Happy birthday to Stephanie and Jessica! Yup, that’s right, it’s our birthday today!
Today we turn 27 (or 54, if you add us together). And what better way to celebrate our birthday than an amazing maple cake? We’re not sure when the actual maple season is, but I think it’s a fallish flavor, and fall is ending right about now, so why not go with a maple cake? That, and I have been dying to make this cake ever since I got this cookbook.
People think that risotto is hard to make. And it is, but only if you use one of those recipes that has you standing over the stove mixing the wine and chicken stock and adding ladlefuls each time the liquid is absorbed. One of my favorite people ever, Ina Garten, just makes her risotto in the oven. So easy! Especially if you have homemade vegetable broth in the freezer, like I always do.
This is one of the most beautiful dishes I’ve ever made. And they were really easy! I know a lot of people are scared of yeasted breads, but this one is so impressive when served to guests, especially if you’re making a dinner party, that you should really just try.
Plus, I adapted this hand-kneading recipe to use with a mixer so there’s hardly anything you need to do. I also made it pareve, since I ate it with a meaty stew. I’m sure it would be even more amazing with some melted butter on top, though I love the flavor of a good olive oil. Or, you can dress it up with some herbed oil.
This is one of the greatest things I’ve ever made. And it was so easy . Semi-homemade, actually. It’s a great dairy dessert for when you don’t have much time to work but want to impress someone. Or, if you’re just in the mood for a great banana dessert but don’t want to go through the process of making a banana cream pie. Continue reading
Even though we’re Jewish, it’s impossible to ignore all of the Halloween in the air! That means tons of candy and treats for the kids. For my kid, it’s homemade candy; so if you want to make a special homemade treat, give this recipe a try! And if you can find the correct sized tart pan, buy one for me. I’ll pay you back.
When I saw the photo of this candy/dessert in my friend Daniella’s Bon Appetit Desserts book, I KNEW I had to buy the book right away. And I did, thanks to the Amazon app on my iPhone. Then I bookmarked way too many desserts and put this one off for a little while. I’m glad I came back to it. It was actually quite easy, and I had all the ingredients in my pantry except for the sweetened condensed milk. That’s easy to find in the supermarket. Oh, golden syrup is great. If you don’t have it, you can use corn syrup, but I don’t like to use corn syrup. I find Lyle’s golden syrup in the regular supermarket, but if you can’t find it, try Amazon. Continue reading
Who doesn’t love strawberry shortcakes? They’re a perfect brunch food and are super easy to make. All you need is some homemade biscuits (cut however you want. the original recipe said to cut into rectangles, but I like how these look), strawberries, and whipped cream. They’re perfect for summer, but I enjoy them any time of the year. Continue reading
This is no ordinary bread. Forget the fact that it’s filled with raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. It’s also made with a rich, buttery “breakfast” dough. That’s right, I used the same dough for this that I used to make cinnamon buns. So you know it must be good.
Thinking of something different to make for the break-fast? Well, you can’t go wrong with this! People don’t want to eat TOO much (well, I don’t, at least) an this will be a perfect post-fast meal along with a big cup of tea. Continue reading
This is Richie eating his piece of focaccia for breakfast one morning. Notice the happy face he is making because he loves it so much. Also notice those pajamas. everyone likes sleepy lions.
But really, I served this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to a number of people, and they all loved it. Though I made them taste it before I told them about the weird flavor combination. Continue reading
Summer means corn season! And while we love grilling corn and making corn salad, I wanted to do something a little different this time. Of course, I consulted my favorite book and found an amazing sounding corn souffle.
We’ve made souffles before, and they’re fancy without being too hard to make. So, I decided to use Richie’s all-time favorite food and make it a little bit fancier for dinner.
Carrot cake is one of the best cakes out there. It’s not because of the healthy vegetable hiding in it, either. It’s because of the cream cheese frosting. Everyone knows cream cheese frosting is the best. So even though we’ve made carrot cake before, I saw this recipe in Cook’s Illustrated and thought it would be a perfect Shavuot treat! Thin layers of cake, nuts only on the outside, and something I could bake ahead of time and freeze, how could you go wrong?