Spinach Quiche

I…must admit defeat. This recipe came to me hand-written, and lovingly notated throughout. The crust recipe portion is now the new bane of my existence, and I am sad. Rarely has a crust triumphed over my stubbornness, but the lovely CandiAnne had to pull my tail out of the fire with this one. Her crust recipe is pretty epic, and I’m happy to share it. Ok, aside from the colossal crust crisis, this is a super yum, and easy, recipe to make. The seasonings are lightly, so please play with what your palette craves. I’m hooked on smoked paprika, so …

Maple Parfait

An amazing treat, this dish. Totally transparent when I say that this took me a few tries to get it. I love making sauces, and have no issue doing so. The base for this was tricky for me, but I won in the end!!! Parfait is somewhat misleading, as this is more of an ice cream of sorts. The key to making this is to NOT mix the yolk and gelatin over active heat. Pull the pot from the heat, and return it as needed, or you’ll scramble them every single time. Be patient, and I promise it’s worth it! …

Portuguese Baked Beans & Sweet Cornbread

Oh, the flavors in this dish!! Linguica isn’t found up here in northern Michigan, so I used hot chorizo instead. Please, please hunt linguica if you can, otherwise you can sub a good quality, savory sausage for this recipe. My diet doesn’t include 90% of most meats, but I did taste this before serving. My mouth was quite pleased with the results, and I encourage you to delve into the culture behind this creation and play with the spices you find. I also made a sweet cornbread to go alongside this, because I’m a Southern woman, and…beans!!! Would I be …

Pumpkin Maple Custard

Custard. Man, I wish I liked it, but you know that saying about kids either loving or hating what they had in utero? Yeahhhh…BUT, I can make a mean one!!! This one honestly was super fun to make, really easy, and smelled epic once done. Custard lovers will not be disappointed by this rather divine creation, and all it takes is a bit of patience. You ready??? Let’s do this!!!

Maple Peanut Fluff

Yes, fluff. Honestly, I haven’t a clue as to what this is supposed to look like, but I essentially made a marshmallow maple fluff.  It’s hyper-sweet, thick, and would be amazing with a dark chocolate addition. The original recipe is super simple, so I left it as is. If you are familiar with this nifty concoction, please tell me what it’s supposed to look like!!! Otherwise, have fun.

Maple Popcorn

This was SO much fun to make!!! *full disclosure: I’ve made candy once before this* Ok, maple popcorn. If you like caramel corn, you’re going to be super pleased with this. The original recipe calls for a quart of popcorn crumbs, but this is really up to you. First batch was by the book, and it was beautiful; perfect for shaping into a sheet for cutting, but I’m fancy! More crumbs means less viscosity, and you have maple crumble corn!!! Less popcorn means more tack, which is equally yum, so pick your poison and let’s do this!

Maple Kisses

These maple kisses have an almost crunch texture to the candy but a smoothness thanks to the butter and are an awesome holiday gift jarred up or put into a holiday can.

Maple Bread Pudding

I’m a sucker for a good bread pudding, let’s start there. It’s the European in me, and some things are worth it. This had to be revamped bit, so it’s an actual bread pudding, and it came out…well, you be the judge!!! I doubled the recipe, and let the bread get a bit stale before I started, which made a huge difference. Ok, let’s do this!

Pesto, Chicken and Rice

The pesto!!!! Listen kats and kittens, if you don’t like pesto, then this isn’t for you. (We can still be friends, though!) I made this dish a few ways to see what worked best, and the neighbors literally just asked for more rice and pesto. You’ve been warned. Pesto is traditionally made with nuts, but after Thing 2, I developed a tree nut allergy. Pumpkin seeds work really well, though a bit more dense in consistency than what pesto tends to be. Lemon juice is a thinning option, and gives the pesto a totally different attitude, should you need that …

Brown Rice Pilaf

Most think wild rice. mixed grain, a bit saucy, when rice pilaf is mentioned. This pilaf is not that, but it’s definitely amazing!!! Rice is comfort food for me, and I’d never used tomato juice in it before, so this recipe thrilled me to recreate. Brown rice is a particular favorite because it’s much meatier than plain white rice. Brown rice also takes a bit longer to cook, which is why I was grateful for it being toasted. Well that, and it makes the house smell incredible!!! The original recipe used salt and pepper, but I think a bit of …