This started with a lemon meringue pie and eventually segued into something altogether different: a zesty lime tart with a sugar cookie crust, topped with a shiny, marshmallowy Swiss meringue. The back story: my mother made a lemon meringue pie that everyone loved. Her lemon filling was topped with just the right amount of meringue. The balance of flavors was perfect! Every forkful yielded up soft marshmallowlike meringue, tart lemon and a crunch of pie crust. I never learned how to make my mother’s meringue pie and I never found a lemon meringue pie that I liked after that. The “Mile ...
MY FOOD CHALLENGE
I went to the grocery store today and it was boring. Same old, same old doesn’t begin to say it. The fruits and vegetable aisle looks so inviting with its bright reds, greens, oranges and yellows. But once you start to walk down the aisle you will notice that there isn’t a lot of variety. Sure you can get carrots five different ways: organic, regular, mini-carrots, unpackaged with greens on, and topped and bagged (5 and 20 pound bags). And there is a small display of “tropical fruits”. But even that suffers from a steady diet of mangoes and passion fruit! To be fair, I am a part of ...
LEMON DROP COOKIES
Isn’t the weather so odd? The two halves of our country are experiencing diametrically opposite winters. In the North, it’s brutal, cold and icy and snowy. In the South it is weirdly hot, and Spring is making an early entrance. It’s emblematic of where we stand on so many things. But here’s one thing we can agree on: cookies. Specifically, soft cake-like cookies, topped with a zingy lemon frosting. They sing of spring and daffodils. Which, for those of us in the South, is perfectly suited to the warm sun and early spring we are enjoying. And for my friends in colder places, I hope it ...
MAHI MAHI IN PICCATA SAUCE
Did you know that there are more than 27,000 varieties of fish of which approximately 12 are sold in American Supermarkets? And at any given time, at least four of those will probably be salmon! You can break the fish down into two basic categories: flat fish (like flounder, sole and halibut) and round fish (think salmon and tuna) Within the categories of shape, you can further break the fish down into flavor. Lean white fish have a delicate flavor and “oily” fish have a richer, more distinct, taste. That’s all you really need to know to get started cooking fish. And one of the ...
APRICOT JAM BREAD
Sometimes something that seems so easy, just isn’t. Take this Jam Quick Bread for example. The first time I made it I used some leftover homemade pineapple jam that I had from making pineapple tarts And it was a killer quick bread: moist and light with delicious pockets of sweet pineapple. The only issue was a slight tendency for the edges to overcook before the center was done. Seems a no brainer to make it with a different jam? Oh, if only that were true! Five loaves, three different jams, two different oven temperatures and two loaf pan sizes later I have found my ...
HEARTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY: OATMEAL LINZER COOKIES
Not a cake baker? Let’s make cookies for Valentine’s Day. A little oatmeal brings a nutty crunch to this raspberry jam-filled sandwich cookie. Cut a little heart in the top cookie so the jam peeks through. Every child and adult in your life will love you for it! When I was a little girl, Valentine’s Day brought color and fun to the otherwise dreary, cold month of February in Connecticut. My mother was too busy with our family of six children to do much more than give us each a hug and kiss but school stepped in. We bought boxes of simple valentines and laboriously labelled them for ...
CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY CAKE: A VALENTINE’S GIFT!
Valentine’s Day: hearts and flowers and chocolate covered strawberries! This year I decided to see if I could capture all the goodness of a chocolate covered strawberry in a cake. Layers of strawberry flavored cake, luscious strawberry jam, a dusting of sweet and salty crumb, all surrounded by a rich and luxurious chocolate ganache. I also wanted a cake a homecook could make without special equipment or ingredients. So, this recipe comes complete with shortcuts! You can make the cake from scratch, or you can use a box mix. I made a quick and easy strawberry jam but you ...
PINEAPPPLE TARTS FOR THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
January is named after Janus, the Roman God of duality: beginnings and endings, comings and goings, transitions, doorways, ins and outs. This duality is true for my month of January. For me, January is two faced. On the one hand it is the month of reset: dry January, diets, return to exercise and a lot less partying. On the other hand, in many of the places I have lived it is a month of celebration: eating, drinking and partying! In my last blog, I brought you a piece of the French celebration of twelfth night with its Galette de Rois In this blog, I am going to take you to Asia ...
JANUARY IN PARIS: GALETTE DES ROIS
It’s January in Paris and on the shelves and in the display cases of every patisserie and bakery you will find a Galette Des Rois (King’s Cake). The simple puff pastry shell encases a filling of delicate almond cream and a thin layer of apricot jam. Hidden inside is a small “feve”, traditionally a bean but more often a tiny figurine of the baby Jesus. The lucky finder of the feve receives a paper crown and the title of King for the day. Although Twelfth Night (January 6) is the traditional day for enjoying a King’s Cake, the French will eat their fill throughout the ...
HOLIDAY PINWHEELS: COOKIES IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS
It’s crunch time. Christmas is 4 days away. Maybe you have a freezer full of Christmas cookies, ready to pull out at moment’s notice. Or maybe you haven’t baked a thing. And that’s okay! This is what bakeries are for. But If you wish you had baked something, and you are a little sad you haven’t but you just don’t have time , this recipe is for you. Puff pastry is wrapped around a filling of sugar, lime zest, and cardamom then finished with some holiday sprinkles. Cookies you will be proud of, from start to finsh in 20 minutes or less! Start with a roll of ready-to-bake crescent ...
