Imagine, if you will: A rich, buttery, almond-based tart crust. A thick, granular layer of creamy grapefruit almond curd. Slices of fresh pink grapefruit, sweeter, pulp bursting with juice. The crunch of a thin layer of caramelized sugar.
The warmth of the crust, fresh from the oven. Curd and grapefruit, cool from the fridge. The […]

I have a confession to make: I like chocolate sorbet better than chocolate ice cream.
There is a darling little chocolate cafe near my apartment called The Chocolate Room. Every time we go there, we are given a tiny dish of unbelievable Valhrona sorbet as a mise en bouche which always ends up surpassing whatever we […]

No story here. Just another photo taken in my parents’ kitchen, and the perfect way to finish off the last sour cherries of the year. The first thing to hit your tongue here is the sour!, and then mostly smooth almond, until a lingering aftertaste of pure, tart cherry sweeps in.

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A friend and I were once on a bus to Boston, discussing the origin of ketchup (a/k/a catsup). I insisted that it had to be a relatively recent invention, because the tomato is a New World fruit. She thought it was older. So I called up my brother, asking him to look it up for […]

As soon as I saw the flowering sage at the farmer’s market, I just knew I had to use it in my entry for The Spice is Right #3: The Perfumed Garden, which called for us to use edible flowers in our cooking. And as I was saying, I have this extreme overabundance of sour […]

My father planted a sour cherry tree by the side of the house a few years back, and every year he insists that I make him a sour cherry pie. The deal has always been that my brother picks the cherries and I pit and bake the cherries.
The tree has grown enormously in the […]

The photo is of the unbaked cookies, because I failed to take a good photo of them after they came out of the oven and before they were taken away.
I am catering a cocktail party (well, we are - I never cook alone anymore; everything I make is a joint effort with Dave nowadays). We’ve […]

I’m still stuck on that saffron dill tart dough I was playing with when I made those garlic scape tartlets and leek tartlets. I am also temporarily entirely done with making tartlets - spending most of a party in the kitchen making extra batches of them can do that to a person. What to do? […]

The tart dough I used here was actually developed by my friend Scott Lefton, who showed me the recipe and encouraged me to go forth and play with it. First, I used it with brie and sauteed leeks for a variant of Bron’s leek and brie tartlets. The flavors combined so well, a slow rolling […]

Two ice cream related posts in a row? I suppose it’s appropriate. Let’s say it’s for plaisir sucre’s summer ice cream event. We also installed our air conditioners a few days ago. Ice cream season is definitively here.
Thai iced tea is one of the best substances on the planet. Thai iced tea ice cream […]