Just came across this sweet doughnut cake pan while perusing one of my favorite cooking blogs! I have to get one so I can make one of these! 🙂 MMMMMM….. ~Melissa
Current Crush- Adorable Giant Doughnut Cake Pan
by Melissa • • 2 Comments
Visiting Red Wing-Barn Bluff & Sorin’s Bluff
by Melissa • • 3 Comments
“The most beautiful prospect that the imagination can form.” ~Johnathan Carver, eighteenth century explorer, describes the view from Red Wing’s Barn Bluff When I went online in search of interesting facts about the beautiful bluffs in Red Wing, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there! Like I said before, I’m just writing…
coney island hot dogs
by Melissa • • 9 Comments
Invite your friends and family over for game day or to watch a beach flick, and serve Coney Island Hot Dogs… also known as “Red Hots.” These are such a crowd pleaser and they’re so easy to make! Be prepared to share this recipe with your guests. There are never any leftovers. This can easily…
Armchair Travel & Caribbean Fare
by Melissa • • 17 Comments
“The market ladies sell spice necklaces–garlands of cloves, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, cocoa beans, mace and nutmeg–that are irresistible. I now have them hanging all around the boat, making it smell spicy and delicious. Mangoes are in season, and literally falling off the trees–an embarrassment of mangoes, to someone from the north. We feel duty…
Restaurant Review-Hell’s Kitchen
by Melissa • • 3 Comments
One of our favorite things to do is go out to eat. When I try to decide what favorite restaurant to review it’s always a bit difficult for me to narrow it down, but I think I’ve done it. Check out the links provided for pictures, hours, and a full listing of menu items. Viewing…
Simple Pleasures & Sun Tea
by Melissa • • 8 Comments
“I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.” ~Oscar Wilde This time of year I usually head to the kitchen to make my coffee first thing in the morning, and while I wait for the water to boil I make a new batch of sun tea. We go through about a…
Victoria Magazine Dreams
by Melissa • • 10 Comments
“Behind every successful woman is a tale of self reliance, persistence, and the joy of following one’s heart.” from the Victoria publication The Business of Bliss I have been in love with Victoria Magazine since I was 16. I picked up the premier copy back in 1987. The breathtaking photography of Toshi Otsuki was the…
Here Comes the Sun
by Melissa • • 3 Comments
photograph by Melissa Placzek My brain is overflowing with ideas today and wouldn’t let my body sleep in. The idea of a French press got me to my feet at about 5:00 AM. Is there any better motivator than coffee? It’s suppose to get up to 70 degrees here in Minnesota today. I’m figuring if…
Such Things To Be
by Melissa • • 8 Comments
photograph by Melissa Placzek “So many worlds, So much to do, So little done, Such things to be.” ~Alfred Lord Tennyson My daughter Andrea will be starting her college classes soon! I can’t believe I’m old enough to be the mom of a college student! Where does the time go? She’s going to be a…
Book Review-The Art of Eating In
by Melissa • • 4 Comments
In the city where dining is a sport, a gourmand swears off restaurants (even takeout!) for two years, rediscovering the economical, gastronomical joy of home cooking Gourmand-ista Cathy Erway’s timely memoir of quitting restaurants cold turkey speaks to a new era of conscientious eating. An underpaid, twenty-something executive assistant in New York City, she was…