Butter is your friend

Ah, desserts. They require precision and care...as well as creativity and great taste. And, what's more...people really LOVE desserts, so you don't want to mess them up!

Dessert can be everything from delicate to deeply comforting. Some of my latest faves are strawberry rhubarb pie, chocolate cream pie and of course, (crack cocaine) salted caramel brownies! I've made those brownies so many times now for cooking clients to friends, neighbors and colleagues - everyone flips out. I have a client who has a standing order once a month. One friend even sent me an expletive-filled text proclaiming her love. That was pretty funny.

Now when I bake, I use eggs from my own backyard hens - I think that Edie, Millie and Dottie add a little something special.

Do you have a dessert that your family and friends ask for over and over? Or maybe you have some creations you're testing at home but haven't shared yet? Either way, you should enter the Chris Ford Dessert Contest! Chris is the incredibly talented rock star pastry chef at Wit & Wisdom at the oh-so-schwank Four Seasons in Baltimore - and he wants your desserts! Enter and you could win a Four Seasons stay and cooking lesson with Chris. That would be so much fun! (Check out his blog, too - it's fab.)

Not a master baker? Then, you can vote instead.

(Full disclosure: On a whim, I entered my Salted Caramel Brownies into the contest - I've never entered a contest in my life, so I figured why not, hon?)

Recipe submission deadline is May 2. Voting deadline is May 9.

Butter is your friend. Julia says so.