Parmesan Fondue

One of my favorite foods has to be CHEESE! My best friend and I love to go to La Fondue in Saratoga, Ca on special occasions. One of the main reasons we love this place is the cheese fondue. La Fondue is kind of expensive to be dining out on regularly. So I looked online to see what sort of fondue I could make with what I already have in the pantry. That's when I stumbled upon this recipe off of Allrecipes.com. I just summarized the recipe to my interpretation and I did this all through the microwave. This recipe really hits the spot if you like rich and creamy parmesan cheese. It's also quick and easy to make. You could even modify the recipe to use as creamy pasta sauce.

Parmesan Fondue

1. Equal parts cream cheese, grated parmesan cheese, milk, and a pinch of garlic salt.  (I used 1/4 cup of each ingredient to make a single person serving.)
2. Prepare veggies, fruits, and bread for dipping. Set Aside.
3. Combine cream cheese, parmesan, milk, and garlic salt in a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds then mix.
4. Repeat until you microwave the fondue for a total of 2 minutes or well combined and warm.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Halloween is coming up soon and I've been having a taste for pumpkin sweets. I got a pumpkin cake recipe off of allrecipes.com to use for my cupcakes. I also made a cake out of the recipe because there was a lot of batter. Sorry, but I totally forgot to take a picture of my completed cupcakes. They were so moist and flavorful they ran out fast.

Cake profile: The best pumpkin cake I've ever had! This cake is extremely light and very moist. I can't even describe how perfect it is in words. It has the right portion of pumpkin and cinnamon flavoring, nice and simple.

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

• 2 cups             granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups       vegetable oil
• 1 tsp                vanilla extract
• 2 cups             canned pumpkin (not canned pumpkin pie mix)
• 4 large            eggs
• 2 cups            flour
• 3 tsp               baking powder
• 2 tsp               baking soda
• 1/4 tsp            salt
• 2 tsp               ground cinnamon

One by one.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil until well incorporated. Picture 2 & 3
4. Blend in vanilla extract and pumpkin until well incorporated. Picture 4
5. Add in eggs to the mixture one by one until well combined. Picture 5
6. Gradually mix in flour mixture until well mixed. Picture 6
7. Fill the cupcake cups 2/3 full with cake mixture. Picture 7
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes until pricking of a toothpick through the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool before icing. Picture 8

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 8 oz              package of cream cheese, cold
• 1/2 cup         butter, firm but not cold (1 stick)
• 16 oz              box of powdered sugar (about 3  3/4 cups)
• A pinch        salt
• 1/2 tsp          vanilla extract
• Cinnamon sugar (optional)

One by one.

1. Sift the powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Picture 11&12
3. Gradually mix in powdered sugar until well incorporated. Picture 13
4. Mix in vanilla extract.
5. Using a butter knife begin icing the cooled cupcakes.
6. Powder cinnamon sugar on top of the iced cupcakes for decoration. (optional)

Cooking in the Past

I decided to post photos of foods I have made in the past.

Paula Deen's Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

I have been having crazy cravings for pumpkin pie since autumn began. I was really curious to see how much work is put into a purely homemade pumpkin pie. So I made everything from scratch to see if the flavor and freshness is worth all the trouble. Below I posted a link to the recipes I followed to make the pumpkin puree, pie dough, and pumpkin pie. Warning, making everything from scratch took me about 4 hours total to complete the pumpkin pie. It would've taken an hour and 30 minutes if I decided to use canned pumpkin and store bought pie dough instead. I think it's totally worth it to make a pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkins. You only get fresh pumpkins in season once a year, why not?

Pie profile: It has a frresh and true pumpkin flavor; aromatic with cinnamon spice; sweet and rich creamy flavor, almost like a pumpkin pie meets cheesecake. The texture of the pie is smooth and thick with a flaky crust.


How to make pumpkin puree.
Pie dough recipe.


Paula Deen's Pumpkin Pie

•  8 oz            cream cheese softened
• 2 cups         pumpkin puree (can substitute with canned pumpkin)
• 1 cup          sugar
• 1/4 tsp        salt
• 1 large        egg
• 2 large        egg yolks
• 1 cup          half&half
• 1/4 cup       unsalted butter melted (1/2 stick)
• 1 tsp           vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp        ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp        ground ginger
• 1 piece       pre-made pie dough (store bought or homemade)

One by one.

1. Place 1 piece pie dough down onto a 9-inch pie pan. Press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp edges to create a pattern. Place in oven for 1 hour to firm up. Photo 8 &9
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to over the inside of the pie shell completely. Fill the shell up with pie weights, dried beans, or dried pasta shells. Place in oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights; then use a fork and poke the pie crust to remove air bubbles on bottom and sides. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust begins to color. Photo 11, 12,& 13.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin, beat till well combined. Photo 15.
5. Add sugar and salt. Mix well. 
6. Add the egg and egg yolks, half&half, and melted butter. Beat until well mixed. 
7. Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and ginger until well incorporated. Photo 16
8. Pour filling into warm prepared pie crust. Bake 50 minutes or until the center sets. Photo  17
9. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Photo 18