Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Ultimate Recipe Showdown Announcement

Foodie Adventures

Have you all been enjoying this season of Ultimate Recipe Showdown on the Food Network? I was so inspired when I saw Emily, Jenny, and Camilla, on the last season that I decided to enter a few recipes of my own last April. I sent off four recipes and promptly forgot about it, because I knew the odds were slim to none of getting picked. So, you can imagine my surprise when I got a call that I was in the running to become one of the four finalists on the cakes and desserts show! After several more rounds of cuts, Food Network made it official and I was off to NYC in September to film the show!

Remember, when I just happened to meet Emily (whose Comfort Foods show aired a few weeks ago!) at Chelsea Market, home of the Food Network? And when I said edible cookie dough was on my mind a lot lately? And when I said I was encouraged to come up with an original cake recipe? Yep, all related to the show! I’m so glad the cat is finally out of the bag because I can’t wait to share everything about this amazing experience with you! I still can’t believe I’m going to be on Food Network – the Food Network, which I watch all the time!

My episode airs Sunday, April 11 at 9pm EST/ 8pm CST! Will my caramelized plantain cupcakes or peanut butter cookie dough brownies bring home the $25K?!? You’ll just have to tune in to find out. I’m so excited to watch and will be posting a recap with a bunch of pictures and a behind the scenes account of the show after it airs, so stay tuned for that as well. You can also check out a video interview by The Boston Foodie about the show here – thanks Will!

My Mom’s Culinary Arts Program and Chocolate Cake

I’ve been meaning to tell you about the very cool Culinary Arts High School Program my mom runs at Central Campus in Des Moines, Iowa for awhile now, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity since I won’t be cooking up any recipes to share while we’re on...

Triple Tomato Chicken Panini

My parents visited us last weekend! We started things off perfectly by enjoying some delicious pizza at Emma’s Thursday night. Then on Friday, I snuck out of work a bit early to check out the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts with them - amazing! I think my...

Tips from Professional Food Photographer Gary Tardiff

I think I speak for the majority of food bloggers when I say that I started a blog because I love cooking and wanted a way to share my recipes with other foodies. But, I quickly realized that no matter how creative and delicious your recipes are, no one will actually...

Ultimate Recipe Showdown Recap

Thanks to everyone who watched me on Ultimate Recipe Showdown yesterday! I didn’t bring home the big prize, but I truly enjoyed every second of the competition and want to send out a huge thank you to everyone at Food Network and High Noon Entertainment for such an...

Bloggers Bake for Hope and Boston Chocolate School Truffle Workshop

Whew, things have been busy lately, but I finally have a little extra time to blog about two events that I’ve been meaning to share for awhile now. The first is a fabulous virtual bake sale, being hosted by my blogging buddies Jen and Cara, that will benefit Susan G....

King Arthur Flour Baking Class

You can imagine my response when the lovely Megan asked if I’d be interested in attending a blogger baking class she was organizing at King Arthur Flour. Yes, please! I have actually exclusively used King Arthur Flour for years now because it’s such a high quality...

Harvard’s Science and Cooking Seminar

Although I’m a scientist, I have to admit that I don’t know much beyond the basics of how science affects cooking, which is actually a bit embarrassing! So, I jumped at the chance to review Harold McGee’s new book, Keys to Good Cooking. The book doesn’t come out until...