The Anatomy of a Cookbook I & Orange Cointreau Chiffon Cake

Sunday, December 4, 2016 2 , , , , Permalink 0

An orange on the table, your dress on the rug, and you in my bed, sweet present of the present, cool of night, warmth of my life. – Jacques Prévert As summer winds down and fades into autumn, as the stone fruits and berries turn mealy and flavorless and then disappear into memory, I begin to crave oranges. It is ...

French Apple Cake

Wednesday, September 28, 2016 11 , , , , Permalink 6

Let them eat cake. – Marie Antoinette While my own parents were making pies with frozen shells and canned filling or cakes from boxed mixes, my future mother-in-law was feeding her family on homemade treats. Apricot or plum halves pressed into sugary, crumbly pâte sablée or rich quatres-quart made with butter, milk, sugar and flour. Simple ...

Chocolate Espresso Pecan Torte for Passover (Gluten-Free Version)

It is with our passions as it is with fire and water; they are good servants, but bad masters.  - Roger L'Estrange, Aesop's Fables, 1692 I recently had a discussion with a young man whose family produces truffles, who spoke to me passionately about his métier, his work, and his passion for the black diamond of Chinon. ...

Individual Berry Mascarpone Cheesecakes for Passover (Gluten-free)

Sunday, April 10, 2016 1 , , , , Permalink 0

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly. - M.F.K. Fisher Celebrating any religious holiday in a mixed-religion home is often a delicate matter depending on how devout and observant each partner is or the decisions made on which religion the children shall be raised in. Notwithstanding ...

Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake and Mme. Lainel’s Visit

A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine. - Anne Bronte Sometimes one must just force summer’s hand a little bit. Mme. Lainel showed up in reception Tuesday evening, later than was her habit of dropping in, making her way carefully across the courtyard, clutching her cane in one hand, crunching ...