Freezer Favorite: Pork Potstickers

I get cravings. It starts as a thought, over time becomes a strong desire and finally ends up as an all consuming urge to fulfill. Brownies. Brick Chicken. Linguine alle Vongole. These are all examples of foods that, once they have a hold of me, you'll find me in the kitchen or on my way to a restaurant no matter what time of day it is. Strangely, I can't recall one craving from my pregnancy, but that's probably because I freely indulged every urge the minute I felt it. Last week, while I was salivating over anything dairy, I also started thinking about Chinese food, specifically Pork Potstickers and Peking Duck. While I'm pretty sure Peking Duck is above my paygrade, Pork Potstickers are doable.

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Tasty Treat: Meyer Lemon Meringues

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I can't eat any dairy until Sunday. However, my body wants it. Baby girl's milk is so alluring. The butter on her toast in the morning makes me want to scream. Yes, I'm dramatic. Always have been. And, I certainly understand that if lactose intolerance is all I have to worry about, then I'm golden. That being said, I really really want a cookie... and a glass of milk.

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Entertaining: Rack of Lamb with Herbed Goat Cheese

I've had a pain in my side for the last five years. It isn't a bad or a constant pain. However, it comes and it goes often enough that I went to the doctor (yes, after 5 years!) to get it checked out. Luckily, he said It would've killed you by now if it was anything terrible. He suspects dairy is the culprit and lactose intolerance the condition. As of today I am halfway through a ten day abstinence program where I can't touch a lick of dairy...

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Tasty Treat: Best Ever Chocolate Pudding

So many bloggers and food writers have written about pudding and pointed out that it's just as easy to make from scratch as from a packet. No lie, it's just as easy, it's tastier and it's better for you. However, I have yet to find a recipe that doesn't include cornstarch. Cornstarch drives me crazy because, in my humble opinion, it zaps flavor and can add a grittiness!

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One Pot Meals: Simple Beef Stew

Now that we're well into Winter and Spring is months away, you might wonder how much of what I cook is local. Percentage-wise, around 65%. I'm still able to cook two to three almost entirely local meals a week. How is that possible? Well, I have to give kudos to my amazing farmers who sell their wares at the market every week no matter the weather. Even now, I can still buy meat, cheese, dairy and a few fruits and vegetables. Miraculously, there are even a couple stands that sell fresh lettuce! Granted, it's at a murderously high price right now, but still it's nice to see.

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Tasty Treat: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

On Tuesday I wrote to you about friendship and corn bread and the amazing Southern dinner party we attended. Today is all about the dessert I made. Among my friends, I am the dessert maker and I take this honorable role very seriously. I love dessert and I love baking and I especially love a crowd since baking extravagant desserts solely for the hubby and me is a recipe for obesity. Since the dinner was branded a Southern feast, I finally had an excuse to try the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake Melissa Clark wrote about a few months back in the New York Times food section.

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Tasty Sides: Southern Skillet Corn Bread

In college, one of my closest friends was always talking about these aunts and uncles that weren't actually related. I was totally confused since I grew up in a town where every relative lived within a five mile radius. There were so many of us, I didn't even know all of them and was often introduced to new cousins in random places such as the local Safeway or the country club.

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