Bake with abandon!
Little Jack Horner’s got nothing on me. What’s he got? A corner, a thumb and a nursery rhyme no one understands. Me? I’ve got fresh plums and frangipane. That’s right. You heard me. Frangipane. I know. It sounds like a resort cocktail, but it’s really …
When you do nothing to your pear tree but leave it be, you can expect trouble. And trouble came to my friend in the form of dozens and dozens and dozens of bug-free, blemishless, picture perfect pears. Her punishment? Driving some over to me. That’ll …
This is — or rather was — Aunt Hilda’s pastry board. It’s now mine and I’m hoping her tenacity and good baking karma will transfer to me through this well-loved board. Not only was Aunt Hilda a fabulous cook, she never stopped learning. After years …
Pink. I hate it. It’s yet another carry over from my childhood. Every time I wore any shade of fuschia, magenta or bubble-gum some well-meaning adult would put a hand to my forehead and ask me if I was feeling all right. Classmates? They’d just …
This recipe is enough to make me eat my words. I don’t like marzipan, I find Emeril Lagasse’s TV persona annoying (his toothpaste commercials were the final straw for me) and I avoid pre-packaged items on principle. And yet, this recipe, which became a favourite …
If you drop an upside-down cake on its head does it revert to plain old cake? Sadly, no. It just becomes yet another item to file under “Kitchen Disasters.” The only advice I can give you, other than not to drop the final dish, is …
A while ago I solicited recipes for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie. A lot of suggestions rolled in. Conflicting opinions on walnuts, oatmeal and chefs flew through cyberspace. Some people loved Alton Brown’s recipe. Others called it “cakey” and touted the ever-popular David Lebovitz. Thomas …
Late on Sunday afternoon I did the unthinkable. I made chocolate mousse without high-end chocolate. Company was coming. The oven was occupied with Apple Roasted Chicken. And I had very little time to devote to dessert. So, I opened the baking cupboard and grabbed the …
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 …