In her interview, Nicole shares her top five favorite dessert recipes. Read on to see her best recipes!
Tell us more about yourself, your site, and your family.
“Heat Oven to 350″ was started after some coaxing by a close friend who wanted to try food blogging together as a way to keep in touch. Although I had been hesitant about the idea, it turns out that I love the challenge of finding new, great recipes, taking food pics, sharing my favorite foods, and (selfishly) having all my favorite recipes available wherever I go. I think cooking has always played an important role in my life. In fact, my husband’s first memory of me is helping me bake a cake at a game night with some friends. That must have been some cake, because we’ve now been married almost four years and have a nine-month-old daughter, Amelia. My husband is finishing a degree in Computer Science and I work in a genetics lab at a cancer institute so between work, school, and baby, we don’t have any problem filling our days. Growing up my mom always made family dinner and we ate dinner together every night, so the idea of planning meals and gathering to eat is really ingrained in me. I’m finding that the busier life gets, the more I value great recipes I can count on for meals made from scratch. That’s what I’ve tried to post on “Heat Oven To 350″. Okay, and fabulous desserts too, because who doesn’t love making a treat now and then?
Congratulations on being a new mom! What are a few baby food recipes you suggest?
One of Amelia’s first favorites was sweet potatoes, and making them is so easy. Just wash a couple sweet potatoes and poke them a few times with a fork. Put them on a sheet pan and roast them at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, until the skins are starting to shrivel, and the sweet potatoes are soft when poked with a fork. Let cool slightly and scoop the flesh into a food processor to puree. Cool more before serving and freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray in the freezer. Roasting the sweet potatoes in the oven makes them taste even sweeter than steaming, plus it is so simple and easy.
Amelia’s current favorite food is blueberry banana yogurt. I mix together 2 tablespoons full fat plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons mashed bananas, 1 tablespoon cooked pureed blueberries, 2 tablespoons baby instant oatmeal and enough water to bring the mixture to a consistency that Amelia likes. She goes crazy for it. I can hardly get more yogurt on the spoon before she has her mouth open ready for the next bite.
Your dessert recipes look delicious! Which recipes are your favorites?
Thank you! That’s a tough question! I do love dessert, although I don’t make them as often as it might seem on the blog. If I had to give my top five, I’d say:
1. Marianne’s Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are like an Almond Joy in cookie form.
2. S’mores cookies. This is my favorite cookie to bring places. Everyone loves them.
3. Tangy frozen Greek yogurt. I ate a lot of this when I was pregnant. I love frozen yogurt with a tang.
4. Root beer float cookies. I love this recipe because it is so unique and so good.
5. Cinnamon roll cake. This is not only fun to make and impressive to serve, but it tastes great, too.
What ingredients or foods do you cook with the most often?
I am the first to admit I’m in a chicken rut when it comes to making dinners. Of course, if you enjoy a rut, is it really a rut? Let’s just say we go through a lot of chicken at our house. I also gravitate toward Mexican food so we go through a lot of cumin, garlic and oregano at our house. I love foods with fresh ginger, too, so I always keep that on hand.
What are a few kitchen appliances you often use while cooking?
My favorite kitchen gadgets aren’t really gadgets at all – they are a 10 inch chef’s knife and a 12″ skillet. I use a chef’s knife for chopping just about everything, and rarely does a day go by without using one. The handle of my first chef’s knife is starting to get all smooth and worn and it makes me feel like an experienced chef when I used it. (Forget that it took about 10 years to get that way.) A 12″ skillet is something I use several times a week, whether for browning meat or cooking pancakes or even a quick stir fry. I’d be lost without those two items in my kitchen. As far as electronics go, I’d say my stand mixer is my favorite item. I use it for most of the things I bake, from cookie dough batter to kneading bread dough.
What is your favorite meal of the day?
I’d say dinner. It’s become a little more stressful now that it is baby dinner time, too, but it’s the meal I look forward to the most. I love being at home with my family and that’s what dinner means to me.
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