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By now you all know that Mama’s Gotta Bake, and oftentimes Mama’s Gotta Cook, but now that the warm weather has rolled into Southern California…Mama’s Gotta Grill. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you would think that I live on nothing but cake, cookies and the occasional scoop of ice cream. […]
As I started to write this post I realized that not everyone would be familiar with polenta, or realize that you could actually use it in a cake. Polenta, a ground cornmeal which can be white or yellow in color, has its origins in Italy. This humble “peasant” food has been a staple of Italian […]
Sometimes I think you all get tired of me saying it, but I really do think Los Angeles is a city with so much to offer. Since plopping myself down here 32 years ago, I feel as though I’ve been on a constant vacation. It’s not just Kardashians and Justin Bieber here in the City [...]
What could be more fun for a girl obsessed with strawberries, than the opportunity to spend the day frolicking in the fields of a strawberry farm in Oxnard, California! Yes, it’s true. I was invited by the California Strawberry Commission to tour a working strawberry farm along with a group of fellow foodbloggers. The farm is [...]
I love crunch and I love nuts, and come on friends, we’ve been over this again and again…you know how obsessed I am with chocolate. So here we have it, Chocolate Biscotti, it’s a virtual no-brainer! And, as if this cookie is not already sheer perfection, yes, you guessed it, it’s dipped in a lovely [...]
I bet you’ve been thinking all this time, all this lady ever seems to post about is chocolate. And that would be a pretty accurate assumption. I really do have some kind of a sick obsession with it, but every now and then I love to mix it up a bit and do something crazy [...]
It’s so embarrassing to admit, but if I were on a desert island and I could only have one meal it would definitely be a cheeseburger and fries, and chocolate cake, of course. I really only said the cheeseburger and fries for health purposes because I would want to eat a protein and vegetable before [...]
Spring break, what an American classic. Oh, I remember it well. That time of year when college students from all over the U.S. head to warmer climates to blow off a little steam. I suppose blowing off a little steam is actually putting it very mildly. As I remember, it’s Girls Gone Wild and doing [...]
Yes, Mama does like to bake. I know how I tell you all the time how I love to play gleefully in my kitchen with butter, flour and sugar. And how I take such pride in my cookies, cakes and other crumb-like creations that emanate from my oven. But, Mama’s not a one-trick pony you [...]
What it is about chocolate chips..just the mere mention of their name floods my brain with good memories and happy times. They’re so versatile these little morsels, and I love to ponder their endless possibilities. I marvel how their presence enhances cookies, ice cream, cakes, and muffins. It seems that whenever I bake these days, [...]
I had a huge decision to make today. Take a 3 mile hike on the mountainous trails in the state park near my house or bake cookies. I really wanted to go on the hike. No, really I did. But, it was cold and somewhat blustery. Blustery you say, in Southern California! Since leaving the [...]
A chocolate smackdown. That’s the only way I can describe this Chocolate Flourless Cake. It is a dense cake, with such intense chocolate flavor that I assure you, my food infatuated friends, that a small sliver is all you’ll need. And don’t be alarmed when you take it out of the oven and it seems [...]
You know, here at Mama’s Gotta Bake we’re not only about the sweet and sugary. Yes, I do dream about large chocolate cakes dripping in buttercream icing, but sometimes I like to cross over to the dark side and bake something using more savory ingredients. I had a large bag of shallots and some fresh [...]
Recently I was asked if I would bring a dessert to a wedding shower. Of course I would, that’s what I do. That’s what I live to do. I’m always so thrilled when I’m given the task of providing dessert, as it gives me a real purpose in life. So, when I was trying to [...]
I come from a long line of coffee cake eaters. In fact, the family motto is” we never met a coffee cake we didn’t like”. Our family’s coat-of-arms is a cheese Danish and a cup of coffee. So you get my drift, right. We like coffee cake, so much so that I can’t bake ‘em [...]
Today’s post is about a tea cake with tons of fresh citrus, sweet butter and eggs. But wait…there’s more! Act now, and you get the toasted walnuts and shiny orange glaze too. So, do I have your attention, sound good, huh? Recently for reasons unknown to me, I decided that a 4pm each day, I [...]
What can I say, baking cookies never gets old for me. Yes, I’m at it again, yet another cookie recipe. People ask me all the time, “Sheryl, don’t you ever get tired of doing this?” No, no I don’t. While others are out in the world doing productive things with their lives, I prefer to [...]
Southern Californians are a funny lot. No matter how cold it gets, and for the past two weeks it has been very cold, Southern Californians will wear shorts and flip-flops no matter what. I noticed this strange phenomenon yesterday as I was shopping at an outdoor mall. Me, bundled in a winter coat and scarf, [...]
We here at Mama’s Gotta Bake just love our cookies. You notice how I said “we”, you know it’s really just me. I like to pretend there’s a group of us here so I can actually justify eating all these cookies. Anyway, “we” spent the entire month of December baking an obscene amount of goodies, [...]
Many of you have approached me recently and said, “Mama, I’m having a holiday party and I need an idea for a tasty appetizer”. Well, I think I have just the thing for you if you want something with potatoes, bacon and cheese that will pop right into your mouth. You will be amazed at [...]
I guess this recipe is going out to all the chocolate lovers out there. Those of us who openly and freely admit that we love chocolate. I was having a real hankering the other day for something chocolatey, and so I took out the doughnut pans and decided, why not make these baked Chocolate Doughnuts [...]
I know I told myself that right after Thanksgiving I would go back on Weight Watchers. That I would start lifting those weights I have a sitting in the corner of my bedroom. That I would walk my dog Jimi everyday for an hour, and that I would get in my car and go to [...]
So, I’ve told you that son #1 is a professional chef, and the guy works all the time. Being in the restaurant business he never has a weekend off, and I suppose that just goes with the territory. Lucky for him he really loves his job. He did however have off the other day and [...]
I had neglected the blog recently as my attention had been directed elsewhere in the past few weeks. I have just returned from a trip back east where I attended my high school reunion, and boy, was it a good time. The last time I saw many of these folks they were 17 years old. [...]
I guess it’s just human nature, but we humans tend to take everyday things for granted, and you don’t really appreciate something until you don’t have it. We just assume things we need or want will always be there, like they had nothing better to do. That would be the case for me with vegetables. [...]
I guess you could say I’m a real “meat and potatoes” kind of girl. Actually I can do without the meat, so possibly it’s more accurate just to say I’m a “potatoes” kind of girl. I like to incorporate potatoes into every meal whenever possible. Scrabbled eggs in the morning must be accompanied by home [...]
Wow, what a week it’s been. I think this was the first time in two decades I’ve been all alone in the house for an entire week. Imagine that folks. The husband was away on business in New York, son #1 was working and son #2 is away at school. I suppose this was my [...]
I do believe I’ve had a love-affair with cookies my whole life. Friends who knew me growing up can attest to the fact that I ate cookies for breakfast most days. Well why not. Back in the day I could plow through bags of Oreo’s, Mallowmars and Chips Ahoy cookies, but I’ve come a long [...]
What’s the best way for a mother to send her child off to college; with a pan of super-chocolatey brownies of course. I had spent days packing for my son Michael, purchasing him some pots and pans, bedding and laundry detergent, as well as a variety of other items I know he’ll never use. I [...]
I’m in love, and yes, my husband knows all about it. It’s quite scandalous indeed. I did have this long running affair with chocolate, but recently my affections have been directed elsewhere and my husband is to blame. He just returned from a trip to visit his cousin Gerry in Petaluma, California. While he was [...]
I have read countless cook books where the authors have waxed poetically about a recipe that had been passed down to them from their mother or grandmother, and how they still have that recipe in their grandmother’s handwriting on a tattered and stained 3 x 5 card. I would love nothing more than to say [...]
What is it about a marble cake that I find so endearing? Is it that I get two distinct flavors of cake in one bite, or is it that very cool 70’s psychedelic swirl that the two batters produce. Probably a little of both I guess. I’ve been baking this particular cake for awhile now, [...]
