since.

So yea, I made this recipe for the first time in a long time this weekend and I laughed and cried when I started thinking about all the wonderful memories and I hope it becomes as special to you as
it is and will always be for me. :)

Every year our friends have an annual St. Patrick's Day crawfish boil. I'm sure I've said it before, but it is truly one of the highlights of my year. I look forward to it so much, that if for some moronic reason I ever moved away from New Orleans, I think I'd make a point to fly in for this party every year. We're a partyin group and as much as I LOVE Halloween, Mardi Gras, and New Year's...the crawfish boil is something quite special.

I've had these Irish Car Bomb cupcakes from Smitten Kitchen on my list of things to make for what seems like ages, and what better excuse to make them than St. Patrick's Day? I swapped out the butter/powdered sugar frosting for a swiss buttercream and all of my little tasters were loving the creamy richness. My favorite part was by far the Jameson chocolate ganache filling and it really makes me want to explore more with filled cupcakes.