Cooking Method: Baking

Hot Pickle and Cheese Cracker Dip

As a kid, growing up in Indiana in the 60s, one of my favorite snacks was/is Cheez-Its Crackers and Kraft Pimento Cheese Spread. We are taking "haute cuisine". My tastes have evolved into a somewhat more sophisticated palate, though if you showed up at my house with this combo, I would be delighted! Anyway, getting back to my main point here is this Hot Pickle and Cheese Cracker Dip. It's a deliciously spicy, tangy, cheesy, briny dip that is covered in, wait for it... Cheez-Its and baked. What's not to like?!

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Limoncello Cake

Limoncello Cake is flavored with limoncello, which is an Italian lemon liqueur. I'm not much of a baker, so I prefer to make bundt cakes rather than layer cakes. This recipe starts with a box of yellow cake mix. I basically copied the Harvey Wallbanger Cake, but used lemon as the flavor profile. I have to say, it's spectacularly lemony and delicious. The cake is garnished with powdered sugar and fresh lemon slices.

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Baked Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Artichokes

This Baked Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Artichokes is a delicious and easy vegetarian dish that is made all in one pan. I try to always have gnocchi in the pantry for those nights when I am too tired to cook, but I want something comforting. The combination of pillowy gnocchi, earthy mushrooms, and briny artichokes is a fabulous combination. I actually made this in advance and put it in the fridge, then put it in the oven for dinner.

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Rosemary Pecan Raincoast Crackers

My friend Kay sent me this recipe for these Rosemary Pecan Raincoast Crackers. This copycat version is spot on. They are so easy to make and satisfying. Made in one bowl, with no mixer, these taste just like the original at a fraction of the cost. Kay gave me the tip to go to a market that has bulk bins of nuts, seeds, etc., like Sprouts.

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Orange Kiss-Me Cake

The Grand Prize-Winning Recipe from the 2nd Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1950 was “Orange Kiss-Me Cake.” Mrs. Peter Wuebel (Lily) of Redwood City, California came up with a classic winning recipe and won $25,000 for her idea. That is a hell of a lot of money in 1950! I wasn't actually born yet, my parents were about 12 years old... The reason I made this cake was because we had a spontaneous dinner party for about 10 people (at someone else's house) and we happen to have an enormous orange tree that produces a ridiculous amount of the juiciest oranges. The recipe is very bizarre, in that you grind up an orange with walnuts and raisins and make a sort of paste to stir into the cake batter. I made this cake with a raised eyebrow and it turned out to be the hit of the party. Who knew such a blast from the past vintage recipe could cause so many rave reviews?

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Hot Cuban Dip

Last week, I made Hot Reuben Dip and this week, it's Hot Cuban Dip. It captures all the flavors of the iconic Cuban sandwich in a dip. It's made with a creamy base of cream cheese and mayonnaise, studded with chunks of ham, Swiss cheese, and tangy pickles, and baked until bubbly and golden brown.

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Mojito Cake

This Mojito cake is one of my absolute favorite cakes. It's refreshingly light and captures the essence of the classic Cuban cocktail. It combines an angel food cake base with crushed pineapple, lime juice, and rum. The topping features a creamy blend of softened cream cheese, frozen limeade concentrate, powdered sugar, rum extract, and cool whip (yes, cool whip!). It's then adorned with coconut, lime zest, and fresh mint.

I recently catered a Cuban themed dinner party, which is one of my favorite menus and this was the cake I served, which got rave reviews.

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Creamy Lemon-Parmesan Chicken Casserole

This Creamy Lemon-Parmesan Chicken Casserole is delicious and kind of a more elegant version of what my family calls Nancy Drew Casserole (officially called Hannah Gruen's Chicken and Rice Casserole), which is basically shredded chicken, mushroom soup, uncooked rice and water. Anyway, back to this much more flavorful version, which uses shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken), broccoli, and orzo, which is enveloped in a creamy lemony sauce and topped with toasted panko.

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Hot Reuben Dip

My nephew Will was visiting from the UK. He loves reuben sandwiches, so I made him this Hot Reuben Dip. It's a combination of corned beef (I couldn't find any so I used pastrami), cream cheese, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, sour cream, ketchup, and spicy brown mustard. It's baked in the oven and served with rye or pumpernickel. It was delicious.

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Tex-Mex Style Lasagna

I made this Tex-Mex Style Lasagna which is a great option if you're short on time and low on energy. It’s so easy to throw this together for a busy weeknight meal. It’s taco style ground beef, with corn, black beans layered with tortillas and cheese. It was a big hit with my family.

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