My two favorite meals to eat out (No starting the day with a sinkful of dishes!) may also just be my two favorite meals to invite people over for (No skimping on the bacon!).
Quince Jelly (for jelly novices)
There are few kitchen tasks as rewarding as making quince jelly. Some fruit, some water, some sugar; a strainer, a saucepan, a hot burner…and then the magic happens. First th [...]
Single-Rise Moroccan Bread
This is the homemade bread recipe for people (like me) who don’t just *love* bread baking. It is easy. It exceeds my expectations for shape, texture, and flavor. The dusky, d [...]
(Irish) Scones
I’m taking the liberty of calling these ‘Irish Scones’ after they got the ‘Just like my Granny’s!’ seal of approval from my Irish friend Janet. (I also think of them as Irish [...]
Sloe Gin Kir Royal
Sloe gin replaces the traditional crème de cassis in the iconic French aperitif. This one falls in the category of ‘Why didn’t I think of it before?’ I love the idea of sloe [...]
Just-Sweet-Enough Granola
Most granolas are really just dessert disguised as breakfast food—something I learned when I made granola for the first time in a hipster New York City bakery and saw how muc [...]
One-Banana Bread
This recipe is proof positive of why every cook should know how to make—and use—a vegan egg. I always seem to have one over-ripe banana. There it will sit, on my counter, get [...]
Teurgoule (Norman Rice Pudding)
What is the matter with Mary Jane? She's crying with all her might and main, And she won't eat her dinner - rice pudding again - What is the matter with Mary Jane? From ‘Rice [...]
Ballymaloe’s Irish Soda Bread
If there is one thing you should make (or learn to make) for Saint Patrick’s Day, it is Irish Soda Bread. In fact, you should make (or learn to make) Irish soda bread, period [...]
Almond Croissants
There is nothing worse—and nothing better—than day-old croissants. Nothing worse, because each chewy, slightly stale bite of a day-old croissant is a reminder of how good the [...]
Homemade Apple Butter
Each year, I make more. I have not yet reached the apple butter output of nearby villages in Brittany where le pommé (the local term for apple butter) is simmered and stirred [...]
Breton Buckwheat-Apple Cake
It is so very, very rare that a recipe one imagines turns out just right the very first time that it’s important to call it out, celebrate it, tell everyone about it. ‘Cause [...]
Homemade Fruit Jam
I have a little problem with large quantities of fruit for sale. I see them, and I must have them—for jam, natch. Nevermind that a 5-pound flat of strawberries will make thre [...]
Wild Plum Compote
I have been wracking my brain for a way to make ‘compote’ sound sexy. Exciting. Like something you want to jump out of your chair and make immediately. And I keep coming up w [...]
Savory French Toast Tartines
It has been a busy couple of weeks since I was last able to shop for food. Good-busy, with lots of eating out and seeing friends, but bad-busy in the sense that a lot of food [...]
Wild Garlic Spanish Tortilla
How can so few people in Brittany (or at least my part of Brittany) know about three-cornered leeks? Until my recent (as in, 2 minutes ago) internet search I’ve been calling [...]
Rhubarb Muffins
Still reeling from the jacked-up rhubarb prices in the US, (FIVE DOLLARS A POUND! That’s almost as much as organic strawberries—for a perennial that grows like a weed whereve [...]
Gingery Pumpkin Bread
The first time I made pumpkin bread in France was for an English class I taught in a sunny ground floor room of a small town community center. The class ran from 2:30 to 4 in [...]
The Only Muffin Recipe You Will Ever Need
I am not often given to hyperbole (or to preciously placing a single muffin on a china saucer...see below...), which tells you just how highly I think of this recipe. From th [...]