I’ve wanted to make Tarte Tatin ever since I read Molly Wizenberg’s description of it as a “sexed-up apple pie – a housewife in stilettos.” Wizenberg writes, “Tarte Tatin doesn’t dally with small talk. It reaches for your leg under the table.” Who wouldn’t want to make a dessert like that? Besides, Tarte Tatin is classic. And French. And very […]
Setting a precedent can be dangerous. You have to continually live up to it. For example: I met Eli. We committed. Then he went hunting. October. November. Every weekend. He got hungry. I sent cookies. He ate them. Welcome to my Fall Cookie Problem. Thanks to no one but myself, I am expected to supply cookies for my Man In […]
I’m delighted to be able to post a special book review, author Q & A, and (of course) recipe here today. I’m also thrilled to be giving away two free copies of Bittersweet! To get a copy, all you have to do is be one of the first two people to leave a comment. *** While it’s not officially a […]
Apple Betty. Apple pie. Apple crisp. Apple butter. Apple pancakes. Apple muffins. And now, Apple Cake. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Yep, that’s me apple-picking. It’s what we do in Michigan in the fall. Fall hasn’t really happened for me until I’ve brought home a half bushel bag of apples I’ve picked myself. I know I look kind of […]
I’m spoiled: I haven’t had to buy beef in a year. This means my grocery budget has had room for things like good wine, organic sugar, real maple syrup, and new spices for me to experiment with. I like that. I also like the reason I haven’t had to buy beef: I’ve had two organic, free-range, vegetarian-fed (and yes, of course […]
I really believe that there is nothing more comforting, nothing more soul-nourishing, than a slice of warm homemade bread slathered in butter. I inherited this way of thinking from my maternal grandmother, who baked her own bread every week. Memories of my childhood, much of which I spent at her house, are punctuated by the scent of yeast dough autolysing in a […]
