Do you ever have cravings for something you’ve never even tasted? Well, that happened to me yesterday when I picked up a basket of local strawberries from the market up the street. I happened to have a quart of whole milk from Strauss Family Creamery in the fridge and all I could think about was combining those bright red berries with a glass of that rich and creamy milk. Continue reading →

Wow, it’s been a while hasn’t it?

Well here’s a really good recipe to help us get back into the swing of things! I had planned on creating lots of new citrus recipes this past season, and I did get a few put together, but this last one comes straight from a cookbook. I did actually try making my own version of an orange yogurt bread but it wasn’t nearly as good as the one I’m about to share with you. Continue reading →

Do you remember the giant lemon sugar cookie recipe that I posted in August? You might not have even noticed it because the recipe was just kind of stuck at the bottom of my Lemon Tips and Tricks post. Well I really should have dedicated an entire post to those cookies because they were really amazing! Luckily, Patricia, of the wonderful Brazilian food blog Technicolor Kitchen, did it for me! But Patricia added an exciting new twist and turned them into Lime Sugar Cookies! Continue reading →

And I am officially not even close to being the Best Food Blog winner in the 2007 Weblog Awards. But, I am happy to say that I did not end up in last place! So thanks to everyone who voted for me, I really appreciate the support! And of course I would like to send out a big congratulations to Serious Eats, the seriously big winners!

Serious Eats, I seriously ate one of these cannoli this afternoon in honor of your win.

I then proceeded to eat one of those mini strawberry cream tarts (top right) to celebrate my own fifth place victory!

Cheers to us all!

Yes, Halloween is over. But now is the time to run out and search for some ghost-shaped cookie cutters at the after Halloween sales so you can make these cream cheese ghost sugar cookies next year! 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 →

I guess it’s a good thing that we’re moving to California in a month because I need to get back to San Francisco as soon as possible in order to try this Salted Caramel Ice Cream! Here I was this morning, minding my own business and quietly wandering through my favorite food sites, when all of a sudden my senses were assaulted by first a photo, then a video, of what could possibly be my favorite ice cream flavor ever! Sweet, salty, caramel-y. I can’t wait. Continue reading →

I’m back from Transylvania and I just had to share with you my favorite food discovery! We ate these kurtoskalacs twice and I wish I would have had a chance to eat them a few more times!

Kurtoskalacs are a traditional Hungarian pastry and, depending on who you talk to, they are the oldest Hungarian pastry. History and Geography are two of my worst subjects but Transylvania, which is now part of Romania, was once part of Hungary. Or something like that. Anyway, there is still a sizable Hungarian population in Transylvania and these yummy kurtoskalacs, which I believe originate from Transylvania, are widely available. Continue reading →

I picked up the latest copy of Country Living magazine when I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. I was starving and fell for the photo of the halloween-themed chocolate cake on the front cover. The magazine promised that it was “Scrumptious!” and “Sooooo moist!” And how could I resist the cute orange frosting and dark chocolate glaze. The truth is that I am very easily swayed by advertising when I’m hungry.

After I got home and ate lunch, I really wasn’t that interested in the magazine anymore. In fact, I kind of forgot about it for a day or two. When I finally got around to thumbing through it, I realized the cake recipe was for a Chocolate Pumpkin Cake. “Mmmmmm,” I thought. “Possibly even better than just plain chocolate!” I’ve never combined chocolate and pumpkin before and I was instantly intrigued. Continue reading →

Well, I don’t think I could ever get tired of banana bread. But if you’re looking to try something a little different with those overripe bananas sitting in your fruit basket, how about a banana roll? Banana sponge cake spread with a thick cream cheese filling rolled up into one yummy package — what’s not to love?

You’ve had pumpkin roll before, haven’t you? This is the same thing, except made with banana sponge cake rather than pumpkin. In fact, I just used the recipe for pumpkin roll, substituted banana for the pumpkin, took out the spices, and voila!

It was one of those experiments that could have been a total disaster but just happened to turn out very well. If you’ve been reading Pinch My Salt long, you know that most of my ‘original recipes’ are created this way! Continue reading →