Les Petits Sweets: Two-Bite Desserts from the French Pâtisserie, will be released on September 6, 2016. It is available for pre-order now. The French way is the petite treat: two delicious bites—just a taste—of a sablé, madeleine, petit four, nougat, caramel, or other dessert that packs a sweet punch. With the tiny desserts featured in Les Petits Sweets, you can taste more than one, make … Continue reading Les Petits Sweets
I lived in Louisiana for three and a half years and ate my share of pecan pies while there. I’ve made quite a few of them too, from plain ones to chocolate and Bourbon variations—nut and caramel flavors go well with dessert wines. But no matter how good the pie, all these baking and eating efforts never replaced the walnut torte I grew up on … Continue reading Walnut Torte
One of the best and simplest dinners you can have on a cold, snowy day is Vacherin au Four–a flavorful cheese that is baked until melted, and is then laddled onto boiled potatoes. Vacherin Mont d’Or, a cheese from the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, is the one and only cheese for such preparation, thanks in part to the round pine box in which it … Continue reading Vacherin au Four
I will be making eggnog at a pot luck later this week, and so was looking for a cocktail in which to use the leftover bourbon. I wanted a simple drink that wouldn’t require the purchase of additional, expensive ingredients. A mint julep sounded good but too summery; I liked the idea of building my cocktail on muddled mint, however. Adding a flavored simple syrup … Continue reading After the Nog
As a consolation for spending too much money paying bills, I ordered a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 years last week. I firmly intended on buying nothing else, but got tempted by a bottle of Aperol, which has become a very popular cocktail ingredient. Both arrived yesterday but remained in their box. Tonight was another story, however: After a harrowing few days … Continue reading Aperol Negroni
One of my favorite dishes to cook on a Sunday is a green curry loaded with vegetables and chickpeas or chicken for protein. It allows me to immediately use up some of the vegetables I picked up at the market that day and have plenty of leftovers for a couple of weeknight dinners, since it’s only better reheated. The initial recipe was inspired by Nigella … Continue reading Green Curry
Every once in a while I taste something so, so good that I immediately need to obtain the recipe. I might not get to cook the dish right away, but I need to know that I can succumb to my craving any time I want to. That’s what happened after eating a slice of David Leite’s Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake at a potluck last night. … Continue reading Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake
Pots and Plumes 