Bake with abandon!
Bespoke. If you want to be a stickler, this term applies only to made-to-measure items you wear, such as tailored Savile Row suits or custom loafers. It draws a faint chalk line between high-end fashion and “built to order” non-wearables. In the worlds of fashion …
Muhammara (pronounced moo-hahm-MRAH) is a classic Mediterranean dish. It’s a dip. It’s a spread. It’s addictive. You have been warned. Pitas are the authentic accompaniment, but I’ve been gobbling muhammara on homemade piadinas to no ill effect. Don’t let the simplicity of the dish fool …
Dizzy. If I were to sum up childhood summers in one word, it would be dizzy. Dizzy from spinning in endless circles on the tire swing. Dizzy from chasing each other round and round and round the yard. Dizzy from watching the leaves sway as …
Growing up, I always thought of parchment paper as something people wrote letters on. It involved a fountain pen and a blotter. It was all very romantic but had nothing to do with chocolate chip cookies and poached salmon. Times changed. Parchment crept into professional …
I know better than to go shopping without a list. I have at least three iPhone apps to help me compile them. Pads of paper cling to the fridge simply so I can jot down items as I deplete their inventory. Lists prevent wastage, overstocking …
One rainy summer day, unable to build blanket forts on the climbing bars or soar through the sprinkler on a tire swing, I decided my younger sister and I should do some baking. “Baking” meant raiding Mom’s pantry and dumping everything within reach into a …
The long weekend is coming. Plant the annuals. Haul out the lawn chairs. And pull that dusty cover off the grill. Whether you’re not sure where to start, afraid you’ll reduce the chicken to ashes, or are bored to tears with burgers, solutions lie on …
The first Mother’s Day gift I made was a card. It had a flower and stars and kittens on it because I was obsessed with flowers and stars and kittens. Mom was allergic to two of these, but I was young and unable to fully …
Altogether now. On the count of three, “Ivy, you’re a genius!” Ivy Manning, author of Crackers & Dips: More than 50 Handmade Snacks (Chronicle ©2013), wasn’t always receptive to this praise. As a caterer, she found complex dishes like Pheasant Under Glass went virtually unnoticed. …