Dessert Recipes

The Whimsy of Belly and Trumpet

Despite some misses, this mixed menu offers some of the best food in Uptown.

Five European Things That Make for a Great Christmas

Here is a brief list of five European things that make a good Christmas, but that you might be afraid of. Embrace change, Texas! I have included pictures so you don't think I'm insane, and links to Amazon where you can still get these things (albeit with now very expensive shipping, because I didn' ... More >>

Bigger and Brighter and Fried-er

Grease is the good word at the State Fair of Texas.

Where to Find the Big Tex Choice Award Food Finalists at the State Fair of Texas

It's here! Fried Christmas!!! That delicious waft of funnel cake corny dog world's biggest Frito pie horse-ish ladyman stank you'll get when you walk through the turnstiles at the fair is gonna hit you like a Lisa Frank double food rainbow. And you will love it. See also: Fried Jambalaya, Fri ... More >>

10 Great Not-Meat Things You Should Grill

With the brief, if glorious, respite from 100-plus degree weather, we took again to outdoor activities that, for many of us, have been shelved since late May. And though fall may be upon us, we have at least a solid three weeks, if not more, of summery weather perfect for cranking up the grill and c ... More >>

2012 Big Tex Choice Awards: Holy Fried Crap! Did Someone Say Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll and Deep Fried Mac & Cheese Slider? Yeah. Yeah They Did.

Sorry, Your Heart. It's time for the State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards. Finalists were just announced. Here's the list, plus a little about the history of some of this year's competitors. The eight finalists for the 2012 Big Tex Choice Awards (in no particular fried order): Deep Fried Jamb ... More >>

Welcome To College: A 5-Course Meal in Your Microwave

Congratulations: You have a dorm room! Uncongratulations: the dorm cafeteria blows. (Except for the cereal bar-- ain't nothing wrong with a cereal bar.) The next few years, if you're doing college right, you should be broke. Which means, at some point, you're going to get tired of eating the shitbo ... More >>

Is "Artisan" Food Made for the Masses Still "Artisan"?

Cilantro and Five Other Foods That Divide Us

This weekend I was walking past a friend's garden and noticed a beautiful row of dill plants. Atop each long, thin stem was a flurry of yellow trumpet flowers, and I thought, "I always say I hate dill, but really I'm probably being too harsh. How can something so beautiful be so bad?" So I pinched ... More >>

Sissy's Serves Up Southern Charm the Texas Way: By the Bucket

Get your bow ties ready: Garza's debut dresses (and tastes) the part.

Meatless Monday at Bijoux: This Ain't Your Poor Hippie Yoga-Instructor Friend's Veggie Meal

The gnocchi.​A suited staffer circled the room, his tray laden with warm slices of olive, rosemary and raisin breads, crusty and fragrant. He bestowed each of our plates with a different variety, and placed between us a ramekin of butter so pristine and smooth it looked like you could ice skat ... More >>

Before She Goes Vegan, Our Five Favorite Paula Deen Recipes (Or Are They Murder Plots?)

Oh, Paula, Paula, Paula. What happened? One day we're fat and happy making ooey-gooey monkey bread, the next we're being secretly photographed eating a burger on a cruise ship. Our gluttony has caught up with us. But Paula and I go way back. Ours is a tried and true relationship, whipped together ... More >>

Three Holiday Drink Recipes for the Festive Boozehound in You

FlickrGive your eggnogg a cocoa makeover.​Whitney Filloon, our resident pastry chef/booze correspondent, took the week off from drinking to bring you these winter cocktail ideas. We have her assurances that she was sober when she wrote them. I enjoy a $12 cocktail as much as the next Dallas g ... More >>

Fried Brownies at the State (Fried) Fair of Texas -- I'm in Heaven

Denise GarzaFried brownies will make you fried happy.​This year, Denise Garza (with her sister Norma and her niece Roxanne) made it to the second round of the Big Tex Choice Awards with Heavenly Deep-Fried Brownies. While the concept of frying a brownie isn't completely new to this fair (las ... More >>

Fry Master Abel Gonzales Jr. Teaches Us How to Make Fried Cookie Dough

DIY fried cookie dough. Oh snap.​Last week, my friend told me about a batch of cookies she made with Oreo cookies crumbled inside them. "It's a cookie in a cookie!" Pretty impressive. But what would obviously be more impressive? We had to fry it. (begin Ghostbusters parody) "Who you gonna ca ... More >>

Walking the Wok at Asian-American's Birthplace

Kristy YangR&G Lounge's humongous Dungeness crab. We'd hate to see the one that got away.​(Here's part two of travelin' woman Kristy Yang's Walk the Really Long Wok from the Bay Area. Coming up shortly, something about Asian food closer to home. Check out last week's California Wok here.) San ... More >>

Our Recipe For Peach & Calamari Ice Cream

japaneseicecream.blogspot.comMmm, seafood ice cream.​You probably ate a lot of food this Fourth of July. We're not judging. We did the same thing. But while you were gorging yourself on hot dogs and that questionably warm potato salad, we made a dessert that's sort of nutritious, but more impo ... More >>

If You Can Find Texas Peaches, We Have a Recipe for You (Hint: Try Looking in Terrell)

Lauren Drewes Daniels​It's a bad year to be a peach in the Lone Star State. A lot of North Texas orchards lost their crops this season to freezing weather and hail storms. Perusing the PickYourOwn.org website for the area, many farmers have thrown in the peach towel for this summer, but promis ... More >>

Some Food Tips for When You're Dumb Enough to Camp

www.tjhtees.com/tshirt/camping-sucks-tshirtsYes. Yes it does.​With summer here, inevitably someone is going to suggest I give up the burden of air conditioning, properly prepared food, washed hair and a comfy mattress to enjoy the pleasures of sleeping on dirt, swatting mosquitoes and eating u ... More >>

Clear Fork Station: A Cowboy Oasis

Worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

Yosef Schwartz and George Shepherd, Stars of the Fresh Diet, Share Recipes With City of Ate

Mushroom Crowns Filled with Pesto Chicken​In part one of this week's Three Course Meal, we shared a profile of Executive Chef and Chief Culinary Officer of The Fresh Diet, Yosef Schwartz, as well as a short bit about Dallas head chef of The Fresh Diet George Shepherd. In part two, we asked Sch ... More >>

Cake Balls: Easy to Make, Easier to Make Jokes About

Photos by Brooke Nottingham​All innuendos and dirty jokes duly noted, I prefer my food in compact ball-shape. I like cheese balls, sausage balls, popcorn balls and meatballs. Thanksgiving always has and always will find a Butterball in my oven (sorry, Stephan Pyles.) So for dessert my natural ... More >>

Build Your Own Omelet After Destroying Your Bank Account At Choctaw Casino Resort

Photos by Andrea Grimes and Man O' The HourA bitty, bland Bloody.​Because nothing is as important as family time during the holidays, the Man O' The Hour and I left my parents' house on Christmas afternoon to drive up to the brand-spanking-new-ish Choctaw Casino Resort in pancake-flat Durant, Okla ... More >>

Boxed Fudge Kits vs. Homemade Fudge: A Skirmish for the Season

fudging with the fudge kit​When I decided to pit boxed fudge against homemade fudge, I saw it as a way to repent for all those meals made from Bisquick and Stove Top. I pictured myself in front of my stove, delicately stirring a pot of sugar syrup to avoid scorching and sugar crystals. I pretended ... More >>

It's Em-Effing Chocolate-Eating Time: Peppermint Bark

​It's a Christmas miracle! No-bake treats that taste beyond delicious. All you need is a 11-by-17-inch cookie sheet, a hammer (sweet!), a freezer and a little patience at the stove. If you're no good at baking and you're really good at eating chocolate, this is the holiday treat for you. Stra ... More >>

It's Em-Effing Cookie-Baking Time: Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Alice LaussadeChocolate chip cookies with bacon? Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. (He suffers from angina.)​It's the holidays. A time filled with magic and wonder -- a time when wishes are granted. A time when getting completely blackout drunk is socially acceptable and everyone's nice t ... More >>

It's Em-Effing Cookie Baking Time:
Black Forest Crinkle Cookies

Alice LaussadeOr you could skip the baking and snuggle up with a bottle of optional ingredient.​'Tis the season to get fat on Black Forest crinkle cookies. They're chocolatey. They're cherry-y. These Black Forest crinkle cookies will blow your face off with deliciousness. They taste like brown ... More >>

Chef Tell: Dessert Wars vs. World Series

​I'm gonna make a bold statement, people, and hope that you won't abandon me: Last night ate a dick. See, there I was needing to recap our Dallas-centric reality shows -- including Top Chef Just Desserts, of course -- and meanwhile, not only were the Mavs winning, but the biggest thing to happen i ... More >>

The 2010 Big Tex Choice Awards Fries Up A New Batch of Artery-Clogging Eats, Beckoning State Fair-goers To Come And Get Their Grease On.

Sweets for Your Sweet Tooth: Bread Winners' White Chocolate Berry Cake

Photos by Sarah Johnson ​White Chocolate Berry Cake Demonstrated by Cara Vasquez of Bread Winners We recently decided that Appetite for Instruction needs more sweets in its life. Sure, we've dabbled here and there over the past year in the baking department, but not enough to satisfy our City o ... More >>

Appetite For Instruction: Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe Demonstrated by Tressa LeBouef of Citizen Sweet ​I have one. You have one. We all have one. Oh, the power of the sweet tooth and the way it takes over one's soul. You may be sitting on the couch at night and something comes on the television and puts you in the mood. You realize right then ... More >>

From Mom: Secret Toffee And Gooey Butter Cake Recipes

This is mostly for Amy S., but a few others were interested so I asked mom to send the recipes. I'll just leave her to explain:I am sending 3 gooey butter cake recipes. The first one was in this week's St. Louis paper, from their files. This is not the one I make. ​ST LOUIS GOOEY BUTTER CAKE ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Vegan 'Month Of Food'

​In the vegan world, we're in what's known as "VeganMoFo." No, not what you think--it's a global event that stands for "Vegan Month of Food." We celebrate VeganMoFo to encourage our omnivorous friends to try animal-free eats for an entire month. Not an easy feat here in Dallas--you know, consider ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Cosmic Cafe

Fill in the blank: The best thing about Cosmic Café is... ...a deck of Tarot cards at every table. ...free yoga. ...unlimited mugs of soy chai. ...delicious plates of all-veggie food, whose prices all add up to multiples of nine. (We don't know why. We asked our waitress, and neither did she...b ... More >>

Appetite For Instruction: Italian Buttercream Frosting

Demonstrated by Michael Tyler from Beyond the Box Pastry chef Michael Tyler is certainly not the sweet, gooey type. But the man makes a mean buttercream. At Beyond the Box Catering, Tyler bakes up everything from eye-catching occasion cakes to rich, flaky croissants for weddings, parties and cor ... More >>

Appetite For Instruction: Spicy Chocolate Chile Truffles

Demonstrated by Chef Rhonda Ruckman Listen up, guys--this one's for you. Any muscle-shirted mini-millionaire can make a fancy reservation, but the man who gets his hands dirty (kinda meant figuratively) will really score points on Valentine's Day. A handmade gift featuring a certain melting mood ... More >>

Hash Over: Home for the Holidays, Cut-Rate Lobster, Etc.

Who knows why everyone takes such delight in gingerbread houses? The fate that befell Hansel and Gretel--or nearly befell; we only know the story through Bugs Bunny--when they encountered such a structure was none too pleasant.But last night, the Rosewood Crescent Hotel put the final bit of icing on ... More >>

Review: Cafe R&D

Café R&D serves up pretty, tasty dishes, but where's the meow mix?

Who Needs PR?

Mofongo's pretty good--as long as you avoid the signature dish

Empire Strikes Back

This modest bar and grill dishes out good food with culinary glitter

Okra Shock

Gumbo's grub could be addicting

Pub crawl

Dishing up a Cock & Bull story, with a touch of Blarney

Food play

Nana Grill's new chef toys with compelling flavors

Amazing grace

Jim Severson's new restaurant has the Wright stuff

Taming Cowtown

The Basses put the 'fort' back in Fort Worth and bankroll a restaurateur's paradise

Delighting in the details

Picardys is much more than shrimp--or even seafood

Bread and Circuses

When food legend Julia Child came to Texas spreading her gospel of good eating, no one was spared. Not even Big Tex

The edible canvas

The DMA's Seventeen-Seventeen is an artistic masterpiece

Joey's 15 minutes

The son of a famous Houston restaurateur gets ground up in the hype machine

Princess for a day

Don your rhinestone tiara: The Pyramid's prix-fixe dinner is the best deal in town