Countdown to 2011 - Dessert

Thanks to SnoWhite of Finding Joy in My Kitchen for hosting Countdown to 2011 this week. I have really enjoyed looking back through my recipes and finding my favorites.

It's no secret, I love dessert. Finding my favorite in this category wasn't easy. I could have chosen Dorothy Mackey's Apple Dapple Cake, Plum Clafoutis, Chocolate Banana Trifle or Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte. My favorite dessert, Creme Brulee Cheescake Bars, was first posted by my blogging pal Gnee of Singing with Birds. Gnee's desserts are the best!!

Happy New Year to everyone and here's to 2011's recipes!!!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum! Also, there's still time to enter my giveaway here!! The winner will be announced tomorrow!

Chocolate Pecan Tart - Chocolate With Francois

Am I the only one who's on sweet overload? All of these holiday treats, it's no wonder everyone's New Year's resoltution is to lose weight! This month's CWF recipe, Chocolate Pecan Tart was chosen by the talented baker and blogger, Susan of Baking with Susan! You can find the recipe on her site.

Pecan is Tim's favorite pie. Knowing we didn't need an entire tart, I decided to make 1/4 of the recipe and ended up with one mini tart. Many of the recipes we've made from Payard's book have been really difficult. This is one of the first recipes we've made that I would consider a "normal" recipe. A novice baker could make this recipe. By the standards set in Payard's book, this recipe was almost "easy". Even though I made the tart for Tim, I had to at least try it so I could write about it. This tart is so DELICIOUS, a perfect balance of chocolate and pecans. I will be making this recipe again.

You can find the links to the other CWF bakers tarts here.

Countdown to 2011 - Main Dishes

Two more days remaining in SnoWhite's Countdown to 2011. Today's feature is Main Dishes!

One of the things I enjoy the most about blogging is trying new recipes. Besides all of the cookbooks in my library, there's all of my fellow bloggers fabulous recipes. My favorite 2010 Main Dish recipe, Penne With Sausage and Leek Sauce, is one of those recipes. This recipe came from Mary at One Perfect Bite. Mary provides us with wonderful stories and amazing recipes. I was intrigued by this recipe. After making it, I love the flavor combination of the leeks and sausage.

There's still time to enter my giveaway here!

Holiday Cookie Exchange - My Blog Spark

The wonderful folks at My Blog Spark contacted me and asked if I would be interested in particpating in their Holiday Cookie Exchange. I was thrilled and of course said yes. The box I received in the mail contained Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie Mix, Glad Storage Containers and a $25.00 Safeway card. Seriously how awesome is that!!!

I know you can all relate, there's never enough time at the holidays. I'd planned to make cutout cookies with the cookie mix but just never found the time. This week has been just a little quieter. Finally I found the time to bake!! I've been on a peppermint kick this season. You have no idea how many peppermint recipes I have bookmarked. How about peppermint sugar cookies? I made the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookies and stirred in about 1/2 cup of crushed peppermint candies. These cookies were so quick and easy to make. They taste like homemade, chewy in the center and just a little crispy around the edges. YUM! A beautiful homemade cookie in minutes! Thank You to My Blog Spark!!

I will be sharing these with my co-workers tomorrow. My own version of a Cookie Exchange and the holiday...New Year's!!!

Disclosure: I received a set of Gladware, a Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, and a Safeway gift card as a member of My Blog Spark for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own.

Countdown to 2011 - Meatless

I am having so much fun participating in SnoWhite's Countdown to 2011. So far this week we've posted our favorite Breakfast, Bread and Soup/Stew recipes. Today we're featuring our favorite meatless recipe of 2011. As I was looking through my recipes, I found more meatless recipes than I remembered. If you're a regular reader of my blog you know my husband Tim doesn't think a meal is meal without MEAT. Although, he's become a lot more receptive to meals without meat. There's even been some he said he liked and would eat again. The key is whether or not he says he would eat it again.

This past summer the basil was basil plentiful in the garden. My favorite meatless recipe, Pasta with Corn and Basil Pesto, incorporates a different ingredient into the pesto, corn. I can't wait until summer to make this recipe again!

There's still time to participate in Countdown to 2011, Main Dishes and Desserts are the posts for Thursday and Friday. Find your favorites and join in!

Countdown to 2011 - Stew

The third installment in SnoWhite's Countdown to 2011 is Soups and Stews. This one was hard for me to choose. We eat a lot of soups and stews, especially in the winter. The recipe I ended up choosing was Beef Burgundy. Although this recipe is a slow cooker recipe, it's one I would serve to guests. Do you have a favorite stew recipe?

If you haven't entered my giveaway, there's still time to enter here!!!

I am linking this to Tuesday's at the Table, Tasty Tuesday's and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Countdown to 2011 - Bread

Today is day two in SnoWhite's blogging event, Countdown to 2011. Check it out, there's still time to participate.

Bread is today's category. My choice for favorite bread recipe is Pumpkin Sage Quick Bread. I've been eating pumpkin bread since I was a child. I think one of the reasons I love this bread is the amazing flavor the sage and brown butter adds to the pumpkin. What's your favorite bread?

Have you entered my CSN Stores giveaway?