We bake a lot of breads in our house, both sandwich breads as well as dessert breads.  One of our new favorite breads is this delicious blueberry lemon bread that we got hooked on this summer. I came across the recipe in one of our local stores one day and have since made a loaf for the family nearly every week.  I think it’s because there have been a wealth of yummy fresh blueberries in the stores it’s been hard to resist.  It’s worth having good pans if you’re planning on baking lots of breads, something like this Kaiser Nonstick Springform Loaf Pan is a great choice.

This Large Nonstick Loaf Pan has a 7 cup capacity and is made of commercial-weight steel that bakes evenly resulting in a perfectly baked bread or cake loaf. The quality nonstick finish allows for easy-release of your baked goods as well as easy clean-up when you’re finished.  If you’re going to be baking your own breads and cakes, it’s worth getting quality pans like the pans offered by Kaiser that will last you for many years and perform well for flawless results.

As much as I try to avoid turning on the oven during the summer, I just can’t fight the urge to bake goodies all year around.  Sure, the kitchen gets a little too warm, so I just kick up the fan a bit more or escape to some shade in the yard for a bit.  Our local stores have a wonderful selection of fresh peaches so I’ve decided this weekend is the perfect time to make some delicious peach cobbler. I usually bake the dessert in a large ceramic baking dish.

I love ceramic & glass cookware because it’s such a breeze to use in the kitchen. Truly, what’s not to love about it?  It cooks food evenly, it looks great as serveware on your table, you can store the leftovers in the fridge, and then when it’s time for clean-up you just pop it in your dishwasher. For me, as busy as we all seem to be, it’s the perfect cookware and the one I seem to use all of the time in my kitchen.

We are deep into the coldest time of the year and across the country the weather is looking very frigid, except perhaps in Florida where my niece just spent New Year’s Eve watching fireworks at the beach in shorts and a tee shirt. I just read on the web today about a town in New York buried in 55 inches of snow with more still coming. Now while some of us do love playing in the snow, I think that 55 inches of snow steadily coming down for 9 days is a tad too much! But all of this cold makes me want to turn on the oven and cook lots of big hot meals and bake cookies and cakes. If you like baking cakes, you’ll love this Nonstick Heart Shaped Cake Pan from Kaiser bakeware - it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Many people celebrate Valentine’s Day by enjoying a romantic dinner in a nice restaurants. We’ve done that in the past but sometimes it can be so crowded and expensive that sometimes over the years we’ve chosen to dine in with a special meal made at home. Or even take-out from one of our favorite restaurants if we don’t feel like cooking. I find baking a scrumptious chocolate dessert is always fun and having great nonstick cake pans to use makes the job so much easier. So whether you’re on a tight budget or just don’t feel like dealing with a crowd, why not enjoy Valentine’s in the comfort of your home.

I guess there is no escaping the holiday rush now. With the big Thanksgiving feast just around the corner, seems it’s time to start working on the menu and watching the ads for some good holiday food sales. Trying to make sure everyone will be able to enjoy their favorite dishes and desserts can be tricky too, can’t it? But it’s a lot of fun to sit down to a big meal together, especially if you have family coming that lives far away. And it’s wonderful to see the cousins play together too. Some of my most versatile dishes that I use a lot at this time of year is my Pyrex bakeware. This Pyrex Glass 19 Piece Bakeware Set contains some of my favorite Pyrex pieces.

Pyrex Glass Cookware is wonderful for many reasons. For one thing, you can cook, bake, and microwave in it. Then you can easily store your leftovers in the dishes in the fridge or the freezer. Plus, the glassware cleans up so easily in the dishwasher. The glass is quite sturdy too since I’ve dropped quite a few pieces over the years and only manage to chip a handle or two, which is pretty amazing. If you’re buying cookware, it always pays to own pieces that can be used for multiple purposes.

Yum, it’s the season for baking delicious dessert breads, like my personal favorites - pumpkin, banana walnut, gingerbread, and cinnamon apple. The scents of baked bread smells wonderful in the house, and when the breads are done they’re ready to be enjoyed for breakfast or for snacking. To me, there’s nothing better on a cool day than enjoying a warm slice of fresh-baked banana walnut bread with cream cheese and a cup of fresh, hot coffee. I like to make multiple small breads so you can freeze some or give them as small gifts to teachers and others. I have a couple of sets of the Kaiser Nonstick Mini-Loaf Pans that I use quite a lot.

These are sturdy little bread pans that withstand use and abuse but still look good as new because Kaiser Bakeware makes such quality items. Not only can you make your favorite dessert pans in these stainless steel pans, but they’re also perfect for baking wonderful little dinner breads too. You can really set a festive dinner table by setting the breads around the table on separate plates for each guest. These versatile little pans also make a great housewarming or holiday gift!

For anyone who enjoys baking, you really can’t get by without some sort of electric mixer in your kitchen. Sure, there are some simple cake mixes and pancake batters that you can whip together with a bowl and a whisk. But for most batters, especially those made from scratch, you really need the power of an electric mixer to get the job done right. Some people prefer a big stand mixer while others need the convenience of a smaller hand mixer. That’s the beauty of the Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand & Stand Mixer.

This versatile mixer from Sunbeam solves the problem of deciding whether to buy a hand or stand mixer since it offers you both options. The lightweight, 6 speed mixer easily converts from a stand mixer to a stand mixer. It’s powerful 200 watt motor has a comfortable handle and controls conveniently placed at your thumb tips. It includes a 3.25 quart glass mixing bowl and handy pastry hooks as well. You can’t go wrong with a quality name like Sunbeam.

In the mood to try some new cookie recipes for the holidays? You should check out the yummy holiday cookies on the Food Network site! They have some beautiful cookie ideas that I’d like to try this year. Though I wonder if mine will come close to looking as good as theirs!

There’s also other great holiday recipes and ideas worth trying too! Every kind of baked good your can imagine as well as slow cooker recipes, Christmas candies, holiday fudge, and much more. I found a great slow cooker recipe that I plan on making for one of our family gatherings. I’d also like to try their Holiday Cheesecake recipe. Everything looks so tempting, I wish I could try them all!

Well, there it goes, Thanksgiving has come and gone already. And now it’s December. This time of year is like a runaway train between the gatherings, the shopping, the decorating, the cooking, the  holiday cards - I’m exhausted just thinking about it. One of my favorite parts of this season is baking all of the goodies for my family and friends. That’s why I just love this 31 Piece Bakeware Set from Baker’s Secret.

It really has it all! I won’t name all of the great baking tools that it includes, but here are just some of the pans in the set: 2 round cake pans, 2 pie pans, 2 cookie sheets, a square cake pan, 2 loaf pans, 2 muffin pans, and more! Plus it has some handy ECKO gadgets too, like an EKCO dough blender, a cooling rack, a pastry brush, wooden mixing spoons, and few other great tools. With this amount of kitchen bakeware in your home, you’re sure to get all of your holiday baking done in a snap!

Desserts are always enjoyed, but at this time of year they seem to take on a whole new level of importance. When it comes to holiday gatherings, the meal and the desserts are the centerpiece of the occasion. Whether pecan and pumpkin pie are the family favorites or it’s cheesecake covered in strawberries, the list of delectable choices is endless and the results tremendous if you have your baking basics covered.

Before things get busy, you might want to check out your kitchenware supplies and make sure you have all of the baking pans and tools you need for your baking projects. Beat the rush now for a smoother, more enjoyable holiday season!

The cold air and gray skies of November have arrived.  It’s great when you can spend much of the weekend outdoors and then retreat to your warm home for relaxation and family time. It’s also a nice time to bake up some homemade goodies for snack time - anything from muffins and fresh bread to oatmeal cookies and chocolate covered apples.

Around here we certainly eat a bit more as it gets colder, so that’s why we try to get out whenever we can and burn off some of the calories we’ve been stuffing ourselves with. And the holidays aren’t even here yet!

Part of the enjoyment of a delicious dinner is wondering what kind of yummy dessert will be served after it.  I don’t know about you, but I always make sure I leave enough room for dessert. Whether it’s gelato, pie, cake, pastries, or some other scrumptious treat, it’s hard to pass up a taste.

Homemade desserts are wonderful too! And they can also be great fun to experiment with.  Running out of ideas?  Here are a few tasty desserts and special treat ideas that can give you some perfect starting points.

I remember fondue being very popular when I was a growing up.  There were these great wine and cheese places around town and they had lots of board games to play, and of course, fondue. We’d go to kick-back with a few friends and end up spending hours there,  treating ourselves to different wines and yummy fondue.

Gourmet Standard has this fabulous fondue set that’s perfect for a get together or family fun. We love dipping fresh fruit like strawberries and bananas in chocolate (oh, and marshmallows or chunks of pound cake too).  Or another favorite is pretzels, bread or apple slices in cheese. Not only is fondue a fun, wonderful treat - it’s like an instant party!

Do you love watching all of the great food shows as much as I do? I salivate as I watch chefs whipping up their great dishes and oh, the desserts! I was flipping through the channels earlier and came across a wedding show devoted specifically to wedding cakes. This particular part of the show was showing cakes that ranged from “$500 to $5,000″. Wow, $5000 for a cake I thought?  Then I saw the cakes…works of art! How could you put a knife in them? But as beautiful as they looked, I think I’d want to know what a $5,000 cake tastes like….

The creativity is amazing. It would be wonderful to be able to study with one of these cake masters, to learn to create such beautiful desserts. Imagine the impressive goodies you could create for the next family holiday!

Here on the East coast we’ve had a long, record-breaking heat wave (and it’s only June!)  It’s definitely time to get out the ice-cream maker and start whipping up some nice, cool treats.  Homemade ice cream is so much fun - it’s not tough to make and you can adapt just about any recipe to your personal liking.

We love to experiment with the different fruits like banana, strawberry, peach, cherry - which also make a great sorbet when we’re in the mood for something lighter and bit less fattening. But sometimes we just have to make something rich and there’s nothing better than a dish of homemade rocky road or butter pecan ice cream. Yum!

Right now is prime strawberry season in our area and we try to go strawberry picking anytime we can. The farms have a pretty small window of opportunity around here- generally the month of May and into early June if the weather cooperates.  Too little rain and the plants stop producing and well, too much rain and they cease to flourish. I have great respect for the people who farm, it is hard work and you are always at the mercy of Mother Nature. Plus they’ve told us they are often being tempted with offers from developers for their land. 

When we go strawberry picking we always freeze a bunch of them so that we can use them later to make smoothies or ice-cream or just to munch on.  We’ve learned the trick to freezing your strawberries is to first lay them out flat on a cookie sheet or any pan that fits in your freezer (we line ours with wax or parchment paper) and then bag them once they’ve been frozen.  This way you can pick out them out individually as needed instead of them being frozen solidly together.  Here are some great strawberry recipes too if you’re looking for something different to create!

I don’t think I could ever give up bread, it is by far one of my all-time favorite foods. Even better is fresh home baked italian bread with sweet butter.  Or dipping it in a bowl of yummy tomato soup.  I know it’s getting warm out, but I’m still on a soup kick - it’s such a great comfort food, especially combined with fresh bread.

As I write this I could really go for some right now…do I have to share the loaf? Well,  I guess I could bake some extra for the rest of the family!

I was reading an article recently that mentioned how many people have chocolate tasting parties.  What a great idea, I wish I’d have thought of that!  Of course, my ultimate fantasy would be to have a candy store filled with sweets and chocolates of all kinds.  Normally I try to think healthy, but I am weak when it comes to chocolate.  And well, potatoes and bread. But that’s another story.

Back to the chocolate tasting party idea though, what fun!  Serving up chocolates of all kinds, you know that will be one happy bunch.

Well, I went to make a batch of brownies and realized I didn’t have the right cake pan. What would have made my job so much easier would have been a nice square pan with non-stick coating (I know I could get the beautiful uncoated stainless, but I’m lazy and I like the easy non-stick clean up).

So I messed up the brownies using my round cake pan. How embarrassing, because I know better about having the right tools- and I didn’t! And they might not have not have turned out so messy, but with egg allergies in the family I have to use egg substitute, so that didn’t help.  Though even messy brownies taste delicious — and if you warm them up and top them with ice cream they make an unbeatable brownie sundae.

Guess what I’m buying this week?  And 2 while I’m at it so I’m prepared for the next layer cake.

Yep, I’m crazy for cookies. I love to dip warm, homemade cookies or biscotti in a fresh cup of coffee…of course, I usually run into problems with my portion control!

It’s funny but for years I had no idea what the difference was between a jelly-roll pan and a cookie sheet.  I had not thought to ask because growing up we always used the same baking sheets for everything. They were the thin kind that buckled in the oven, which sometimes got a little messy when baking a pie on them.

 It wasn’t until I was older that I realized they had different style, and while you can use jelly-roll pans for cookies, you cannot use cookie sheets to bake jelly-roll because they lack the 1 inch sides all around.  And that the lack of sides on a cookie sheet allows them to bake more evenly. And the lighter color metals allow the cookies to bake a little slower (ah, less chance of burning them).  So now I know, and now that I’m older I’ve been able to afford the heavy duty sheets that last a lifetime … and don’t buckle when I bake on them!

Well muffins really are such an easy thing to make.  And so much less expensive than picking up those big store-bought ones.  Not to mention fresher and tastier.  I probably end up baking a batch nearly every week, especially if I’ve bought too many bananas the week before.  When it comes to baking, the riper the bananas the better.

 Whip up a batch of your own muffins sometime soon.  These great professional-grade muffin pans are on sale now.

We love to bake our own pizza, especially since it allows us to make healthier choices on ingredients.  We use whole wheat instead of white flour, part-skim cheese instead of full fat & top it with whatever you can imagine.  Veggies like broccoli and pepper are always favorites, or fruits like pineapple add a really nice sweet taste combined with the sauce.

Even if you’re not ambitious enough to make your own dough, there are plenty available in your grocer’s freezer. It’s great fun to make with your kids - plus the house smells great and the pizza is delicious!

I just love mixing bowls, I don’t know why exactly…I suppose it’s about different things.  There’s the sentimental part that reminds me of baking with my grandmother.  She was a really good cook, and it takes me back to being in her kitchen.  Helping her make homemade cookies and cakes, wiping the flour off of my hands on one of her embroidered aprons.

I love the great colors the new stoneware bowls come in too.  And of course, my favorite part is eating the results.  I don’t think I’ll ever be too old to enjoy dipping warm chocolate chip cookies in milk.

According to Wikipedia, “flan is a cream based dessert similiar to creme caramel.”  Some people also think of flan as a tart or cake, others think of it as similar to creme brulee.  I just think of flan as delicious, rich custard. It’s pretty simple, made from sugar, egg and cream…and sometimes I add flavor like pumpkin, caramel, or coffee.  And while it’s a simple recipe, the result is totally decadent. 

Reco has a fabulous pan called the Perfect Flan that bakes the flan to perfection.  While it’s a great dessert to make for company, it’s even better to make for yourself - then you don’t have to share it!

Maybe it’s become obvious after the holiday rush that some of your kitchenware has become tired. There’s the cookie sheet that has been banged around quite a bit and is suffering from too many baked-in pie spills.  Or maybe the clay bread baker was handled roughly on the last cleaning and it has a big chip in it. Mangled whisks…the wrong size mixing bowl…

Well, now that things have settled down, it’s a really good time to take stock of what needs to be replaced and treat yourself to some sparkling new bakeware. Because all hardworking cooks like us deserve to start the new year with great new kitchenware!

A  family favorite and sinfully delicious dessert we love is caramel custard, often called creme caramel or flan.  We used to just make this elegant dish for special occasions, but it was so popular and simple, we’ve found ourselves making it year round.  And since it’s primarily made with eggs and milk and topped with sweet caramel,  we like to think of it as nutritious and delicious!

In the past, our flan results had been a bit unpredictable. Now we get a great, rich, consistent dish every time when we use our perfect flan pan from Reco. We highly recommend it for anyone who’d like to make this dessert for themselves.