I’ve never been a huge fan of sticky buns because I find many of them teeth-screamingly sweet. That said, these dial down the sweetness in favor of flavor, courtesy of two of my favorite things: pecans and maple syrup. And having the two swaddled in a butterscotch-like caramel seems to make each one taste even better than they do on their own. I was intrigued by…
A few years ago, I was extremely fortunate to meet Gina DePalma, who was (at the time) the pastry chef at Babbo in New York City. Being bakers, we struck up a friendship and she gave me a copy of her gorgeous book, Dolce Italiano. After we had dessert and coffee together, we ambled the streets of New York City for a bit, and made…
I’ve had my blog for a while, over twenty years now, and one of the first recipes I posted on it was for a Cosmopolitan cocktail. Back then, in the 1990s, Cosmopolitans were still the rage. Much of it was due to Sex in the City, where they were the drink of choice for four women who were close friends, trying to find their way…
There’s no shortage of chocolate shops in Paris. Many of them are concentrated in areas like the Marais or Left Bank, which are swankier places set up shop, but offer easy access. So in what are called the “double-digit” arrondissements, you’ll find more quirky places, and you’ll never know what you might come across if you wander around them. Having dinner one night at Churrasqueira…
Over the past few years, there’s been a growing interest in intéressants roots and greens in Paris. It’s not that they don’t, or didn’t, exist in France. It’s just that many either fell out of favor or were oubliés (forgotten). And now, many are returning. At the market, we now get kale, kale sprouts, rainbow chard, and every so often ail des ours (bear’s garlic) will…
I often get asked when I put pictures of things that I’m baking on social media, “Where can I find that recipe?” or less-delicately, “Recipe…puleeeze!!!” The appetite for recipes is voracious and thankfully, I’ve got hundreds of them here on the blog, as well as in the books I’ve written. I’ve never counted, but I’d venture to say I’ve got nearly a thousand recipes out…
The French concept of terroir, a confluence of elements – soil, atmosphere, weather, and other factors – that gives something a certain taste or flavor to foods and wine, is often spoken of as an elusive concept outside of France. But it does exist in the United States, as well as other countries. We just don’t have a word for it. The French, being so…
When I lived in San Francisco, we used to joke (lovingly) that whenever we went to Zuni Café, that there would be at least three things on the menu that you had to ask the server what they were. On the other hand, I think if you asked ten people in Paris what aillade is, ten out of ten wouldn’t know either. Unless they were…
Is almond flour the same as almond meal or ground almonds? Yes and no. Ground up almonds go by the names powdered almonds, almond meal, and almond powder. Some say that only blanched (skinless) almonds are used for what is called almond flour or powdered almonds, and almond meal is made from unblanched almonds (made from almonds with the skins on), but I’ve seen ground…
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