To avoid unnecessary house explosions, thigh burns, and scorched shorts on the Fourth of July, I’m blowing the flaming popsicle stand that is my neighborhood. I’m sure the “rocket’s red blare” and “bombs bursting in air” look amazeballs, but I wouldn’t really know for sure because usually, I’m in full cat freak-out mode, searching for… Continue reading How Do We Dance When Our Bundts Are Burning?
Tag: recipes
Im-peck-ably Spiced Chicken
Aw, cluck it! I know the majority of my dinners start and end with chicken, but for cluck’s sake, if I wasn’t meant to make chicken for my family nearly every night of the week, why does it taste so cluckin’ good? During a typical weeknight, we eat chicken at least two days a week,… Continue reading Im-peck-ably Spiced Chicken
Cupid’s-in-a-Jam Valentine’s Day Cookies
Cupid’s arrow is stuck in a jar of jam. I guess that means I have to marry it, but sorry, jam, this gal’s taken. Not my jam. Or is it? An ancient Hershey’s cookbook (circa 1998) says jam is the moment. I’ve held onto this cookbook for years but have never made anything from it—until… Continue reading Cupid’s-in-a-Jam Valentine’s Day Cookies
Just a Super Bowl of Buckeyes
I know my way around a football field the way I know my way around TOI-3757 b (Marshmallow Planet). Not very familiar with either. And, if asked to throw a football during an impending attack by extraterrestrial, cleat-clad linebackers, I’d set the world back by a penalty of at least sixty-six yards. But I could… Continue reading Just a Super Bowl of Buckeyes
Rum Ball Reprise
Potluck pandemonium is still jingling its sleigh bells along the buffet line, and we’re getting loaded. Well, I mean, we’re loading up the buffet line—for Alex, who is a young adult, getting invited to all kinds of parties, and he needs to bring something to the table. Many of his friends are of Mexican heritage,… Continue reading Rum Ball Reprise
Crisp Kringle Red Velvet Cookies
The elf fell off the shelf when it saw me dump a generous splash of cherry liqueur into the batter, but that’s how the crisp cookie crumbles. Yep, for this last batch of countdown-to-Christmas cookies, I dove deep into the pantry to see what other kind of booze I could sneak into cookie batter—and no… Continue reading Crisp Kringle Red Velvet Cookies
Merry Minty Mint Mints
The oven’s reached hot-flash mode, and I’m not far behind. The Heat Miser’s throwing flames and singing songs about melting things in his clutch. When this happens, it means the Christmas cookie countdown is coming in hot—and needs to cool down with festive mints. So, when the ovens are a fury of toe-tapping Heat Miser… Continue reading Merry Minty Mint Mints
Chocolate Peppermint Party Cookies
If candy cane confetti hits the kitchen like a festive windstorm of merriment, do you… a) finish the email you’re writing, b) freak out and call the Krampus Control Hotline, or c) bake a batch of chocolate cookies and use them as pillows to catch all the fun? I opted for “c” mostly because “c”… Continue reading Chocolate Peppermint Party Cookies
Christmas Cookie Countdown: Boozy Butterscotch
The sugar plums dancing in my head are turning in their tutus ‘cause they’re all tapped out. But they left some butterscotch morsels, doused in a good tempest of butterscotch liqueur in their place. And as we all know, the show must go on, bottoms up, cheers, down the hatch, nom-nom-nom. To make the best… Continue reading Christmas Cookie Countdown: Boozy Butterscotch
SOS Cakes
A whirl of pumpkin guts, studded with candy wrappers and spider rings, just flew past my window. And I am so tired. Last night, it rained and rained and rained—and there were trick-or-treaters and Alex’s guitar. “Hotel California” briefly drifted into view. A pumpkin got carved, rolls got baked, and Alex played “The Greatest Song… Continue reading SOS Cakes
Fixin' Leaks and Leeks 