Stephanie’s (Grandma’s) Famous Chocolate Pudding & Pie Filling

  I love recipes that are handed down in families.  My friend, Stephanie, whips up a batch of this decadent chocolate pudding anytime she wants to pamper someone special.  The recipe came from her grandmother, who (as you’ll see by the end of the recipe, transcribed from her recipe card) is quite the funny lady.  This [...]

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To Try: Pear Custard Pie

  Here’s hoping pears are still in season, because this pie looks fantastic.  This recipe comes from Taste of Home magazine (my mom subscribes).  Contributor Barbara Rea says, “My daughter CJ baked a pear pie for us once and I’ve made it several times since then. We like it so much that I’ve considered contributing [...]

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To Try: Vanilla Custard with Sautéed Pears

I don’t know about you, but I rarely make recipes from magazines.  I’ll sometimes read them for ideas, but that’s usually as far as it gets.  The last one I made was months ago (sweet potato ravioli from Cooking Light), and even then, I “doctored” the hell out of it.  Magazine recipes always seem 1) overly simplified, with too many shortcuts and [...]

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Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Full disclosure: I’m not a big bread pudding fan.  It’s usually so…heavy…bready…and bland (sorry, BP-lovers!).  Give me a chocolate mousse or a strawberry tart any day.  But this recipe, a riff on the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, is the exception to the rule.  It satisfies the part of me that loves pumpkin pie custard and rich, [...]

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