Sugar & Spice by Celeste

***The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking . They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home, and Baking Obsession . Well, I am one day late in posting my Daring Bakers results this month.  I know, I know...Shame on me! However, you know what they say...Better late than never!  Because of time restraints this month, I had decided that I might have to skip the Tiramisu recipe.  But, I've always loved this classic Italian dessert, so I decided to make it at the last minute.  I have to say that this recipe is wonderful!  I found myself licking the zabaglione/pastry cream mixture right out of the bowl!  I used coffee instead of the marsala, because Brad and I are such big coffee lovers.  I know what you're thinking...WOW...This recipe seems really daunting!  However, you can easily simplify this dish

***Ahh...pancakes...one of those quintessential, scrumptiously delicious breakfast foods....But wait a gosh-darn-minute....Who says you can't have pancakes for dinner, anyway?  That's exactly what I made tonight...Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes, to be precise.  I took these over-the-top pancakes one step further by adding some mashed bananas.  WOW...that's all I can say! It was one of those moments where I didn't have the exact ingredients that I needed.  But hey, sometimes those moments are just what you need for an awesome result!  The recipe calls for 1 full cup of sour cream, and I only had 1/2 cup.  Oh, what ever should I do??  I glanced around the kitchen, and my eyes fell upon the perfect solution...a few perfectly ripe bananas.  I peeled one of those suckers, put him in a bowl, and mashed him all to bits.  After adding the one banana to my 1/2 cup of sour cream, I had just the right amount.  Voila! These pancakes tasted a lot like banana nut bread.  In

*** If you've ever had the good fortune to eat a warm Krispy Kreme doughnut right off of the conveyor belt, you know that they are purely heaven-sent.  However, there isn't always a Krispy Kreme right down the street or at your disposal, so this recipe will help satisfy your doughnut craving!  A co-worker of mine shared this recipe with me last week, and I couldn't wait to try it!  These doughnuts are very easy to make...The hardest part is simply waiting for the dough to rise.  After frying the first few doughnuts, you may want to cut into them just to make sure they're cooked all the way through.  I don't have a candy thermometer, so I had to guess at the right temperature.  The first few were a tiny bit under-cooked in the middle, so they had to go back into the hot tub! I only made half of this recipe, because I certainly didn't need the full 48 doughnuts hanging out in the kitchen!  While these do taste A LOT like the real thing, no homemade doughnut c

***French toast is certainly one of those classic breakfast dishes that is always tasty. Believe it or not, I've never, ever made French toast until just recently. I'm not sure why...It's something I've been wanting to make for a while now, so I started off with an easy recipe from The Taste of Home Cookbook last weekend. This recipe is so incredibly easy to make. Just mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl, dip in the French bread, and throw it onto a buttered skillet...Voila! I made a classic mistake though...A few slices of my bread soaked for too long and got a little soggy. Trust me, you don't want soggy French toast! So, just use caution when dipping the bread into the egg mixture. Also, make sure your skillet is nice and buttered. If not, the toast will stick and you'll end up with an egg-y mess! Powdered sugar, warm maple syrup, and your choice of fresh fruit all make wonderful toppings for this dish. Paula Deen even has a recipe for French Toast

***HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! I hope you've enjoyed the Valentine's Day themed heading at the top of the blog. It's a fun little thing that I'm going to start doing for all the holidays. My wonderful hubby is going to design them...it should be fun! Have you had a wonderful Valentine's Day today? I sure hope so! It's not often that I re-post recipes here at Sugar & Spice, but some are worthy of a re-visit. I made this amazing souffle 2 years ago on Valentine's Day. It was the first time I'd ventured into souffle-making, and the results were wonderful! There are several steps to this dish, but they are all very EASY! The perfectly light & airy souffle is sent over the top once you get to the bottom of your ramekin...There, an ooey gooey chocolatey surprise awaits...It's seriously heaven on a plate! I love to bake these in heart-shaped ramekins...so cute and perfect! Why not make this scrumtiously wonderful dish tonight for Valentine's

***Well, my obsession with the new Ad Hoc at Home cookbook continues with Thomas Keller's recipe for Grilled Asparagus. This dish is so delightfully fresh and just....different! The flavors of all the elements marry together so beautifully....fresh asparagus, poached eggs, croutons, and best of all...prosciutto...Yummy. This was my first venture into poaching eggs. After watching Julie Powell's character struggle with poaching eggs in the movie Julie & Julia , I was a little nervous. Chef Keller includes thorough directions for this process, which helped tremendously. His trick of swirling the water in the pan twice worked really well. I will mention that I do not like eggs that are too runny, so I cooked mine for a bit longer than he suggests. Brad especially liked this dish. I imagine it will taste even better in the spring, when asparagus is in season...and when we can actually grill the asparagus. I baked the asparagus in the oven, after drizzling with a little olive

***I'm speechless...utterly speechless by the cheesy goodness that overwhelms you while indulging in this wonderfully scrumptious dish. I promise I'm not over-exagerating...LOL...This Mac & Cheese is sinfully yummy. I found it while perusing Pioneer Woman's new cookbook: The Pioneer Woman Cooks . By the way - You totally need this cookbook!! Once you make this, you'll never, ever go back to the orange stuff in the box. There's just no comparison. I used a combination of Gruyere, Swiss, and Cheddar cheeses. That's just what I had on-hand, and the flavors worked great together....especially the Gruyere cheese, which has GOT to be one of my favorites! As you may have noticed, I also used shell shaped pasta...not the traditional elbow pasta. Again, it was just a matter of what I had in the pantry. This recipe made a GIANT pot of mac & cheese....It was SO good, that Brad and I had it 3 nights in a row....Haha. Fortunately, it reheats wonderfully. I made t

***It's hard to beat a super simple but delicious appetizer...Frank Stitt has created just that with his "Baked Feta with Focaccia." Step One: Pour marinara sauce into a gratin dish. Step Two: Sprinkle feta cheese over the sauce. Step Three: Bake until bubbly! Meanwhile, the focaccia is brushed with olive oil and toasted until golden brown. That's it! Now, Chef Stitt does include his own recipes for both the marinara sauce and focaccia. However, it was one of those nights where I wanted to simplify! I used a good quality store-bought marinara sauce and substituted a fresh baguette for the focaccia. This turned out marvelously and will definitely be a regular occurence in our household. Bon Appetit!*** Baked Feta with Focaccia Source: Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food Ingredients: 2 cups marinara sauce 1 cup crumbled feta Four 4-by-2-inch rectangles focaccia 1 tbsp. olive oil Pinch of cayenne (optional) A few basil