Mini White Chocolate Birthday Cake

This mini white chocolate birthday cake is super tiny, baked in four inch cake pans. And I made it for and with this boy. This boy. How much do I love this boy? So much. This is my first grandchild. Every grandma out there reading this knows exactly what I'm talking about.

The Siesta Margarita for Cinco de Mayo

This Siesta Margarita combines the wonderful sweet aged flavor of a good reposado tequila with the sweetness of lemonade, the sourness of lime juice, and the bitterness of grapefruit juice and Campari.

Blueberry Cornmeal Sourdough Muffins

These Blueberry Cornmeal Sourdough Muffins are perfect for bakers who keep a sourdough starter around for making bread.

One of the things about maintaining a sourdough starter is the requirement to discard some of it prior to feeding it. Unless you are a professional baker and make sourdough on a daily basis, you will have to eventually throw out a good portion of your starter when you double it with more flour and water. Otherwise, as anyone who is mathematically inclined and familiar with the term "exponential" will realize, the starter will eventually pretty much take over your house.

Pandesal | Filipino Bread Rolls

Pandesal rolls are the favorite bread of the Philippines. In fact, they are THE bread of the Philippines for breakfast, snacks and lunch, and are usually filled with cheese, pancit (noodles), and even spread with condensed milk. While they are not served at dinner in the Philippines, I think the bread would make amazing dinner rolls. They're incredible straight from the oven and slathered with butter. Personally, I think they would also be perfect for hamburger sliders!

Yangchow Fried Rice and Chinese Jamaican Stir-Fried Chicken with Chayote for Wok Wednesdays

This week I am bringing you two Wok Wednesday dishes, Yangchow Fried Rice and Chinese Jamaican Stir-Fried Chicken with Chayote. 

Yangchow Fried Rice is a simple yet flavorful dish to make. It is a classic dish served at a Chinese banquet toward the end of the meal and it's an amazingly simple dish to prepare. There are only five ingredients (eight if you count the oil, salt, and pepper). No garlic, no ginger, and no soy sauce.

Crystallized Ginger Shortbread Cookies

These crystalized ginger shortbread cookies are so elegant and sophisticated, and perfect served with vanilla ice cream as a finale for a dinner party...  which is exactly what I did.

The cookies have a really nice spiciness to them, and the kosher salt flakes add a nice contrast to the sweetness.

Cranberry Breakfast Buns, or "This is Not a Cinnamon Roll" Roll

These cranberry breakfast buns are a pretty amazing way to take your favorite cinnamon bun recipe to another level.

Baked Whole Rainbow Trout with Shallots, Herbs, and Jalapeño

This Baked Whole Trout with Shallots, Herbs, and Jalapeño is so moist, succulent, and flavorful. It is also amazingly easy to make.

When I was growing up, our family used to take summer vacations at Lake Tahoe, usually renting a house on the lake. One memory that stands out for me is my dad taking us kids fishing at a Lake Tahoe trout farm. 

Potato Semolina Rolls | Make Ahead Dinner Rolls

The first time I made these potato semolina rolls was for Thanksgiving. They were pretty miraculous. Why?

1. You assemble these rolls in advance, refrigerate the shaped dough, and bake them while your roast or turkey is resting. 
2. They are so incredibly fluffy and moist.
3. You can serve them fresh from the oven. No cooling required. 
4. They are delicious.

Olive Oil Brioche Bread

This Olive Oil Brioche Bread is just about the most magical brioche ever. I know. I sound like someone who throws hyperbole and exclamation marks all over the place. "This is the best brownie ever!" This is the best egg salad ever!" That's not me.

Over 100 Amazing Bread Recipes

From boules, sandwich loaves, flatbreads, pizzas, rolls to crackers, here are over 100 amazing bread recipes to try!

Almost every culture and religion has it's bread, and the varieties are endless. It's amazing what you can create with flour, water, salt, and yeast. For me, baking bread is therapeutic. As you can see by my Recipe Index, I have baked a lot of it, and every time, I am amazed. I have been known to sit by my oven window to watch the "oven spring," that extra oomph from the heat. 

Need some ideas for baking bread? Check out all of these amazing breads below!