Although Germany is famous for tall, multi-layered torten with alternating layers of cream, cake, fruit, nuts, beer, sausages, etc…German Chocolate Cake is decidedly the result of good-old American ingenuity. Deep, dark chocolate cake is layered with a rich filling of toasty coconut and pecans, then glazed with a slick, bittersweet chocolate icing. It’s based on a recipe using Bakers™ Chocolate, a company which employed Samuel…
When I arrived in France a few years ago, I was a surprised to find that red onions are rare and cost nearly four-times the price of yellow onions. I reasoned that although French cuisine uses lots of onions, most often they’re cooked to enhance their sweetness, and they become an essential backdrop for braises, stews, and casseroles…and most-notably in French Onion Soup. So why…
[Note: This recipe was first published on this site in 2005, when few people had heard of this pastry. I’ve reworked it substantially to make individual pastries (shown above), and that recipe is in my book, L’appart.] Is there anything more fabulous than something created through the wonder and miracle of caramelization? Are there no means and ends that one won’t go to, to experience…
When you think of ‘take-out’, France perhaps isn’t the first culture that comes to mind. The concept to me seems so American; pick up the phone or walk to the corner, grab something to eat, bring it home and eat it in front of the television. Nice and quick…and no dishes! In spite of what you might think, France has plenty of take-out food shops,…
You may have seen the fresh shelling bean at your market, but passed them by since you didn’t know what to do with them. True, in their pods, they look like something that’s going to be a lot of work. Or something you’d rather not bother with, since the pods aren’t edible. Whatever your preconceptions are, it’s time to get rid fo them. Fresh shelling…
Why temper chocolate? The short answer is that chemically, chocolate is composed of several different little crystals (six to be exact) but the desirable ones are called beta crystals. The development and formation of these beta crystals are what makes well-tempered chocolate. If you imagine a cup of chicken stock, it may seem uniform, but if left to sit, the fat will rise to the…
After testing lots of different caramel corn, I worked and worked (and ate and ate), until I settled on this one. It’s going to featured in an upcoming book but I wanted to share the recipe with you now, because I like it so much and it was too good to keep for myself. I couldn’t resist using it as a garnish on a bowl of…
Recently the proliferation of heirloom tomatoes at greenmarkets harkens back to the days of yore, when tomatoes were beautiful and irregular and presumably so full of flavor that after one bite you could boast about how good it was for the remainder of your life and try to make everyone feel like you know something that they don’t know and how much richer your life…
Stand back. This is gonna get messy. I’m going to teach you how to make something without a recipe. Before you panic, remember that your grandmother made lots of things without recipes and without measuring everything down to the last 5/9ths of a teaspoon. Just breath. That’s right, it will be okay. It’s easy to make jam and you can do it without a recipe….
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