Nutella filled banana bread muffins, with Pistachio streusel.

"Quarantine Cooking"

My sister said, what is it about being stuck at home that makes you want to bake? My answer to that was I do not know. But I for one am in the mood to just cook and bake up a storm. I am even contemplating making some doughnuts and bagels. This banana bread is a quick tweak to my existing chocolate chip banana bread recipe. If you got that recipe down pact, then all you must do is top it with some streusel and you are good to go.

Chocolate orange shortbread cookies

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

It’s time for some cookies, once again I am using my favorite flavor combination of chocolate and orange. My sister is probably going to be very annoyed when she sees this recipe because she is the shortbread cookie queen. But hopefully she will go make these and enjoy them and get over her annoyance real fast. Crunch, buttery, sweet cookies with an orange flavor dipped in chocolate.

Tea poached pears in chocolate sauce

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

Have you ever seen a dish on dessert menus, Instagram, basically everywhere and feel as if it’s on some French culinary institute unattainable level? That’s how I once felt about poached pears. The stem is still intact, the pear is perfectly soaked and it’s so delicious in flavor. Who knew you could make a poached pear at home with such amazing results?

Choco-whiskey ribs

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

I don’t think there are any limitations when it comes to pork ribs. Over the years I have been playing with chocolate and pork with much success. However, this is by far the most delicious chocolate ribs recipe to date. The chocolate raspberry ribs and the coco chipotle baby back ribs are the other two rib recipes that contain chocolate. While those were good, they were a bit more work. This recipe is literally a set it and forget it kind of ribs; you don’t need a grill for this like the other two recipes. Aluminum foil and an oven does all the work here.

Red wine iced mocha

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

Sometimes you just want a glass of red wine in the morning without the judgmental gasps. If that’s you then what better way than to camouflage that glass with some mocha. In all honesty there is more milk than red wine in this, but the flavors of the wine do stand out.  Its cold, and has the perfect balance of bitter, sweet and tart. They always say its 5-o clock somewhere.

Chocolate chip Banana bread

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

Time to redeem myself from the fail that was the de-panning of the mango crunch cake I did last year. Against my better judgment, I tried to remove a hot cake from this very special Bundt pan and the cake broke in half. So here I am today with the same bundt pan and a whole lot more patience. Today I give you my exceptionally yummy banana bread recipe with some added chocolate chips.

Nutmeg & Mace spiced Salted dark hot cocoa

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

This one was a little bit off the beaten path for me. For starters, I do a form of hot chocolate almost every chocolate month, but this time I wanted it to be different. I was inspired by a salted caramel dark chocolate bark that I saw somewhere online and thought; what’s more different than a salty hot chocolate?

Cocoa Chipotle baby back ribs

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

I’m finally back from my long hiatus with a new last name. It was an interesting experience to not have the weight of two blog posts per week resting on my shoulders. Instead I had to deal with caterers, decor, wedding dresses, and all that comes with planning your own wedding. The honeymoon certainly made up for all the hard work. So now that all the excitement has passed, I’m in a new house with a new kitchen ready to bet back to greedy girl cooking. In case you forgot its chocolate month and the first recipe up is a chocolate chipotle baby back rib.

Chocolate fried chicken tenders with maple ketchup

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

 Yummy time, fried chicken never gets old, ever! Especially when it’s dredged in cocoa flour before fried, and drizzled with maple ketchup. Is it something for the kids or something for the kid in you? I’m still unsure.

Cheesy chocolate brioche bread pudding for two

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

The one thing I look forward to when I come to NY is my visit to whole foods.  And not just for the experience, for the French brioche bread. The French bread by Euro Classic is the most delicious brioche bread I have ever eaten in my life; has me wanting to book a flight to France. I could literally eat the entire bag. With that said I can’t lie to you, it really pained my soul to use the bread to make a bread pudding. Hence today I bring you a very small bread pudding for two.

Chocolate boneless beef short rib kebabs

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

It is time for chocolate and red meat.  It’s always a challenge to combine coco and meat without it tasting like dessert. This recipe is a winner, succulent flavorful 100 percent meat. Do not be afraid of the chocolate!

Dark Chocolate Chip coffee cookies

 

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

Sweet chewy and chocolaty with hints of coffee undertones; that’s the next chocolate recipe today. There always seems to be an endless array of cookie flavors to choose from. I always try to do a spin on my classic chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies whenever I can. This year we welcome the addition of coffee and dark chocolate. It adds an absolute punch to the chewy sweet cookie.

Chocolate chip pancakes

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

The only thing better than fluffy thick and light pancakes are fluffy chocolate chip thick and light pancakes. I took my classic pancake recipe and brought it to new heights buy adding one simple ingredient; chocolate!

I am always amazed at how folding stiff egg whites into a batter can change the game. It makes the pancakes so incredibly thick and fluffy. An in addition to this wonderful texture there are pockets of melted milk chocolate chips throughout every bite. There is really no difference with this pancake than my original fluffy pancake recipe other than the addition of chocolate chips. If you are a true pancake connoisseur and you love my original recipe, I’m sure you have been adding blueberries and chocolate chips to the batter long before I have.

Easiest cookie and chocolate cream icecream

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

Chocolate ice-cream anyone? If chocolate syrup and cookie and cream ice-cream ever had a child this would be it. It’s rich and creamy with the perfect crunchy bits of Oreo cookies. The most special thing about this ice-cream is not the flavors but the method and its simple ingredients.  The easiest ice-cream I have ever made ever!!  Literally took me less than 10 minutes to put it together.

Nutella stuffed french toast with coffee patron maple syrup

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

My French toast skills just keep growing and growing. I thought the crunchy pumpkin French toast was good, but “lord have massy”  this is yummy. The thick bread is stuffed with Nutella coated in a hazelnut and vanilla bean flavored batter, rolled in crispy corn flakes and fried in butter.  And instead of Aunt Jemima, we invited coffee patron to the party. This is the ultimate Valentine ’s Day breakfast for ya boo.

Ultimate nutella Chocolate Cake

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

I’m finally back from my cooking holiday and a day late as well. It’s another January and chocolate month is here once more. Let start things off with a yummy chocolate cake. This is not just any cake though! This is rich, decadent, chocolaty layers with Nutella frosting and topped with Ferrero rocher ….sigh…too epic not to try. 

Pumpkin chocolate fudge brownies

“Pumpkin Everythang”

Moist and delicious are the perfect words to describe this brownie; chocolate fudge brownie swirled with pumpkin puree. I love feeding people veggies hidden in desserts. Yes the nutritional value is almost nonexistent. But it just feels good to eat a whole brownie knowing that there is pumpkin in it. Makes you feel like you had at least one serving of veggie, as if this guilty treat is not so guilty.

Oreo vanilla Mint

Call me the Dairy Queen 

It’s Friday and FINALLY, the end of ice-cream month. This has been the longest month of my life and if I never see a box of heavy cream for the next 6 months I’ll be just fine. Today we have a super delicious creamy, perfect scoop of mint, cream and cookies. Its cookie and cream 2.0

Chocolate chip, Orange and Rosemary Corn Muffin

 "Feast of Saint Valentine"

Can you believe the first month of 2015 is over? Chocolate month flew by so fast. For the last recipe I decided to make a very flavorful  muffin, full of herb and citrus flavors. I find this muffin has something for everyone, a little grown up but kids would still enjoy it with the orange flavor and the chocolate chips.

Cocoa & hazelnut compound butter

 "Feast of Saint Valentine"

 This has got to be one of the best butters I have ever made. Last year I went on a compound butter spree.  The smell alone is just beyond awesome. I purchased that hazelnut flavoring a while back to use in home-made hot chocolates and totally forgot about it. While rummaging the cupboards to come up with this recipe I spotted it in the back and a light bulb went off.