Two (of three) of My Favorite (Panera's) Things

Mmmmm, way better than whiskers on kittens! One of the comforts of being back in Des Moines is the ready access to some of my favorites. It's also one of the most dangerous things! Panera's is my go to for the world's best onion soup (shhhh, don't tell the French!).


The other two favorites? A frozen caramel and a four cheese egg souffle. I am LOVIN' the cheesy egg souffle. Savory, light and fluffy, all wrapped in a sweetish puff pastry.


I've tried a hacked version of this recipe to disastrous results. As soon as I find a decent one I'll be happy to share. Until then, if you are in the Des Moines area let me know...we'll grab one of the above* :D


*or a cinnamon crunch bagel. Lucky and I love them good.

fuzzishu and fuzzi fruits

This past Friday Studio 402 (fuzzishu + MRW studio) had our first annual open studio. In addition to oodles of fantastic art, in my humble opinion ;), there was some tapanade with bite, garlicky hummus, incredibly rich chocolate, and the unveiling of a deeeelish white sangria. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Studio 402 Sangria

4 (750mL) bottles white wine
1 L. bottle ginger ale
1/2 c. peach schnapps
1/2 c. brandy or cognac
1/4 c. sugar
assorted fruit cubes - peaches, mango, strawberry, kiwi, apple, starfruit, orange

Cut assorted fruit into cubes and place them in a bowl. Pour schnapps and cognac over fruit then sprinkle with sugar. Refrigerate at least 30 min. Add wine and ginger ale. Refrigerate several hours/overnight. The longer it soaks the better it tastes. I used a sweet white wine. You can use a dry wine if you prefer

IceCreamMonster strikes again!

I haven't been doing much cooking (except for that delicious Emeril Jambalaya!) or blogging lately...but I do follow bites and pieces of the foodie community. When I read how the Ben & Jerry's Flourless Chocolate Cake flavor was tough to find I HAD to hunt it down.

So today I trekked to our local SuperWalmart (the only place that is carrying this limited edition flavor) to snag myself a carton....or two. ;) I'm happy to report it's as delicious as anticipated. It's like the chocolate fudge brownie ice cream but awesomer. The cake pieces are not quite as chewy as the brownie chunks. I failed to find the 'chocolate frosting ribbon' but it was delicious despite that fact. I plan to do another more extensive tasting tonight and add to this review. Until then....