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We’ve been fortunate enough to have some of our recipes featured in many wonderful publications and websites! Check them out below.

Also, I’ve listed the companies that we’ve worked with in the past as well – I’m always excited to work with a new product that my family loves!

Please use the Contact Me form to request a media kit.

Articles We’re Featured In:

Huffington Post – Baby Back Ribs Recipes That Are Worth The Mess
Huffington Post – Beer Bacon Is Sweet And Sugary
Huffington Post – If You Eat Pasta For Breakfast, These Are The Recipes For You
The Kitchn – One Appetizer To Rule Them All: Beer-Candied Bacon
CraftBeer.com – CraftBeer.com’s Top Recipes of 2013
CraftBeer.com – Julia Herz Muses on 2013: The Craft Beer Revolution Evolves
BuzzFeed – 20 Recipes That Won Pinterest In 2013
Food52 – Winner Of Your Best Pub Food
Huffington Post – Carbonara Recipes That Should Be In Your Weekly Rotation This Winter
Avalon Winery – Avalon Announces America’s Great Foods Recipe Challenge Winners
Real Simple – 10 Guinness Recipes That Will Make You Want to Eat Your Beer Instead
Buzzfeed – 28 Ways To Fill Your Super Bowl Party With Cheese, Beer, And Bacon
Parade – Football Food: The Web’s 25 Best Cooking with Beer Recipes
Panera Bread – School’s Out—Now What’s for Lunch?
Holland Bulb Farms – 2013 Homegrown Recipe Contest Winners

Companies We’ve Worked With:

Eggland’s Best – Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
D’Artagnan – Salted Duck Fat Caramels
Naturipe Farms – Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
OXO – Perfect Stovetop White Rice
OXO – A Well Stocked Pantry
Musselman’s – Citrus Apple Butter Glazed Shrimp
Prairie Oranic Spirits – Blueberry Thyme Gin Smash
Musselman’s – Oatmeal Apple Cheesecake Bars
Lucky Leaf – Frosted Raspberry Pie Bars
Real Seal Dairy – Black Bean & Cheese Nachos
Galbani Cheese – Caprese Pie
Lucky Leaf – Lemon Berry Cheesecake Trifles
Ball Canning Jars – DIY Vanilla Sugar
Musselman’s – Bourbon & Brown Sugar Ribs
Bello Boy – Pink Moscato Sangria
Natalie’s Juice Company – Orange Poppy Seed Cake
Avalon Winery – Cabernet Braised Short Ribs & Grits
Avalon Winery – Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes
Captain Morgan – Blackerry Cream Soda
Karlsson’s Vodka – The Grapefruit Crush

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

You guys. These cupcakes. They’d been on my radar to make for close to forever, but I always ended up opting out for another flavor whenever I made cupcakes. I finally got around to making them this week, and let me just say that I’m kicking myself for waiting so long!

I took my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, substituting some of the regular sugar for brown. Then the cupcakes are filled with a delicious eggless cookie dough filling, and finally topped with a cookie dough flavored frosting.

A garnish of a mini chocolate chip cookie is the pièce de résistance that just sends it over the edge of cuteness. They’re basically a chocolate chip cookie dough bomb waiting to explode in your mouth.

So do yourself a favor, and don’t wait as long as I did to make these guys. They’d be so much fun for a little one’s birthday party!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3 cups cake flour (or 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini chocolate chip cookies (for garnish)
mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (for garnish)

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Add in the sugars, and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.

Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

Soprano’s Sunday Gravy

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Soprano's Sunday Gravy

I’ve talked before about my love of all things mafioso. While I was always a fan of the classics like Goodfellas and The Godfather trilogy, it was really The Sopranos that really cemented that love. One of my favorite cookbooks is The Sopranos Family Cookbook. Every single recipe I’ve tried from it has been wonderful. The first one that I ever made from it’s pages is this recipe for Sunday gravy…

Italians call a meaty sauce that’s been simmered all day a “gravy”. This one is made with the addition of country pork ribs, sausage, and veal – which I leave out (I just can’t get past the baby cow thing). Now, if you’ve never added pork to your red sauce – with all due respect, but you’ve sorely been missing out. It adds such a wonderful richness and complexity that is unparalleled. Sausage is great, but the pork ribs are really where it’s at.

It’s wonderful simply tossed with pasta, or if you want to doll it up even more you can add mozzarella cheese and mini-meatballs to make Ziti al Forno. No matter what you do with it, you can’t go wrong with this sauce. It’s really a staple. Do yourself a favor and make it soon, you won’t regret it! Bada-bing.

Soprano’s Sunday Gravy

For the sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb meaty pork neck bones or 1 lb pork spareribs
1 lb Italian sausage
4 garlic cloves
1?4 cup tomato paste
3 (28 ounce) cans peeled Italian tomatoes
2 cups water
6 leaves fresh basil, torn into small pieces
kosher salt
black pepper

For the meatballs:
1 lb lean ground beef (at least 80/20)
1?2 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1?2 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Pat the pork dry, season with salt and pepper, and place the pieces in the pot. Cook turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer pork to a plate.

Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides. Set the sausages aside with the pork. Drain off most of the rendered fat from the pot.

Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden. Remove and discard the garlic. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until starting to brown.

Using clean hands, gently squeeze the tomatoes to break them down slightly, and add to the pot (along with the tomato juices). Add the water; and salt and pepper to taste. Add the pork, sausages, and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 3/4 inch balls.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides. They will finish cooking in the sauce. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.

After the sauce has cooked for its two hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the meats are very tender.

To serve, remove the meats from the sauce and set aside. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.
Sprinkle with cheese.

Serve the meats as a second course, or reserve them for another day.

Source: adapted from The Sopranos Family Cookbook

Hearty Beef Stew

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Beef Stew

The chapter we call winter is finally coming to a close. And while I’m super excited to welcome spring, I’ll definitely miss those warm stick-to-your-rib meals that we get to enjoy during those cold months. One of my favorites is this hearty beef stew. It’s a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen that I’ve been making for close to 10 years now, and for good reason – because it’s absolutely delicious.

I love taking a tough cut of beef like a chuck roast and turning it into the tender chunks that melt in your mouth. The addition of red wine to the stew adds such wonderful richness and depth of flavor, and really compliments and brings out all the wonderful flavors in the beef. Red potatoes, carrots, and peas also come to the party for a dip in the tub. Troublemakers.

It makes a large pot full that is plenty for supper one evening, and then enough leftovers for several lunches worth. And like with all stews and soups, it just gets better as time progresses. It also freezes wonderfully for an easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking. Definitely one of our favorites!

Hearty Beef Stew

3 lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
Salt and ground pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1/4 tsp salt
2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas
Season beef generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add half the meat so that pieces are not touching and cook not moving until brown (about 2-3 min). Use tongs and rotate pieces until all sides are browned (about 5 additional min.). Transfer beef to medium bowl and add another 1 Tbsp oil to pan, repeating previous steps with other half of beef.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 Tbsp oil to now empty pan and swirl to coat bottom. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.). Add wine, scraping the bottom and stirring until thick and flour is dissolved.

Slowly add the beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for additional hour.

Add the peas, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 min.

Discard bay leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

SOURCE: The New Best Recipe by America’s Test Kitchen