This Pumpkin Noodle Babka is my recreation of a fall dish Babunia, my Ukrainian maternal grandmother Julianna Bulawka, improvised for Didunio, my grandfather Vasyl Bulawka. It unites sweet cheese, sour cream custard with egg noodles and pumpkin, Ukraine’s favorite fall ingredient, in a noodle bake (she called harbuzova babka* or kugel (гарбузова бабка or куґель) …
At the end of a recent seafood dinner in Washington, my dining companions and I were presented with a splendid arrangement of Greek desserts. The assortment was familiar: baklava —caramelized phyllo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey, ekmek kataifi –crispy, golden shredded phyllo with creamy custard, soaked in lemon scented …
When I was a kid, rhubarb dishes appeared on our family menu each May, confirming unequivocally that spring had finally arrived. Seeing a basket of bright red rhubarb at the local market enticed me to try this Rhubarb Tart with Crème Anglaise recipe that I’ve saved just for this occasion. Rhubarb is a perennial plant …
This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is my twist on the traditional Ukrainian Napoleon. In my childhood, Napoleon Torte was the epitome of a fancy dessert made only for special occasions by my aunt Titka Maria or Mama. Years later, when I began working in Ukraine, I learned this torte was adored by other Ukrainians and prepared …
Pistachio Napoleon Torte – a Twist on a Ukrainian Classic Read More »
The annual appearance of firm red and green rhubarb stalks in farmers’ markets heralds that winter is finally over. Knowing rhubarb season is fleeting, I usually buy enough to fill my baking and cooking cravings. This year, it’s time for a Strawberry-glazed Rhubarb Yogurt Cheesecake. My affinity for rhubarb started early. In our first small …
I created this Cranberry Cream Tart to highlight cranberries, an underutilized fruit which plays a secondary role to savory dishes and rarely in desserts. Since learning about the importance of wild cranberries to the diet of Native Americans in my third-grade lesson on the first Thanksgiving and their use by Pilgrims as a ubiquitous condiment, …
It’s the middle of March and it’s snowing for the fifth time this month. The piles of snow will linger long after spring starts a few days from now. As I watched the white flurries outside the window this morning, I recalled that Scandinavians go to great lengths to keep spirits up in the waning …
There is wide discretion in recipe nomenclature. You can pretty much name a recipe anything you want. The usual practice, however, is that the name should indicate something about the ingredients and style of preparation. I named this dish a clafoutis despite knowing that the French are persnickety about naming classic recipes. Académie Française, the renowned …