• Chocolate-bourbon souffle cupcakes with bourbon whipped cream

    While we were in Kentucky for Toby’s grandmother’s 80th birthday, we went to Virgil’s Cafe in Bellevue. The last time we ate there, I had a really fantastic cheeseburger. This time, the most memorable thing was a chocolate-bourbon torte. After about two bites, I started thinking about how I could make something similar. So when […]

  • Bourbon-marinated pork tenderloin

    September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. But I didn’t realize it when I made this pork tenderloin. What I did realize is that Toby’s best friend, Joey, was coming for dinner, and I needed something manly and bourbon-y. After all, they’re from Kentucky. The first time I met Joey, he (accidentally) spilled beer all over […]

  • Baltimore Cupcake Camp

    As I mentioned the other day, Toby and I went to cupcake camp on Saturday. I had never heard of cupcake camp, but apparently it’s a thing. The idea is a free place where people can share and eat cupcakes. Attendees had to sign up ahead of time for a free ticket, but not everyone […]

  • Sweet potato-pecan cupcakes with marshmallow meringue

    On Monday, I happened to see a post on Baltimore Diner about Baltimore’s first-ever Cupcake Camp. I had never heard of cupcake camp, but it sounded right up my alley. The idea is just a place to go and share/eat cupcakes. And there was a contest. One of the contest categories was “best use of […]

  • Bobby Flay visits Annapolis

    I was in the presence of an Iron Chef yesterday. A ginger Iron Chef in Chuck Taylors. But I didn’t challenge him to a throwdown. I just asked him to sign my book. Of course, first I had to wait in line. Actually, it was more like six lines. I got there at 1:30 and […]

  • New ballet shoes!

    Even better? They were only $4.95. Capezio was having a special. (Unfortunately, the free ballet shoes offer is over, but they are offering free shipping on “fashion legwear” through Sept. 30. If you’re interested, visit capezionewyork.com and use the code CNY at checkout.)

  • Tomato and cheese frittata

    I’m not a big breakfast person. A bowl of cereal, a smoothie or a piece of leftover pizza works for me. If I do make or order something bigger for myself, it’s usually something sweet and carbtastic — pancakes, waffles, scones or biscuits. But I live with a square-headed, rugby-playing Marine. And he likes eggs. […]

  • Not quite open water

    In case you haven’t heard, Maryland has been getting some ridiculous weather lately — and all that rain washed a whole lot of nasty stuff into the Chesapeake Bay. So the open-water swim I was supposed to do was moved to a pool in north Baltimore.   They had the outdoor pool(s) set up with […]

  • Sweet potato biscuits

    The Saturday after the hurricane, we got double our normal amount of vegetables from our CSA. That’s a LOT of vegetables. And we were leaving town Thursday. So I needed to try to use it all ASAP. I thought sweet potato biscuits would be a good use of our sweet potatoes and a good vehicle […]

  • Bourbon-glazed grilled chicken

    If you haven’t noticed, we kinda like bourbon around here. So I decided to go out on a limb and try this bourbon-glazed chicken from Cooking Light when two friends/former co-workers came over for dinner recently. Sometimes recipes from Cooking Light taste a little… like someone took all the fun out of them. But we […]