Velvet Scallops
When I first read about velveting scallops in Grace Young’s fabulous cookbook, Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge, the promise of ‘luxuriously smooth and dense’ scallops made me t [...]
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
I know…I know…Does the world really need yet sugar cookie? The world may not, but apparently I do. That’s because I ran out of cream of tartar. My grandmother’s sugar cookie [...]
Endive Tarte Tatin
The little endives I got from the vegetable automat nearby were too pretty to chop up in a salad or wrap up in ham—so I tried my hand at making an Endive Tarte Tatin I say ‘t [...]
3-Ingredient Winter Squash Velouté
It worked! After a late season batch of 3-Ingredient Zucchini Soup had me longing for more (but there were no more local zucchinis to be found), I decided to try the recipe w [...]
Medlar Jelly
My medlar jelly journey began with a lone, wild medlar tree growing by a cliffside field near my home in Cancale. I clocked it (inveterate forager that I’ve become), tasted o [...]
Quince Newtons
Once, when I was in my 20’s, I tried to make my own fig bars. They were a whole lotta work for precious little pay-off because they didn’t look or taste anywhere near as good [...]
Mashed Potatoes with Preserved Lemon
I first tasted this combo at Le Coquillage restaurant in Cancale/Saint-Méloir. The restaurant’s écrasé de pommes de terre was redolent with butter and was served alongside 2 [...]
Spaghetti with Mussels Fra Diavolo
When I was living in Brooklyn, I would often meet friends at one of the many, many Italian restaurants on Smith Street in Cobble Hill for dinner. Once I discovered fra diavol [...]
Devil’s Food Cupcakes
I loathe beets. But I absolutely love what they do for these cupcakes. Luckily, it’s easy to buy cooked beets at farmers’ markets and supermarkets in France, so my contact wi [...]