Broken

Broken

In place of my scheduled peach post, I’m paying tribute to three fallen friends who gave their structural integrity in the name of food. Yesterday, as I carried a box laden with cake, bowls, wooden cutting boards and knives to the car, senseless tragedy struck. 

Candied Flowers — Part 2

Candied Flowers — Part 2

Ten days left to my sister’s garden wedding and I’m beginning to panic. My mom and I are making the wedding cake, and planned on decorating it with blooms from our gardens. But none of the flowers are paying any attention to their carefully co-ordinated 

I’m back!

I’m back!

I’m back. Andrew’s back. The cats are back. And we’re all pretty please about it. Even the Gerber daisies perked up for the occasion. After three months of camping out in my parents’ guest room we’re once again residing in our own home. And loving 

When recipes fail

When recipes fail

Dull winter days. Steaming hot bowls of soup. A hunk of cheese and a slice of bread makes it a meal. Wouldn’t you just love the recipe for this delicious, nutritious, palate-pleasing cold weather solution? Well, I’m not giving it to you. Not because I’m 

Leaky Pipes

Leaky Pipes

Technically, our leak wasn’t as bad as this photo. Emotionally? I felt like I was the Dutch kid asked to stick his finger in the dike. One false move and lives would be lost, houses swept away and my name would forever be synonymous with 

Marcy Goldman’s Apple-Raspberry Patchwork Crostata

Marcy Goldman’s Apple-Raspberry Patchwork Crostata

We have a tradition in our house. One of us usually kicks off the new year with a kitchen disaster. Last year, I discovered dried beans can, in fact, go stale. This year? I botched the pastry. Crostata no less. What else? I learned the 

Microwave mistakes

Microwave mistakes

  In the immortal words of my disaster-prone husband, “It’s okay! The fire’s out!” Only it was my turn to bellow this comforting phrase as I doused the flaming object in running water. Ever wonder what would happen should you soften butter in the microwave 

Moroccan-Inspired Nectarine and Plum Chicken

Moroccan-Inspired Nectarine and Plum Chicken

I wish you could reproduce this recipe exactly as I made it. But you can’t. Unless you mess up your preserves like I did. A few weeks ago, I attempted a homemade mixed-fruit ketchup. But I was so busy “multitasking” I missed the small but 

Humble Pie

Humble Pie

No photo today. I had hoped to wow you with stellar shots of what my friends dubbed the Pound of Butter Cake — a Paula Dean concoction layered with impossibly rich buttercream. And yes, the recipe takes a whole pound of butter. As you can