This Italian Plum Ginger Frangipane Tart was prompted by an eye-catching farmers’ market display of stone fruits last week. The abundant harvest of beautifully ripe peaches, nectarines and plums jolted my realization that these fruits would be available in their prime for only a few weeks, and I needed to move fast if I wanted …
When the dog days of summer bring temperatures in the high 90s and turn the air thick and sultry, my enthusiasm for the kitchen diminishes: it’s too hot and sticky to cook a dinner, with or without an outside grill. What is needed now is an easy to prepare meal that cools us down, and a visit …
Several weeks ago the fruit stands at the local farmer’s market were filled with strawberries, both locally cultivated and wild. Seeing these bright red berries, large and small, reminded me of a strawberry pie I had years ago in Baltimore’s legendary restaurant, Haussner’s , which closed in 1999. The strawberry pie was its signature dessert. …
This buckwheat vegetable salad was an accidental creation, as are many of my culinary efforts. I recently decided to reduce our intake of meats and dairy, incorporating additional vegetables into our meals, even planning some meatless dinners. So I bought an assortment of fresh vegetables at a farmer’s market, intending to use these ingredients in …
It’s asparagus season. The appearance of bunches of vividly green or ghostly white asparagus at the local market is a harbinger of spring, calling for a seasonal celebration of this often unappreciated vegetable with special recipes for soups, omelets, soufflées, tarts and even asparagus desserts. And now is the time to savor the difference in …
The crust is the flavorful base for this assembled Grilled Vegetable and Hummus Black Pepper Olive Oil Tart and is star of this post. Using olive oil in baking was new to me until I started traveling to countries along the Mediterranean littoral where I encountered breads, pizzas, cookies, pastries, tarts and cakes made with …
Grilled vegetable and hummus black pepper olive oil tart Read More »
Finally, it’s spring and I’m abandoning winter stews, chilis and soups for lighter fare and fish is my preferred choice. The advent of spring always reminds me of fish and Lent. My family took Lent seriously when I was growing up. My maternal grandfather Didunio, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, fasted as required by Orthodox theology, …
Fish Veracruzan style — Pescado a la veracruzana Read More »
Tiny multi-lingual Switzerland is a country of culinary contrasts. In her Cooking in Switzerland, Marianne Kaltenbach writes, “Switzerland’s cuisine is as varied as its landscape.” Ingredients vary from canton to canton depending on whether in a mountainous area, the shores of a lake, or a fertile valley. In cantons where cows and sheep graze on alpine …
The holidays and the joyous part of winter have ended. The decorations were taken down and carefully put away. The dried tree and wreath discarded. The cookie cutters and assorted baking pans which were in constant use through November and December have been stored for another ten months. The dreary part of winter has started, …
I usually vary the topic of my posts from month to month, but this month I need to focus again on a dessert. It is December after all and “visions of sugarplums” are dancing in my head. So despite the number of cookies still around the house, my daughter Sophia and I made a special …
A Chocolate Indulgence: Steamed Chocolate Pudding Read More »