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Lime Panna Cotta Tarts with Blueberry Glaze
What is all this juice and all this joy? – Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Spring.” Spring is finally here! Something about this time of year always makes me want to create. To try new things. And it was a long, cold, lonely winter, to paraphrase the Fab Four. We lost my father-in-law Pop at Christmas time, so we’re coming off a sad season. Even when loss is expected, it’s still loss – that ongoing process of remembering that the person you loved is gone forever.
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Easy Espresso Crème Brûlée
“Crème brûlée is the ultimate ‘guy’ dessert. Make it and he’ll follow you anywhere.” – Ina Garten. I’d follow anyone anywhere for this crème brûlée. I can’t get over how wonderful it is with the espresso flavor added. I had some freshly purchased powder for another recipe and thought I’d throw in a couple teaspoons. Oh my goodness. The coffee with the vanilla, the warm sugar and the cold custard, the soft and the hard textures…it is sublime.
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Chocolate Caramel Tart
Dark chocolate’s botanical name is Theobroma cacao, or “food of the gods.” Are you ready? Really ready? Because this chocolate caramel tart with flaked sea salt is going to rock your world. Prepare to be shook. In a good way. And it’s NOT THAT HARD. You just have to take your time.
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Meyer Lemon Custard Cakes
“…and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks.” Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything. Meyer lemons are in season! When I saw some at Trader Joe’s I snapped those babies right up, but then the question was, what to do with them? What recipe would feature the complex, gorgeous flavor of Meyer lemons? These delicious custard cakes were the answer. They’re a perfect blend of cake and pudding and make a most refreshing dessert.
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Fougasse
“The history of bread is the history of men and of all time.” – Gerard Auzet. Think focaccia by way of Provence and you have fougasse, a crusty, yeasted flatbread distinctive for its pretty cut-outs mimicking a wheat stalk. And like focaccia, fougasse’s origins go back to good ol’ ancient Rome and the panis focacius, or “bread of the focus” (hearth or fireplace), which were flatbreads cooked in the ashes of the fire.
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Gingerbread Scones
“An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy ginger-bread.” – Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost. To me, ginger is one of those substances that seems almost magical. Cure for nausea? Check. Anti-inflammatory? Check. Fragrant and delicious? Check. From its zingy presence in savory dishes to its aromatic spiciness in cookies and bread, what’s not to love?
