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 ...
Pies
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, ...
APPLE TART FOR BEGINNERS: NO ROLL PASTRY
With its stylized layers of apples and free standing crust, an apple tart is one of the most impressive things a home baker can bring to the table. It looks so hard to make! With this recipe, it's not. If you can slice an apple and press dough into a pan, you can wow your friends and family and enjoy a home made apple tart with pride! We went apple picking last weekend. It was a lovely sunny day with just a hint of coolness in the air. The orchards were pretty crowded but we headed back to where some of the lesser known apples were growing and found ourselves alone in a wonderland of ...
SUMMER IN THE SOUTH: PIMENTO CHEESE TOMATO PIE
When I think of summer in the South, I think of my childhood days at the beach where the food seemed to center around fresh ripe red tomatoes, slightly spicy pimento cheese, and fresh fruit pies. The days were filled with salt air and ocean and the evenings meant family around the table. This summer I am up in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Other than that little has changed. I make a mean pimento cheese; my tomato plants are laden with deep red orbs of deliciousness; and pies are my thing. So I put them all together and created a Pimento Cheese Tomato ...
ALMOND PEAR PIES
Have you ever been in a bakery and been awed by the beautiful displays of breads, cakes and pastries? Of course you have. You should be. The baker has spent years perfecting his craft because presentation is a big part of the delight we get from a fancy dessert. This week’s technical challenge from the Great British Baking Show was to turn a simple Pear Pie into a pear sculpture. Like this: But having made it, I would never do it again. There is an easier way which results in a delicious handheld pie: crisp, flaky puff pastry, delicate poached pear and a luscious ...
IF I CAN MAKE A FRUIT TART, YOU CAN MAKE A FRUIT TART
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 ...
MESSING WITH TRADITION: A LAYERED PECAN PIE FOR THANKSGIVING
This layered pie marries two of our favorite Thanksgiving pies: Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake. A top crust of pecan pie sits on top of a rich pumpkin spice cheesecake layer and ends with a delicious and gooey pecan filling. Woof! Thanksgiving: a meal so laden with tradition that there is little room for new dishes. At least that’s the way it is in my house. It’s perfectly fine to ADD a new dish but you can’t subtract or fool with any traditional item. That works out okay when one is feeding ten to fifteen people, but this year we are going small; there will be just four of ...
Tomato Tarts: Summer on a Plate
This has been a wonderful summer. And now it is the middle of August. The mornings are getting cooler and the sun rises later. In the evening the light has a golden tinge which signals the coming Autumn. An even surer sign of summer's end is the sound of children waiting for the school bus. Their laughter is such a pleasant sound to wake to although I am sure they would rather not be headed back! My tomato plants are sagging under the weight of ripening red orbs and I have eaten tomato sandwiches for lunch and dinner with an undiminished joy. But, as the summer harvest continues, even ...
ALASKA: MOUNTAINS, SEA, ICE AND PASTRY???
I went to Alaska on a culinary tour with Access Culinary knowing I was going to see some beautiful scenery, eat some great food, meet some great chefs and learn some new things but I was not prepared for Laura Cole and her pastry. Laura is the owner and chef of 229 Parks Restaurant and Tavern, just inside Denali National Park in Alaska. It is considered to be the finest restaurant in the state. You may know her better from Season 15 of Bravo’s series, Top Chef . It was day one of our tour and we left Fairbanks early for the two hour drive to Denali and our cooking class ...
