I have a new favorite bread: ciabatta. I’ve had it plenty of times before, but not fresh out of the oven, piping hot and ready for me to eat. It was a boring Saturday when I found the recipe on Flipboard. It looked too good to pass up, even if tons of steps were involved. So,…
Author: Jess Stampe
Let the Good Times Roll: Gumbo
Mardi Gras may have come and gone, but Cajun food still remains! When people talk to me about Cajun cuisine, two things always come up: boiled seafood and gumbo. Gumbo is the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ food for Cajuns. Whenever we had extra meat of any kind lying around, gumbo was on the menu. Leftovers…
Pizza with Pizzazz: Cauliflower Pizza Crust
I love pizza. I can eat it any time, any day. Unfortunately, traditional pizza is loaded with calories and carbs–things I tend to get too much of during a regular day. You can imagine my joy, then, when I discovered this recipe for cauliflower pizza crust. Doubled, it makes the same size of crust I…
No Knead Bread in a Jar – Just Add Water!
As you can probably tell by now, I love making things by hand. One of my favorite things is to share that love of homemade goodness with others! That’s why one of my goals for this year is to give mostly homemade items for gifts. Since bread is my BFF, I wanted to find a…
Candied Nuts: An Easy and Delicious Holiday Snack
Everyone has at least one guilty food pleasure. Most of mine include large amounts of butter, chocolate, or sugar. If you’re like me and love that last category, then you’ll love this: candied nuts. I’m sure you’ve had them before. Almost every mall I’ve been in has had a candied nut stand. I always liked…
The Importance of Trying Something (Again)
A few months ago, I tried making pastry dough from scratch. I had tons of fresh Michigan apples that I wanted to cook down and make into apple turnovers. Being the adventurous cook that I am, I decided I needed to make them with fresh dough. My pastry chef friend warned me how hard and time…
Food For Thought 