Tag: fall
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chocolate cake with rosemary caramel
i officially have The Best spice cake in north carolina! and the best sweet potato biscuits, too! i entered a bunch of different cakes and baked goods into the competition at the fair, and i won first place ribbons for both of those items. i also won second place for my white chocolate chip cookies and two…
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roasted sweet potatoes with figs, goat cheese, and balsamic reduction
the middle east has mastered cuisine in a way unparalleled by any other region. most dishes are extremely healthy, consisting of seasonal produce, fresh meat, local cheese, or a combination of the three. middle eastern flavors are vibrant, diverse, and loaded with character. no offense to france, but i would much rather go on a…
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november + a chocolate espresso cake
i think i have mild synesthesia. synesthesia is a condition where the brain joins letters, names, and shapes with a sensory perception like color, smell, or flavor. for me, it typically surfaces in the form of color – for example, ‘monday’ is light blue and the name ‘mary’ is red. sometimes it’s influenced by personality, etc., and sometimes it’s completely…
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banana blondie trifles with dulce de leche custard
my preferred banana ripeness is spotted, brown, and mushy. i like them best when the peel softens to the point of falling off and the fruit tastes almost fermented. people often recommend getting rid of brown bananas by masking them with spices in a quick bread, but i think they deserve to be the star of their…
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chocolate cherry marble pound cake
a rich, soft, chocolate cake will always be my #1. the kind that slices like warm butter, giving way to the slightest amount of pressure from a sharp knife; the kind that acquires moistness and flavor from layers of frosting, but retains its own flavor and texture; the kind that never comes cleanly out of the pan,…
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deep-dish granny smith chicken pot pie with a cheddar crust
makes four servings This autumnal entrée takes everything you thought you knew about apple pie and throws it out the window. There’s no cinnamon, no nutmeg, no sprinkling of turbinado sugar to make for a caramelized crust. Instead, we’re taking onions, thyme, and sautéed chicken and sealing them in a flaky, buttery, made-from-scratch dough. I pressed the…
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brownies with peanut butter frosting
makes sixteen servings I know, I know. I’m stuck in a rut. Everything I’ve been making recently is the same color. The same flavors, too. Probably the same calorie count. So this is my last post like this for a while! Soon Lena’s Lunchbox will have dark leafy greens and citrus-y pale yellows and intense beetroot reds. These…
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dark chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting
makes six servings Everything in moderation, right? It’s fine to eat a slice of this cake if as long as I balance it out with a hearty kale and cashew salad or something. Here’s the problem..this cake is actually physically impossible to eat in moderation. You’ll cut a sliver off, eat it in a few seconds, and…
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pumpkin cheesecake with almond gingersnap crust + sukkot
makes twelve servings There are hundreds of Jewish holidays. Okay there are twelve, but that’s actually so many! We have a holiday to celebrate the birthday of the trees! Sukkot celebrates agriculture and autumn and the harvest season. It involves building and sleeping in a sukkah, which has three walls and an roof made of tree branches…
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pound cake with hidden pumpkin center
makes twelve servings Although this is a time-consuming cake, the final result is delicious and beyond impressive. Okay, so my cake ended up a little under baked. Substantially under baked. Near raw. BUT!! That does not mean that yours cannot be amazinglythoroughlyundoubtably cooked throughout. When the cake had been in the oven for an hour, I…
LENA'S LUNCHBOX 