Chocolate Macarons

Chocolate Macarons

Remember my resolution to espouse joy, accept my weakness for sugary treats and let the professionals worry about the camera work? Well, today I share with you one of the highlights of my food writing career and a few less than stellar pictures. Recently, I 

Recipe: Green Bean Fries

Recipe: Green Bean Fries

There is something subversively satisfying about finding a fried vegetable recipe in a healthy eating book. I was thumbing through Clean Start: Inspiring You to Eat Clean and Live Well with 100 New Clean Food Recipes by Terry Walters. Hidden somewhere between the longest title 

Recipe: Cranberry and Apple Cake

Recipe: Cranberry and Apple Cake

Listen to Ina. She is wise. When the Barefoot Contessa says use a 10-inch glass pie pate, use a glass pie plate. When she says use fresh cranberries, use fresh cranberries. But you know me. I never listen. Or more precisely, I don’t always think 

Ginger Orange Carrot Soup

Ginger Orange Carrot Soup

I’m not psychic but something tells me that before the winter is over, my copy of Jeanelle Mitchell’s For the Love of Soup is going to be dog-eared, grease-splattered and a fought over. Sorry extended family, but you’ll have to get your own copy. I 

Recipe and Giveaway: Chipotle Shortbreads

Recipe and Giveaway: Chipotle Shortbreads

Move over Julia Child and Paula Dean. I’m the Butter Queen today. Now that the jack-o’-lanterns have been extinguished and the last of the waxy mini-chocolate bars have been gobbled, we can safely move onto thoughts of holiday baking. While I’m not ready to rummage 

Recipe: Plum and Orange Sorbet

Recipe: Plum and Orange Sorbet

The pears went bad so I called on the plums. The plums started to go so I… reached for the ice cream maker. I could have made preserves, but I had too few plums to make jam worthwhile. The fruit would have slipped from iffy 

Recipe: Plum, Chocolate & Frangipane Pie

Recipe: Plum, Chocolate & Frangipane Pie

Had the pears held up I would likely be writing about broccoli or Swiss chard. Health food fans lament; pie lovers rejoice. On Saturday, with guests arriving and the clock ticking loudly in my ears, I tossed my dessert plans into the garbage along with 

Recipe: Caramelized Apple Pancake Syrup

Recipe: Caramelized Apple Pancake Syrup

Don’t get me wrong, I like pancakes. But sometimes the expression “Flat as a pancake,” describes my enthusiasm for this dish. Unadorned, they’re pallid, uneven, and large-pored. This describes my skin without make-up. It’s not something you should be serving guests before noon. Oh, sure 

Recipe: Plum Frangipane Tart

Recipe: Plum Frangipane Tart

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