Once upon a time, a long long time ago, an Italian Nobleman travelled to Paris. He brought with him gloves made of the softest Italian leather which he had scented with an almond perfume. The nobleman and his gloves were an immediate hit with French Society. And the French did what the French do. They set out to make a dish inspired by the Nobleman’s almond scented gloves. The nobleman was the Marquis Muzio Frangipani and the dish they created was a tart filled with an almond cream which they called “Frangipane”. The classic French Frangipane tart consists of a sweet short ...
CARROT BEURRE MONTE SAUCE WITH PASTA AND SEAFOOD
Was it two years ago I went to Alaska? Yes. Two years since I rode with my family on a bus headed to Denali National Park and a cooking class with Chef Laura Cole of Top Chef fame. Two years since I dined on homemade pasta topped with fresh (never frozen) Alaskan King Crab and the most unlikely and scrumptious carrot sauce I have ever had. Two years and and then the world transformed, making that trip seem like a life time ago. After our lesson and meal, Chef Cole gave us the recipe and I put it in a file and then misplaced the file. But things have a way of ...
A WALK IN PARIS—AMERICAN STYLE
An easy-to-make Almond, Toffee and Cherry Cookie Last week I took you to Paris in 1982 and gave you a recipe for a cookie which, while admittedly delicious, contained a number of steps and processes which made it more than a simple walk in the park to make. This week, I am going to take you on a walk in the USA in 2021. Where a cookie is a special treat but relatively easy to make. It is something Moms make for their children, friends bring to friends and it is the cornerstone of the American Bake Sale. I am doing this because I want my blog to be about making baking easy for people, ...
A WALK IN PARIS COOKIE
A walk through the streets of Paris is the inspiration for this Strawberry and Almond Brittle Studded Cookie. I took a break from my blog and I went for a walk in Paris. I was 28 years old and lived on the Avenue Du President Kennedy where I could see the Eiffel Tower from my apartment window. In the evening the lights of the Bateau Mouche, the tourist boats, on the Seine raced across the ceiling of my bedroom. It was a morning in June and I had just taken a dance class at a nearby studio. As I walked home I stopped in a small boulangerie at the entrance to a market street. In the ...
THREE YEARS IN, IT’S TIME FOR A BREAK!
Three years in, it's time for reflection. Looking back over my blog, I am struck by how much I have done. I have travelled from Alaska to the Caribbean and places inbetween. I have met amazing people, professional chefs and home cooks. I have eaten all kinds of food at the most refined resterauants and in the most simple of kitchens. I have cooked and baked things I never made before or thought I would make. And I have shared it all (or most of it) on these pages. Was it really three years ago that I posted my first recipe on A Woman Cooks In Asheville? It seems so. At the ...
PFEFFERNUESSE: A GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIE
“Pfeffernuesse”, it’s almost as much fun to say it (feff er noose) as it is to eat it! It is not a gingerbread cookie although it is filled with spices: anise, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. It is a soft cookie and, like so many traditional cookies of the season, it doesn’t look like much, even after being covered in icing sugar. But it delivers a punch of flavor!, Pfeffernuesse has been around for ages, more than 200 years so there are a lot of recipes out there. I am not laying claim to the recipe or reinventing the wheel. My recipe comes from Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor Michigan. ...
GINGERBREAD (TO EAT AND TO SCUPLT)
How does this always happen to me? December starts and it seems like I have so much time to get ready, and then I add one or two new baking projects to all the other baked goods I usually make, and before I know it I am baking at 7AM and again at 7PM! It’s a good thing I enjoy it. Years ago, when my girls were little, I had the bright idea of keeping them entertained in the lead-up to Christmas by giving each of them a small gingerbread house to decorate. The recipe was one I found in a magazine back in 1971. It was a clunky recipe which made a hard gingerbread which was not great for ...
BRING ON THE HOLIDAYS! CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE TART
It’s November 29th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. My tree is up and decorated. The outdoor lights are on. My house smells like cinnamon and pine. For the first time in my life I bought my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving and decorated it on Thanksgiving Day. I went for a walk this evening. The glow of lights on many of the houses and glimpses of lit trees inside tell me I am not alone in my early preparations. Thanksgiving was a pale shadow of its usual self, and who knows what Christmas will bring, so I am going to decorate and bake and enjoy the lead up like never before. I need ...
PUMPPLE PIE
Pumpple Pie is an easy to make apple and pumpkin pie with bourbon-soaked raisins. It’s a spice and fall flavor-filled extravaganza! There are so many reasons to make this pie for your Thanksgiving: Smaller Thanksgivings mean one pie instead of two or three and this lets you get most of your favorites in one pie. In our area there has been a shortage of canned pumpkin. This recipe uses half a can so you can make a “pumpkin” pie and another pumpkin treat. Or make it because it’s different and delicious. As for me, I am making it because there is no length to which I ...
THE FINISHING TOUCH: SUGARED FRUITS
You’ve heard it said before: you eat with your eyes first. It’s why I walk through a restaurant and look at the plates on the tables around me, and ask myself “What looks good?” It’s why we linger in front of bakery shop windows with their displays of carefully constructed tarts, cakes and pastries. And it’s why we are so disappointed with something doesn’t taste as good as it looks. The winter holidays are upon us. It’s a time when bakers like to shine, dusting out their recipes for pies, cakes and cookies. Every holiday table finishes with a flourish of dessert. We’ve beaten, ...
