February 28th, 2012 by
Recipe: Cheese on Toast
Hapus Dydd Gŵyl Dewi!
For those of you not familiar with the Welsh language, I’ve just wished you a Happy St. David’s Day.
St. David’s Day, March 1, celebrates Wales’ patron saint. The Cymry (Welsh people) often celebrate the day with dinners, parties, and music.
Which brings us to “baked cheese”: caws pobi, a.k.a. Welsh Rarebit, a.k.a. Welsh Rabbit.
Or, in plain descriptive terms, melted cheese on toast.
February 27th, 2012 by
Recipe: Chocolate Crêpe Cake
Do you remember the savory vegetable crêpe torte we shared back towards Thanksgiving time? It was so such a delicious marvel of tender layers and layers, we decided to go with a sweet version. A sweet crêpe cake, my oh my.
February 24th, 2012 by
Recipe: Irish Buttermilk Brown Bread
I’m Irish. And I love love LOVE potatoes.
Mashed, steamed, (french) fried, saladed, O’Brien’d, even Tater-Totted – potatoes are my BFF (best friend forever, for those of you without regular contact with teenage girls).
Cabbage – pretty good, especially quickly sautéed and served crisp. Or made into coleslaw.
Corned beef? Lukewarm (even when hot in a sandwich).
Irish brown bread?
Ewww…
Until now.
February 20th, 2012 by
Recipe: Blueberry Scones
Have you ever made scones?
If so, you realize an American-style scone is simply a gussied-up biscuit.
More sugar. More fat. And certainly more add-ins – like dried cherries, and chocolate chips, and pecans…
More is just enough. It’s the American way!
February 20th, 2012 by
Recipe: Presidential Cherry Pie
Red for the cherries, white for the crust and the whipped cream on top, and you, because King Arthur wants you… to bake a pie!
Remember Washington’s Birthday? Way back when, it was a sort-of school holiday (I confess being old enough to celebrate Washington’s birthday on the actual date, instead of the now calendar-convenienced President’s Day). These days I remember the Father of Our Country mostly for his effect on the Mother of Our Family.
February 17th, 2012 by
Recipe: Mexican Spiral Bread
Come on, people, raise a hand and show your age.
How many of your are like me, and were born in PST? No, not Pacific Standard Time. I’m talking Pre-Salsa Time.
That’s right, there was a time, especially for those of us on the cold, dark East Coast, when salsa was unheard of. PST was also PBT, and PNT as well…
February 13th, 2012 by
Recipe: Mardi Gras Jam Buns
Repeat after me: these are NOT pazcki (say “POONCH-key”).
They have no paczki aspirations whatsoever. They’re nothing like what your babka or your busia made.
Sure, they started out to be pazcki, those fat, soft, luscious jelly doughnuts served on Mardi Gras throughout the Midwest, and in Polish-American households everywhere.
But truth to tell, this Irish-Norwegian-New England baker couldn’t pull them off.
A paczki pro I’m not.
February 12th, 2012 by
[Ed. note: Amy Trage, a member of our bakers' team and a dedicated gluten-free baker, is our newest blogger. Welcome, Amy!]
It has been through a series of trials and errors that I’ve learned to embrace the styles and challenges of gluten-free baking. When I first learned of my intolerance a few years ago, I not only resisted the change; I even avoided baking for almost a year.
One of my biggest tests was to sell this lifestyle to my three young children: Picky, Finicky, and Ewwthat’syucky. We are now united in a strong mission to discover at least one “I like” in every food. And to be honest, the transition from a wheat-based diet to one of gluten freedom has actually been more successful than my old strategy of hiding puréed vegetables in their dinner.
February 12th, 2012 by
Recipe: Milk Chocolate Layer Cake
When you really think about it, milk chocolate was probably the first exposure most of us had to chocolate as children.
Not sure? Consider the candies and treats you would have eaten as a kid…
February 9th, 2012 by
Recipe: Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels
One of my earliest food memories is the soft, chewy, hot pretzels my dad would buy us kids on our regular wintertime visits to Philadelphia, across the river from his hometown of Camden, New Jersey.
Tasting strongly of the charcoal fire keeping them hot, squirted with a squiggle of bright yellow mustard, they both warmed and kept us entertained as we trudged icy city streets in the wake of Mom and Dad, who were busy reliving old times and window shopping.
Window shopping? B-O-R-I-N-G, when you’re a kid. Thus the food bribes.