Mary Kay Davignon

I recently made his cake for my daughter's graduation party, and everyone loved it! Since I needed to make a sheet cake, I did alter the recipe just a little so it would raise appropriately. I added a teaspoon of baking soda into the sour cream, and let it expand a bit, then just gently folded in the baking soda-sour cream mixture last, after all other ingredients were mixed. I also added one extra teaspoon of vanilla and eliminated the almond extract. This cake was super moist and delicious! I frosted it with a simple whipped butter cream frosting smoothed flat so that I could decorate it.

I made these cookies tonight, and after reading the reviews, I doubled the spices and refrigerated the dough for 10-15 minutes. I also used a ice cream style cookie scoop to form the balls of dough, eliminating any mess. I only baked them for about eight minutes to achieve a perfect, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside cookie, but of course all ovens vary. These cookies are perfectly delicious and so easy to make!

Delicious blonde brownies. I doubled the recipe, used a 13 x 9" pan, and baked them 10 minutes longer for a perfectly chewy brownie. Instead of chocolate chips, I mixed an 11 oz. bag of Kraft caramel bits into the batter, topped with chopped pecans and finally drizzled caramel sauce over the top after they had cooled. They were a hit! A couple of tips--I line my pan with parchment, making it a breeze to lift the cooled brownies right out of the pan and cut into squares, and I also give the pan a light bang on the counter right out of the oven to make sure they settle down into a chewy-er brownie.

Just sat down from cleaning up after our outstanding feast! I've made prime rib before, always struggling to not overcook and ruin such an expensive cut of meat. This recipe has solved that problem. I followed the cooking instructions to the letter and produced a perfectly cooked, medium rare, tender prime rib. My family & guests raved over it and declared it the best they've ever had, and that's saying a lot! I do like a little more of a rub on the outside, so I used about 4 tablespoons or so of Better Than Bouillon Beef base, a couple tablespoons each of granulated garlic and onion powder and enough oilve oil to make a spreadable paste, covering the outside of the prime rib before cooking. I also made an au jus by sautéing a quartered onion in oilive oil till carmelized and adding beef base and water to taste.

If you've never made, or been too intimidated to make popovers, this recipe is ridiculously easy to make and turns out impressively beautiful and delicious every time. I use a non-stick mini-muffin pan and put a small bit of butter in the bottom of each cup, spray it with non stick spray and preheat my pan till the butter is melted and sizzling, then pour the batter to fill the cups about 2/3 or 3/4 full. For the mini-muffin size popovers, I cook at 450 for 12 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 for 12 more minutes. This is my go to popover recipe!

I've made a recipe very similar but (sorry) better than this for more than 20 years....Add a finely diced small onion to the browning hamburger and use cream of mushroom instead of chicken. No ketchup. After putting the hamburger mixture in a baking dish, I sprinkle with diced green olives--maybe a 1/4 cup. They add an unexpected but nice flavor. I layer with homemade biscuits--seriously, they only take a couple minutes to make, and are so much better than canned. Sprinkle lightly with paprika, then bake till biscuits are golden and done.