Blog Post List

This blog post list contains the most recent blog posts from The Messy Baker in reverse chronological order. You can also browse by recipe category or use the search function.

Photo © gardenghelle, published under a Creative Commons License. When I was in Italy, the language barrier was more an invisible fence than an insurmountable stone wall. With a few stock phrases, a smattering of French, and emphatic hand gestures, I'd run around all day exploring...

Baci chocolates are one of my all-time favourite treats. Not only do I get a mouthful of a beloved flavour combination -- chocolate and hazelnut -- each candy comes with a little love note. How wonderfully Italian. So when I saw the recipe for Baci Brownies...

When I was visiting friends in Italy, dessert was often a platter of cheese. The local creations they presented were unique to the region. Some were even homemade. I'm ashamed to say I was often too full of gnocchi or some other delicious main course...

Music might have charms to soothe the savage breast, but it can also inspire. Many writers rely on the beat of their favourite tunes to keep them tapping on the keyboard long after the adrenaline rush of a looming deadline has faded. So today, we ask...

There must be something wrong with me. For lunch today, I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich with 5-year-old orange cheddar on whole wheat European-style sourdough bread. And what did I do to it? Burned it? No. It was crispy golden brown. Dropped it? No. It made...

Good things come in bunches. Like carrots. When I saw these at the Farmers' Market I was impressed by the sheer volume. I don't think the carrots would have had the same impact if there had been only a handful. And a single carrot? Well, I...

I'm chuffed. And confused. Recently, Lisa from Magic Sprinkles nominated me for a Brillante Weblog thingy. (See the logo on the left.) This pleases me immensely since Lisa's blog can be pretty funny, especially when she has disastrous results with cake balls. I'm confused because I'm not...

Who is Ioan Gruffudd (pronounced YO-an GRIF-th), star of Horatio Hornblower, Fantastic Four, and Amazing Grace, talking to? It could be yours truly.You'll have to take my word for it since the little audio clip I'd prepared refuses to upload. Something about needing a podcast...

I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me. Fortunately, Debbie does. And with typical Italian generosity, she shares her family's spaghetti and meatball secrets. It's a true family recipe, not one ripped from the pages of a magazine and incorporated into family lore...

Not bad for a first try. Gnocchi has intimidated me ever since I visited friends in Italy and returned from a day of sight seeing to find my hosts and their entire kitchen covered in flour. While I was touring the colosseum in Verona, they'd spent...