My Madison Bistro

I’ve spent the past couple of years searching for the perfect blueberry muffin recipe. It couldn’t be too sweet, too dense, too cake-like, not sweet enough, and it had to have a quality that has you coming back for more.

This recipe is immensely popular, so it’s possible you’ve already seen it or tried it. But if you haven’t, and you love blueberry muffins as much as I do, you’ll want to get thee into a kitchen, pronto! Do yourself a favor and don’t even think about skipping the crumb topping – it’s really what makes these muffins special. I’ve made the topping using all granulated sugar, all brown sugar, and a mix of the two. I prefer all granulated, but really, all varieties are quite delicious.

Continue reading “Blueberry Muffins”

Tags: blueberries, muffins

Did you know there are only five states in the US that grow cranberries? Besides my homestate, Wisconsin, cranberries are grown in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, and Oregon. Because cranberries are native to Wisconsin, I’m able to get local cranberries every year.

For the holidays last year, I wanted to try something new in my gift baskets. Putting on a brave face, I tried canning for the first time with this recipe. Since I kept a couple of the jars for me, I can say that I absolutely loved this, but it’s probably not for everyone. The flavor of the spices really shines through, so if you love the taste of holiday spice, you’ll just might love this as much as I did.

I served this over slices of orange pound cake, brioche French toast, waffles, and even used it as a topping for plain yogurt.

Continue reading “Holiday Fruit Preserves”

Tags: cinnamon, cranberries, ginger, orange, pears, preserves, raspberries

After my annual trip to the apple orchard, I’m always looking for new ideas on how to utilize those apples. There’s always an apple pie, which disappeared this year before I had a chance to photograph it, but luckily I managed to snap a few pictures of these tarts before they were eaten.

Continue reading “Apple Tartlets”

Tags: apples, pastry

When I was in sixth grade, everyone in the class had to bring in some sort of dish from various countries in the world. I have no idea how I scored France, though I suspect there was some begging involved. As a former French teacher, my mom had an arsenal of French recipes, and this was the one we chose. When I brought the mousse into school that day, I felt very worldly, and very grown-up.

I still love to make this mousse for special occasions, or anytime I want something that sounds a little fancy. This recipe is a slight variation from my mom’s. What can I say? It’s a lot of fun to experiment with adding layers of flavor via various liqueurs, espresso powder, or even a dash of an extract.

Continue reading “Chocolate Mousse”

Tags: chocolate, cream, Grand Marnier