"Things" have changed so dramatically in my lifetime - that is the last 58 years. Yes, I am old enough to remember the first televisions - those big, heavy, boxy things with rabbit ears attached. (I have this comical notion - an image of colonial times as the precursor to life, pre-tv - people cooking in open hearths in their long dresses - I don't know what people did before tv! -like it was the times of Little Women or something - so sorry, … [Read more...]
Seasonal Intrigue – Blood Oranges, Meyer Lemons, Key Limes and More
I fell in love with this picture a few weeks ago. It was posted by Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, CA, a place I have happily visited, spent several mornings and evenings peering in the windows and oogling their croissants on sky-high proofing racks. (I also visited when they were open I am most happy to say, but I confess to having a peculiar love of oogling through bakery windows). This photo made me feel nostalgic, a feeling that Thomas … [Read more...]
A Day of Re-orientation and the In-House Food Critic
Christmas Centerpiece - moved to the kitchen where I can really enjoy it! I don't know about you, but the day after Christmas always brings with it a strange feeling for me. There is a mixture of the sense of a letdown and relief. All of the hoopla is over, the house is a mass of piles of pots and pans and empty boxes. I don't know, I actually feel a little bit forlorn. For too many years I have searched for the perfect feeling from … [Read more...]
Stimulus and Response – Showing Love through Food; Recipe for Wild Mushroom, Shoyu and Goat Cheese Truffles
Food and Memory - a combination that is so prominent at this time of year, right? We all crave food items from our childhoods - those which evoke special memories - both culinary memories and those involving the other senses - evoking memory "photos" of sitting at the dining table in special and happy moments, which were somehow frozen there and hard-wired forever. Years ago in school we all learned about stimulus and response, in Sociology, … [Read more...]
My Honorary Santa Claus 2012 – Best Gift All Year; Suggestions for Best Cookbooks for Gifts and 2 Yummy Shortbread Recipes
I am off to Washington, DC today to pick up my son, Ryan. Can't wait to see him. His exams were over last night at 9pm and he sounded exhausted. I think a little spoiling is in order. Before the week gets out of hand, I want to reflect on my year a little and to take a minute to acknowledge what was the best gift to me in 2012. Of course the health and well-being of my family and friends is always the uppermost in my mind, and when a year … [Read more...]
Ryan’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies – asked for by Aunt Cindy
Recipes for Chocolate Chip cookies often create controversy. Everyone has an opinion on which are the best. Some insist on flat cookies, some love soft centers, some love more loft and bulk - some love nuts - some don't. In my house, I love toasted pecans - always - but my kids don't want any nuts in these! My son Ryan, a man with a very particular palate, has had the opportunity to sample many varieties over the years. I had a request for … [Read more...]
Seven + Batches of Cookies; Measuring Flour – A Cup is a Cup is 4 oz is 8 oz?
My Kitchen Hearth on baking day Yesterday was a baking day at my house with my friend, Maria. We went to town- starting before 10am and continuing up to almost 9pm - and we didn't even finish. We made: Spritz Jumbles Orange Shortbread Russian Teacakes Cappuccino Kisses Francine's Hungarian Nut Cookies White/Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Squares Linzer Cookies - dough in fridge will post … [Read more...]
Irony and the Art of Recipe and Cookbook Collecting; My Limoncello Snowdrops
Limoncello Snowdrops - oops one's missing I have a problem with cookbooks. I think I inherited this from my Mom. She used to give me cookbooks beginning when I was in my teens and twenties. She usually signed and dated them and wrote a short little note inside the front cover. These books are some of my most treasured possessions now. Since I have gone to pastry school, I have become even more interested in the exploding sources of … [Read more...]
An Unexpected Gift from the Soil and Hurricane Sandy in December; Two Great Books for Holiday Baking
As I am sure you have realized by now, I obsess about some seemingly pretty inane things from time to time. Earlier in the Fall I was out snapping photos in the yard as the blooms were kind enough to hang around for a long time this year. I took some pictures of some of my amazing roses and was somewhat distressed about the fact that I could not remember or determine the name of the glorious variety thriving into late Autumn by the side door. … [Read more...]
Baking with Spice – Anise and A Word about Grandmothers
Genus Pimpinella anisum Ok, well, United Airlines delivered me back to the land of Winter weather and, well, no sense in fighting it. I nearly made a bargain to trade places with the lady at the National Car Rental office on Monday who said she was from NJ and wanted to come back (really?). After dusk, as we drove home from the airport, we saw so many houses decorated for Christmas and a pretty good number with their Christmas trees up … [Read more...]