Peppermint

Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries Call me easily amused, but these little torch-topped cupcakes delight me. Besides being a cute novelty item for a party, I think they would add a little drama to the end of a romantic meal. I've been looking for something different to serve for Valentine's dessert, and this is definitely different. Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes “Scalloped” is an attractive word, isn’t it? When I hear it I think of several things: first, there’s scallops, as in the seafood—totally delicious. Then there’s the scalloped shape that can live on the edge of a pair of shorts or on the collar of a woman’s blouse—always pretty and dainty. And of course scalloped potatoes also comes to mind, which carries my imagination to a land of crispy potato skins drenched in a sea of cheese and cream.

Beer-Battered Fried Pickles I’m fairly certain there is nothing more satisfying to eat than a fried pickle. The sad part is that it took me 29 years to discover this. Last year I tasted my first fried pickle in an Irish pub in California and I was forever transformed. I crossed the threshold into a new phase of life—pre-fried pickle to post-fried pickle. And I’m never looking back. Thank you to TK member Kelly from Live Love Pasta (who in turn sourced the recipe from Elizabeth’s Edible Experience) for reminding me of this glorious food and inspiring me to share it with you today!

DIY Solar Lamp: Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Sun Jars The principle is simple and seductively clever: solar lights that store energy during the day and release light at night. These can be purchased ready-made in a variety of colors (yellow, blue and red) but they can also be built at home. A simple, less-technical approach involves buying a conventional solar-powered yard lamp and then essentially harvesting it for key pieces to put in a jar. This is simply a way of taking an existing solar lamp design and appropriating its parts to make something more attractive for display around a house or home. A more electronically-savvy individual can take the more complex route and built a solar lamp from the ground up using small solar panels – though the aesthetic result may not be as impressive.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles I’ve never liked chocolate chip cookies. Go ahead and throw tomatoes at me if you’d like, but I don’t like ’em. They’re just a plain old cookie, after all, with a few studs of chocolate chips in them. GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND BAKE!: PASTRY Last night, I decided to make one of my favorite cookies. These little pastry swirls are so delish! I usually use my favorite pie crust recipe, which I have previously posted, but I decided to try a pastry recipe by the Barefoot Contessa. This recipe calls for lots of butter! I used my 14-cup Cuisinart Food Processor (love it) to make the pastry dough. Fish For Dinner? Here Are A Few Tips For Sea Life Lovers hide captionA fishmonger tosses a just-purchased fresh salmon to a colleague behind the counter at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. Elaine Thompson/AP A fishmonger tosses a just-purchased fresh salmon to a colleague behind the counter at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. If sustainability is a top priority when you're shopping at the fish counter, wild-caught seafood can be fraught with ethical complications. One major reason why: bycatch, or the untargeted marine life captured accidentally by fishermen and, often, discarded dead in heaps. It's one of the most problematic aspects of industrial fishing.

Vanilla Latte Cookies November 3, 2011 | Print | E-mail | Filed under 12weeksofchristmascookies, cookie Now that Halloween is over (and we’re halfway through the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies!), are you already planning for Thanksgiving? Calzone! Uh-oh…this calzone shouldn’t be a calzone. Nope. It totally should be a picture of a pizza…topped with layers of ricotta, melted mozzarella, cubes of roasted butternut squash and broccoli rabe. That was the plan. This pizza was supposed to convince me that broccoli rabe isn’t this gross, bitter leaf situation…well that failed.

Buffalo Chicken Dip This Chicken Buffalo Dip will please any crowd! Ingredients: 3 Chicken Breast, cooked and cut into bite sized piecesMoore’s Buffalo Wing Sauce (1 jar)2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softenedMarie’s Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing (located in the refrigerated section)1 1/2 C shredded Mozzarella Cheese1 Bag of your favorite chips or Celery Sticks I took three chicken breast and boiled them.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip « Slice & Dice 6 Oct This dip might put me into rehab. It is so addicting. The 23 Genius Ways To Use An Ice Cube Tray There is so many uses for the ice cube tray, athat you cannot just simply write it down. You never should use it just for ice, because, you are missing so much chances to make something new, and trilling. Since the summer is slowly coming, there are a lot way you can use ice tray and make the perfect snack maybe, or even a delicious desert. So, if you like some new ideas in your kitchen, you will love these food tips for sure then. Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets Chunks of all white meat chicken breasts coated in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese then baked until golden. An easy chicken recipe your whole family will love. What can be more kid friendly than chicken nuggets, even the pickiest kids like them.

Two Peas & Their Pod - StumbleUpon Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites On Fridays, I teach cooking classes to two kids in our neighborhood. They are pretty knowledgeable-so my job is easy:) I think it is fantastic that they want to learn how to cook at such a young age-they are in the 3rd and 4th grade.