In A Nutshell

These are good-old, stand-by cookies. The original recipe comes from the Quaker Oats carton top. I have two little problems with cookies in that I often can't stop eating them after they come out of the oven and also that I only like them when they are fresh out of the oven (shortbread-type cookies being the exception). So to counterbalance these issues, I have taken to scooping all the dough onto cookie sheets and freezing the individual balls of dough (except for the batch I'm making right then and there); once they are frozen I take them off the cookie sheet and put them into ziplock bags with baking instructions written in marker on the outside of the bag. When I have a taste for cookies, I remove 2-- that's right, only 2 per customer!!! and thaw them on a small cookie sheet (this only takes about 1/2 hour) and bake. I get my freshly baked cookies and by default, control my intake. The other advantage is that you can have them on hand and bake them in a pinch for an ...

This is like the crack cocaine of side dishes. Seriously addictive. I ate so much it put me in a carb coma but it was worth every bite. The recipe is originally from Ina via Food Network magazine but I changed it up a bit making Boursin cheese the star of this dish-- because I can never get enough Boursin cheese, adding bacon (because duh...) and simplifying it (namely by not using the dastardly food mill). 3 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered 5 garlic cloves 1 1/2 containers Boursin chive and garlic cheese 4 T butter at room temp. 1 1/2 cups sour cream 1/2 cup half-and-half 6 slices of bacon, chopped, cooked and drained on paper towels 1/2 cup parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 375º. Place the potatoes and garlic in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes; drain potatoes. While the potatoes are still hot, add 3-4 teaspoons salt and freshly ground pepper along with all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the parmesan cheese. Usin...

I had this drink at The Bier Garden in Encinitas during the tail end of the flu. Normally I don't have a taste for alcohol when I'm sick but with honey, lemon and bourbon this drink sounded like the best flavored Ricola cough drop you could ever imagine.  I'm not really sure how to get the honey to totally dissolve but in the spirit of scientific quest, I will continue to experiment. 5 or 6 blackberries 1 1/2 oz. bourbon of your choice 3/4 oz. lemon 3/4 oz. créme de muir* 1 teaspoon honey Try as best you can to dissolve the honey in the lemon juice in a glass and then add the blackberries and muddle. Add the remaining ingredients and fill the glass with ice. At this point you can either just stir it up or pour the whole drink in a cocktail shaker and shake it up well; strain it over fresh ice or dump the whole concoction right back in the glass--- your choice. I personally find this additional step isn't necessary. Garnish with a mint leaf and a blackberry....