I feel like shortbread has a bad reputation as a “boring” Christmas cookie. I made a traditional whipped shortbread for my first Champagne & Cookies party back in 2010, and I think it was kind of overlooked. Partly my own fault, because when there are nine other treats to choose from, a plain shortbread cookie......

This month started with a trip to London, which I will write about soon, and was obviously the highlight of the month (and year!). We almost don’t need a separate recap for November, except for a couple special things (coughFRINGScough): Back in September, Drake surprised us all with the grand opening for a new restaurant......

Christmas is coming early to Planet Byn, and we’re celebrating the release of Rosie Daykin’s new book, Butter Celebrates! You’ll remember the Butter Baked Goods Bakery from previous gushing here (when I visited the store in Vancouver last year) and here (when we hosted a giveaway for Rosie’s first book a year ago). I was......

Last December I made a bold declaration on this here blog of mine: I was done with apple pie. I had finally had enough after making Saveur magazine’s Salted Caramel Apple Pie for Christmas, and was ready to put that out into the world. I often have trouble with pie in general, mostly because I......

I made risotto for the first time back in 2011, and was so excited about it that I waited almost five years to make it again. That’s just what happens in my kitchen though. There’s always something new to make, so I forget about the things I made that I loved. Risotto also has such......

It was actually a quiet month here on Planet Byn, which I needed after a busy September and an upcoming trip the first week of November. No new places to tell you about, but I did go to some of my faves: There was Bannock to celebrate my former co-worker’s last day before Maternity Leave......

I’m a little behind, as the Baked Sunday Morning crew made these muffins two weeks ago. Two things though: a) that was Thanksgiving up here in Canada and I was baked out b) there was no way I was tackling today’s recipe. Not that I have anything against Baked Alaska, it’s just a fairly long......

I feel like you often hear that it’s hard to make friends as an adult. I haven’t really found this to be the case, but I work in a huge company and have switched departments twice in the past three years, so have had the chance to meet a ton of new people. While it’s......

Hooray! It’s pumpkin time! I feel like I showed excellent restraint in waiting until October to crack open my first can of pumpkin. Last year I was away for a lot of October, so I didn’t really make a dent into my Pumpkin Pinterest board, so I’m making up for lost time now. The first......

The favourites I’ve blogged about to date have been pretty basic recipes that I’ve made countless times (buttercream, pancakes, muffins). Today I’m getting a little more trendy with my favourite Salted Caramel Sauce. I wanted to dedicate a post to this because like the buttercream, it’s on the blog, but buried as a component of......