New Year’s Thai Sauce for Oysters

First, I would love to have mouthwatering photos of fresh, succulent oysters, glistening under the spell of my dipping sauce.  But alas, the shucking big snow storm this week kept my delivery from getting from the Chelsea Market to me in middleofnowhereville, and my dinner guests from being my oyster sauce guinea pigs. So you’ll… Continue reading New Year’s Thai Sauce for Oysters

Espresso Chocolate Cookies

The Christmas season in my paternal grandparents’ house, when I was growing up, was always marked by tins of the exact same assortment of homemade cookies, painstakingly baked in legions by Grandma Baumer.  There were wreath spritz cookies, apricot or mincemeat oatmeal bars, buttery vienna crescents, and then, the espresso chocolate balls. The latter were… Continue reading Espresso Chocolate Cookies

Breakfast with an Iron Chef

My besty from graduate school, Lindsay Campbell, is the host of Daybreak, a super sharp new daily web show on aol.com.  In a recent episode, Michelin star winner and new Iron Chef, Marc Forgione makes her a breakfast of sriracha chili lobster with fresh farm scrambled eggs.  Yum. You’re watching Daybreak:Iron Chef Surprise. See the Web’s top… Continue reading Breakfast with an Iron Chef

Last minute gifts: Recipe Kits

The Kitchn.com recently had a great piece with a bunch of ideas for gift kits that include everything to make a new recipe or culinary project.  From kimchi to ricotta to granola, the article suggests groupings of ingredients, instructions and any special container or tool. I’ve done similar things for gifts through the years, and… Continue reading Last minute gifts: Recipe Kits

Give the gift of cooking.

Here are a few of my favorite cookbooks ever.  And more than that, they are also my favorite cookbooks to give as gifts.  Each are beautiful to just read and admire the artwork and photos, but also offer unique information, recipes, instruction or skills, that sets them apart from the dozens and dozens and dozens… Continue reading Give the gift of cooking.

Pretty packaging that protects the planet.

Two winters ago I was feeding our sheep one afternoon.  As I tore off a big section of a hay bale, I found a long piece of plastic curling ribbon tangled in the stems of the hay with which I was just about to feed my wooly children.  I assumed it had been attached to… Continue reading Pretty packaging that protects the planet.

Edible Gift Series: Make Your Own Cookie Cutters

I just saw this great tutorial on Instuctables.com on how to make your own cookie cutters. Genius idea.  Particularly for hard-to-shop-for-relatives-with-quirky-interests (you know who you are…).  Make a cutter that suits them, whip up a batch of cookies, bundle up said cookies, and tie their custom cutter on top with a big shiny bow for… Continue reading Edible Gift Series: Make Your Own Cookie Cutters

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding

With homemade vanilla extract on my mind (and growing increasingly darker on my counter), I have found myself craving homespun desserts of yore.  It is certainly this time of year too; our new pine-y tree perfuming the house has me tearing through files of stained recipe cards trying to recreate tins of cookies of my… Continue reading Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding

Edible Gift Series: Homemade Vanilla Extract

There is little that will get me running to the kitchen faster than reading about a new (or most of the time, quite old) culinary trick to produce a food or ingredient that I had never thought about making by hand.  Food and Wine magazine has a great feature this month on the Best Handmade… Continue reading Edible Gift Series: Homemade Vanilla Extract