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March 14, 2016
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Freshly Baked Blueberry Focaccia Bread

I love fresh focaccia bread. My usual recipe calls for 00 bread flour and requires a triple rise. This requires time, planning, and a fair amount of work. If I wanted to make it for brunch, I’d have to get up way too early. This recipe is just the opposite. No special bread flour required, […]

March 10, 2016
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Blueberry Muffin Cake

I really love blueberry muffins, freshly baked and overloaded with berries. I’ve been saving this Blueberry Muffin Cake recipe I found in the Fine Cooking Magazine for 2 years. It’s supposed to be made in the summer when blueberries are fresh but I couldn’t resist making it for New Year’s Day, especially when I discovered […]

February 18, 2016
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Chocolate Chip, Banana, Cherry Cake

I’ve been making variations on this recipe for more years than I can remember. It’s always slightly different depending on what I add in and depending on the ripeness of the bananas. The basic recipe stays the same and there are never any leftovers. The original was loaded with golden raisins, chocolate chips and walnuts. […]

January 18, 2016
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Ham, Gruyere & Chive Loaf

Because I tested the ham recipe before Thanksgiving, I had lots of leftover ham. I thought it was the perfect time to think about how to use leftovers. Ham muffins, ham biscuits, maybe even ham baked in a pasta timballo, so many options. Suddenly I remembered a summer vacation many, many years ago when I […]

March 4, 2015
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Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

If you follow my blog, you know that I make cookies for every party. Maybe it’s the child within us that smiles when we reach for a cookie. At this party, at Krista’s request, we ordered a glorious cake from her favorite bakery. I know the pastry chef who created this confection and it’s stellar […]

February 27, 2015
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Party Cookies

In my house, party cookies meant the rich butter cookies that were covered with colored sprinkles that my mom bought at the bakery only when there was a party. These actually come close and you make them yourself. The fun part is that they are made with a cookie press and sprinkled with sanding sugar. […]

September 15, 2014
At Home with Friends

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Pignoli Cookies

I fell in love with pignoli cookies while in Italy. Pignoli is Italian for pine nuts. In Italy, they make them very tiny, the size of a nickel or a quarter. Make sure the almond paste you buy is soft. If you get it home and it is really hard, you may have difficulty getting […]

August 27, 2014
At Home with Friends

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Chicken Liver Pate

One of my friends does a holiday party every year. She always serves simple appetizers, salami, cheeses and turkey liver pate. Most of her guests are really health conscious, so I am always surprised that the pate totally disappears. I know where she buys the pate and I went and bought some. I made the […]