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Nutella Rugelach
“Shanah tovah um’tukah.” (May you have a good and sweet new year.) – Traditional greeting for the Jewish New Year. What could be better than rugelach with nutella inside? That tender dough paired with that chocolate-hazelnut flavor is a winner. Sure, these scrumptious little pastries may be a teensy bit labor intensive but they’re oh-so-worth it, especially with Rosh Hashanah coming soon (September 18-20). Here’s hoping that these sweet treats will bring a sweeter new year than the last one was.
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Peach Cobbler with Hot Sugar Crust
“And inside the peach, there’s a stone.” – Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace. One of my favorite things about August and September is the peaches. Buy them too early or too late, and they never seem to ripen or develop flavor. But in late summer? Heaven. And the peaches have been particularly good this year, for which I am genuinely grateful. After so many on-going grocery and produce shortages due to coronavirus, it is a wonderful surprise.
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Balsamic Strawberries with Angel Food Cake
“When you come to me, come to me with cake in your pocket, come to me nicely, with that soft kinda cake…bring me angel food angel food.” – Ani DiFranco. Who doesn’t love strawberry shortcake? This semi-savory take on the classic dessert uses an angel food loaf instead of shortcake or sweet biscuits, and adds tangy balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper to the macerated strawberries. It’s a very refreshing twist – not overly sweet and offering the perfect taste of summer.
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Blueberry Lemon Curd Walnut Tarts
“I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill.” – Fats Domino. Hello friends! I’ve been on a long, unintended hiatus. Like everyone, I’ve been adjusting to the new normal and sometimes having a hard time doing so. (Some tips in case you’re feeling anxious or down or having some sleepless nights due to COVID-19 and isolation.) I have been baking here and there, but with just the two of us stuck at home together, it’s been more along the lines of sourdough bread rather than cookies and cakes.
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Potato Onion and Carrot Pierogi
Jak się nie ma, co się lubi, to się lubi, co się ma. (If you don’t have what you like, you like what you have.) – Polish proverb. Hello friends! Welcome to another edition of making-do-with-what-you-have. In my neck of the woods, the yeast and AP flour shortages continue (as do the random fresh produce shortages of things like butternut squash and spinach). How is it for you? I’m seeing all these beautiful pictures of fresh veggies on Instagram and have to confess to being a little jealous. Seems everything I’m making these days is brown (if still delicious).
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Whole Wheat Maple Banana Bread
“…of all the recipe choices, banana bread feels the most accessible…it is as easy as mashing your old ass bananas together before stirring in the other ingredients and whacking them in a greased loaf tin.” – Sadhbh O’Sullivan, “Every Person I Know Is Making Banana Bread In Lockdown,” Refinery29. Oh, friends. What a strange time we’re living in, huh? The stress and the worry and this suddenly-new way of life – it’s been hard, hasn’t it? I hope you’re all managing to find pockets of happiness and staying well. I had to check out for a little while for a number of reasons, not least because my day job required…
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Orange Hot Cross Buns
Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns. – Poor Robin’s Almanack (1733). After a couple of experimental not-so-good sweet bakes (turns out Chinese five spice doesn’t go with everything), it was reassuring to get back to bread. Kneading dough is so therapeutic and there’s that elemental joy of the aroma of baking bread. These hot cross buns flavored with fresh orange and candied peel are just the ticket for this time of year, and a lovely addition to your Easter brunch table.
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Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
“I think baking cookies is equal to Queen Victoria running an empire. There’s no difference in how seriously you take the job, how seriously you approach your whole life.” – Martha Stewart. This was definitely a weekend for comfort baking, if only to stop myself from repeatedly refreshing the news feeds to read the latest grim news about the spread of coronavirus. After a week of trying-to-stay-calm prepping (building up our food stores, making lists, reading up on past pandemics), I needed a break.
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Pizza al Taglio
“Pizza al taglio (Roman style pizza) is set to revolutionize the U.S. pizza industy.” – Roman Pizza Academy. I was feeling uninspired facing this week’s bake and casting about for what to make. Another cake after last weekend’s seemed de trop and cookies weren’t calling to me. Nor were tarts or pastries. Then my lovely friend Tess, the giver-of-Meyer-lemons, gifted me with a giant bag of gorgeous, silky Italian pizza flour, tipo 0, and the decision was made. How could I not make pizza? And not just any pizza, but pizza al taglio, or “pizza by the cut.” (But don’t you fear – I’m giving you a recipe made with…
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Earl Grey Tea Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream
I’m not interested in immortality but only in tea flavor. – Lu Tung, Tang dynasty poet. Given the popularity of my macarons with Earl Grey tea buttercream, I’m not alone in my love of the tea. No surprise there, because it’s delicious. (For you food history fans, you can read all about Earl Grey and his popular tea here.) What is surprising is how long it took me to think up this combo, which pairs Earl Grey tea and lemon curd, another favorite of mine, in a beautiful cake. That bit of tang – ooh, it’s just heaven.
