Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
This soup takes a while to make, but very little of that time is actually spent standing over the stove.
Chunks of butternut squash, sweet onion, and elephant garlic are slow roasted in the oven...
Rustic Cranberry Bacon Chutney with Rosemary and Port
This stuff is so good, it's evil.
It's smokey and sweet. It's dotted with bits of bacon and rosemary. It's bursting with unexpected orange flavor that's followed by a refreshing tartness from the cranberries.
I could...
Chocolate & Vanilla Guinness Floats with Creme Chantilly
Vanilla Guinness Float
Guinness is the favored beer here at The Mouse House, hands down.
While we usually enjoy it at home straight out of the can, we do occasionally cook with it, too. (Mmmm, Guinness...
Don’t Dilute Your Drink! Use Whiskey Stones Instead!
Wow.
OK. It's late in the evening after a long day, so this may be me being impressed with something overly simplistic.
But...this seems like a really neat idea—especially if you're a cocktail connoisseur.
Ladies and gentleman,...
Hot Buttered Rum Pecan Sundae
The topping for this sundae has all the rich, buttery flavor of pecan pralines—without the time or trouble involved in candymaking.
Basically, this recipe makes a mini-batch of pecan candy by superheating a small amount...
Split Pea Soup with Homemade Pork Stock
This soup was a happy accident.
Normally, I make split pea soup the way a lot of folks do: I simmer split peas in water with garlic, a handful of diced carrots and onions, and,...
Happy Birthday, Angry Chef!
Happy Birthday to my dear husband, The Angry Chef, who turns 857 today!
We celebrated this past weekend at our favorite Chinese restaurant—a place I fondly refer to as the Golden Dragon—with a small group...
Quick & Creamy Tomato Soup
I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but when the weather turns colder, my inner eight-year-old starts to crave Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese.
Here's my grown-up version.
This frequently shows up on...
Guinness Stew with Sage and Ginger
I love slow cooking because your food almost cooks itself. You do a little work, then the stove or oven coaxes complex flavor out of simple ingredients.
Guinness stew is traditional cold-weather fare and a...
Tea Tasting, Part I
One of my fondest—and most vivid—childhood memories is going to the tobacco shop with my father, who smoked a pipe.*
Bear with me, I'll get to the tea in a sec.
Pipe-shop adventures
Now, Dad has long...