Four for Dinner

Ever since spending time in Paris, I’ve been obsessed with the French macaron. Not a “macaroon”, as this month’s recipe in Bon Appetit calls it – but a macaron. Macaroons are heavier – like the coconut cookies that you see at delis and at Passover, or the sweet almond macaroons made with almond paste. I [...]

L decided to “cook the cover” of Bon Appetit again this month. This time, the cover featured another meringue confection – Peppermint Meringue Cookies – a lot easier to make than the Lime Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie. These little meringues are simple, straightforward, beautiful and delicious. Yum, yum. L did a great job making them [...]

Last week, I hosted my book club. Not realizing that most of the ladies in my book club would be unable to make our discussion, I cooked too much. So what else is new. We read the book “Let the Great World Spin” by Colum McCann, which takes place in New York in the 1970s. [...]

We have a great Afghan restaurant near us that has delicious kebabs, stews, and bread. It is a family run, family style restaurant – warm and friendly. One of the last times that we were there, J was ooo’ing and ahh’ing so much over their bread that they gave her a stack to take home. [...]

I have been meaning to post the recipe that I have been using to make scones for a while. Today, I made these easy pastries for a school function, after drop-off – i.e., breakfast time. A friend of mine described them as “crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside”. She really liked them. [...]

A few years ago, at a restaurant called 21 Federal in Nantucket, L & J had a soup that was very unusual. It was a cold tomato consomme served over a mini caprese style salad. What made it so different was that the “soup” was a clear – totally clear – tomato juice. It had [...]

I know when a meal is a hit when L & J, within the first few bites, ask, “Can we have this in our lunch boxes tomorrow?” Tonight’s dinner was one of those recipes that was right on target. I am not a particularly good or adventuresome cook when it comes to Asian style food. [...]

And, to go with the apple tart on this cold, blustery summer evening: Paprika Roast Chicken with Sweet Onion. I was re-organizing my very full recipe folder and found this recipe from the February 2009 issue of Gourmet (sniff, sniff). I looked it up on epicurious.com and found that it was highly rated. Excellent. Quick. [...]

[This post was written weeks ago - time got away from me. Start of school and all.] We had a fun, easy dinner last night. Melon with prosciutto to start, plus some white figs with a little blue cheese and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. For dinner, we had grilled boneless pork chops, french green [...]

My friend RN gave me a rose shaped bundt cake pan that I’ve wanted to try for a while. The shape that it makes is so pretty and delicate looking. I don’t know why I haven’t used it, but probably because I’m usually making layer cakes or cakes in a tube pan (that you wouldn’t [...]