These cupcakes were such a sweet ending to a wonderful meal. At first glance, you’d think the strawberries are missing – but fear not, they’re just tucked inside! To pull together our strawberry-themed affair, I figured we needed a really fantastic dessert that would blow everything else out of the water. And so became these cupcakes!

The recipe begins with a basic chocolate cupcake recipe. The cupcakes baked up beautifully, but within minutes of being removed from the oven, they all collapsed! I am partial to cupcakes with nicely round domed tops, so this was a bit disappointing at first sight – but after tasting one that had accidentally broken, all doubts were gone. The cupcakes were great! Ultra soft and tender, with a generous crumb, and a smooth chocolate flavor. Continue Reading

After we enjoyed a lovely appetizer spread of bread and cheese, fresh and dried fruits, and spiced nuts at our most recent Dinner Series event, we moved onto this salad. Summer salads are often on the lighter side – given the season, it’s just not practical to load tons of hearty ingredients onto a bed of greens. This salad had the wonderful balance of being fairly light, while still packing a serious flavor punch.

Continue Reading

Happy Friday readers! Today we’re bringing you the first recipe from our most recent Dinner Series event, A Strawberry Summer. As we shared with you last Friday, our dinner started with a really fabulous cheese platter, accompanied by these homemade spiced nuts.

If you’re never made them before, I’ll let you in on a little secret – spiced nuts are super easy to make! Adding some sweet and spice is a wonderful way to elevate plain nuts to a whole new level. This recipe is also super adaptable, so if there are certain spices you really love or would rather omit, you’re free to do so. Just follow the loose guidelines, and you’ll end up with a tasty snack you can’t stop eating! Continue Reading

Today is an exciting day here on Dinner Series — we have a new Dinner Series event post to share! This is a particularly special Dinner Series, because it was the first one I ever got to take part in. I haven’t formally introduced myself, but my name is Taryn and I am the (new) voice behind Dinner Series. I started writing for this blog a couple of months ago, but this was my first Dinner Series so it seemed the appropriate time to introduce myself to you.

I was fortunate enough not only to attend this event, but to cook all of the food for it – and what a smashing success it was! I’ll recap the event and the recipes over a series of separate posts, but today I’ll be sharing an overview of the stunning setting and the delicious menu.

Continue Reading