Desserts don’t have to be complicated...Desserts just have to be delicious!

I'm well aware that there is a proper way to make fudge. You bring the sugar to a very specific temperature and if you’re lucky you create this amazing silky, creamy, fudgy texture.

The problem? I’m so glad you asked! You see, I'm not always so lucky...

So I like to make it the easy way- the foolproof way, the no-tears way. Believe me, it's better for all of us in the end.

But I can't just make regular fudge, no no, this is moment where I just have to take my dessert to that next level, I just can’t resist adding one more thing, and that thing, is BISCOFF!

(If you are STILL unaware of the amazingness that is Biscoff I will once again, direct you here)

Enjoy my Biscoff Fudge AKA Heaven ;)

RECIPE:

14oz can sweetened condensed milk

12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of Salt

½ Cup Biscoff, warmed

Combine the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a pan and cook over med low heat. Stir continuously until chips are completely melted.  Add the vanilla and salt and stir to combine.  Pour into a 9 x 11 pan. Pour warmed Biscoff Spread on top of fudge and swirl it into the fudge with a knife. Let harden at room temp or in the fridge. Cut and ENJOY!

NOTES:

• You can use any size pan you like, the smaller the pan the thicker the fudge
• You can substitute the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate or milk chocolate

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You might also like these recipes:

• Brocolli Tacos
• Brown Butter Nutella Stuffed Cookies
• Homemade Ricotta
• Oreo Sliders
• Biscoff Blondies

People change... Times change... Feelings change... And though your Italian grandmother would scold me, I have to confess...My tomato sauce recipe...has changed....

Lucky for me I am still young. (Although the impending “3-0” this month makes me feel like I'm 10 steps away from the nursing home.)

But at 30 I’m pretty sure I am still young enough that I can change my “signature” sauce recipe. And hopefully by the time I'm 70 no one will remember how fickle I used to be with my famous “Sunday gravy."

Tomato sauce was one of the first things I ever made and it was the very first thing my husband and I ever made together.

(The first and the last, there is no room for two cooks in my tiny kitchen ;)

When your child is young you feed them pureed vegetables. This food is nutritious and easy to eat.

And then, without warning, it goes down hill...fast!! You start trying to give them whole broccoli instead of the pureed stuff.

This seems logical enough until the tree like foreign object is promptly rejected and dumped on the floor...

And there it sits, under their chair, next to the scary carrot and every horrifying brussel sprout. 

But why give up the simple idea of eating pureed vegetables??

Hate the texture of a vegetable? Puree it!

Think veggies are too bitter or bland?? Add other more tasty pureed stuff to them!

Before you know it you’re eating a whole head of broccoli in a single serving... 

Or maybe a whole eggplant... 

If you know me at all, you know that more than anyone or anything... 

I LOVE CHEESE. 

Yes, my husband knows, it's just something he has to accept, we are working through it. 

Up until I was 20 years old my diet was beyond questionable. Growing up as the pickiest of eaters my go-to list of foods included; bread (only white please), canned tomato sauce (only Prego of course), ramen noodle soup (the 25cent kind), cereal (anything with sugar), and of course CHEESE. 

You see even when my diet resembled that of an anti-Atkins child, cheese was always there for me. 

As a society we like things on a stick, things that are fried and things that are STUFFED! 

The idea of something stuffed inside of something else is a simple but exciting idea. It's a mystery and a surprise. 

You have something already delicious, like a doughnut, a potato or a turkey and then you take these things to a whole new level. You stuff the doughnut with jelly, load up the potato and then of course there is the ingenious idea of stuffing a turkey with a chicken and a duck! 

You have made something new! You have taken something and not just made it the best it can be, but even better. You have STUFFED IT!!

Now let's talk about cookies. We all like cookies and many times I judge my cookies like I do my books...by its cover of course. 

I look at the outside, I see if it's thick or thin, smooth or bumpy. And far before I bite into it I have made a certain judgement about this cookie. 

There has been a battle brewing for centuries...

!!!!!!!!!!!! Brownies vs. Blondies !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chocolate lovers everywhere have never truly accepted the Blondie. They look at this non-chocolate cousin of the brownie as the ugly step child of the dessert family.

How dare it walk around with not an ounce of chocolate to its name and think it can be called a real dessert.

Here though, is where I confess my dirty little secret...

I prefer Blondies over Brownies....

(((((((((((((( Audible GASP from the crowd )))))))))))

I'm sorry, so sorry to do this to you, and if you are a chocoholic and feel the need to stop reading this blog, un-subscribe to my youtube channel, un-like me on facebook and stop following my witty 140 character tweets than I understand.  I only hope that one day we can be friends again.

Oh and you better stop following me on Instagram and Pinterest too (#I'mSocialMediaAddicted)

Kabocha squash is like that quirky but cute guy you have been eyeing at the grocery store but are too afraid to approach. There is something about him that intrigues you and you have a feeling that he's better for you then some of the other handsome junk in the store but...

He seems like too much work to get to know. You wouldn’t even know where to begin. And so you walk away from Mr. Kabocha Squash, never knowing the love affair that could have been.

There is an old proverb that says “Do something once and you suddenly know how to do it, you just have to do it that first time and it's not so scary”

Ok, that's not an old proverb, that just a simple way of me telling you to just try it!!

To continue to grow and learn in life you must be humble. You must accept that you are probably not an expert in…well…anything. And there is a very good chance that there will always be somebody that knows more than you do on any given subject.

When it comes to cooking I accept that there is more to learn, though I think I have plenty to teach on the subject myself ;)

But, when it comes to baking I will easily take a back seat and allow a real pastry chef to teach me a thing or two.

And so I'm not the least bit ashamed to say that my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe...is not my own.

When someone comes up with the perfect ratio of sugar to flour, the optimal amount of chocolate chips and a simple but specific method to creating the best cookies you have ever had, well, you just do exactly what they do.

Let's admit it, food can be sexy. The pleasure it brings, the sometimes sinful experience of eating it and of course the tantalizing discovery of new textures, tastes and smells.

And yes, of course, if you have some good looking company that helps the overall experience too ;)

And when it comes to sexy foods, Gnudi has its place at the top of the list.

Its name alone provokes an inner desire and the simple idea of a ricotta dumpling, light and airy but still indulgently cheesy only makes that desire burn stronger.

You see “Gnudi” literally means “Nude.” These little guys are in a sense ravioli filling without the ravioli, so in a way they are, well, missing their clothes...hehe, dirty I know...

Well, whether or not you find a ricotta cheese dumpling sexy, I promise you WILL find it delicious.

RECIPE:

1 15-16oz container Ricotta

½ Lbs Frozen Spinach, thawed + drained, chopped fine

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp Pepper

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 cup Parmesan, shredded

½ tsp dried Oregano

1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

¼ cup All Purpose Flour

¼ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

3egg yolks

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl, don’t over mix. Roll mixture into small 1-2inch balls. Cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until the Gnudi float. Toss gently with sauce and ENJOY!

NOTES:

• Depending on the amount of water in your ricotta you may need more flour or bread crumbs.  If you cannot roll the mixture into a ball add more flour or bread crumbs.
• Be sure spinach is finely chopped. Even if your using frozen pre-chopped spinach, run your knife through the spinach once more to ensure it is finely chopped.
• Make sure spinach is as dry as possible.

Gnudi Shown with Kabocha Sqaush + Tomato Pasta

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You might also like these recipes:

• Brocolli Tacos
• Spinach + Artichoke Bites
• Challah Hangover Sandwich
• Berry Keylime "Cheesecake"
• Popovers

RECIPE:

4 cups Whole Milk

2 cups Heavy Cream

1 tsp Salt

4Tbs White Wine Vinegar

Combine milk, cream and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling shut off heat and add vinegar. Wait 3minutes and strain in a chees cloth for 10-20minutes.

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You might also like these recipes:

• Brocolli Tacos
• Spinach + Artichoke Bites
• Challah Hangover Sandwich
• Berry Keylime "Cheesecake"
• Popovers