I’m back, and this time I really mean it!

I won’t bother apologizing for another extended absence. If you’ve been following my adventures at all, you know that I recently located back to the United States after four years in Sicily. If that’s not a reason to take a month off, I don’t know what is! Continue reading →

I really had no intention of writing about muffins today. But thanks to jet lag I was awake at 2:30 a.m. again and by 6:00 I was fully caffeinated with lots of new recipes brewing in my head. It was nice and cool and foggy this morning, perfect weather for a warm and spicy batch of muffins. Continue reading →

Get into the holiday spirit a little early this year with some quick and easy egg nog french toast for breakfast! Although drinking spiked egg nog for breakfast might be frowned upon, sneaking a touch of rum into your french toast won’t cause any harm. Don’t worry, it will be our little secret! Continue reading →

Will you be having house guests during the holidays? These pumpkin scones are the perfect thing to whip up for guests. They come together quickly, bake in only 15 minutes, and will turn your house into an instant bed and breakfast. Give them a try! Continue reading →

Who says a pancake breakfast can’t be tasty and healthy? Whip up a batch of these Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes and indulge your fall cravings for foods that are warm, spicy and sweet. Your house will smell like pumpkin pie, your taste buds will think you’re eating something sinful, and your body will thank you for filling it with a wholesome meal! Continue reading →

As promised, I will now share my sausage gravy recipe with you. I developed my gravy-making skills fairly late in life because, for whatever reason, we didn’t eat much gravy at home growing up. In fact, the only time I remember eating gravy at all was during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. But those weren’t cream gravies. It wasn’t until I got married that I learned anything at all about cream gravies.

I’ve talked a lot lately about comfort foods and to my husband, comfort food means gravy. He loves meals like fried chicken with mashed potatoes, cream gravy and corn. He also like biscuits with sausage and cream gravy. Well, I’ve never fried a chicken in my life so he has to go home for that type of meal, but I’ve learned how to do one thing right: biscuits with sausage gravy. Continue reading →

Canned biscuits caused our ruination!

That was the subject of an e-mail I received after my last biscuit post. Who knew biscuits could stir such passion! Apparently, when canned biscuits made their debut, many women quit making them from scratch, even in the southern states.

Even in Tennessee where I’m from, when canned biscuits came out, women quit making homemade ones except for my grandmother who is 90 years old and still going strong. We live in Texas now and it amazes me how many people have never had a great homemade biscuit.

Carmen, the reader who sent the e-mail, went on to explain to me some of the real secrets of making great homemade biscuits and I am now forever in her debt! Continue reading →

When I arrived here in California, my Nana and Grandpa were up at the family cabin in the Sierra Nevadas. When they came back a few days later, Nana had a present for me. She had found an old baking book tucked away in the kitchen and thought I might enjoy looking through it. Continue reading →