Chocolate Pie

This one's for you Em.  This recipe seemed so simple that I figured it had to be delicious, especially since it was touted as coming from a true Southern cook. Not so. It tastes like chocolate eggs and is by no means "fudgy" as the recipe intro describes it. I'm thinking my oven, which I suspect is on a slow, but accelerating, decline, overcooked this one. I pulled it out 10 min earlier than the recipe called for and it looked a little overdone already. I also replaced the sugar with Splenda, so maybe this Southern pie refused to be made healthier...

Bacon-Bourbon-Pecan Brownies

Because butter and chocolate apparently aren't enough in brownies, why not add bacon grease? I had to give these brownies a go as soon as I read the recipe in Food&Wine. I think this is about as manly as dessert is going to get, and it includes three of my favorite things. 

This has to be the messiest thing I've made in a while. I think half my kitchen is now spattered with bacon grease and brownie batter. I had to fry the bacon, melt the chocolate, and then mix it all together in several steps. It's a good thing they turned out alright...

My Perfect Manhattan

Some of you may know that my drink of choice is a Manhattan. I doubt any of you know that there once was actually a Manhattan glass, which looked like a narrow martini glass. After about a year of looking, I finally found something approximating a true Manhattan, and all for $14 for a set of 5. Hooray ebay! (and ignorant estate sale urchins!) (Tip: look for...

Key Lime Cheesecake

Happy birthday 'merica.  I had a great time on the 4th with some old friends from Abilene. We grilled out at Katherine (Cox) and Taylor Ansley's (of Dinner with Taylor and Katherine fame) and ate very well with grilled flank steak, brats, sliders, delicious potato salad and broccoli slaw, and watermelon, and then Katherine's homemade cookies and cream ice cream and my mini key lime cheesecakes for dessert...

Lemon-Thyme Olive Oil Cake with Balsamic Whipped Cream Frosting

About a month ago I ran into Kathleen at Target when we both happened to be visiting our families in Abilene. Having not seen each other in years and realizing we were both now in Dallas we planned to hang out. She's a busy lady though, so I promised her cake as a means of tempting her to venture downtown to see me. I ended up making several mini-cake (no, not cupcake) versions of this recipe for lemon-thyme cupcakes. After my defeat with the cornmeal and rosemary...