• Summer strawberry cake

    strawberry cake

    Have you ever gone strawberry picking? We lived less than 5 miles from a strawberry field for two years and kept promising ourselves that we would go, but we never did. However, we did manage to at least go and buy some of the freshly picked strawberries, which are approximately nine trillion times better than […]

  • Sweet potato-pecan pie (with gluten-free crust!)

    sweet potato pecan pie slice

    Turkey gets all the attention, and you know I love me some cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. But if we’re being honest, pie is really the best thing about Thanksgiving, right?   I’m definitely in the “a little of each” camp when it comes to pie — I can’t choose between pumpkin and pecan, and […]

  • Best-ever Thanksgiving sweet potatoes (with marshmallows)

    best thanksgiving sweet potatoes

    My mom makes the best Thanksgiving sweet potatoes ever. How do I know? Besides the fact that I have eaten them since (probably) infancy, every person I have ever served them to loves them — and usually asks for the recipe. Obviously this don’t have to only be made for Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure […]

  • Pumpkin-gingerbread trifle

    pumpkin trifle

    Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures in southern California, it’s October and therefore pumpkin season. I do like a pumpkin spice latte on occasion, but I prefer pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and other things that actually contain pumpkin. So when Toby suggested I make a trifle, my mind immediately went to pumpkin. I thought about doing […]

  • Macaroni and cheese (no béchamel required)

    macaroni and cheese with cheez its

    I think we can all agree that homemade macaroni and cheese is awesome. But it can be a bit of a pain (and a mess) to make. This recipe gives you the deliciousness of homemade mac and cheese, with significantly less work, less mess and less stress than a version that involves making a huge […]

  • Tiny pecan pies

    teeny tiny pecan pies

    Miniature food isn’t always tastier than regular-sized food, but it’s almost always cuter. Evidence? Tiny hamsters eating tiny burritos. But this post isn’t about adorableness. This is about pecan pie. In my experience, pecan pie is frequently relegated to Thanksgiving or Christmas, and not enjoyed year-round. That is a travesty, really, because the combination of pecans, […]

  • Brown sugar buttermilk pie with bourbon brown sugar sauce

    Pie is a must-have for Thanksgiving, but you don’t necessarily have to stick with pumpkin, pecan or apple… or limit yourself to one. This brown sugar buttermilk concoction is a little non-traditional, but with the custardy consistency of pumpkin pie and a bourbon-brown sugar sauce reminiscent of pecan pie, it would make a perfect addition […]

  • Cranberry sauce

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Yes, I love pie and sweet potatoes and Fair Isle sweaters and reindeer… but what I REALLY love about this time of the year is cranberries. I’m not talking about the gelatinous canned situation, although I kinda like that, too. I’m talking about legit cranberry sauce made […]

  • Sweet potato banana bake with coconut and pecans

    Have you noticed how trendy sweet potatoes are these days? I’ve always loved sweet potatoes — particularly when mashed and topped with gooey marshmallows — but they used to be a fall-only kind of vegetable, and now they’re year-round, while white potatoes have taken the back seat. It’s probably the fact that they have more fiber, […]

  • Red velvet skull cake (and cupcakes)

    Happy Halloween, y’all! Are you dressing up this year? Toby and I are at the airport, on our way to Kentucky for homecoming festivities at his alma mater, Centre College, so I am not wearing a full-on costume, but I am wearing some leopard-print items and a leopard-ear headband. And I wanted to share a red […]