Laura's Recipe of the Week

An Introduction to Weekly Recipes…
When the sun sets I can be found in my kitchen, wearing a cape aka apron, pulling out the cooking pans, turning on the oven and opening a cookbook. While I enjoy cooking, I tend to search out all dessert recipes regardless of whether it is a cookie, pie or cake.
I have wonderful memories of watching my Grandmother, Bernadine, making donuts and pies (with a perfect crust) with a pot of coffee on the stove all before 8:00 AM during my summer visits to Illinois. I do not remember seeing a measuring cup or cookbooks within reach yet her movements were like a perfect dance. My Mother carried on that tradition and instilled me a love of the kitchen. I am still trying to recreate her Blueberry Cheesecake and the Vanilla ice cream that was the foundation to the perfect Fourth of July hot fudge sundae.
Over the years I have experimented with recipes and found many favorites along the way. When my son was in grade school I was the Queen of the Bake Sales and quickly earned a reputation for being the “go to” person for events, just imagine baking 200 brownies with one oven. Along the way I shared tips with a few Hollywood actors and baked Chocolate Chip cookies with Tom Cruise (pre jumping on the OPRAH sofa). My Sister and I still enjoy looking through magazines and cookbooks whenever we are together, hoping to find the next great recipe to add to our repertoire. The repeat offenders are often marked with butter, oil stains and out of the oven photographs.
When I approached the IAD team about adding “a weekly recipe” tab to the blog, I was met with great enthusiasm and offers to be taste testers. Please stay tuned, as I will be sharing a few favorites and trying out some new recipes on Fridays with all of you.
Bon Appetit,
 Laura