Desserts

A Birthday? Be Sure to Invite the Goddess of the Moon

A Birthday? Be Sure to Invite the Goddess of the Moon

“And I rose In rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days…” ― Dylan Thomas Birthdays. How in the world do you celebrate important days during a pandemic? With a cake! However it happens–store-bought or homemade, left on the front porch…

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

    “When life gives you lemons, sell them and buy a pineapple.” – David Turney       Need a little sunshine in your life? Why not try this beautiful Pineapple Upside-Down Cake? The recipe uses allspice to spice the cake–an interesting spice choice,…

An Homage to Bertha Potter-Palmer: Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies

An Homage to Bertha Potter-Palmer: Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies

Raise your hand if you could use a really good brownie about now. Me, too. These Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies will knock your socks off. Just reread the recipe title again. Slowly. Triple. Chocolate. Espresso. Brownies. Whoa! These brownies incorporate several types of chocolate and…

Elections, Desert Islands and Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

Elections, Desert Islands and Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

I’m sitting here eating my third generous slice of this Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake and eyeing a fourth. It’s a dream of a little cake.  Lemony. Light. Tangy. Non-judgmental.  A perfect morning pick-me-up after my candidate lost in all fifteen Super Tuesday elections. This…

Vanilla Pound Cake With Apples

Vanilla Pound Cake With Apples

Apples aren’t special enough for showstopper desserts…said no one ever. This Vanilla Pound Cake With Apples is a case in point. Your guests won’t be able to stop talking about how wonderfully the apples complement the vanilla cake. This recipe is  adapted from a recipe…

Flourless Chocolate Cake and a Happy Birthday Wish To A Good Friend

Flourless Chocolate Cake and a Happy Birthday Wish To A Good Friend

Happy birthday to one of the kindest people I know–my neighbor Gene. Gene, a retired high school science teacher, avid gardener and gourmand, is a loyal a supporter of this blog.  He also is celebrating his 87th birthday this month. Way to go, Gene! Gene…

A Slice of Sunshine: Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake

A Slice of Sunshine: Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake

Who doesn’t need a bit of sunshine to cut through the winter gloom right about now? The weather is iffy and the world news is dreadful. Here’s what you need to do to regroup. Cue the music:  “I Can See Clearly Now.”  That’s Johnny Nash’s 1970s number…

James Beard’s Persimmon Nut Bread

James Beard’s Persimmon Nut Bread

This Persimmon Nut Bread recipe comes from James Beard. Beard shaped American cooking for 40 years. He wrote two dozen cookbooks, wrote a weekly syndicated cooking column, operated an eponymous cooking school in Greenwich Village and lived an altogether colorful life. In 1990, Carl Jerome,…

Heavenly Maple Shortbread Cookies

Heavenly Maple Shortbread Cookies

  My good friend Sarah often invokes the help of her “parking angel” when she negotiates impossibly-crowded parking lots. I’ve seen her angel in action a couple of times. Parking spaces do indeed seem to open up–even at Costco! So, in this season of everything…

‘Tis The Season: Thumbprint Cookies with Pecans and Cherry Jam

‘Tis The Season: Thumbprint Cookies with Pecans and Cherry Jam

Cookies. What a beautiful word. No need to feel guilty about eating them either. ‘Tis the season. Being a cookie addict aficionado, imagine my delight when the New York Times ran a special cookie feature  this week by cookbook author and food stylist Susan Spungen. I…