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. [...]

The first time I had an alfajor cookie was at our local tacqueria. Two thin shortbread cookies with that mellow caramel, dulce de leche, in between, rolled in powdered sugar (as if it weren’t already sweet enough). It was soooo decadent and delicious. As is my usual, I thought, “I can make these”. But, finding [...]

Generally, when we have friends for dinner, I make something that I’ve made before. I don’t like to treat my guests as guinea pigs. Sometimes, you make dud dinners and I usually don’t like to risk it. Last Wednesday night, however, we decided to have dinner at our house at the last minute (5-4-Dinner) and [...]

I have some leftovers and lots of great memories of a wonderful weekend with S’s family. Given that we live closest (by more than 800 miles) to Grandma, we were the locus of the activities for this past weekend’s celebration of her 80th birthday. Family started to arrive last Monday (scrambled eggs for dinner day) [...]

Some biscotti are good for just plain gobbling, like a regular cookie. Some are good for dunking and savoring. They seem much more proper and refined. Yesterday, I made a biscotti that falls in the second category. As I mentioned, I’m gearing up for a big family visit and I want to have treats in [...]

Well, having the kids taste everything has paid off. Last night, quinoa got the thumbs up! Shocking and satisfying. I was sure that when I said, “Come on, just one bite,” I’d get the pinched up face, the rolling eyes. But, instead, I got the nodding head. From both girls, no less. One more food [...]

L wants THE ice cream cake for her birthday dinner. I’m positive that I won’t make it as well as my mom does. I’m not even sure that I know the recipe. I’m improvising a little and adding more of my favorite parts (ice cream soaked macaroons). The recipe (or, really, the technique) for the [...]

In spite of crutches and new, blue cast, L participated (of course!) in her Tuesday drama club performance. She was in two skits and all of the performers figured out how to work around her new, wider, less mobile self. We had to be there at 6:45 for the 7:00 performance that lasted about 1 [...]