Tag Archives: Ginger

Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream

The idea of making a roulade seemed, at first glance, somewhat intimidating.  There was the rolling, then unrolling, and finally, the re-rolling.  The instructions seemed intricate and the cake seemed delicate.  Visions of a cake suddenly collapsing and crumbling under its own weight flashed before me, wiping away my mixing and baking efforts in a moment.

But then I stopped, and remembered that this was not the first time that I faced what seemed to be an insurmountable cooking hurdle.  There had, after all, been many intimidating cooking projects before this one.  I had made flan, caramelizing sugar.  I had made oat bread, coaxing the yeast.  I had made spanakopita, Continue reading

Homemade Candied Ginger

When Caitlin is out of town, I find myself thinking of fun things to make for her, to welcome her back.  These are, more often than not, sweets.  This time, I wanted to do something different.

Early in our relationship, I had flown up to Washington, D.C. to spend the July 4th holiday with Caitlin.  We had gone to the National Mall for the concert, featuring Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, and a host of other performers.  We had gone to a Nationals game Continue reading

Ginger Beer

One of the great things about making the candied ginger was the ginger syrup.  As part of the process of making candied ginger, the ginger is steeped in a simply syrup for about an hour.  The result is a sweet, intensely ginger syrup.  Intrigued, I mixed this syrup with seltzer Continue reading

Classic Gingerbread Cake

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

Gingerbread Pancakes

Gingerbread pancakes are the perfect treat on a cold Winter weekend morning, when there’s nothing better than curling up on the couch, drinking your hot coffee, and folding over sections of the Sunday paper.

Caitlin and I grated some fresh ginger for these pancakes.  For a little extra touch, you can add some Confectioners’ sugar and top with a piece of pickled ginger.

And if you do decide to brave the cold, well at least Continue reading

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

In the cold winter months, nothing beats a hearty molasses cookie.  These cookies are comparable to ginger snaps, but are a little more crunchy, with a hint of molasses.  I took the recipe Continue reading

Grilled Pumpkin Salad

Grilled Pumpkin Salad

I’ve been feeling a little blue lately.

After making the blue cheese souffle, I wanted to find another recipe for the pungent cheese.  With a crisp Fall day on hand, and several pumpkins beckoning, I decided to throw some pumpkin slices on the grill.  I marinated the pumpkin slices with ginger, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then tossed them on the grill.  A few grill marks later, I combined the hot gourds with blue cheese and the salad regulars, for a real American salad.

Indeed, pumpkins are one of the continent’s oldest crops, having been first cultivated thousands of years ago by Native American tribes.  During the colonial era, the tribes routinely prepared Continue reading

Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Seed Crust

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin isn’t just a scary face anymore.

Carving pumpkins seem to dominate the Fall season, their faces appearing on plastic buckets and billboards, their representatives occupying porch steps and window sills.  When we think of pumpkin patches and Halloween, we have carving pumpkins in mind.  And that’s sad.  Pumpkins have become one of the few vegetables – if not the only one – that has been turned from a food into a decorative device to be discarded.  Etching and cutting a design into a vegetable should not be intuitive.

Pumpkin in its many forms

Instead, we should look away from the beasts and monsters, and turn our sights towards sweeter pursuits.  Pie pumpkins, unlike the carving pumpkins, are Continue reading

Pumpkin-Ginger Souffle

Pumpkin Ginger Souffle

Nothing says Fall like the bright orange and reds that surround the season.

The glow of flickering candles set in hollowed-out pumpkins.  Crimson leaves swept aside by an errant football.  Classroom displays of construction-paper cornucopias and scissor-cut turkey feathers.  A scarecrow, straw tumbling from his furrowed brow, as he patrols a lonely field.  Thoughts of the harvest and a Thanksgiving meal.

Pie Pumpkins2

What evokes Fall for you? Continue reading

Peach Italian Ice

Peach Italian Ice

Angelo Brocato’s Italian Ice Cream Parlor is an unassuming place, sandwiched between an Asian restaurant unsure about its own ethnicity, and a sports bar with saloon doors for an entrance.  On one corner of the street sits a warehouse, with stacks of rolled carpet piled high in all directions;  on the other corner rests Junque Antiques, the building itself looking several birthdays older than its wares.

Peach Ice Collage

Parking for Angelo Brocato’s is limited to an empty gravel-filled lot, or whatever spaces are available at 45-degree angles on the wide sidewalk on the river side of North Carrolton Avenue.  The parlor itself occupies a one-story storefront in the mid-city neighborhood of New Orleans, a safe distance from the reverie of the French Quarter.  Inside, the store displays the black-and-white portrait of its founder, and the wire-rimmed chairs, apothecary jars, and Continue reading