Sometime in late August or early September, Starbucks and other retailers pull the trigger on Autumn, and Pumpkin Spice Everything appears in stores throughout the country. This feels premature to me. Pumpkin Spice calls for sweaters, chilly evenings, and brilliantly colored leaves. I don’t know where you live but that is not how my September rolls. Where I live it’s still pretty hot. How to satisfy that yen for the cool days of Autumn on a sweltering 85-degree day? Ice cream sandwiches of course-- specifically yummy vanilla ice cream sandwiched between pumpkin spice cookies ...
ORANGE ALMOND TEA CAKE WITH CARDAMON
Autumn is upon us and it’s time for something different. Cakes! My glazed orange and almond cake with a hint of cardamon is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, for breakfast (!) or lunch, snacking or dessert. Up to now we’ve been making a lot of pies. For the most part, pies are easy: pastry, filling, assemble, bake. Cakes require a little more care. Truthfully, they are less forgiving than a pie. But not that much! Let’s start simply. Get all your ingredients mixed and ready to go: flour, baking powder and salt whisked in a bowl, sugar measured, eggs beaten with almond and ...
GIANT FRUIT POP-TART!
When is a pie not a pie? When it is a Pop-Tart! Thick layers of pastry with a jammy fruit filling, topped with a vanilla glaze and sprinkles, it is deliciously sweet and satisfying. I can’t take credit for the idea. That comes courtesy of my daughter who saw it on Instagram and asked me to make one. At first I thought, “Uggh, another pie?” I’ve been making pies all summer and I was looking forward to moving on to something else. (As must you be.) But then I made it and I realized it may go together like a pie but it doesn’t really taste like one. It tastes like a jelly donut! ...
A PHENOMENAL CHERRY PIE: THE BEST CHERRY PIE RECIPE!
Fresh cherries are only part of the secret to making a phenomenal cherry pie. This recipe makes the best cherry pie ever and the only one you will ever want to make again! Cherry Pie. It’s legendary, a part of American culture. But when was the last time you had a cherry pie? More importantly, have you ever made a cherry pie without using canned cherry pie filling? If you have, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t, you are in for a treat! The thing about convenience foods is they are convenient (Duh). But all too often flavor is sacrificed in the creation of that ...
MY “I’VE GOT NOTHING TO PROVE” PEACH PIE
A quick and easy peach pie that tastes like you spent hours on it (although it may not look like it!) Sometimes I break out my best pie making skills. I carefully prepare a pie crust, peel the fruit and chop it into equal sized pieces, make a decorative arrangement out of the crust, brush it with an egg wash and put it in the oven. Fingers crossed it comes out as beautiful as it went in. And then there are other times. Times when I am more interested in being with the people who are here and less concerned with what the pie looks like. Times when my grandchildren are taking a nap and ...
TOMATO TART TATIN
If you are looking for a great big punch of tomato flavor, look no further. In this tart there is no question that tomatoes are the star of the dish. Meaty tomatoes are oven roasted in a vinegar syrup, then topped with pastry for a final cooking, before being turned out onto a plate with the tomatoes back on top! Tart Tatin originated in France. It started as an apple tart in which the apples were caramelized in butter and sugar before being topped with pastry and turned into a tart. Needless to say this technique is easily adaptable to other fruits, including the tomato ...
KEY LIME PIE: IT’S MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
There are people who like Key Lime Pie and there are people who LOVE Key Lime Pie. Silky smooth, just a little tart in flavor, with buttery graham cracker crust, what's not to love? Down on the southern coast of North Carolina, just across the bridge from the Island of Sunset Beach, there is a fish market which has been there for 40 years: Bill's Seafood. Everything there is fresh. The shrimp boats we see offshore bring their catch to Bill that same day. And once you have tasted shrimp that fresh, which has never been frozen, you will understand my foodie heart. If you are like my ...
TOMATO PIE: IT’S A SOUTHERN THING
Recently I asked my Instagram followers (@awomancooks) what they would make with a big tomato harvest, and I got a resounding chorus of “Tomato Pie!”. Tomato pie is not something I am very familiar with. I am purist when it comes to home grown tomatoes. I eat them sliced with a little salt, in a Caprese salad, or in a sandwich (tomato or BLT only!). The idea of layering them in a pie crust and cooking them with a mixture of cheese, mayonnaise and fresh herbs seemed a sure way to hide the flavor of the tomatoes. But I was wrong. After a lot of research I made some tweaks ...
APRICOT ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD (SORRY!)
I told myself I wasn’t going to give you yet another recipe for zucchini bread. Until I made this one. Filled with dried apricots and flavored with orange, it reminds me of my mother’s long lost banana bread recipe that I have been unable to replicate. When my daughter Abby came home and raved about this bread I knew I had to share it. It starts with my basic Olive Oil Zucchini Bread Recipe . Olive oil, maple syrup and brown sugar are beaten together in a bowl until they are mixed. Add eggs, vanilla and orange extract and beat it together until it is emulsified (it ...
LEMON ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES (THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN CHOCOLATE CHIP)
I read a lot about pie this weekend : about how it’s fast becoming a lost tradition because Americans don’t want to spend time making a pie crust and about how, without putting in the time to make pastry over and over again, you will never really get it right. In the opinion of some, store-bought ready-to-roll pie crust is crap. (Full disclaimer: I am not entirely in that camp. I will use a pre-made crust and enjoy my pie all the same when I don’t have time to make a crust.) I thought about that as I set about making these little bites of Rosemary and Lemon deliciousness baked in a ...
