The arrival of November means winter baking mode begins here – especially pies and tarts, which generally take longer baking times to warm the house and fill the air with fruity-buttery goodness. [Well that is until the juices and butter get a little…
New Orleans has been figuring large on my mind these days. The 10 year anniversary of The Hurricane and a recent trip to one of my favorite places for R&R, food and music – the Crescent City. Chef Steve Herbert is…
Can we all agree backyard fruit crops are splendid? My neighbor’s apricot tree is having a bumper crop this year. And lucky for me, there are several large branches filled with fruit, and growing on my side of our fence! They are just…
A strawberry pastry was part of my own Mother’s Day celebration for years. The school my son attended from pre-school through sixth grade created a Mother’s Day Tea for moms, with even the littlest hands diving in to wrap refrigerated crescent roll dough around…
Call it “Food Foraging 2.0” – when I posted a plea for fresh, culinary bay leaves on our neighborhood social network. I was “Jonesing” for a pound cake using bay leaves and oranges that I spied in David Lebovitz’ “My Paris Kitchen” cookbook, and had…
Imagine my reaction when my Piedmont Post editor suggested a bûche de Noël as the topic for this month’s column. That’s French for yule log cake, a dessert fancier’s way of celebrating Winter Solstice and Christmas that began centuries (!) ago. It has…
Shorter days and a bit of welcomed rain signal the change of season, and thus my thoughts turn quickly to fall baking projects! As it turns out, several varieties of apples grow quite well here in Piedmont, CA; and I’m fortunate to have…
Here in Piedmont, the city loves 4th of July! The morning parade is a big deal; neighbors begin claiming prime viewing spots along the parade route days before with lawn chairs, blankets and sometimes décor. Many of those fortunate to have front yards along…
Lots of lemons! With three trees in our backyard, I am often overwhelmed by what to do with all the lemons. (Yes, I’ve become the “Do you need any lemons?” person from whom others have begun to steer clear…Much like the “Do you need any…
As a young girl, pineapple upside-down cake was always a treat. Back then Mom would make it from a Betty Crocker cake mix, and she would let me position the pineapple rings onto the bottom of the pan. My very favorite part was carefully placing…