“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.” Ursula LeGuin My brother was married this weekend in the vineyard countryside of McMinneville, Oregon. Our family spent days together toasting and toasting and toasting. We ate delicious breads, some of the best I’ve […]
“I am scorched/ to realize once again/ how many small, available things/ are in the world/ that aren’t/ pieces of gold/ or power–/ that nobody owns.” Mary Oliver One of those small, scorching truths is a mother’s love—a cache so valuable and so permanent that time and place have no bearing to govern. I spent […]
Springtime in New Orleans is a bright and verdant spectacle. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. It’s French Quarter Fest right now. Jazz Fest is not long after. I’ve been intentionally working on gratitude this year, but the weather and the longer days and the sunshine make it easy these days. Consider my […]
Currently my favorite breakfast, a variation on a theme. First make the Daily Bread—I literally eat a slice of this bread every day, and over the years I’ve perfected it into a fiber-packed, omega 3-loaded, crunchy-crusted and well-structured crumb delight. This version has a new ingredient I’ve been experimenting with, Salute Santé Grapeseed flour. Grape […]
Pardon the radio silence on Bake This Day, but we lost a key member of our team, my beloved bulldog Izzy. She passed away on Wednesday, and with her, she took my appetite for a brief while to the grave. We have been overwhelmed, just overwhelmed, with kindness and an outpouring of love and sympathy […]
We continue to sort through our favorites from the 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show. Dazzling task! Thank you, Runamok Maple Syrup for aging your maple syrup in whiskey barrels, making it the perfect match for the slightly bitter flavors of the humble and much maligned brussel sprout. Maple-Glazed Brussel Sprouts Recipe by Andie Ellis 1 […]
Cookie season! It doesn’t feel like the holidays until I’ve made my first batch of gingerbread cookies, which was yesterday. I used A Cookie To Celebrate by Jana Douglass, and went crazy with edible glitter and a new recipe for royal icing. This book teaches about piping and flooding (verbs I had no idea had […]
The moon is near full and holidays are lapping in like a glittery tide. We are finally getting a breath of cool air here in the Crescent City and nothing feels better on a cold day than baking. I very much enjoyed the first edition of Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg’s Artisan Bread in Five […]
In the sauna that now is downtown New Orleans, our hottest weekend thus far of 2018, Tales of the Cocktail has a tall task of bringing an elegant chill. Disaronno and The Tia Maria Coffee Project -both Italian liqueurs- hosted a two day party with classes on how to make coffee liqueur cocktails, like the Espresso […]
Through the heat, we soldier on. My lovely neighbor with a British accent reminded me of this virtue, after her beloved soccer club lost that heartbreaker against Croatia, with these charming and sober coasters,: Happy summer time, y’all sweat enough yet? Might as well grill and have ice cream for dessert. Herbed Cheese Spread […]