46 strong recipes

Triple-chocolate dessert with a brownie shell, Kahlua-spiked chocolate mousse filling, and a coffee-chocolate glaze. A showpiece that needs thin slices and earns every one.

Homemade English muffins cooked on a griddle, not baked. Soft yeast dough with straight-sided rounds that tear open for the signature craggy, butter-catching interior.

A traditional European-style fruit cake -- Although fruitcakes have a bad reputation, this one is *excellent*.

Cream Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Coffee Topping recipe

Prune Armagnac gingerbread is a deeply spiced holiday cake loaded with brandy-soaked prunes, three forms of ginger, molasses, and a coffee kick. Served with crème fraîche.

Homemade pasta triangles stuffed with salmon, cream cheese, and peppers, dried for an hour, then baked in tomato soup and topped with melted cheddar: unique salmon ravioli casserole.

A tender bread with a slight orange taste. Excellent plain, toasted or for sandwiches.

A simple soup that is perfect for the fall and your lunch or dinner.

Chocolate chiffon pie in a homemade chocolate pastry shell. Chocolate chips melted with coffee, set with gelatin and whipped egg whites for a mousse-like filling.

Chocolate hazelnut mascarpone torte layering a coffee-deepened chocolate butter cake with framboise-spiked mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries, and caramelized hazelnuts under a glossy chocolate ganache glaze.

This is a Texas style red chili. Texas chili has no tomatoes but more importantly NO BEANS! Some of the ingredients I used, like the chocolate and the granulated chicken broth in lieu of salt, are non-traditional but I like the flavor it adds.

Fresh gingerbread cake paired with whole pears poached in ruby port with ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. Served with ginger-scented whipped cream for an elegant holiday dessert plate.

Herb-loaded chicken pot pie with fresh sage, thyme, and marjoram in a savory broth filling with turnips, potatoes, and carrots, topped with fluffy homemade biscuits.