Coffee and Cannolis

For those of us in St. Louis, Gooey Butter Cake and Cookies are everywhere; especially this time of year around the holidays.  However, thanks to the genius of the interwebs, Gooey Butter Cake and Gooey Butter Cookies are becoming more well known.  The very first post I did on this site was dedicated to a Holiday Baking day with the women in my family (which is an annual tradition that I look forward to every year!). One of the recipes I included was Gooey Butter Cookies, but I have decided to repost the recipe.  First of all, I highly doubt anyone will go far enough in to the depth of this blog to find this fantastic recipe, and secondly, I have since starting making these cookies on my own, with different flavor variations that I wanted to share.  Third, when reposting I noticed that I missed an ingredient in the original posting, plus it was very bulleted and non conversational. Gooey Butter Cookies Ingredients: 1 egg 1 box yellow cake mix 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

I have discussed my love for comfort food numerous times on here, and this recipe is just another example of a food that is pure comfort in a casserole dish.  A tweaked version of a classic Green Bean Casserole that I have no idea of the original source, but I do remember the first time my mom made it when I was in high school or college.  She made it for Thanksgiving dinner in lieu of a traditional Green Bean Casserole - just for something a little different.  I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first because I could take or leave corn, but I've been hooked since the first bite. Green Beans, corn, sour cream, cheese... all the makings of a delicious casserole-style side dish, that admittedly I often made as dinner in college.  When I lived by myself I would make this and live off it for a few days.  My mom hasn't made it in awhile, but she makes hers a little differently than I make mine.  Her's is even more of a traditional Green Bean Casserole using French Fried

When looking for cheesecake ideas online, I stumbled across this delicious looking cheesecake on Erin's Food Files.  A red velvet cake with a NY Cheesecake middle layer!  I immediately wanted to make it knowing it would impress, however I was not feeling Red Velvet.  Knowing that the holidays were right around the corner and that I had a few Red Velvet desserts planned, I decided to switch up the cake, using the same basic idea overall though.  I love cinnamon flavors, especially this time of year so I looked for a Cinnamon Spice cake that would pair well with a cheesecake middle layer. Once finding the recipe I wanted to go with I was so excited to try this cake out.  Disappoint it did not!  Although the picture above is not fantastic (I didn't have time to take any pictures before serving, and this was the one last slice leftover for Rob and I to share - which I dropped) I couldn't wait to share this fantasticness with my friends and readers.  Two (well, three with th

I've never been shy about the fact that I'm not a seafood fan.  However, my in-laws are, and they also love Red Lobster.  I've gone there on occasion with them, but I always get a steak or chicken meal.  I know, I know, that's like going to a renowned steak place and getting ground beef, but I just can't bring myself to order a fish dish knowing that I may not like it.  Though, with that being said, if I were to ever do so and end up not liking it, at least at Red Lobster I could just eat the biscuits!  Oh man, how delicious would that be?! Knowing how much my husband loves their biscuits, I remember trying biscuit mixes in college trying to replicate them for my then boyfriend.  Never once did they come close!  For a while now I've had this recipe starred in my Google Reader ready to try but I've never gotten around to it.  The recipe requires Bisquick mix and I'm not opposed to that, however it's not something I typically have in the pantry, but

A few weeks ago I received an email from Foodbuzz for a Tastemaker opportunity - a chance to try Wendy's new Natural Cut Fries with Sea Salt.  Yes, please!  My husband and I both LOVE Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwiches, however there aren't too many Wendy's locations in St. Louis so we don't get them that often :(.  However, thankfully for us they're starting to expand back in to St. Louis! Foodbuzz and Wendy's sent me two $10 gift cards to try out the new Natural Cut Fries with Sea Salt, suggesting that I stop by at a predetermined time.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to one of the designated times to try the fries due to a rescheduled appointment, however a morning of running errands gave me the perfect opportunity to pick up some lunch for my husband and I. A new Wendy's just opened about 15 minutes from my house a week or so ago, so naturally there was a long line.  Well worth it though!  After finally getting to order I got a Spicy C