Coffee Crunch Cake is the Queen’s absolute favorite birthday treat. Picking one up at Stickney’s restaurant in Palo Alto (sadly, now gone) was part of the drill for her big day each year. This year, Dad (not much of a baker), is
finally making one from scratch to help us celebrate, although now far from California. Read more ›
My recent coffee crunch cake and chocolate cakes experiments, having turned out so well, makes me want to try more! But before I do, I’m thinking about enrolling in this cake-baking course from America’s Test Kitchen…one of Dad’s Helpers 
. Here’s the infomercial….
OK, this recipe is the most decadent, delicious and delightful dessert recipe you’re likely to find here on DRB. The Queen (it’s all her fault) brought this recipe home from someone who brought these little devils to a church potluck. You may know those church potluck cooks…they feel no guilt making their most delectable, diet-wrecking, downright tasty dishes to church potlucks when they’d never make them for their foodie friends. God love ‘em.
Anyhow, let’s say you are looking for a pretty-easy dessert you can serve to anyone (who’s not diabetic) and get a “Wow, this is fantastic!” reaction. OK, get ready…. Read more ›
So many recipes start with diced onions…chili, pasta sauces, casseroles, you name it. So, knowing the standard and very effective way to dice an onion will save you lots of time and possibly angst, as well as make you feel like you’re really getting better at the basic cooking tasks that help you become a more competent, confident cook. I’d have done my own video, by can’t think of how to improve on this one. Read more ›
A great, inexpensive dish for one or a whole crowd. Makes a side dish or main course. Can be varied indefinitely. Read more ›
Hats off to Jamie Oliver for caring about kids health and better eating.
“…if it weren’t for the vibrant but dwindling community of bloggers, we’d hardly see actual cooking discussed at all.” So says Mark Bittman in a recent column. The transformation of FoodTV into yet another reality show-driven channel (where people pretend to be living for real) is a disappointment for sure.
Seems like only yesterday that cooking was simple; grocery shopping was simple; getting fat was simple. Now, eating, like everything else, is another learning moment. And a topic for small talk with old friends and new. Where has cooking gone? Mainstream.
Dad’s Recipe Box features heirloom recipes. One of our beginning ideas was to gather and publish family favorite dishes so the kids would have them written down if they wanted them. I debated whether to call these “heirloom” or “heritage” recipes, and I suppose either will do. But Merriam-Webster helped me decide. Here’s their definition:
heirloom: something of special value handed on from one generation to another
This is exactly what we intend by using the word. These recipes have special value becuase of the memories and feelings they evoke. Thanksgivings, Saturday mornings, Christmas, picnics and vacations. The older we get, the more we hold these times dear. If food and cooking can help us remember them, so much the better.
Ok, it’s time to get serious. Many of us eat too much while other people are starving. This can’t be right. Nobody deserves to starve in the presence of such abundance.
Dad supports the work of Feeding America in raising awareness and getting people involved in helping those who aren’t getting enough food.
Check out this video….
Cheap meat, great taste. It’s what braising is all about. I like the whole idea of taking a cheap cut of beef and making it taste fantastic. Read more ›
