I’ve been dying to make a cinnamon rolls since Christmas time, but that thing called ‘life’ hasn’t allowed me the time to get the yeast rising. I decided Valentine’s would be the little space of time I’d sock away to enjoy the craft of making Cinnamon Roll Hearts, as a gift to myself and the ones I love.

The story of Pistachio Fig Arroz Con Leche: I got this friend named Rachel, I like to call her Miss Killers, but that’s different story for another time. Rachel is gluten-free and has been for a while now. It seems like most of our encounters are planned around food, either it’s a potluck or a restaurant rendezvous, but (more…)

Crudités And Serrano Cilantro Pesto

I enjoy hosting people over at my house, but as you know hosting requires serving, cleaning up, pouring drinks, changing the music selection and so forth. Sometimes you get so wound up in attending to people that you actually don’t have time to sit down and enjoy your company. (more…)

Strawberry Pistachio Flan is the kind of dessert you would serve to a Queen in Spring! Which translates to what I will be making for my Momma this Mother’s Day! This flan has the capability of making anyone feel special. It’s that flantastic, and we should all treat our Moms good. (more…)

My man is leaving on tour soon, which means he is requesting I make all his favorite snacks and foods while he’s still home. The picture above being one of them. Have you ever tried a Pistachio Fig Goat Cheese Ball? It’s kinda the perfect (more…)

I have a friend who is getting married in a couple of weeks and asked me to make a fancy appetizer for her bridal shower.  She said she wanted something super tasty, simple, in season, and then she threw in the words “elegant and stylized.”  I pondered this idea for a while and wondered what I could come up with.  I never want to disappoint a bride, especially in her glorious moments of celebration.  My thinking cap was running on overdrive when the idea of grapes crossed my mind.  Grapes are in season and super tasty right now, that was all I needed to get the ball rolling.  I started looking around my local markets for grapes.  I’m the type of person that will pick a grape from the package before I purchase a bag, clean it on my clothes, and plop it in my mouth to measure how sweet they are.  I walked into Walmart and lo and behold was a huge display of grapes.  I ran over and scanned the wide variety they had…. seedless, organic, table, seeds, champagne, green, red, and black.  Hmmmm, choices.  I settled on black seedless grapes, not only would they add a pretty color to my appetizer, but they were the most flavorful.

I personally love grapes paired with nice cheese and must admit to eating that combo quite often while I work or watch television. But I wouldn’t be any kind of friend if I just plated the two and served them that way.  Once I was back in my kitchen I started to experiment with cheese and grapes…. here’s what I came up with.  I pinched a bit of goat cheese and patted it flat in my hand, then carefully rolled the grape in the center of the cheese till it was fully encased, then I encrusted it in chopped pistachios for a wonderful little nibble. That’s it, 3 ingredients and the brides wishes were met!

Ingredients for grape goat cheese pistachio nibbles:

• black seedless grapes
• goat cheese
• shelled pistachios (chopped)

Directions:

1. Rinse and dry grapes.
2. Remove each grape from stem/vine.
3. Take a teaspoon of goat cheese and pat it in the palm of your hand to create a flat surface.
4. Place a grape in the center.
5. Then carefully roll the cheese around the entire grape until fully covered.
6. Place covered cheese grapes on a plate and store in fridge while you work on all the other grapes. 
7. Chop pistachios.
8. Then roll each grape in chopped pistachios to coat. 
9. Enjoy! 

And if the recipe is not enough for you grape lovers…. here is a quick video on how to make grape jelly in 30 seconds:

If you’re anything like me then you need some spice to bring the Thanksgiving table to life. This stuffing will do that and then some. The chorizo works well with the pistachios and pears, adding a subtle taste of sweet to the potent taste of spice. It’s seriously perfect for turkey and will be a real treat if sitting next to a batch of sweet potatoes or cranberry sauce. I posted my recipe over on the Babble site, click here for the recipe. You’ll be happy you did.