The leading authority on basketball cupcakes and Basil-Lime martinis…
Biscotti on my great-aunt Laddye Lee’s vintage china plate.
This recipe (scroll down) from our local newspaper is a favorite of all four of us. The dough comes together quickly (zesting the orange is the most time-consuming part) and unlike most cookies, there’s really no rolling, cutting, dropping or really even forming of the dough at all before baking. These are easy-peasy and very delicious. They keep well for a long time and are perfect for care packages, because they’re very sturdy.
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe
2 Tbsp dried savory
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp dried marjoram
2 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp dried lavender flowers
1 Tbsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp dried dill weed
1 Tbsp dried chervil
Stir together and store in an airtight container. I usually make a half-batch, because I don’t go through this stuff super quickly. FYI – half of a Tbsp is equal to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
Another delicious Giada recipe. Recipe here.
I adapted this soup to be flexitarian by using veggie broth instead of chicken and by cooking the pancetta separately and offering it as a garnish on the side, rather than cooking it in the soup.
I also used gigante beans, instead of cannellini beans, because I had some on hand that needed to be cooked and used up. I also had already used my Parmesan rind for a previous batch of soup, so just sprinkled Parmesan on top of each individual bowl, instead.
This was quite tasty and came together very quickly. It did require quite a bit more stock (almost double) to get the soup to a liquid enough consistency and my ciabatta (which was bought this morning, so very fresh) took more than the suggested 5 minutes (about 8 or so?) to toast adequately, so your mileage may vary…
I prefer this Herbes de Provence blend, which is easy to mix up quickly and keep on hand, plus I added a little extra oregano.
Recipes here. Served with a little roasted cauliflower on the side.
This sandwich was insanely killer delicious and the soup was fantastic, too. In fact, I am starving at this very moment and could go for one of these RIGHT now. Yum! Will definitely make this again.
These are from Marion Cunningham’s fantastic “Breakfast Book.” Recipe here.
, lemony, gingery, buttery.
I made this fantastic ice cream after reading David Lebovitz’s fantastic article, “Scooped” (an interactive online version can be found here) in the June/July 2009 issue of Fine Cooking (it had been tucked away in my files for a while.) It is a “Create Your Own Ice Cream” guide and gives a basic custard recipe, with several possible variations and additions. I added some high quality melted dark chocolate and cocoa and crushed candy canes (leftover from our Christmas tree.) This was delicious stuff and is definitely something I will be making again.
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Recipe here.
These were quite tasty. The waffles were quick, easy and delicious, but it’s really the bananas that took this over the top. You could probably use any favorite waffle recipe and make it divine by adding the bananas and syrup, in a pinch.
These are a recipe that my mom used to make for me when I was a kiddo. When I saw all of the beautiful, fresh cranberries in the store this year, while preparing for Thanksgiving, I finally thought to ask her for the recipe. They are SO good: crispy and crunchy on the outside and moist and zesty on the inside, with the gorgeous color and tang of the cranberries punctuating throughout. Yum.
FYI: Fresh cranberries can easily be frozen for future use (you can even toss them into this batter while still frozen.) Just rinse them with cold water, discarding any unsightly withered ones, then gently spin them dry in a salad dinner. Spread them out on a cookie sheet to freeze them. When they’re individually frozen hard, store them in a tightly sealed ziploc until you need them and you can easily pour out just the amount that you need.
Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Muffins
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed and patted dry
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier liqueur or orange juice
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin or use paper muffin liners. (Good idea to have a second tin on hand, as I find that the recipe actually makes 15 or 16 muffins. Also a good idea to grease the top, flat surface of the pan, even if you use liners, as they might stick a little there.)
Whisk together dry ingredient (flour, sugar, cornmeal, salt, soda.) In a separate bowl (or 4-cup glass measuring pitcher,) whisk together the remaining wet (buttermilk, oil, eggs, liqueur or juice and zest) ingredients, reserving the cranberries to the side.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add the cranberries. Stir gently until the batter is moistened, but still lumpy. Measure into muffin cups (an ice cream scoop with release lever works beautifully to ensure consistent size) and make until the tops are golden brown (about 20 minutes.) Let sit in the pan 5 minutes before removing.
I also made a batch with blueberries, for my son and Hubby, who aren’t cranberry fans. Silly boys.
Recipe here.
Yum. Definitely not for everyone, but if you LOVE blueberries and you LOVE Indian flavors, as my vegetarian daughter does, you will love this salad. When I saw this recipe, I knew it had her name on it.
Instructions and recipe for Cranberry Jam here.
This was a little bit of trouble, but the bread crisps and jam can be made ahead of time and were absolutely delicious.