It's Wilbur

This is Wilbur.

He is a sweet little snuggle-bunny.

Unless you're a stranger.

Then he is an angry Pit Bull stuck inside the tiny body of a Yorkie.

I heart him.

The end.

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Cream Butter and Toasted Pecans

Yesterday we experienced the busiest day in the history of our soft pretzel business.

A really great day for the business but totally and completely exhausting for those of us who worked it.

Today we woke up late and in dire need of a bit of soul food to nurse us back to life.

So I decided to try to make pumpkin waffles.

The result will knock your socks off!

Proceed with caution because you will never look at plain ol' waffles the same again.

*Of course, in order to make this recipe you will need a waffle iron. I suppose you could probably use the same batter and just make pancakes. But I don't like pancakes. No offense if you do. But I don't. Sorry.

On to the good stuff!

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Cream Butter and Toasted Pecans


Let's start with the Maple Cream Butter shall we?

You'll need:

• 4oz. of softened cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter
• 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (not the evil step-sister version, pancake syrup)
• ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add cream cheese

and butter.

Beat until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.

Once you've got fluffy white clouds filling your mixer, add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

And beat again until everything is combined and fluffy and delicious.

Transfer the goodness to a cute little serving bowl and stick it in the fridge to hang out until you're ready to eat.

And now for the main event!

For the waffles you will need:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cups of warm milk 
• ⅓ cup of butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ¾ cup of pumpkin puree

Before you get messy, you'll want to plug in your waffle iron and let it heat up.

Then grab two mixing bowls. One large and one medium.

Measure out your flour and dump it into the medium bowl.

Add the brown sugar.

And the baking powder.

And the salt.

And lastly, the pumpkin pie spice.

Whisk all that together until combined and set aside.

Crack two eggs into the large bowl.

Whisk them slightly.

Add your warm milk but make sure it is just that: warm. 

Not hot. 

Scrambled eggs are not a part of this breakfast.

Continue to whisk.

Add the melted butter and vanilla and keep on whiskin'.

And finally add the pièce de résistance (I bet French people hate that silly Americans like me use that phrase so much. Oh well.) , the pumpkin and mix it thoroughly.

Gently dump the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.

Using a rubber spatula, fold to combine. 

DO NOT OVER MIX! 

You only want to fold until the mixture just comes together. 

It will still be lumpy but don't fret. 

It's the right way, I promise. 

At this point, I like to transfer the batter to a spouted container. 

I just use my biggest liquid measuring cup but feel free to do what is easiest for you. 

I also like to let the batter rest for about 10 minutes or so. 

This allows the batter to really get cozy and become one.

It just helps, alright.

It also gives you plenty of time to throw some chopped pecans into a small pan and toast them on the stove.

Hazelnuts would probably be delightful here too but for some reason I never have hazelnuts on hand.

And now, my friends, it is time to get our waffle on!

Grab your well rested batter and head over to your preheated waffle iron. 

At this point you'll need to follow the guidelines for your waffle iron. 

I have a Belgium waffle iron and it's pretty big. 

It requires about a cup of batter for one waffle and as this recipe makes about four cups of batter, I can make four waffles out of it.

But you'll have to adjust accordingly for your iron.

Even though the iron griddles are non-stick, I like to spray them with some cooking spray. 

No one wants to scrape waffle bits from a hot griddle.

Pour the appropriate amount of batter onto the iron.

Close it up and watch the beautiful steam waft out of the iron while the smell of pumpkin goodness fills your kitchen.

When the steam starts to subside, your waffle is probably done. 

But again, follow the directions for your iron.

Now as a perfectionist, I'm thoroughly annoyed with the fact that the edges of this waffle aren't full and perfect. 

But alas, homemade food is rarely perfect so I will get over it.

Take the finished waffle out of the iron and place it on a cooling rack while you repeat this process to bake the rest of your waffles.

If your are making lots of waffles or don't plan to eat them right away, you can put the finished waffles on a cookie sheet in a preheated 250℉ oven to keep them warm.

Homemade waffles also freeze very well and can go from freezer to toaster oven just as easily as those gross, cardboard flavored ones you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store.

I'm just saying.

When you are ready to serve, get the Maple Cream Butter that we made earlier, your toasted pecans and some pure maple syrup.

Select your waffle of choice and place a dollop of maple cream butter on top. 

Sprinkle with some toasted pecans.

And drizzle the maple syrup over the top.

Now stand back and take a second to admire the beautiful work of art you have just created. 

Seriously. 

This is gorgeous.

And the smell. Oh good gracious does this ever smell good.

But the smell doesn't even do these waffles the proper justice so you must taste them!

Please make these immediately, if not sooner. 

They will make everything better.

A Cause for Celebration

It is sooo time to celebrate!

We're talking about a celebration of epic proportions here people.

Why such a celebration you ask?

I shall tell you.

Our Newfoundland, Luca, is FINALLY turning three.

Which FINALLY means that he is no longer a puppy.

And he can FINALLY start acting like a proper member of the canine community.

If you know Luca or have ever heard about him, you know how much of a handful he has been in the first three years of his life.

To say the least.

But for now, let us journey back three years ago to where it all began...



Dear Luca,

Three years ago we left for Buffalo, NY at 2:30 am...

Drove 9 hours in the snow...

Met a guy in a parking lot who handed us a black 17 pound ball of fur...

and then we turned around and drove 9 hours home with you at my feet.

And our lives have never been the same.

We brought you home and showed you around.

Introduced you to your new brother and sister.

They weren't quite sure what to think of you.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure they still know what to think of you...

but you made your self at home.

You got acquainted with the rest of the family.

You chewed a lot of bones. 

And other things.

Speaking of which...

In these three short years, you have managed to eat the following (in no particular order):

• 3 DirecTV remotes
• 1 TV remote
• approximately 32 dog toys that didn't belong to him
• 1 pair of brand new Nike Sneakers
• 1 window sill
• 3 door stoppers
• 1 iPod Nano
• 1 air conditioner remote control
• approximately 7 pairs of flip flops (give or take 12)
• 1 iron cord
• 5 ant traps
• 1 dog brush
• 2 books
• 1 pair of pruning shears
• 15 K-cup coffee cups
• 2 wall corners
• 1 living room curtain
• 1 Yorkie dog house
• 9 cookbooks
• 32 bottles of Diet Snapple
• 2 baskets
• 1 whole corn cob
• 3 kitchen rugs
• 5 random pieces of home decor
• 2 of his own dog beds
• 3 sticky buns in the wrapper
• approximately 1,397 pieces of mail

 and those are just the things I remember.

All that chewing made you pretty sleepy.

So you took a lot of naps.

And you grew really, really fast...

So fast, in fact, that you didn't even realize how big you were.

Come to think of it, you still don't know your size...

or the fact that you now weigh in at around 160 pounds.

You also developed a few gross tendencies which made my quest for a clean house a virtually impossible feat.

You tested our patience on many, many occasions.


But you also knew how to make us laugh.

And after a long three years, you are finally learning how to kick back and relax.

Your sweetness is beginning to outweigh your downfalls.

And although it's been a long, strange, bumpy road, we still love our "baby".

Happy 3rd birthday, Luca! Here's to the next (hopefully less eventful) three and beyond!