As I sit here eating barley soup I would like to focus on what I’m not doing: I am not writing a research paper I am not cobbling together a portfolio I am not getting high on Sharpie fumes while making a picture book I am not even lesson planning I am just sitting here [...]
Let me tell you a story: Once there was this girl who really liked this boy so she thought she’d make him bread pudding. Not just any bread pudding, but a chai bread pudding, where the milk is steeped with spices and tea and the final dish is rich, flavorful and complex. She looked through [...]
There is a place at the farmers market that has the best pumpkin bread. It’s very soft and spicy and the perfect accompaniment to hot apple cider. I’ve wanted to recreate it and after I made pumpkin pancakes a few weeks ago and decided to use the leftover puree to try my old pumpkin bread [...]
It is a truth universally acknowledged that my mother is an excellent cook. She is a master with fish. She is a whiz with cauliflower. She used to make us the most beautiful birthday cakes (before we began demanding ice cream cakes from Baskin Robbins, silly children that we were). However, she started her own [...]
These have been one of my favorite cookies for a long time. When I was putting together care packages for our not-so-near and but-very-dear they were part of the lineup. Crumbly chocolate cookie flecked with toasted coconut and filled with sour cherries and chunks of dark chocolate. What more do I have to say? Bookmark [...]
Amir wanted a tiramisu for his birthday and so a tiramisu was made. It felt like too simple a dessert for a birthday, you’re basically just assembling ingredients. It’s like building a lincoln log house with cookies. I tried to make it more difficult by making my own ladyfingers, which sadly, didn’t work out so [...]
Have you ever made clafouti? Clafouti is a French flan-like desert traditionally made with cherries, though you can toss all number of fruits into the custard. I first made one ages ago, when I was a teenager, from a recipe in Martha Stewart Living. I remember at the time being surprised at how quickly it [...]
I made my first pie when I was thirteen for Christmas dinner. It was cherry pie. It has become a staple in my baking repertoire and my signature dish. It is, I believe, the only cherry pie my mom has ever liked. It has, on occasion, caused an epiphany. Once one of my cousins was [...]
One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. I got it last summer and it’s gotten quite a workout since then. It most recently churned up a delightfully decadent mascarpone ice cream from, of course, The Perfect Scoop. This ice cream is so rich you feel guilty eating it. Pair it with fresh cherry pie [...]
When I was working on the blueberry banana cake I visited my friend Alex and took him a slice, looking for his opinion. He liked it, suggested adding more blueberries, then thought that chocolate and peanut butter would make it even better. Inspired, I set out to make this cake. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this [...]