Classic Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is one of my favorite desserts. I love the silky, creamy custard and the sharp, sugary crust. It is sinful and decadent, the perfect indulgence for special occasions and celebrations. And it's always held special significance for me. The first time I ever had creme brulee was when my husband and I first started dating. We had gone out a few times, but this time, I asked him out. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant, ordered creme brulee for dessert, and went to the symphony--I guess I knew it was serious! A few months later, he gave me a book of creme brulee recipes and a kitchen torch for Valentine's Day. And a month later, we got engaged! Now, whenever we see it on the menu, we order one to split. For old times' sake. And because you'd have to be plum crazy to pass up a chance to have creme brulee!

Fortunately for everyone in the whole world, creme brulee is pretty easy to make at home. Our friend Dave has perfected a top secret recipe that he's letting me share with you. You can find it on my latest dessert post for Best Friends For Frosting. You're welcome, world!

Peanut Butter Scotcheroos

I hope you've had a Peanut Butter Scotcheroo before. I didn't have my first until I was out of college, but life hasn't been quite the same since! They are like Rice Krispy Treats, only better. They are chewy and sweet and sticky, and full of that most delicious of all flavor combinations, peanut butter and chocolate. They're the kind of treat that you'll want to make for your kids when they get home from school, and the kind of treat you'll sneak into the kitchen well past midnight to steal just one more bite of!

You can find the recipe for Peanut Butter Scotcheroos on my latest post for The Font Feast on Ciera Design.

Yarn Pom Pom Garland

I have fallen in love with yarn lately. I don't know how to crochet anything besides a long, skinny chain (which I'm sure breaks both my mother's and grandmother's hearts), and I'm truly terrible at knitting. But I love to wander up and down the yarn aisle at the craft store, running my hands across the soft skeins and picking out happy color palates. Thankfully, there are a million crafts you can do with yarn that don't involve much know-how or technical skill, and my favorite no-skill yarn craft of the moment is pom pom-making! Pom poms are like magical little fiber fireworks. They are fluffy and joyful and practically sing out "Party Time!" And you don't need any special tools to make them--just some yarn, a good pair of scissors, and your hands.

To make a yarn pom pom, start by wrapping a lot of yarn around your fingers. The more times you wrap the yarn, the tighter and fluffier your pom pom will be. I wrap mine 100 times because 100 is a nice, even number, but you can do less if you like (or more!). When you are done wrapping, cut the yarn. While still holding the wrapped yarn around 1 hand, cut another piece of yarn at least 12 inches long, and lay is out nice and flat on a work surface. Carefully slide the wrapped yarn off your fingers, and place the bundle of loops right in the middle of the 12" piece of yarn, making sure all of your loops are going up and down. Tie the 12" piece of yarn around the middle of the bundle (like a belt), cinching it tightly, and double knotting it.

I like to hold the knot I just tied between the thumb and forefinger of my left hand, scrunch the extra yarn up in the palm of my hand, and cover it with my other three fingers, as you can see in the pictures above. That little tail of extra string from tying the knot is very important, and by holding it this way, I can't accidentally cut it off. Pick up your scissors and begin cutting all of the loops in your bundle of yarn. Cut all of the loops on both sides of the knot. When all of the loops have been cut in half, you'll have a very shaggy pom pom. If you don't like it shaggy, or if it is totally and completely asymmetrical, you can trim it into a perfect little ball. Just trim and shake until your pom pom is a sphere.

You can tie pom poms by themselves or in pairs onto gifts and ponytails, or in huge numbers onto festive garland! I made yards and yards and yards of pom pom garland for The Hello Social I hosted back in January just before Alt Summit. It got hopelessly tangled in my suitcase, despite my very careful packing, so I don't suggest traveling far with it. But it adds a fun and cheery touch to any corner of the home, to mirrors and mantels, and even the backs of kitchen chairs. Once you have lots of pom poms made, cut another piece of yarn as long as you want the garland to be. Use those pom pom tails you carefully protected to tie the pom poms onto the long piece of yarn. Use a double knot, then trim the extra string. Adjust the spacing however you like, and hang your garland! I secured mine with tape and haven't had any problems with it falling.

Recipe Redux: Risotto Con Fagioli

I wasn't a world-class cook in college, but somehow, a few of the recipes I discovered back then have become family favorites that I still enjoy making these many years later. I don't know exactly what possessed me to start making risotto in college--who cooks up risotto in their college apartment?!--but I've been a fan ever since. I love this recipe so much that I even made it for our first-ever dinner club get-together, a crazy, many-coursed Italian feast in our friends' backyard one beautiful July evening. Since it was our first foray into dinner club and none of us had any idea what we were doing, we had three times as much food as we could possibly eat. Everything took longer to cook than we anticipated, and the risotto sat around for at least an hour before being served, which does not make for happy risotto!

This recipe is particularly hearty thanks to the addition of creamy cannellini beans, and particularly delicious thanks to the tomatoes, basil, and parmesan cheese. It makes a terrific meatless entree when served with a salad and some delicious, crusty bread. Just make sure you serve it right away for maximum risotto happiness!

In My Kitchen with Alison Faulkner

"If I can't force myself to tackle cleaning my messy studio so I can get work done, I move the mess to the kitchen and start baking sugar cookies. For some reason, in my mind, creating beautiful baked goods to take to friends and neighbors justifies missing work deadlines and forcing my husband and child to live in a state of semi-squalor.

Other than the needed ingredients for sugar cookies and whatever icing you prefer (I usually use royal icing), here are some supplies that are handy to keep around so you too can use the elaborate process of baking and decorating sugar cookies as an excuse to opt out of cleaning and ward off anxiety attacks:

1. Parchment paper--I just buy the cheapest stuff the grocery store has to offer, but I won't bake cookies without it. I also reuse sheets of parchment paper for multiple batches. Parchment paper is useful for lining your baking sheets, AND for lining your table as you decorate your cookies. I will even use the same sheets I baked on to line my table. Waste not, want not.

2. Mini offset spatula--This guy is really helpful for lifting delicate cookie shapes onto the baking sheet, and there's really no substitue. It's also a good tool to have on hand to quickly ice cupcakes, cakes, or anything else you feel like icing. You'll be glad you dropped $4 on it.

3. Gel Food Coloring--The Wilton variety pack is a decent starter kit, but I MUCH prefer a gel food coloring like AmeriColor because I find the color of my icing comes out richer, and they are easier to pour. I keep a lot of colors on hand, but if you wanted to start with a few I'd suggest a pink or red, black, teal (or some shade of blue-green) and orange. Odd, I know, but you'd be shocked at how far those colors will take you.

4. Squeeze bottles--Lately I have been using disposable icing bags with a bunch of different tips, but this is because I'm a little more intense. Ha! A good squeeze bottle makes icing a BREEZE, but buy at least 2-4 so you can create different colors of icing in different bottles. I must have at least 8 regular size squeeze bottles and 2 with a fine tip dancing around in my cupboards.

5. Black food writing pen--People are going to think you are SO legit when you bust one of these out. Plus you can jazz up a solid color cookie so easily with these guys."

- - - - -

Alison writes, creates tutorials and spends an unhealthy amount of time filming herself for her site The Alison Show. But her full-time job is as a mom for Gigi, a very spirited little lady who is only mildly terrifying. Alison loves her soon-to-be-expanding family (baby boy due soon!), crafts, sugar, Diet Dr. Pepper and you...in that order. She wants you to keep it crafty, and keep it sassy.

Black-Bottom Cheesecake Brownies

I started Lulu the Baker nearly 5 years ago so that I could participate in a few online baking groups that required participants to have blogs. I don't participate in any of them these days, mostly because of time, but they introduced me not only to this wonderful, supportive blogging community, but also to lots of helpful cooking techniques and amazing cookbooks. I even discovered some new family favorites and go-to recipes along the way, recipes that I turn to any time I have a special person or fun event to bake for!

This past weekend, we had a huge dessert auction at church to raise money for the teenage girls to pay for church camp this summer. People donated so many fantastic desserts--creme brulee, cupcakes, trifle, brownies, cookies, cakes, and more. I wanted to bring something extra special, so I pulled out one of my favorite early baking-group recipes, Black-Bottom Cheesecake Brownies. They are rich and sinful, and fetched a pretty penny at the silent auction. Between the deep chocolate brownie base and the chocolate-dotted, creamy cheesecake top, they are worth every cent!

The Irish Fry

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. It exists in my life solely for the purposes of wearing green and eating yummy food. Every March 17th, instead of eating corned beef and cabbage for dinner like everyone else, we have an Irish Fry. And I look forward to it more than almost any other meal of the entire year!

Our Irish Fry tradition started with my mom's little brother, Steve, decades ago. He spent a few years living in Ireland when he was in his early 20's, and he noticed that corned beef and cabbage weren't eaten nearly as often as he'd thought. What did turn out to be a very popular meal among the Irish people was a huge, satisfying breakfast feast--the Irish Fry! There can be lots of different components of an Irish Fry--toast, soda bread, bacon, potatoes, tomatoes, even mushrooms!--but ours always consists of hashbrowns, fried eggs, sausage links (we especially love the maple-flavored ones), toasted and buttered english muffins, and baked beans. With the addition of the baked beans, it might strike you as a slightly weird combo, but I cannot put into words how delicious it is. It might sound crazy, but I think about it all year!

Adventures in Backyard Farming: This Little Piggy...

It's been months since I posted anything farm-related, and for that, I apologize. I've snapped so many pictures on the farm in the past few months with the intent to write about it, but between school starting and the holidays and life in general, it just didn't happen. I'm going to shamelessly post cute pictures of newborn piglets to persuade you to forgive me. It's working, I know.

We bought our sows just before Thanksgiving 2011. This picture is from last Spring. Their names are Rose, Dolly, and Sadie.

In the Fall of 2012, when all of the pigs were at breeding weight, we put the boar, Hamlet, in the ladies' pen. And the birds-n-bees being what they are, all three sows were pregnant shortly there-after. Go Hammy!

On an unrelated note, I dropped my phone in a huge pile of pig poo literally seconds after taking this picture. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my craft!

On Febraury 2, 2013, the first of the three sows went into labor. Over the next few days, we became the proud care-takers of 24 little Berkshire babies. They are sweet and wriggly, and remind me so much of puppies.

Lesson #8 in Backyard Farming: Babies of any kind are sweet miracles, and mamas are stalwart saints. Amen.

Slow-Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Since it's Comfort Food Month, I thought I'd share a recipe with you that's about as comforting as it gets: Loaded Baked Potato Soup! On a chilly night, a hearty baked potato smothered with sour cream and topped with crispy bits of bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and savory green onions is positively soul-satisfying. This is basically a baked potato in easy-to-make, slow-cooker soup form, and it makes me want to put on my slippers and curl up in front of the fire, warm and happy and pleasantly stuffed!

Slow-Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

adapted from this recipe from CDKitchen
 Served with a lovely green salad and some Irish soda bread, I think it'd be perfect for dinner on St. Patrick's Day this Sunday!

5 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup butter (half a stick)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup sharp shredded cheddar

toppings:

cooked, crumbled bacon

sour cream

minced green onion

sharp shredded cheddar

In a large crockpot, combine potatoes, carrot, celery, onion, chicken broth, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook on High for 3 1/2 hours. Mash with a potato masher until thick and chunky. Add half-and-half and 1 cup sharp cheddar, and continue to cook on High for 30 more minutes. If the soup is too thick, you can thin it with milk or more chicken broth. Serve topped with bacon, sour cream, green onion, and more sharp cheddar.

*As with so many of my winter recipes, I took photos of this soup the next day. I thickens a lot while sitting in the fridge overnight. It really is a soup, and not just glorified mashed potatoes!

An Elegant Green & Gold Table for St. Patrick's Day

We don't have too many occasions for fancy table settings around here; our dinner table is usually a mix of everyday white plates, clear acrylic tumblers, and colorful IKEA children's dishes. But I do so love a beautifully decorated table, maybe for the very reason that they are scarce at the moment. I got it in my head to decorate my dining room table for an elegant green & gold dinner party in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Are we having an elegant green & gold St. Patrick's Day dinner?? Nope! But I'm so in love with my pretty table that I might start eating all of my meals at my lovely little Irish corner.

Keep reading to see how you can make your own elegant green & gold table (PS--it's so easy!)...

In My Kitchen with Tan Rutley

"Bitters are commonly used to add flavour to cocktails, but I rarely use them for this purpose. I'm going to tell you a little secret that might make me a little weird: my favourite drink is water. You heard me, plain old water. I usually drink it flat but sometimes I like to add some bubbles to the mix. When I'm feeling like I want a little more than just fizzy water, I add a few drops of bitters and bam! You've got sugar free pop in a range of flavours. My favourite is grapefruit. As a bonus, Angostura bitters, a descendant from herbal tinctures, has been used to cure stomach aches for nearly 2 centuries. A few drops of that in some sparkling water helps smooth those uncomfortable rumbles after a big meal. Which is perfect because I do love to eat."

- - - - -

Tan, a teacher/blogger/maker/hugger, has been blogging on and off since 1999. Anyone remember geocities? Yup, she's old school. While she used to blog like a 15 year old writing in her diary, Tan now runs the lifestyle blog Squirrelly Minds. Tan creates and curates to make life pretty and fun through DIY projects, recipes, fashion, home decor and your next celebration. Tan lives on Canada's west coast with her husband Ryan and their crazy-cute cat Lucy. Together, one day, they will have visited every pocket of the world (while looking pretty and fun).

Our Favorite Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding is a big hit in our house, especially in the winter. My husband loves it so much that he requested it for Valentine's Day dessert this year! I haven't always considered myself a bread pudding fan, but I do love this recipe for it. It calls for lots of delicious french bread, with just enough sweet, nutmeg-scented custard to hold everything together, and dried, sweetened cranberries that add a little zing of tartness to every bite. Served warm and topped with sweetened whipped cream, it is comfort food at its finest!

A Land of Nod Give-Away

The give-away is now closed, and the winner has been contacted. Thanks for visiting!

I'm so excited to introduce our new theme for March, and to tell you about this month's give-away! I keep wanting to think that Spring is here, and it is certainly on its way, but while we still have cool days and chilly nights, I want to enjoy warm, cozy soups, casseroles, and cobblers. All this month, in honor of these last few frosty winter days, we'll be serving up cozy Comfort Food favorites!

To go with our cute, cozy theme, the Land of Nod is generously giving away a $75 e-gift card to one lucky Lulu the Baker reader! From whimsical wall art to gorgeous bedding, the Land of Nod has the most delightful and stylish items for children (and grown-ups too!). Pillows, toys, flashcards, rocking chairs, storage baskets, quilts, lamps, picture books, puzzles...so much to explore! What will you buy if you win?

Top to bottom, left to right: Patterned Pennants Fabric Garland; Suzy Q Hello Doll; Butterfly Decals; Retro Rocker; Blue Ruffle Pillow; Bunny Bright Eyed, Bushy Tailed Throw Pillow; Rainbow Throw Blanket; Fruits and Veggies Big Picture Book

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post! Be sure to include your email if it isn't linked to your profile, or if you leave an anonymous comment. The give-away will be open until Tuesday, March 5th at midnight, after which time I'll randomly choose a winner and notify them by email. If you win, you'll have 24 hours to respond to my email; if I haven't heard from you I'll choose a new winner. Best of luck, everyone!

- - - - -

Thanks to the Land of Nod for so generously donating our prize this month! You can connect with them at...

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest