Caitlin celebrated her birthday last week. And in preparation of the big day, I scanned my collection of recipes and cookbooks, searching for the perfect layer cake. Last year I made her the pumpkin crepe cake. The year before that, the butternut squash layer cake.
This year, I decided, it was time to stray from the harvest theme. I was looking through my cookbooks, feeling uninspired, when I resolved to make my own cake. No recipe. No guide. I would just with it. Continue reading
You have to applaud the marketing efforts of Nutella. Nutella is, as the box proudly proclaims, little more than sugar and a mix of hazelnuts and cocoa. Indeed, the first ingredient listed is sugar. Owing to its healthy mix of hazelnuts, the spread also has its share of fat. And yet, Nutella is branded as a necessary component of a balanced breakfast – as if it contained some vital, indispensable nutrients. In almost all of its marketing literature, Nutella is featured at the breakfast table.
In fairness, Nutella does not advocate downing spoonful after spoonful of its spread. Instead, the company notes that without Nutella, you might forego that piece of otherwise boring whole wheat toast. In that respect, Continue reading
These are amazing caramels!
When Caitlin and I were in San Francisco last month, we stopped in the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero. It was around 11:00 a.m. and, even though had lunch plans in an hour, we thought it would be fun to wander through the marketplace. We shared a sorbet from the Ciao Bella stand and then went across the hall to a small food store to find (something else) to hold me over until lunch.
At the checkout stand, there was a tin bin, filled with several varieties of caramels. I can’t remember the different kinds, but I do know that we grabbed two or three to have “later.” Continue reading
After making my cream caramels, I decided it would be fun to experiment. In particular, I was curious to know if the recipe would work with low-fat milk instead of cream. Unfortunately, my adherence to the scientific method was somewhat lackluster. Instead of introducing a single variable, I introduced two: pistachios and low-fat milk.
These caramels were not as soft as the plain ones, but they were not altogether hard. I suspect, though, that it was the chopped pistachios and not the absence of cream that made these caramels a little harder. On the topic of taste, I’m happy to report Continue reading
Two years ago, Caitlin and I designed the Grim Peeper, our submission for the Washington Post’s annual Peep Contest. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the time to collaborate on any recent peep project.
And yet, I still had a bag or two of those yellow marshmallows sitting around the kitchen, chirping to be used. Around Easter, I noticed a few food blogs featuring bird’s nests, combining chow mein noodles with some of the ubiquitous bagged candy.
Though I liked the concept, the idea of chow mein noodles and chocolate did not sound appealing. Continue reading
As I’ve noted before, it’s important to have a food gameplan when picking Caitlin up from the airport. That means having a restaurant and itinerary picked out in advance of pick-up.
In addition, I also like to have a snack waiting for Caitlin when she arrives – a little something to tide her over during the drive back into the city. Often, the snack is home-made, something sweet that I’ve made either that day, or the day before. Occasionally, though, time gets ahead of me, and I have to settle on something from the store.
But whether it was store-bought or home-made, I had, apparently, developed a steady habit of having a snack in the car on those airport trips. To the point where I had created a nearly Pavlovian connection between the airport and baked goods.
Sure enough, Continue reading
When I’m in the supermarket checkout line, I often look longingly at the Cook’s Illustrated in the magazine racks. The magazine always looks so informative and helpful. The sleek black and white drawings, the hands-on, practical tips, and the absence of advertisements. But at $5.95, it always gives me that moment of pause.
So I was particularly excited Continue reading
A few months ago, in one of my nightly phone dates with Charles, the topic of Valentine’s Day came up. Since we live in Memphis and Cincinnati this year, we were planning to spend the holiday apart, a reality that left me somewhat bummed.
Now, I’m not wedded (pun intended) to the February 14 greeting card extravaganza, but the prospect of spending the night alone was still unappealing. So, after agreeing to acknowledge the occasion on our next visit, Mr. Romance reminded me Continue reading
I’m a sucker for a good recipe contest. Cooking, for me, is already a fun and creative hobby. So the thought of prize money is just icing on top.
One day in the supermarket, I passed a giant display of Ritz Crackers, complete with football goal posts, inflated balloons, and a nearly life-size cutout of Guy Fieri. Drawing closer, I saw that Kraft was running a recipe contest for its Ritz Crackers. With a grand prize of $20,000, I decided to grab a box or two, and see what I could do.
My first thought was toward a cookie. Continue reading
Of all the foods characteristic of New Orleans – from pralines to muffalettas – my all-time favorite remains the King Cake (la galette des Rois).
I can remember gathering around the large loaf in grade school, eagerly holding out my plate, and wondering if my piece would be the lucky piece. If the teacher was feeling generous that day, she might indulge our personal choices, and allow us to select that prized piece ourselves. There were those that favored the edge pieces. Others favored a particular color of icing – be it green, yellow, or purple – certain that good luck lay beneath it. And others still allowed simple chance to play its part.
I don’t remember what my particular stratagem may have been, but given the importance of the situation, I certainly had one. You see, hidden in the dough was a small plastic baby. And whoever pulled the baby from his or piece was king or queen for the day.
In grade school, this was no mere sinecure. Continue reading
