May have come and gone but I’ll still never turn one down. Let’s be honest, who is every really going to “tire” of a cupcake? When it comes to cupcakes, I’ve been around the block. I think that the first year I lived in NYC I consumed cupcakes on a weekly basis at a different bakery every week. Comparing and coming up with my favorite that wasn’t the over-popularized favorite. I think that I was even engaging in regular cupcake conversations in 2008. Regardless, I love em’ and will rock a cupcake for dessert any day.

When it comes to selecting my favorite sweet cupcake you may shake your finger at me for selling out, but no one does it better than Sprinkles for me. I was living in LA when they opened their first shop and I regularly partook. It wasn’t until last year that Sprinkles finally shacked up in NYC right near Bloomingdales. The cupcakes were better than I had remembered and I always look forward to an excuse to be near 59th street now. They’re running a special for the month of Februrary in honor of Valentines Day and it’s a must- Raspberry Chocolate Chip. The raspberry frosting does it for me and the heart shaped sprinkle on top makes my heart flutter.

For my favorite savory cupcake, it means heading all the way to Chicago. MORE is a fantastic cupcakery in Chi-town that takes a very inventive approach to cupcakes and they. are. so. good. So good that my husband has been known to swing by and bring me home half a dozen cupcakes after a business trip. If sweet isn’t your thing, then MORE might provide the perfect cupcake for you. How does a BLT cupake sound? Well I can vouch that it tastes delicious. A cornbread like cake with a creamy buttermilk frosting and bits of bacon throughout is pretty awesome. MORE also ships nationwide and I think it would be an amazing Valentines Day gift.

Thanks to Sprinkes, MORE & Chicago Bites

Because it is the premier of the third season of Kelsey’s Essentials! It blows my mind that I even get to type that sentence. The fact that we have completed a third season is unbelievable and I’ve never been prouder of the work that we accomplished. I got to take a sneak peak last week screening a few episodes and boy was it a treat. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling of watching something that you care so passionately about come to life on the screen. To discuss ideas and recipes for weeks (months) on end and finally see the pay off is awesome.

You’ll notice a lot of changes to the show this season. In fact, it almost feels like a different show! The essentials are still front and center, but I spend time getting out of the kitchen to learn some of the essentials from the experts themselves. The first episode that airs tomorrow (yay!) is all about butchering. You better believe that I’m all over that with a knife holster and everything. I get a one-on-one butchering lesson from female butcher Sara at the Meat Hook in Brooklyn and it’s epic. I also try my hand at sausage making and well, that’s just “silly.” I then bring the goods back to the kitchen to create a few delicious recipes like my take on Chicken Fried Steak with Milk Gravy and Sausage Shrimp & Grits. Get a preview of the recipe lineup here and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow at 2:30pm ET for the season debut!

images: cooking channel

A request from Fitness Magazine to develop a few recipes. It was a great excuse to get a few healthy recipes on the lineup for the beginning of the year after indulging over the holidays and setting new resolutions.

Fitness Magazine asked me to be a contributor for their One Recipe, Two Meals story that is in this months issue. I loved the project and focused on making the most out of dinner by making sure that you can squeeze another meal out of the leftovers. For these recipes I didn’t develop anything until I knew exactly what leftovers I had in mind. After a week of cooking madness in my kitchen, I had overeaten plenty of healthy meals with all sorts of leftovers.

The recipes are delicious, if I do say so myself, and have the added benefit of getting two for one. Pick up the issue this month for the full story or check out the online version here.

Sweet
1.Hot Chocolate on a Stick for Two I’m a big fan of Ticket Kitchen and think that their brilliant hot chocolate on a stick would be the perfect “something sweet” to sip on Valentines Day.

2. Romantic Fortune Cookies Fortune Cookies dipped in chocolate with lovey dovey forturnes.

3.The Lover White Chocolate Bonbon Bar with Passion Fruit Caramel My favorite chocoaltier in NYC, Chocolate Moderne, makes the best bonbon bars in the world. I can’t resist the passion fruit caramel with a hint of cardamom.

Savory

1.Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Candybar For anyone who wants a savory punch to their traditional chocolate gift, this ones a must!

2.Cheese of the Month Club If chocolate isn’t your thing…how about cheese?! I’d happily share a cheese plate with my one-and-only.

3.Oysters How about an aphrodisiac for the one that you love most. Shipped straight from the coast and overnighted, oysters on Valentines Day would definitely win you some lover points.

When I first came across Toast & Sip I was immediately taken back by the concept. Custom recipe art just has a nice ring to it! And once you learn more about Sarah Persing’s concept it’s a “why didn’t I think of that” moment.

Toast & Sip creates custom recipe canvases that are brilliant. What a great way to pay tribute to a family recipe. I like the idea of hanging a signature recipe in my kitchen or even gifting someone their own signature recipe that has been preserved in a fun and unique way. Simply send in your recipe details (title, ingredients, steps, etc.) and she creates a ready-to-hang canvas following your specifications.

I’m always in favor of paying tribute to those great family cooks that have gone before us. If you’ve ever wondered how to honor your grandma’s famous banana cake, I can’t think of a better way!

Images: Toast & Sip