May 05, 2011

Dump Cake

May 05, 2011/ Lisa Carpenter

This recipe is an old standby of many a grandma, but I started making it just a few years ago. It instantly became a family favorite, for Brianna, especially, who has asked for it to be her birthday cake for a few years running. It's super easy, and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, it's super pleasing.

November 11, 2010

Pumpkin Pie

November 11, 2010/ Lisa Carpenter

I'm a traditional kind of cook, and this is a traditional pumpkin pie. Not much more to say, except that it's absolutely dee-lish-us ... especially cold ... and with whipped cream!

November 11, 2010

Faux Caramel Dip

November 11, 2010/ Lisa Carpenter

Fall is for apples and this dip is for apples. Of course, you can eat this dip on anything -- it's especially yummy with graham cracker sticks -- but it's the absolute perfect complement to crisp and crunchy fall apples. Or apples any time of the year. Beware, though: It's also pretty darn good by itself, and that can be dangerous ... for your hips.

November 11, 2010

Sweet-n-Salty Pumpkin Seeds

November 11, 2010/ Lisa Carpenter

For years and years and years ... and years ... I made roasted pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins the family carved for Halloween the same ol' basic way: rinse, spread on a cookies sheet, salt, bake at 350 degrees til crispy. Then I found this recipe in the recipe-focused newspaper insert, Relish. I'll never go back to plain pumpkin seeds again. The best part: picking through the bowl of seeds to find the ones with the biggest glops of crunchy, salty sweetness to pop into your mouth before someone else nabs them. Here's my slightly altered version:

October 05, 2010

Blueberry-Pomegranate Trio

October 05, 2010/ Lisa Carpenter

The wonderful folks at POM Wonderful sent me a free case of their popular Pomegranate Blueberry Juice to do with as I pleased. Well, actually, they encouraged me to try out a few cocktails with the stuff. Which I did — but the recipe I used for blueberry-pomegranate martinis tasted, as one friend put it, like I'd gotten the recipe from a frat house. Way too strong and way not what I'd like to share with you all. What I would like to share is what I did with the rest of the freebie from POM — this trio of refreshing Blueberry-Pomegranate goodies: