Wooooo Cardinals! World Champs, Hooray!!!

I don't know if you heard, but the Cardinals won the World Series, wooooo!  I'll tell you, I sure didn't think they could pull that off!  Coming from faaarrr behind as the Wild Card, and then close calls with Game 6, it seems like a miracle, but it happened!  The win really has brought the town together for a little while, and seems to have given St. Louis life. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Sour Cream Topping

I made this AWESOME recipe for Thanksgiving last year; it was a big hit: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust, thanks to the Epicurious website.

I first prepared the crust in my trusty food processor.

Chocolate Strawberry Shots

Holy moley, when I saw these Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses from Sweet Tooth, I gasped with delight.  What could be more awesome than dessert mixed with cocktails?!? 

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango

This is one of my favorite recipes from Veganomicon, my favorite Vegan cookbook.  This quinoa salad with black beans and mango is super delicious, and extra good for you too.   

Pumpkin Carving Contest 2011 Part 1

Ooooh, spooky!  This year for the pumpkin carving party I had with JV, we decided to do scary movie characters.  I did Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs, and he did Jigsaw from the Saw series.

Which one would you vote for?  I'm pretty sure JV FINALLY won this year.  I think they both look totally awesome though, and are super scary!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream (Best Thing I've Ever Eaten)

There is an authentic Italian Pizza place here in the STL called The Good Pie, they have THE BEST salted caramel gelato in the universe.  Lucky for me, David Leibovitz has a recipe for Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream!

Getting ready to pour the custard into the cream on an ice bath:

May I present....Miss Puma!

A few months ago our kitty Pinky passed away.  I had to take O'Malley to the vet, and sometimes they will keep stray or abandoned cats that people have found, to find new homes for them.  I asked the vet if they happened to have any kitties available at the moment, and they introduced me to "Black Beauty".   It was love at first sight.