Grubarazzi

The day I discovered Tate’s Bakeshop Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies was the day my life started anew. They are thin, crispy, chewy, buttery perfection.  And want to know a secret? They are better than regular chocolate chip cookies. For serious. I don’t know how they did it, but they did it hard.  I recently had a BBQ for friends and one of them was gluten intolerant. Instead of torturing her and making ice cream cookie sandwiches with regular cookies, I decided to use Tate’s gluten free cookies for everyone to rave reviews. The comment heard most "I would have never known these were gluten free! They are the best cookie sandwiches I've ever had." And who doesn't want to feel like a kid again and chow down on an old fashioned ice cream cookie sandwich? I know I do. If you don't, well, maybe you should go back to where you came from. Mars, most likely.  I rarely post recipes I don’t make from scratch...but they were just so good! Take...

Not only was I raised by an epicure family, but I married in to one. We all worship good grub which came in handy during the holidays when the Grubarazzi house hosted dozens of family members and friends. Lucie (aka: sis-in-law & Lulu) is a killer cook and she makes a mean eggnog. She learned the skill from her mom, and the tradition of making a silo of drunk, spiced egg batter for Christmas parties carried over to our house this year.  Step away from the eggnog carton, and pour yourself a heaping mug of Lulu’s eggnog.   Ingredients: 12 egg yolks 1 pound confectioner’s sugar 1 cup Peach Schnapps 4 cups Bacardi Select 2 cups Jim Beam (Bourbon Whiskey) 2 liters of heavy whipping cream 12 egg whites Freshly grated nutmeg Cinnamon Directions: Step 2: In a very large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until light in color. Add confectioner’s sugar in stages until combined. Add 2 cups of rum slowly while beating constantly. Cover and cool...

  Maybe it is the holidays that provide me with the perfect excuse to drench everything in chocolate.  Nevertheless, these five spice chocolate dipped pecans are winners any time of year. I could not believe how tasty these little suckers are. A tiny pinch of Chinese five spice sends chocolate to another planet. A planet I would buy real estate on.   Warning: Your hands will get delightfully messy as you dig out each nut from the chocolate. Enjoy it, although you should try to avoid licking your fingers until the end. I had to wash my digits a few times…  What! It’s Chocolate! We should play with our food more. Five Spice Chocolate Dipped Pecans Ingredients 1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips (dairy free) 4 tablespoons thick coconut milk (find in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores) 2 cups pecan halves ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder Directions Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In a double boil...