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Game Night Linzer Cookies
“I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.” – Steven Wright. Game night! My partner Steve and I are both big board game devotees. In fact, I have to go through and prune the games almost as much as I do the books. (Liability of being a librarian.) We seem to go through phases (Dominion, anyone?) though some games we return to again and again. Our vintage Aggravation game gets pulled out pretty often, as do the cooperative games like Forbidden Island and Pandemic. (LOVE Pandemic. It’s a different game every time and so challenging. Ain’t gonna lie, we often argue while playing this one but…
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Macarons with Lemon Curd Buttercream
‘How wonderful yellow is! It stands for the sun.” – Vincent van Gogh Macarons, macarons, macarons – was there ever such a persnickety-yet-precious confection? Making them is a mood thing for me but when I am in the mood, there’s nothing quite like them. With endless filling and flavor possibilities, they require the perfect blend of technique and creativity.
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Lemon Curd
“Because I told you to buy lemon curd, Woodhouse! Now what am I going to spread on my toast? Your tears?” – Archer. Homemade lemon curd really couldn’t be easier. And it’s so much tastier than the store-bought version. Lemons, sugar, salt, eggs and butter – that’s all it takes to make this deliciously tart, gorgeously silky curd. Use it as a delectable filling for tarts, cakes, and macarons, as a tasty topping for scones, cookies, and toast, or mix it with your yogurt in the morning.
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Italian Meringue
“A meringue is really nothing but a foam. And what is a foam after all, but a big collection of bubbles? We add sugar to this structure, which strengthens it. But things can, and do, go wrong.” – Alton Brown. The most stable of the meringues, Italian meringue requires hot sugar syrup trickled into whipped egg whites which results in gorgeous tall and fluffy peaks. Use to frost or pipe onto a cake, add as a topping for a pie, or fold into your macarons. Since I’ve started using Italian meringue with my macarons – see here and here – they’ve come out shinier and smoother than ever.
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Homemade Soft Pretzels
From German Prezel, also Brezel, from Middle High German brezel, prezel, from Medieval Latin brachitella, presumably a kind of biscuit baked in the shape of folded arms….diminutive of Latin bracchiatus “with branches, with arms,” from Greek brakhion “an arm.” – Etymology of the word ‘pretzel.’
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Classic Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness. – Jane Austen. It’s been quite a little while since I made an apple pie, but when I saw there were Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples available, I knew what had to be done. This beauty of a pie also includes a couple of Granny Smiths, of course, to add that bit of tart and keep the pie from being too sweet.
