To me, one of the best parts of baking and cooking is sharing what I make with others.  I love to make someone else happy with something yummy that I have created.  I have nothing against using a mix, refrigerated cookie dough, or frozen pie crust.  It does not matter if you bake from scratch or pop something in the microwave.  What counts is that you put forth an effort to brighten someone else’s day.  It really is the thought that counts.   

And, while I do love to get compliments on my cooking and baking, the warm fuzzies I get when I think that someone really enjoys what I have made is even better.   

This is where working in an office environment comes as a real asset.  Since I enjoy baking and cooking so much I tend to have more goodies around than I should.  My sons have homes of their own and don’t live right next door.  There is a limit to what my husband and I can eat.  I need an outlet for my baking and cooking finished products and that is where my coworkers come in. 

When I worked at Illinois College I could bake several times a week and the student workers would devour everything that I brought to work.  Now that I am in a state office I can drop baked goods in the breakroom and they will disappear within a couple of days.  When someone is having a stressful day at work a cookie can help get them through to quitting time.  I will admit that I use them to taste test new recipes and experiments but they don’t seem to mind.  I get to perfect my craft and they get free treats – it is a win-win situation.   

Hey hey, everyone!  Or should I say Ho Ho Ho?  It is getting to be that time of year.  But first we must get through Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving, although not as much as Christmas, because of the food, of course.  Not just the eating of the food but the cooking and baking as well.

We normally host the Thanksgiving feast for my family and will be doing so again this year.  I am not gonna tell a big whopping fib (Santa is watching you know) and say that I really enjoy hosting the big family meal.  I enjoy it once the food is all prepared and everyone is there having a good time.  But, the weeks leading up to the event are a royal pain in the butt.  I always over-prepare.  I stress about how clean the house is and worry too much about the tiniest details that no one notices anyway but that is how I roll.  I should be home right now doing some of that cobweb busting and carpet cleaning.  However, I am writing this while sitting in Union Station in Chicago waiting for our train to take us back home.  My husband had a school board conference in Chicago and asked me to come along.  I shouldn’t have because of all the work waiting for me at home but I decided to live a little.  So, I have been shopping and eating and walking my way up and down Michigan Avenue for 3 ½ days.  Oh my gosh, the walking. I kind of wish that I had a Fitbit so I could see how many millions of steps I have made this weekend.  I doubt that I lost any pounds because we have not dieted by any means but I probably came out about even.  I know that I burned some serious calories but I also indulged in some pretty good food.  Right now, I have a bag of “Nuts on Clark” caramel corn/popcorn mix and some fantastic Red Velvet Cherries to munch on while we wait.  Sooooo good.  I wasn’t going to buy anything to eat here at the station even though we are going to be here for about 3 hours waiting for our train but, dang, that popcorn place smelled too good to pass up.  And speaking of too good to pass up, I have a doozy of a dessert recipe to share with you today.  I am hoping to get this posted by Thanksgiving but no promises.

I want to share a recipe for Creme Brulee Caramel Pie.  My niece, Amber, has a serious addiction to Creme Brulee apparently.  She asked me last summer to bring Creme Brulee to some family gathering.  Well now, I have a large family and had to figure out a way to make a large batch rather than mess around with those little ramekins for everyone but I accomplished it.  My sons also love Creme Brulee but I don’t make it often, although I should.  They also love caramel pie.  So, when I saw a recipe for this pie, I had to try it. I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my family’s tastes and this is the result.

This pie has a simple graham cracker crust.  Then comes a luscious layer of Dulce de Leche topped with a homemade cooked vanilla custard.  Add a bit of sugar to the top and burn it to a nice crispy and golden glorious finish.  Wow!  The velvety smooth texture between layers of buttery crunch and sugary crunch is unbelievable.  You are sure to impress with this pie and it is so very simple to make.

Hi Everybody!  The Kitchen Wench is back from a short hiatus.  You know how life gets crazy sometimes? At least, my life gets crazy.  Most of the time, I can handle it. I’m a world-class multitasker. I actually feel weird if I am not doing more than one thing at a time.  Lately, however, I have been trying to juggle too many bowling balls and got whacked on the head a few times. So, I have had to put a couple of things on the back burner (Ha!  See how I stuck that cooking reference in there?) Unfortunately, blog posts had to be put aside briefly. I was still cooking and baking…a lot…so I have some recipes to share as soon as I can get all the production work done.  The one that I am sharing today is a doozy and I have been anxiously awaiting a time when I could share it.

One of the bowling balls that has been hovering over my head was a move of my younger son, Alex.  He has some very dear friends who offered to rent a cute little house to him. He jumped at the chance.  He loved his apartment in downtown St. Louis. It had an amazing view and was within walking distance of Busch Stadium and lots of other great places.  But it was a pretty small studio apartment and he was craving some more space. So, we spent weeks preparing for the move. We quickly discovered that there is a huge difference in the amount of furniture needed for a studio apartment and a 2-bedroom house.  We began collecting furniture from family and second-hand stores and purchased a few new items. Alex had collected kitchen and decor items and stored them in our basement. We sorted through boxes and found lots of stuff that he could use in his new home. Sometimes, it pays to be a packrat.  Everything was moving along pretty smoothly until Alex had a car accident the week before the move and consequently totaled his car. Well, then, we had to scramble to get all the insurance stuff taken care of and get a rental car for him. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt. If I ever catch the semi driver who forced him off the road and into the guardrail, I am gonna do some serious butt kicking, though.  You know that the guy didn’t even stop to see if anyone was hurt? Jerk. And then, the weekend that we had chosen to move, the weather became terrible with bitter cold and snow. Thank goodness for the family and friends who came to help (Nino, Patricia, Gigi and Steve). We were able to get most everything in one trip with our sanity intact. We did have to run out and purchase a split box spring.  Queen size box springs and narrow steep staircases do not mix. Go figure. My husband and I stayed until about 10:00 that night and were able to get most of the boxes unpacked and all the furniture placed. Well, anyway, that is one of the reasons that I have been absent lately.

And, this recipe always brings Alex to my mind, so I thought it appropriate to share it today.  You see, I developed this by accident – or rather by good fortune. I had promised Alex that I would make a special treat for him to share with his co-workers for this birthday.  I ran a few choices by him, and he decided on a recipe that I am sure you have seen online or on Pinterest. It is called Knock You Naked Brownies and they do look fantastic. So, I got ready to make them and discovered that I did not have the correct ingredients.  Well, then I was in a pickle. I don’t live all that close to a grocery store and I was running short on time. I looked at the ingredients that I did have in my pantry and decided to come up with my own similar recipe. I was pretty unsure about the result. I sent the whole pan back to Missouri with Alex without even testing them.  The next weekend when I saw Alex again, he brought up the brownies. I was awaiting the negative review, but he said that they were the best thing I ever made. He said that he left them in a common area of his office where he could hear his co-workers’ reactions and there were many moans and exclamations of delight. Needless to say, I was incredibly happy and made another batch asap so that I could write down the measurements and method before I forgot.

I’m not sure exactly what magic happens in these brownies but the filling and brownie layers morph into a wonderful ooey-gooey and decadent love potion.  They are wonderful the first day but get better and better over time. And, they last for days and days on the counter! That magnificent filling keeps the brownie layers from drying out.  They are thing of beauty – even if I do say so myself. They also happen to be pretty easy to make. It does take longer than a regular old pan of brownies, but I promise that they are worth the wait.