Topic-Changing Thursdays: Dear Fudgelet Part 2

Dear Fudgelet,

I just had a really rough 1 hour and 40 minutes. But so did you. You are halfway to 1 year old, and I am no better knowing what to do with your sleep than I was the last time I wrote to you. You’ve been staying up for longer stretches now, and you’re definitely going through a lot of changes. Sometimes, we don’t know what changes until a week later (which is a long time in babyland). You’ve made big strides (pun intended) in moving while on your tummy…not quite crawling, but you’re headed in that direction (so many puns). I’ve watched you play with your toys in more intentional ways, moving them towards your face and away, examining them, examining us, examining your own body (you love those fingers and toes). We’ve even started you with some solid food! All of these changes make for fussy babies who need more sleep. Well, I’m trying to get you that sleep anyway I can.

Black and White Cheesecake

What I love about Dorie Greenspan’s cookbooks is that she has tons of recipes, and within those recipes are variations. So, you get to have fun while still following a basic course. I have made cheesecakes before, but never a plain one. This one has chocolate in it, but since you’re just stirring it into a basic cheesecake batter, I’m counting it as a plain one for our family. 🙂 I own two of Dorie’s cookbooks, and both are so full of recipes, that I feel like I can open the book at random and find another recipe I haven’t made yet. And, the recipes are usually ones I would enjoy to eat! (I have such a strong chocolate bias, that sometimes it is hard to break from that dessert mold.) One day, while looking through one of her cookbooks, I came across her cheesecake section and decided it would be fun to try one. And, since I hadn’t made a basic one before, I had no idea how simple the recipe was! Sure, it took time, and sure, I had to buy the cream cheese, but otherwise it was a very straightforward recipe. Even easier than cake! I always thought they were tricky to make.

Topic-Changing Thursdays: The Fudgelet is 6 Months Old!

Can you believe it’s been half a year since the Fudgelet entered the world? I can’t, and I’ve been around him everyday. This month, it feels like not much has changed, but at the same time, he is making gradual progress with his milestones. I left off last month with his 4 Month photo shoot, so here is a picture from his 5 Month one.

Cookie Butter Blondies with Ganache

So, I kind of took the idea of a blondie and ran with it, turning it into something with cookie butter and ganache…and then putting it in a pie form. Because everything looks cuter as a pie. Except for babies. Babies are just cute on their own. Although, a baby holding a pie? Outrageous cuteness.

 

Spaghetti Carbonara

Last week was a sweet week on the blog: ice cream and pie. This week, I gave a brats recipe, and now a spaghetti one. I have made cheating versions of this recipe before. The whole raw egg thing scared me off previously. I would end up doing it all in the skillet to essentially cook the eggs and make a scrambled version. This time, I wasn’t pregnant and I have gotten over my fears of eggs. (Making ice cream will do that!) If you follow the directions, the eggs will be fine…but I still wouldn’t recommend it if you are pregnant/elderly/a small child/etc. You know, the standard undercooked food warnings. That’s part of the reason I waited this long. K was excited when he saw the main ingredients of bacon, cheese, and eggs. It is a rich dish, so it is a splurge, but I found I preferred smaller portions because it is so decadent.

Beer, Brats, Onions, and Peppers

By the way…if this post looks familiar, it is probably because I was writing it near the end of December and forgot to change the year before I scheduled it. Oops! So some of you got an email about it. Well….it is up now. 🙂

When my dad and M visited us, they bought some tasty sausages. Since then, I have only been buying these sausages for our Italian nights. On a recent visit to the store, I decided to pick up their bratwurst sausage and give it a try. I came across this easy recipe, and they turned out so good! It all cooks in one pan. I was nervous that my cast iron skillet wasn’t large enough, so I used the Dutch oven. It worked just fine, and I would probably use it again (just to avoid a mess). Unfortunately, I was too excited to eat and didn’t take extra pictures of the finished product. We ate them on toasted Hoagie rolls with a bit of mayonnaise and they were so good!

Baltimore Bomb Pie (Bergers Cookie Pie)

I decided to start off your year perfectly for your New Year’s plans. Earlier this week was ice cream and today we have pie. And not just any pie, but one with Bergers cookies. AKA, some of the best cookies ever. Unfortunately, you can only find them in Baltimore (unless you order online). There is a King Arthur Flour recipe for them, but as a native Baltimorean, I can tell you that the recipe is not good. I tried it, and it didn’t taste like the cookies at all. Not even like the generic store brand version of them. Talk about a disappointment. Well…I love to freeze packs of them and save them. Unfortunately, sometimes I save them for too long. Then, throwing them into a dessert is a perfect way to still enjoy them, but not feel like I am wasting them. I hadn’t made this pie before because I didn’t want to waste the cookies. But, I had a package of ones that were past their prime. So, here we go! I also had 4 egg yolks that needed to be used. Since I had just made ice cream recently, I wanted to try to make something new.