I can still remember the Christmas gift exchange we had in elementary school when I was in Third Grade. We all brought in small, generic gifts. Then we drew the name of a classmate and exchanged gifts with them. And I still have the gift that I got: the Gold Medal Alpha-Bakery Cookbook!

I’m often away from home for work. The last time I was away, my hubby told me he had a surprise for me when I got back. I was greeted at the door with bowls of creamy, fluffy, thick homemade vanilla ice cream!!! This ice cream is just dreamy – it reminded me of a frozen custard – it is that rich. The perfect pair with my favorite Fudge Brownies.

For a dear friend’s birthday cake, I decided to try out the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe. I had been hearing a lot of buzz about it online, and wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. It certainly did! This is a great, moist, and easy-to-make chocolate cake. And I especially liked the chocolate frosting.

Celebrate Derby Day (or any day!) with this refreshing, traditional cocktail. If you can’t be at Churchill Downs today, then at least this cocktail will make you feel like you are. Be sure to make it with your favorite Kentucky Bourbon. I have recommended two great choices below. Enjoy!

Like many other aspiring chefs, I looooove to watch the Food Network. One of my favorite shows is called Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The idea behind this show is that Chef Flay travels to challenge the best of the best to a culinary throwdown, where he tries to top their very best dish.

Well, you can imagine how excited this Georgia girl was to watch the episode where Chef Flay challenged the widely-recognized King of Shrimp ‘n’ Grits, Joe Barnett of Washington, Georgia, to a Shrimp ‘n’ Grits cookoff! Of course, my fellow Georgian Mr. Barnett took the prize, and here is my version of his fabulous recipe.