Welcome November! The weather here around Boston is starting to cool down, dusk arrives noticeably sooner and so it’s time for cozy, spice breads. This one is jam-packed with marinated dates, almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and lots of orange, making it wonderfully fragrant and perfectly seasonal. Enjoy! Recipe (adapted from Ina Garten) Date Nut SpiceContinue reading “Date & Almond Spice Bread”
Category Archives: Desserts
Summer Sorbets
Happy Summer! Time to feel the heat and enjoy delicious ways to temper it. With the abundance of juicy berries in season and the summertime love of refreshing lemons, here are three sorbets to keep in your freezer for a quick chill down, lovely on their own or happily mixed and matched. Strawberry Sorbet SoContinue reading “Summer Sorbets”
Pain d’Epices – Honey & Spice Cake
This ‘cake’ is a marvel of baking chemistry. Pain d’Epices (which translates to ‘spice bread’) has a roughly 450 year old rich history in France, resulting in countless variations. Dorie Greenspan’s latest book ‘Baking Chez Moi’ has a version that suddenly moved me to action. Think of a teacake or loaf cake, and historically, oneContinue reading “Pain d’Epices – Honey & Spice Cake”
Honey Wheat Cookies
Happy Autumn! These little ‘cookies’ are more like little cakes, thanks to their chewy texture. The recipe calls for good honey, lemon zest, and wheat germ which is a handy pantry item (good to add to chocolate shakes) and even handier when needed for a cookie recipe. Thank you to the wonderful Dorie Greenspan andContinue reading “Honey Wheat Cookies”
Homemade Peppermint Patties
How much fun is it to discover you can make – in your very own kitchen – your favorite treat in the world, say peppermint patties? That’s exactly what happened, and you won’t believe how simple it is. In a small bowl, mix corn syrup, water and mint extract, then slowly begin adding the powderedContinue reading “Homemade Peppermint Patties”
Lavender & Lime Cookies
My, oh my, oh lavender. I love the fragrance of this dried flower, but could never dream of how intoxicating its undertones could be nestled in a butter cookie with a lime glaze. When I recently sampled a friend’s mother-in-law’s cookies with this combination, I knew I would have to beg for the family recipe,Continue reading “Lavender & Lime Cookies”
Ginger root & Ginger cake
Ginger root is a wily superhero. Knobby ends with smooth tan skin, it appears quite unassuming until you slice away a corner and are overcome with its impressive fragrance, sweet and strong and medicinal. Nearly every cuisine uses it in some form: fresh, powdered, pickled, candied, juiced or steeped. I often buy the root toContinue reading “Ginger root & Ginger cake”
Hello Mr. Jellyroll
When was the last time you nibbled on a jellyroll? Never? Me too, as far as I could recall, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this treat was a forgotten treasure. Sweet vanilla cake, rolled around tart raspberry jam? I was on a mission to create. The wonderful Cook’s Illustrated was my starting pointContinue reading “Hello Mr. Jellyroll”
Milk Stout Chocolate Ice Cream
I was recently introduced to Nitro Milk Stout by Left Hand Brewery and not only is it a lovely stout, it worked beautifully in a stout gingerbread recipe I posted in December. When I came across a Guiness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream recipe by David Lebovitz, I knew it would be another great experiment toContinue reading “Milk Stout Chocolate Ice Cream”
Snow Cream!
We are midday through a nice little snowstorm today, a beautiful one actually, with loads of fluffy snow (10″ and counting) and mild temps in the mid 30’s. A perfect snow for a walk in the woods which we may do after lunch. It is also perfect snow for Snow Cream: Snow Cream 1 cupContinue reading “Snow Cream!”
Collier's Market 