Food, Photography and Bon Mots
Ah, Julia! I had friends over for a party recently and decided to delve into Julia Child’s classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking for something special to bake. And there it was! Reine de Saba cake! The cookbook is part of a two-volume masterpiece…
It’s the season for gift giving. Here’s an idea: Gift a snacking cake. Your gift will be as unique as it will be delicious. This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Chetna Masan’s great cookbook, The Cardamom Trail. You can find the book at…
Whoa! It’s Christmas at my local Costco! I haven’t even embraced the idea of Halloween yet, let alone considered spending $1000 (Yikes!) for an artificial tree. (For that price, maybe the tree comes complete with the presents!) Pumpkin is beginning to sound good to me, though.…
Happy belated new year to those who celebrate. Last week, the Internet was rife with recipes for Honey Cake to celebrate Rosh Hashanha. Some of the postings were ebullient paens to the cake and its spicy flavors. I couldn’t resist and selected a recipe from…
Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for Marion Burros’ iconic Plum Torte. This month marks the 40th anniversary of that recipe…
Lovely. Such a nice word. This cake is lovely. It’s pretty. The swirl of berries inside makes it beautifully appetizing. And, most importantly, it is delicious. Right now, we are in the midst of a bountiful berry season here in Southern California, so this…
Suddenly, the scent of plumson a mountain path:sunrise!—Matsuo Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Plums are in! I’ve got to agree with the delightful Basho haiku above. Plums are all good things–even sunrises. As you know if you read this blog,…
Banana Bread is having a moment. It was the most searched-for recipe online in America in 2020 according to CNBC. This hot weather has done a number on my bananas; their skins were black and their flesh was mushy. In other words, they were at…
This is a Dorie Greenspan recipe. This little cake is maple sweet and miso savory at the same time, or, as Dorie puts it “on the brink of savory.” In a preface to this recipe, she wrote that, were she to own a B &…
Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a Chocolate Guinness Cake. You’ll find it here. You don’t want to miss this great recipe…again. Want…
