Pretzel Bread Rolls (Brezeln)

Pretzel Bread Rolls... just in time for Oktoberfest!

It’s Oktoberfest right now!   Oktoberfest is a 16 day festival lasting from late September through the first weekend of October, and is considered the world’s largest fair – held annually in Munich (Bavaria), Germany.  Specials beers and all kinds of wonderful German foods are served during this celebration… one of my favorite German treats [...]

Baking 101: The basics of baking (Tips for successful baking)

Baking 101:  Tips for successful baking

When I was learning how to bake, I made A LOT of mistakes.  Neither of my parents had ever baked anything… and I had no one to show me the right way to do things.  So I just did things… a lot… over and over until I got it right.  In the process, I have [...]

Homemade Mini Tartlet Desserts (How to make Mini Tarts)

Homemade Mini Tart Desserts

Last week, I posted a recipe and method for making mini tart shells using my new Williams-Sonoma mini tart baking set.  You can make a few batches of these shells and fill with a variety of flavors for some very beautiful and impressive looking desserts!  I made: pineapple tarts, chocolate ganache with peanut butter cream, [...]

Homemade Mini Tart Shells (How to make tartlet shells)

Homemade Mini Tarts

This past weekend, I was browsing at the UTC Williams-Sonoma store, and saw a bunch of really cool baking pans and gadgets that I wanted to get.  What really caught my eye was a Tartlet Baking Set… it’s a non-stick tartlet pan (it looks like the tart version of a muffin pan) that comes with a [...]

Honey Orange Beef

Honey Orange BEef

Here’s a quick stir-fry recipe that is bursting with orange flavor!  This is a dish that is really easy to throw together quickly – your stir-fry will be done and ready before your rice is done steaming.  Or… if you are planning ahead, you can marinade the meat overnight in the refrigerator, prep the vegetables, [...]