Bourbon-soaked densely chocolate cake with mocha buttercream: Happy Valentines Day!

Hey! Y'all are the apple of my eye. :)

I hope this story makes you swoon and that this feat of a layer cake brings tremble and desire. And that you are rewarded with the most savory-sweet of indulgences. This recipe offers all that and more... :)

See the full column and recipe - the latest in my monthlies -  over at Anthology. Sharing love and good taste on this Valentine's Day! xxxooo

Apple Tarts Tatin - #3 at Anthology

Good Morning! It isn't every day that I greet you with dessert at the start. But today, for all kinds of reasons, we have this most splendid of tarts. Just in time for a little morning nibble.... ;)

Click here to read how to make these beauties, as well as to see the collection of gorgeous images which tell the story. If you missed the previous features, here they are: dreamy muscadine marbled goat cheesecake and the nutty, fabulously savory pesto-not-pesto on grilled steak. There's a new story brewing I'll be sharing soon. Sooo good, it is perfect wintertime, soothing satisfaction. 

In the meantime, I hope you and yours will indulge in (but not too too much) a most tasty, comaradarie-filled Thanksgiving. This will be our first in the South. We have some family descending on our new digs, and then it's off, to sharing our friends and family with each other, and the sweet (and maybe raucous) experiences that will ensue. Take time to savor the moment, and dig in.

A New Winter Story

Winter is here. There are some new things I am eager to share, so give me a day or two while I put the finishing touches in place. Things to soothe you on chilly days and delight you in their surprising deliciousness. Think winter, and warmth... :)

Getting to the Root

Eat from the earth. Literally. We have arrived upon the season where bounty has grown ripe deep in the dirt, and is ready to bring to the table. These roots in their many shapes and colors, dense and  heavy, are some of the greatest eating around. This is a story of  L-O-V-E. There's more, too. Like the great things I did with the stuff Gilt Taste sent me a couple weeks ago: Becker Lane's gorgeous pastured pork shoulder, and BliS bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup, which is every bit as dynamic as it sounds. Savory, sweet, hearty, and all of it comfort food.

 

 

 

The Beauty of Fall

As I write this, the year is slipping away faster than ever. I can't believe it - there are still so many dishes to make and share, and experimentation to get lost in. At least I have the day-to-day provenance of coziness in making - and eating - so many of the results!

This food you're about to see was all SO good. That's what I mean - I want to make it all again and yet, I have adventures waiting in the queue, new stories tugging at me to make them. I guess there are tougher problems to have, right?

* 29 November - Updated with recipes - scroll down to view!

The  goodies from our anniversary adventure

I was informed by the kind folks at The New Amsterdam Market to stop by one particular Sunday, so that I could swoon at crazy, gorgeous mushrooms. I know that doesn't seem to qualify for "kid in a candy store" material, but it was exactly that. While there, I met Les Hook and Nova Kim and learned about their wild foods - harvested on Saturday in Vermont, driven to NYC for Sunday's market. I made the acquaintance of mushrooms I never knew existed.

Had we shown up at the very beginning we would have found an even greater selection, but I left happy, with many paper bags filled with earthly delights: Lobster mushrooms (those bright red-orange beauties, and they do taste quite like their namesake); White Matsutakes, lower left; Chicken of the Woods, at lower right (they taste exactly like chicken); and the most unusual, Blue Alb mushrooms, at top right (they are a gorgeous sparkly blue-black hue, and bitter - an acquired taste, ultimately).

With these, I made a fantastic mushroom ragout adapted from those great ladies at Canal House. Served with creamy polenta, it made for the perfect comfort food.

The pretty squash we brought home got some loving from the organic elixirs shipped to me from Crown Maple Syrup... I painted their grade A medium amber syrup (mixed with some olive oil) all over their surfaces, sprinkled with some sea salt and cracked pepper, and let them roast away in the oven. The result was caramely-savory, soft, delicious squash. Perfect autumn. I used some as a side dish and then pureed the rest in a soup. 

Then, there were the apples. Oh, those apples. So many sweet, tart, crisp and juicy apples. We ate plenty straight out of the sack, but I wanted to have fun with them and so hollowed a bunch out and stuffed them with spiced goodness. Worth doing many times over.

Lastly was the pie. It was my first attempt at a shingled crust. I tossed the apples in nutmeg, brandy, and lemon juice. It's so nice to try something out for the first time and for it to become a smashing success!!! Know that you have to be patient as a saint for all the cutting-out of those shapes for the crust, but it too was absolutely worth it.

I hope I have tempted you all well enough to return, so you can make these treats for you and yours. Happy, cozy days..... :-)

Anniversary Apples

I haven't meant to be away so long. There have been all kinds of wonderful things happening, like an ICE pasta course I have been invited to take (and will be documenting, mmm I can't wait). Look for that soon. And the Brooklyn specialty foods line I am helping to launch. And stories I've shot for the holiday issue of Sweet Paul magazine! I could go on. But I am here to instead share with you - now almost a month ago - the enchanted time J and I had on our anniversary.

We rented a car and drove to an orchard just beyond Beacon, NY. We chose Lawrence Family Orchards because they seemed to have the most variety, and I was hungry for a farm experience in all its glory. As it turns out that wasn't exactly so, but we dove in and made the most of it. Here is the fruit from our labor... :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Orchard views, down the slope

We happily stumbled upon some raspberry bushes - too ripe to take home, we ate our fill while picking

 

Looking for broccoli

 

Our wagon full of goodies

I hope you experienced a little of the enchantment from our special day. We brought home broccoli greens (for stews and soups, since the florets were mostly harvested), kabocha and pumpkin squash, purslane, some sad tomatoes that I have since made incredible preserves from, and over 20 pounds of apples! Look for a part two story (with tasty recipes) coming very, very soon.