Breads

Brown Butter Cornbread

Brown Butter Cornbread

Brown butter is having a moment. That is certainly true in my kitchen. I’m enjoying the nutty flavor of the stuff in all sorts of ways. I recently posted a Brown Butter Cookie recipe on Blue Cayenne. The cookie soars with brown butter deliciousness. You’ll…

Scones!

Scones!

Scones! The biscuit-like quick breads originated in Scotland in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, they were a fixture on the English afternoon tea table. More recently, they were popularized by Queen Elizabeth II who reportedly adored them topped with bespoke strawberry jam from…

Miso Pecan Banana Bread

Miso Pecan Banana Bread

Oh glorious banana bread! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  I’ve certainly baked my share of banana breads over the years and I’ve posted several very good recipes here on Blue Cayenne. Just type “banana bread” into the search box on…

Where Have All The Smorgasbords Gone? Buttermilk-Molasses Quick Bread

Where Have All The Smorgasbords Gone? Buttermilk-Molasses Quick Bread

What ever happened to those wonderful Swedish smorgasbord restaurants?  They were having a moment when I was a younger cook. I remember the beautiful buffets of delicious delicacies. I still crave the savory breads. So it was with great anticipation and a good bit of…

Mamushka: Garlic Rolls Ukrainian Style

Mamushka: Garlic Rolls Ukrainian Style

What in the heck is a Mamushka? Depends upon whom you believe. At its most basic, Mamushka is  an archaic Russian term of endearment for “Mother.” Culturally, Urban Dictionary says it is a literary reference to a bit made famous in The Addams Family movie…

No. Henry David Thoreau Didn’t Invent Raisin Bread

No. Henry David Thoreau Didn’t Invent Raisin Bread

Raisin Bread, you ask? Who invented Raisin Bread? Lest we look too deeply, the answer would seem to be Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s biographer, Walter Harding, credited him with the recipe, after all. But…alas… Harding later retracted  that colorful claim when he learned that the…

Food “Moments” and Garlic Knots

Food “Moments” and Garlic Knots

  “The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.” —M.F.K. Fisher   There are some pretty special moments in one’s food life. A bowl of hot soup on a freezing winter’s…

Pull-Apart Sour Cream and Chive Rolls

Pull-Apart Sour Cream and Chive Rolls

Flaky.  Buttery.  Soft.  Trust me on this one. You need these rolls.  This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Dessert Person. The book is available from your local bookstore or from Amazon. 

Who’d a thunk It? Tahini  Banana Bread

Who’d a thunk It? Tahini Banana Bread

OK. OK. It’s another damn Banana Bread recipe.  In my defense, this is a Banana Bread recipe with a new twist: tahini. No. Really. Tahini? In Banana Bread?  Wow! Who’d a thunk it?  Tahini is a paste made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds. You’ve…

Nan-E Barbari: Persian Flatbread

Nan-E Barbari: Persian Flatbread

Want to diversify your homemade bread baking game? This Persian flat bread is just the ticket. It’s called Nan-e Barbari and it is delicious. This recipe is adapted from one that is regularly featured at The Hot Bread Kitchen in East Harlem in New York…