In Munich, we indulged in pretzels as big as our heads. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to make dozens of gigantic pretzels for our Oktoberfest party. So we made 50 mini versions instead. Nick is the bread baker in this marriage, but he was busy buying beer and tenderizing meat on Saturday morning, so it was [...]

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry Cake) is a dessert commonly found in southern Germany, and one that we made a few months ago. But it would have been time consuming to slice and serve during our Oktoberfest party, so we turned the traditional cake into a cute little cookie. The ingredients are basically the same, [...]

Life is short. Eat dessert first. Or, in this case, blog about it first. I took off work on Friday to bake and cook and clean for our first annual Oktoberfest party. And I enjoyed every minute. Does that make me odd? I hope not. I put on my apron, laid out my cookbooks and [...]

What do you get when you mix all of the ingredients below? … Batter for delicious pumpkin pecan waffles! Perfect for Halloween or any other cool autumn morning. Serve with powdered sugar, pecans, and real maple syrup. Mmmmmm! Enjoy. Pumpkin Pecan Waffles (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 2 cups Bisquick 1 cup milk 1 egg 1 1/2 [...]

While Nick was relaxing working at the luxurious Bedford Springs Resort the other week, I felt the need to do a little indulging of my own. And so I planned a ladies night in. We discussed Ina Garten and Ben Affleck over red wine and Greek takeout. And then we watched Crazy Heart with slices [...]

We have lived outside of Altoona for eight months, but this past weekend was our first trip to the Horseshoe Curve. This famous stretch of railroad was completed in 1854 and declared an “engineering marvel.” We took the funicular to the top where we claimed seats on a park bench to wait for the trains. [...]

Have you cooked with quinoa? If not, you should. Yes, it’s packed with protein and essential amino acids, but it’s also light and fluffy and mildly nutty. It provides the perfect canvas for a variety of fall flavor combinations: honey and berries, chicken stock and leafy greens, carrots and tart apples, even vegetarian meatballs. We [...]

We love to roast root vegetables during the cold weather months. We typically keep it simple and drizzle basting oil onto a baking stone full of butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, and cloves of garlic. (For a fancier version, try maple syrup and sage.) They warm our kitchen and warm our bellies. So we thought, why [...]

(We were so happy to get back in our kitchen after we returned from Germany. Time to start sharing some recipes! Trip recaps will resume shortly.) Squash is more than a front porch decoration placed alongside pumpkins and gourds. Acorn squash can be roasted with maple syrup and brown sugar; butternut squash can be baked [...]

I need to take a brief break from our Germany trip recaps to share with you the best cookie I have baked in recent memory. I am not exaggerating. I ate two last night and three today, and it’s barely past noon. I was thankful to learn when we got back onto American soil that [...]