Guinness Chocolate Pudding

Guinness is good for you. Seriously. It contains a lot of awesome. I have been told you can subsist on Guinness and orange juice alone, though I wouldn’t recommend it. What I would recommend, however, is putting it in chocolate things. Any and all chocolate things. Chocolate milkshakes, chocolate cake, and especially chocolate pudding. You will not regret it. More likely you will prance about, pudding cup in hand, exclaiming “My Goodness, My Guinness!” or perhaps “Kiss Me – I have IRISH PUDDING!” You might even be so moved by this pudding that you burst into song. So make this pudding. You have more than enough time to prepare it just for International Stout Day. It’s delicious. Trust me, I’m Irish. If you don’t believe me, well, you know where to find the proof.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

Because we had leftover pumpkin from our adventures in coffeecake. Because it’s Halloween. Because my mom sent me these wackadoo toothpicks with monsters on them, along with enough Halloween themed items for a legit tablescape, Sandra Lee style. So we celebrated the holiday, a little early, with a Halloween feast. These tasty little numbers will make your day. Especially if your day was filled with bizarre wet snow that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Is it winter? Wait, did fall happen? Even if you missed autumn, which you haven’t according to the calendar, you can make it yourself. With these cupcakes. These warm, friendly cupcakes.

Pumpkin Coffeecake with Brown Sugar-Pecan Streusel

Sometimes you know when it’s going to be a good day. Blue sky. Scarf weather. Spring in your step. Smile on your face. A stranger waves at you cheerfully from the window of his vintage teal Chevy pickup truck as you set out for your morning jog. You wave back. Good days beg for good food and an apartment filled with the warm cuddly scent of cinnamon and brown sugar. This cake can make your good day better. It could probably make a bad day good. It’s warm and soft and filled with spices with just a hint of pumpkin to round it out.

Thieving Thursday: Red Wine Chocolate Cake

I’ve been holding out on you. You see, I’ve made this cake before. I know, not a big deal. But you know what is a big deal. A few weeks ago, me and the lady who told me all about this cake were in the same room together. For a WHOLE HOUR. Yes, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen stood on the third floor of the West 14th St. Apple store and radiated the most beautiful tales of warm kitchen loveliness at me and a fellow admirer from my apartment. Because these few words can’t really describe the intense escalation my fondness for her that occurred as I listened to her tell me how and why she wanted to share the best of her kitchen with the universe, I decided to make this cake. Twice. You should make it, too. Because it’s warm, delicious, chocolate, and it leaves you a bottle of wine.

Cookies from Time and Space: Mocha Cookies

These cookies are outta control. They will make you lose your stuff. They will make people dig you more. They are something to write home about. This may be because they have over a pound of chocolate in them. This may be because you, the person who baked them, filled them with love and sunshine. This may be because the cookie recipe came from 1990. We all know what happened in the 90′s. AWESOME. Dolly the Sheep. Chef Roomate. Bill Clinton. Sabrina the Teenage Witch. An economy, you know, a working one. These cookies could be awesome for any of these reasons, but let’s be real. It’s probably the chocolate. After all, Gourmet claims this was the “chocolate decade.”

Cookies from Time and Space

Time is moving forward.  We are all getting older. The universe is moving toward a state of disorder. My quantum chemistry midterm will happen on Monday because Monday is going to happen and I can’t avoid it by jetting off in one of these with this guy. Though if anything is going to help me figure out time travel – it will probably be my text book. So with time hurtling forward, I thought it might be time to take a look back.

Chicken with Asiago, Prosciutto, and Sage

This recipe could also be entitled: how to cook with things you already have in your fridge after you’ve spent the day on shopping adventures that led you all the way to the Williams-Sonoma on the East Side. Sage from stuffed squash. Prosciutto from citrusy pasta. Chicken from your poultry loving roommate. Asiago cheese from…ok, well we had to go the store for that. But nevertheless, if you found that you had been eating nothing but what I’ve been making on this blog you might find yourself almost perfectly prepared for a quick tasty chicken dinner for two.

Thieving Thursday: Nut-Stuffed Squash

New things are happening. After a lifetime of sloth, I started jogging. It’s weird. I try not to think about how weird it is. I especially try not to think about the weirdest part: that I actually sort of like it. Crisp morning air. Excellent dog watching opportunities. Perfect time to distract oneself with the Joy the Baker podcast. Giggles are great for jogging. Because you are mainly giggling and not really paying attention to the fact that you are exercising (though you should pay some attention to where your feet are going otherwise you might trip and fall on your face or into one of those dogs I mentioned). If it weren’t for this lovely podcast, I never would have found the equally lovely Shutterbean. It was on her blog that I found this lovely recipe and discovered a newfound love for squash.

Wisconsin Mac and Cheese

My roommate is from Wisconsin. She tells me this is a magical land of snow, cheese, and awesome. I remain unconvinced. I am told people there wear hats like this. I am uncertain exactly how these hats protect them from awesomely cold temperatures. However, these hats do appear to give them the power to win these. Impressive, no? Perhaps someday I will visit her homeland. She’s so excellent, I might even consider going in the winter. Maybe. Maybe if she also presents me with this mac & cheese prepared with authentic Wisconsin cheddar upon my arrival.

Vegan Cookies Invade My Blog

We now interrupt your regular programming to bring you: VEGAN COOKIES! Don’t be alarmed. Normal animal fat levels will be restored shortly. I like to keep things interesting. I wear bright yellow shirts on rainy days that make me look like this guy. I buy hand soap in such a cheerful scent my suitemates can’t stop talking about it. I start making vegan cookies at breakfast time just because you weren’t expecting them. No you were not. But you don’t care. Because unexpected cookies might just be the best kind of cookies. Even if they are vegan.