Strawberry Cake with Strawberries everywhere: Strawberry puree in the batter, Strawberry jam between the layers, Strawberry reduction in the icing. It's an explosion of strawberry! In my garden this week there are flowers. This is kind of a miracle to me. But then plants are a miracle. I planted my garden last year into new beds, in a new (to me) growing zone. And it was a struggle. The plants that didn’t drown in the water-soaked clay baked in the hot dry sun of a Charlotte summer. It looked grim out there. Over the winter we had a huge flood which brought water well up into the ...
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THE BEST HOT CROSS BUNS
You know how I feel about Hot Cross Buns! But instead of just being disappointed by them, this time I decided to identify where I felt they were lacking and see if I could fix the problems. And I did it! My Hot Cross Buns are smaller in size than the traditional bun, giving each bite a good ratio of honey glazed crust to soft interior. They are filled with bits of diced apricot, an ingredient with more pop than the humble raisin. And the dough, made with coconut milk and sweetened coconut flakes, is liberally flavored with vanilla and almond. Every bite has a hint of flavor ...
HOW DO I MAKE THAT? A THREE LAYER “NAKED” CAKE
TRICKS AND TIPS FOR MAKING A THREE LAYER "NAKED" CAKE Pinterest Fail. We’ve all been there. Looked at something on Pinterest or Instagram and thought, “I could do that” but then it turns out harder than it looks. My most memorable fail? Mirror Glaze. That turned out to be much harder than it looked! Recently I took an online cooking class with Christina Tosi. Chef Tosi is widely credited with popularizing the Naked Cake, a cake with multiple layers and minimal icing. She says it’s because she isn’t a decorator, she is “just” a baker! In fact the icing is not all that minimal. ...
THE EASTER “SUG-CUTERIE” BOARD: AN EGG-CELLENT SHELLECTION
Think outside the basket this year and make a "Sug-Cuterie" Board of Easter Candy. A dazzling array of sweets inspired by the Charcuterie Board trend of the past few years, it will be the star of your table! Growing up, Easter was one of my “Big Three”. Christmas, Halloween and Easter: each is full of anticipation, tradition and ultimate reward! Easter started with Palm Sunday. After a church service filled with song, my sister and I paraded up to the altar to be gifted with a long piece of palm frond, which we waved and curled into shapes before letting them dry in a corner of our ...
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 ...
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 ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: DONNA’S APPLE CRISP
Yes, we are back to brown food again! I promise this is the last one for a while. At least until next Winter. And besides, for those of you who watch “The Worst Cooks in America” (my not-so-guilty-pleasure), as Anne Burrell says, “Brown food tastes good.” This brown food comes from my daughter’s future Mother-in-law. Joe’s favorite dessert is his mom’s apple crisp. So much so that he asked for it to be served at the rehearsal dinner for their wedding. But the crisp the caterer gave us to taste was subpar so, good mother that she is, Donna has agreed to make it for the ...
VALENTINE’S DAY MARGARITA
Valentine’s Day. Hearts and flowers and chocolates, and cards filled with sentimental and silly thoughts. This is great fun when your love life is going well but can be downright painful when it is not. What Valentine’s Day needs is a drink. Not champagne with its celebratory edge. Something with a punch: a little sweet, a little heat and a lot of flavor. Good for the lovers, the between-relationships, the lookers and the hurters alike. It just so happens that I know of such a drink: a Valentine's Day Margarita. This concoction was created by Chef Adrian Ortega at ...
PINK PEPPERCORN AND CHOCOLATE POT DE CRÈME: A VEGAN VALENTINE
Those of you who follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook know that I just spent a week at Miraval, a Wellness Resort in the Sonora Desert outside Tucson. For those of you who don’t follow me, you should! Click Here for Instagram and Here for Facebook. (And for more on the Miraval experience, check my post under Adventures of an Asheville Cook) Anyway, it is a beautiful resort with food which manages to be mindful and delicious at the same time. They aren’t dictatorial about it. We weren’t prohibited from things we liked. You could get bacon and Diet Coke but the alternatives ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: BUFFALO CHICKEN MACARONI AND CHEESE
It’s hard to believe that I am sitting at my desk in the library of my new home! In front of me is a huge window which looks out on the front of my house. It’s 4PM and the sun is pouring in the other window to my left while Peat, my cat, sleeps on the sofa behind me. It is almost a year ago exactly that I started working on the design and layout of the renovation, nine months since we started the demolition and one week since I met the movers at my front door. Three days ago this room was piled high with boxes. My daughter, Abby, and I spent most of Saturday opening, shifting, sorting ...
