Caramel Butter Pecan Affogato

by kitchenrunway // August 21, 2016 // No Comments

Affogato is a super easy Italian dessert that is traditionally made with a scoop of vanilla gelato and a shot of espresso. It’s great for summer since the cold gelato cools the espresso and adds a rich creaminess to the drink. It’s sweet, decadent and refreshing. There are no hard rules though, I’ve seen affogatos made with chocolate or caramel ice cream with espresso or coffee.

This dessert is a bit nostalgic for me though. Growing up, I remember my dad scooping his favorite ice cream, butter pecan, into a mug and topping it off with hot coffee. It was his special treat. When I was in high school I sometimes would indulge and put a couple of scoops of butter pecan ice cream in my morning coffee. So bad, but oh, so good!

Affogato is also great for entertaining, so easy to throw together and no fuss. It’s a simple but satisfying way to end a dinner party.

Hello, beautiful! Chopped candied pecans and shaved chocolate makes this affogato a little more special! Next time, I might even add a drizzle of caramel.

Rich, creamy Tillamook ice cream + Gourmesso Soffio Vaniglia espresso = a match made in heaven. The vanilla espresso is so fragrant and smooth.

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Easy Rocky Road Fudge

by kitchenrunway // October 6, 2015 // No Comments

This rocky road fudge is rich, decadent and so very easy to make. All you need are 4 ingredients, melt, and stir. That’s it. The most time consuming part is waiting for the fudge to set. I have a problem. A serious problem. If I don’t give it away I end up eating the whole tray in the course of 2-3 days. I have no self control when it comes to rocky road anything. Whether it’s rocky road ice cream or fudge I just can’t resist the combination of rich creamy chocolate laced with crunchy almonds and fluffy marshmallows. I just can’t. Anyhow, back to the recipe. This one is a keeper and it’s perfect for gift giving. In my book, you can’t go wrong with an edible gift.

Rich, creamy and chock full of marshmallows and almonds! It’s dreamy!

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Caramel S’mores Cookie Cups

by kitchenrunway // October 7, 2014 // 1 Comment

Chocolate chip cookie cups with a caramel center, topped with toasted marshmallow, and chocolate. It’s pure decadence neatly packaged in a mini cupcake liner. These Caramel S’mores Cookie Cups are super easy to make and are always a favorite at parties. My friend Remil brought these bite size pieces of sweet goodness to my annual cookie exchange last year and I have been in love ever since. With some trial and error I recreated these for Brandon’s 1st birthday and several times for potlucks. They never disappoint.

It’s pretty hard to resist warm caramel incased in chocolate chip cookie and topped with toasted marshmallow and chocolate.

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Can It Forward Day 2014 & Giveaway

by kitchenrunway // August 15, 2014 // 3 Comments

Saturday, August 16th is the 1st International Can It Forward Day with events taking place in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Bravo’s Top Chef Hugh Acheson is the host this year and will be sharing his expertise with all of us during his live canning demonstration webcast. Can It Forward Day is a great opportunity to learn about the art of canning and the experts really break down the process and make canning less daunting.

With the help of Can It Forward last year I made a delicious pear and vanilla bean jam. I get a lot of requests for this jam. I’m down to my very last jar, I will need to make a batch very soon.

You can learn more about the event at Fresh Preserving: International Can It Forward Day.

Here’s the schedule of events:

10:00am – Pepper Jelly demonstration by Chef Sara featuring the FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker
10:45am – Tips on urban gardening & herb preservation
11:00am – Peach Siracha Jam demonstration by Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars
11:30am – Crafting in Ball jars with staff from Martha Stewart Living
11:45am – Hugh Acheson Preserving and Mixology demonstrations
1:15pm – Special Mixology demonstration with local mixologists
1:30pm – Salsa Verde demonstration by Chef Sarah featuring the FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System

Share your favorite Can-It-Forward Day moments with friends via social media with the hashtag #canitforward.

To help celebrate International Can It Forward Day we are giving away a few wonderful Ball products:

The New Limited Edition Spring Green Heritage Collection Jars (2 cases – pint and quart): These beautiful green jars are a limited edition and are only being produced in 2014. So get them while you can. It a gorgeous shade of green and adds a vibrant pop of color. It’s great for displaying flowers and canning. I love these jars and used them at Brandon’s 1st Birthday Party.

Fresh Herb Keeper: Keeps herbs fresh for up to two weeks in a container that is assessable on the counter.

Dry Herb Jars: A beautiful and functional way to store dried herbs and seasonings.

Frozen Herb Starters: A great day to preserve your herbs and seasonings by freezing it in cubes filled with butter or oil. A great day to add flavor to dishes!

5 Blade Herb Scissors: How cool are these. Chiffonade-ing basil will be a breeze!

Ball Blue Book: 125 pages of all you need to know about preserving: instructions, method and recipes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Brandon turns one!

by kitchenrunway // May 9, 2014 // 3 Comments

I can’t believe that a year has flown by and now my little baby is one! Brandon has grown and changed so much over the last year. He continues to amaze us with his warm smile, sweet hugs and his sense of wonder and curiosity. We threw a golf themed birthday party for Brandon. It was nice to celebrate this milestone with our friends and family. A very special thank you to Cathy of Gastronomy Blog for capturing the day through her beautiful photography. All the photos for this post are from the talented Cathy.

I made a vanilla smash cake for Brandon and topped it with Skip to My Lou’s birthday cake bunting printable. Brandon really enjoyed his cake. He ate about a third of it. I brought the rest to work and my co-workers devoured the rest.

I made a timeline of Brandon’s 1st year to display. He’s changed and grown so much in the last twelve months. This was a pretty easy project. I printed 5×7 photos at Costco and then matted the photos on white cardstock and then on scrapbook paper. The hard part was narrowing down the photos for the timeline.