"brown eyed baker" news and stories

With the indulgent decadence of holiday feasting, these straightforward biscotti are a welcome respite from the carb-and-cream overload. Admits blogger Brown Eyed Baker, "Between leftover Halloween candy, pumpkin pie galore and Christmas cookies by the tin, it's possible that a lot of us will be in a sugar coma come January 1st." Thus, she fashioned these Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti -- or "savory twists on an Italian favorite" -- as an escape of wintertime sugar binges.

And to those who boldly cross off carb-counting this season, time constraints are still substantial, especially with last-minute entertaining. But these refined bites make use of only pantry staples (namely flour, butter, eggs, milk and Parmesan), can be whipped up at a moment's notice and can even be kept in airtight containers for a few weeks for unannounced guests.

We recommend adding this recipe to your holiday roster so you can spend more time by the fire instead of toiling in the kitchen.

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As the weather turns cold (and occasionally dreary), we'll take little bursts of sunshine wherever we can get them -- especially if they're soft and sweet like these lemon-loaded cookies from Brown-Eyed Baker.

Lemon is often the perfect companion for butter, poppy seeds and, of course, vodka.

Made with lemon cake mix, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract (as well as a few of the usual cookie suspects, like egg and confectioner's sugar), these "lemon burst cookies" are, like the Brown-Eyed Baker herself said, literally "bursting at the seams with bright lemon flavor."

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Polenta Pizza. Photo: The Brown-Eyed Baker.

There are few combinations more satisfying than starch and fat. It's why hamburgers and macaroni and cheese always seem to please even the most picky eaters. Add a few colorful vegetables to the mix and you have a meal that covers the food groups and catches the eye, like this pizza from the Brown-Eyed Baker.

But this is not your typical slice. In addition to the square Sicilian cut, what you may not see right away is that the crust is made of crispy polenta and topped off with deliciously rich bacon and Fontina cheese, as well as a healthy dose of vegetables (cremini mushrooms, baby spinach and a Roma tomato).

[Via The Brown Eyed Baker]

Dates wrapped with bacon and stuffed with fontina. Photo: Brown Eyed Baker.

Fontina-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates. The description alone is enough to make one's mouth water.

It is probably a safe assessment to say that if you want to make everyone in the room like you (aside from vegetarians, of couse), this is exactly the kind of hors d'oeuvre you make for a party. And according to the Brown Eyed Baker, who made these, we're right. "This is quite possibly the most amazing appetizer I have ever made," she wrote. "I have never seen anything gobbled up by a crowd so quickly."

While this particular combination of fruit, cheese and meat is nothing short of culinary genius, let's be honest here: No matter what had been wrapped in that perfectly pink bacon, we'd have eaten it -- wouldn't you?

[Via Brown Eyed Baker]