An elegant fruit tart is easy to make with this recipe. The cookie crust and quick custard support the fruit design of your choice! The first time I tried to make a fruit tart was 37 years ago. I lived in Paris and I was eager to try all kinds of cooking. I know exactly when it was because I still have the recipe written down in the notebook I was using at the time. It was from the August 1983 issue of Bon Appetit and it was called Crème Brulee Tart Jimmy. It consisted of a pastry shell, baked and brushed with chocolate, then topped with blackberries and custard. It was finished with a ...
CHINESE STYLE POACHED CHICKEN
A whole chicken is poached in sherry, soy sauce and Dr. Pepper along with Chinese spices for a dish that is reminiscent of the food courts of Singapore. When I lived in Singapore, I would often go to the local “Wet Market” to purchase fruits and vegetables and other Asian products. Located underneath one of the large public housing apartment towers near me, it was important to go early in the morning before it got too hot. These markets are called wet markets because they clean the floors with buckets of water after they wash the fresh produce, and butcher and clean fish, chicken and pork. ...
READY FOR THE BIG LEAGUE? FETA CHEESE ROLLS
Up to now, we’ve been making bread the easy way—as a quick bread. But it’s time to step up our game and make a yeasty bun filled with a lovely herb, feta and cream cheese filling. Hey, come back here! There’s no reason to run away from baking bread with yeast! There used to be, back in the day before stand mixers with dough hooks and instant-read thermometers. But life is a lot easier now. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the time it takes to make it. These lovely cheese-stuffed rolls take about two to two and a half hours to make. Most of that time is devoted to letting the ...
A CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS: CHEDDAR-PECAN BREAD
Fresh Dill, Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Nutty Pecans combine to make a savory quick bread that is perfect for a winter day. There are two things I know: Never go shopping on an empty stomach, and The best time to read a cookbook is when you are hungry. Both of these things grow from the same stem. Because when you are hungry everything looks good to eat! I have been traveling a lot since January and while I’m not complaining (really!) it does mean that I have fallen behind a bit on cooking for my blog. But now I am home and I have been itching to get back into cooking and ...
An Asheville Foodie in Nashville
Let's get one thing straight right away. While this foodie went to Nashville, it was not a foodie trip. Because Nashville is not primarily a foodie destination. Food was important and I will steer you to some great bites but in Nashville it is more often the setting in which you eat that matters. Let us begin. We went to Nashville for an early Valentine's Day celebration. Years of battling crowds and confronting overwork servers and rushed meals have lead me to avoid going out on February 14th if at all possible. (My daughter's experience this year of having booked a 4 top for ...
VALENTINE’S DAY CHOCOLATE CARAMEL BROWNIE SUNDAE
We have all heard it, “Cook with love”. But what does that mean? Does it mean loving the act of cooking? Or does it mean loving the people you cook for? I think it means both. And while I love a good restaurant meal with a well thought out menu, for Valentine’s Day I am more likely to create a meal at home centered around the passions (for food!) of the person I am cooking for. And for dessert, that means chocolate! Not just any chocolate. A chocolate brownie with layers of chocolate and caramel in the center, topped with vanilla ice cream and a luscious homemade chocolate ...
CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK ROUNDUP: MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE SAUCE
The deep earthy flavor of wild mushrooms makes this Bolognese Sauce a rich and flavorful alternative to ground beef. Although it really shouldn't be seen as an alternative to anything. It's that good! To be fair, I got Michael Symon’s Fix it With Food Cookbook after Christmas…but not too long after! And I am obsessed with it. The recipes manage to taste good while being vegetarian/vegan/gluten free/dairy free and more. I am eating all sorts of things I never really cared for much and enjoying it. You don’t have to buy into any of the diets. The recipes can be incorporated into your ...
CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK ROUNDUP: SURPRISE KEY LIME PUDDING CAKE
Sourced from a Christmas present cookbook and given an American twist this Surprise Key Lime Pudding Cake forms a sponge cake top layer with a limey pudding base for a dessert that is easy, light and delicious. I once read that humankind does not give up anything when an innovation comes along: they just add it to the collection. For example, radio did not supplant books, movies did not supplant radio, television did not supplant movies, and live streaming has not eradicated the TV. We still use them all. Cookbooks and the internet are another example of this. I love a good ...
JANUARY SOUP FOR THE BODY AND SOUL: LOW FAT/LOW CALORIE CREAMY ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP
This has been such a long January. And it only just started. I am restarting my restart for the second time! And the weather is not cooperating. Rain and cold and the long days seem endless. Everything would be better with a rich, hearty bowl of soup. Except I am trying to recover from the wonderful joyous eating of the holidays which was just topped off with a week of eating mindlessly as we dealt with the emotional loss of my daughters’ grandmother. So “rich and hearty” is out of the question. Fortunately, there are vegetables which can be cooked and pureed in broth which will create ...
January reset, reset. Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa
I don't know that I would like someone who went all the way through December without really overindulging, ending up in January as trim and fit as that person went in! I have tried but is it worth it? I don't know. Most of us look to January as a month of beginnings. A new diet, exercise, resolutions, they all surface in some form or other in January. I have never really looked at it as a month of beginning so much as a month of returning to the good habits I willingly and happily threw aside in the past year's end. So here I am, one day into eating better, with ...
