If you are looking for an impressive dessert to complete a special Valentine’s Day dinner, give Baked Alaska from Relish Magazine a try. It is guaranteed to make quite the impression!

Baked Alaska (from Relish Magazine)

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Cut pound cake lengthwise to make 1⁄2-inch thick slices. Cut 8 circles from slices using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. (I eliminated the round cookie cutter step because my pound cake wasn’t large enough. I just trimmed the crusty edges and kept the pieces rectangle). Place a scoop of ice cream on 4 rounds. Top each scoop of ice cream with the remaining rounds of cake. Press down lightly and, using a knife, smooth away any ice cream that has pressed out the sides. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze at least 15 minutes.

2. Fill a large saucepan with 1-inch of water. Bring to a simmer. In a double boiler or a metal bowl that will fit over the saucepan, place sugar, egg whites, water and cream of tartar. Set bowl over simmering water and beat with a handheld mixer at low speed, 3 to 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 140F.

3. Increase speed to high and continue beating 3 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and beat until cool, about 4 minutes. When peaks form, beat in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes.

4. When ready to assemble, preheat the boiler. Remove cakes from freezer, and quickly spread with meringue, swirling to make peaks. Place cakes under broiler, as close to the flame as possible, to brown the meringue tips, about 1 minute. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

The February 2009 issue of O Magazine just happens to be the exception. In this issue they featured the owners of the famous little pasty shop called Baked, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Renato Poliafito and Matt Lewis share the story of the beginning of their bakery to their current position of expansion into the Charleston, South Carolina area. Their overwhelming popularity is keeping them busier than ever.

Anyone who has a dream of opening a successful bakery can learn a lot by reading this article about the success of Baked. Anyone with a love for baking will find a surprise inside the magazine… the owners have shared with O readers five of their most loved recipes for the Valentine’s Day holiday. Red Hot Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream, Red-and-White Cookies, Cinnamon Mocha Drink, The Baked Spicy Brownie and Strawberry Whoopie Pies… all recipes that I know I can’t resist.

If you are not a regular reader of O Magazine, but are an avid baker, be certain to pick up the February 2009 issue. It should be on newsstands soon!

Chai Tea Latte (from Simple and Delicious Magazine, October 2008)

15 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 2

I’ve mentioned once or twice here that I love lists. I am obsessed with lists. I love to read lists (you know when you get a new calendar or time management program and they have examples of how to use it? I scour those reading the lists that are on the example. Anyone else do that?? I am list obsessed.) Often times, I will create lists just so I can mark things off. I will often sit down at night and make my to-do list from the day I just finished and then mark it all off, just so I can have that sense of accomplishment. Yes, I know that truly organized people sit down and write out their to-do list for the next day. That is not the way the “organized in a very chaotic way” folks like to roll.

This past Sunday I did a little pantry organization project. Inspired by an episode of Real Simple Real Life, I decided to buy some nice clear plastic containers from The Container Store. I went to town using my handy dandy new Brother P-Touch label maker and started dumping things into containers and labeling my shelves and the containers. I realized things were getting a little out of control when I labeled a clear, mind you, container full of what was obviously pretzels, “pretzels”. As if you couldn’t tell by just looking at the container that it contained pretzels. Still, it got a label and I was a happy, chaotically organized camper.

During my pantry organization project I realized I had an insane amount of flout and raisins. It was with a thrilling glint in my eye that I decided to pull an issue of Simple & Delicious magazine off of my labeled Cookbook shelf, grab a clear container of raisins marked “raisins” and take my over abundance of flour and put it to good use. This Cinnamon Raisin Bread from the most recent issue of Simple & Delicious is really good and it makes two loaves. Guess what you can do with that second loaf? Stick the bread in a Ziploc bag, take your handy dandy label maker and create a name label of who you want to gift it to. You will feel like you are the most organized person on the planet!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (2 Loaves)
from Simple and Delicious Magazine
1¼ hours | 15 min prep
yields 2 Loaves

Take this recipe for her Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, which was featured in the most recent issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. Such a simple dish to make, but by adding the pumpkin cream sauce to the dish, she turns it from being an ordinary recipe to an extraordinary recipe. I changed the recipe slightly by adding some cubed chicken sauteed in garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. It was a delicious addition to an already delicious recipe!

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

1 pound penne pasta
2T butter
1 onion, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the pasta to the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, and toss. Stir in the parmesan; season with salt & pepper.

Top pasta with parsley and more Parmesan to serve.

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting my sister in Oklahoma City. We were transferring her massive amount of books from bookshelves in one room to bookshelves in another room. One cookbook that was in her collection was from The Pampered Chef, called Delightful Desserts.

Thumbing through the book I found recipe after recipe after recipe that I wanted to try! The book was full of impressive desserts that were simple in preparation and fun, everyday type desserts that little ones could help put together. I was impressed and a little bummed that I did not have one of these cookbooks to call my own.
That evening, I made a recipe from the cookbook. Cream Puff Squares tasted just like a real cream puff, only in bar form. Delicious!

My sister had pity on me and my measly cookbook collection and sent the Pampered Chef Delightful Desserts cookbook home to Kansas City with me. Her generosity was not  wasted. The past few desserts I have made have been selected from this great cookbook!

Delightful Desserts came in handy this past weekend when my kids had their heart set on making S’Mores over the outside firepit. When the temp spiked, we decided that it was way too warm to be lighting the firepit. Instead, I made these delicious S’more bars . . . no campfire needed! They were a huge hit and quickly turned frowns back into grins.

If you are looking for a cookbook that features delicious recipes sure to impress, then pick up a copy of Delightful Desserts today.  It is well worth adding to your collection!

S’Mores Galore from the Delightful Desserts Pampered Chef Cookbook

10 whole honey graham crackers — (about 5 x 2″), divided
6 bars milk chocolate — (1.55 ounces each), coarsely
chopped
1 package mini marshmallows — (16 ounces), divided
6 tablespoons butter or margarine — divided
3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350º.

Arrange a single layer of graham crackers to completely cover bottom of bar
pan, breaking crackers to fit. Toast in oven 2 minutes. Remove pan to
cooling rack.

Coarsely break remaining graham crackers into large bowl. Set aside.

Combine 3 cups of marshmallows, 3 tablespoons of the butter, and milk;
microwave on high 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Add half of the chopped
chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over graham crackers in pan.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Toss with remaining graham crackers.

Add remaining marshmallows and chopped chocolate. Toss lightly.

Spoon mixture evenly in pan.Bake 8-10 minutes or until marshmallows are lightly browned. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into bars.

Serve warm or cool.

This is why I was pleasantly surprised when the 30th Anniversary Issue arrived in my mailbox and the number of recipes that peaked my interest more than made up for the lack of recipes I had bookmarked in recent months. This issue of Food & Wine magazine takes us back to what I consider to be classic Food & Wine style . . . recipes that are elegant and unique, yet not so overwhelmingly complicated that it turns novice cooks away.

Some of the recipes that caught my eye were Chunky Guacamole with Cumin, Watermelon Salad with Feta, Triple-Tomato Penne, Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken, Skillet Apple Charlotte, Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas, Stir Fried Five Spice Pork with Lettuce Cups, and my favorite . . . Molten Chocolate Cake with Caramel Filling.

Thank you Food & Wine for bringing classic back and sharing with us some of the trends of the past and the future.  I can only hope that one trend that falls into my mailbox each month is a Food & Wine magazine packed with great recipes that readers like me love.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Caramel Filling

ingredients

I am passionate about family mealtime. I grew up in a house where mealtime was a priority, and we almost always had at least one meal together as a family each day. Sitting around the table as kids was where our most important conversations happened. We had the best laughs, the best debates (aka fights when you and your sister had major sibling rivalry), and where we recapped the events of our day … both the good and the bad. I cannot even imagine all that my parents would have missed out on in our lives had it not been a priority that we sit down to dinner each and every night as a family.

Anytime I have the opportunity to support and acknowledge someone who shares those same important mealtime values, I jump at the chance. Enter the new cookbook by Carol McManus, Table Talk - Food, Family, Love. Carol resides on Martha’s Vineyard, owns her own cafe, and still encourages people to eat at home and enjoy dinner together as a family. She is as passionate about sharing quick-to-the-table, delicious meals in her cookbook as she is about keeping family dinnertime a staple in households everywhere.

When Table Talk arrived in my mailbox on Saturday, I was immediately sucked in the second I opened the cookbook and read Carol’s forward. Then I continued to flip through the book, and you know what? I sat there and read through the entire thing, front to back. The recipes are very appealing, simple, and special … the majority have ingredients I already have on hand. The photography is stunning. Most importantly, the core values of Carol and her family shine through in each little snippet, quote, and story behind life on Martha’s Vineyard and the recipes to accompany such a life.

I do not get anything by encouraging you to purchase Table Talk … there is nothing in it for me. I would not recommend a cookbook to you if I absolutely did not love it. I can tell you that this is one cookbook that you will turn to time and time again. If not for the enticing recipes, for the reminder of the significant importance that sitting down together as a family, whether a family of 2 or 22, can have on your life.

Every day of my menu this week has recipes gathered from Table Talk. For more information, or to purchase Table Talk, visit www.tabletalkcookbook.com or visit your local Barnes and Noble.

Presidential Muffins from the Table Talk cookbook

3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ cup butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

¾ cup blueberries

½ cup strawberries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins or use paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a food processor, combine melted butter, cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and eggs. Process until smooth. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in fruit.
4. Scoop batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly pressed.

Most sane moms would pick up their child and leave the store with their groceries unpurchased. Me? Nope - I continued to let her make a scene simply because I had these luscious, juicy, aromatic peaches in my cart and I couldn’t bear to walk out of the store without them. Women who apparently have never had children or who were as terribly annoyed as I was kept giving me dirty looks in the checkout lane. But as stubborn as my two-year-old, I refused to leave without my peaches.

And I can honestly say … all the dirty looks, all the built-up frustration, all the cussing at my husband for traveling for work this week, which led me to go to the store with my three kids in the first place … all of that was well worth it when I took my first juicy bite.

In fact, I may even brave the store with the temper-tantrum thrower again tonight. This simple recipe (even though my whipped lemon cream had a meltdown of its own) is worth any embarrassment I may face.

The August 2008 issue of Simple and Delicious magazine is full of great recipes for the season. Pick up a copy today to round out your summer with some great grilling ideas, uses for fresh ingredients, and quick and easy recipes.

Peaches with Lemon Cream, from Simple & Delicious, August 2008

Ingredients

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and lemon peel; beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until serving.  Brush cut sides of peaches with oil; place cut-side down on grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until peaches are tender and begin to caramelize.  Place peaches on dessert plates; fill with lemon cream mixture.  

Yield: 6 servings.

This happened recently when I was flipping through the June/July 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. A photograph for an appetizer called “Sky Blue Potatoes” caught my eye, and I immediately was intrigued. Then, I took a look at the ingredients and noticed that the “Blue” in the recipe title actually came from the fact that blue cheese is one of the prominent ingredients. I have never been a fan of blue cheese. I have always wanted to be, but each and every time I try it, it just does nothing for my tastebuds. I was still being tempted by the photo, so I decided to make this appetizer anyway.

This appetizer was not a huge amount of work, but to do all of that work only to discover that you still do not like blue cheese is a little disappointing.  I don’t know what I was expecting my tastebuds to do … did I really think they were going to make a big whopping change, just like that? Actually, yes … yes I did. I just thought that I’d make the recipe, take my first bite, and suddenly be in love with blue cheese! It didn’t happen, folks. In case you are wondering, I still am not a blue cheese fan.

This appetizer got a thumbs-up from the blue cheese lovers who tried it. If you are of the blue-cheese-loving group, you’ll love this appetizer. If you are not, I’ve done the work for you and can tell you … blue cheese still tastes like blue cheese no matter how tempting the photograph!

Sky Blue Potatoes, from Everyday with Rachael Ray, June/July 2008