Bake with abandon!
Ignore the standard dictionary. It will tell you a clanger is a blunder, a mistake, and a conspicuous one at that. This pastry is anything but a dud. It’s a riff on an old-fashioned Bedfordshire Clanger, a long hand pie stuffed with spiced meat on …
May I present to you Mushroom & Chevre Hand Pies. These piping hot appetizers feature the often-ignored, much under-rated white button mushroom. Sure, a mushroom by any other name would sound more interesting, but why stuff a pricey, short-seasoned morel into pastry where it’s battling cheese, …
Summer is racing for the finish line. Before it gets there, it has some hurdles to clear. One of those hurdles is zucchini. Sure, an individual zucchini isn’t much of a challenge, but what about the bushelful your neighbour left on the back porch ? …
The Messy Baker launched two weeks ago today. I’m not sure where the time has gone, but since the book’s release I’ve hosted a garden party book launch, been on stage with Kim Severson at the Decatur Book Festival in Georgia, found myself on the …
Language is funny. It has a way of sliding sideways when you’re not looking, slipping under things or going into hiding. A few years ago, I developed a homemade, bite-sized meatball to wean my husband off the commercial, frozen version he would nuke to the …
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 …
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 …
I got myself into this and I’m going to get myself out. I did not, repeat not, acquire a one-trick pony of a pan. I could point you to the Indian, Thai, Korean and Japanese variations of the aebleskiver, but really, they’re all just spins on batter …
I did it. Despite containing three ingredients I’ve never used before, I made onion bhaji. And I pronounce them to be good. Make that “very good.” Andrew, who inspired the selection, claimed they were “delicious” and “as good as the restaurant’s.” So, with a flourish …