Dede Wilson

Internal Blog Up and Ready

2012-01-06T13:17:00.002-05:00

So many transitions....launching my site was huge and I have been doing my best to keep up. This blog was accessible through the website but the intention was always to have an internal blog on the site and gently, slowly phase this "blogspot" one out.

Here is the first internal blog entry from Dedewilson.com.

The only thing this really means to you, the end user, is that when you click on the Dede's Blog link on the right hand side of the website, it will now take you directly to the internal blog, and not here. Don't worry, you won't miss any posts! I will make sure to tell you Here, whats going on There.

Cake Balls!

2012-01-04T11:03:00.004-05:00

So this is the first time I am publicly talking about my upcoming Cake Balls book....to be published this coming fall by Harvard Common Press. Cake pops and cake balls are everywhere - even at Starbucks - so they are no longer new BUT, I do have what I think is a new take on them. The majority of information out there on cake balls starts with boxed cake mix and canned frosting and focuses on the decoration. As always, I am much more interested in Taste, so my book focuses on made-from-scratch recipes using the best ingredients.

I'm not going to be posting any cake ball recipes for a while, but you can see my Dulce de Leche Cake Ball on the Home page of Dedewilson.com....and here's another pic just to whet your appetite. These are Nutella Cake Balls with Caramelized Hazelnuts: white cake combined with Nutella, dipped in milk chocolate gianduja and topped with caramelized hazelnuts.

The photo shoot for the book is happening as I type. Very exciting! The pic above was one I just snapped at home during recipe development.

Angie's Thumbprint Cookies

2011-12-21T09:02:00.003-05:00

Remember Angie? My friend who is stumping to be President of my fan club? (This is all completely unofficial and I am the only judge and voter, by the way). She has been busy! This is the first blog post of fan's pics - so send them to me!

Angie made Thumbprint Cookies and I have to say, she definitely put her own spin on them. She filled some with Strawberry jam and some with Raspberry but then she also filled some with Peach Butter and the green is Jalapeno jelly! With a sparkle of green sugar. I love the twist. What did you fill yours with?

Soft and Silky Whipped Cream

2011-12-20T15:17:00.012-05:00

We are all in a baking frenzy this week; it's part of the fun! Mixers whirring, knives chopping, room being made in the refrigerator and freezer. And trips to the Dollar Store for cheap but pretty airtight tins for all of our cookies. (One of my favorite dollar store items).

Many desserts are enhanced by a dollop (or more) of whipped cream. A silky mound on top of chocolate mousse, wedges of flourless chocolate cake or on slices if lemon tart. Sometimes it can be the star on top of a chilled pie, swirled with a spoon. What all of these should have in common is properly whipped cream.

Whether it is the crowning finale or you are folding it into a dessert, the texture of your whipped cream is of prime importance. Take a look at this picture:

The cream on the left is soft and silky. Perfect. The cream on the right was over-whipped. See how it is "curdy" almost looking like cottage cheese? Not good. The inherent silkiness of perfectly whipped cream is lost - what a shame! If we are spending the calories, let's make them delectable in every way.

I do usually reach for my electric mixer when I am whipping a lot of cream. If it is 1-cup or less I do it by hand. When using a mixer I usually stop short of it being "done" and finish it off by hand with a balloon whisk. It allows me much more control. You want the peaks to just softly fall over on the rest.

When you are shopping, look for Heavy Cream (it has the highest butterfat), as opposed to Whipping Cream, and if you can find it buy pasteurized and not Ultra-pasteurized. The Ultra is not only harder to whip, but it has been exposed to super high heat and sometimes you can detect a slightly cooked dairy flavor.

IF you over whip the cream you can add some liquid heavy cream, stir it in and possibly achieve the proper texture. Of course if you needed a certain amount for folding into a recipe, that amount is now skewed a bit, but it is a nice cheat to know about. Best bet is to stop whipping early to check.

In terms of sweetening, you have many choices, but I will simply address plain sugar (as opposed to maple syrup or honey or something of that ilk). Granulated sugar will give you pure sweetening. Superfine sugar will dissolve extra-fast. Confectioner's sugar has a bit of cornstarch added to it to prevent clumping and it can sometimes taste faintly starchy in whipped cream, but the benefit is that it helps stabilize the whipped cream. If I am whipping last minute or folding into a recipe, I use superfine or granulated. If the cream-topped pie has to travel to Grandma's house, I will use the confectioner's. The choice is yours.

Enjoy your cream filled holidays and Happy whipping!

Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2011-12-19T16:47:00.004-05:00

I found a bag of Craisins in the pantry! Time to make Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies. This is the week when there can Never be enough cookies. The dough freezes well too. Make a batch, bake some up this week, freeze the rest and bake those up after January 1st to help start the New Year off right.

Working from the Pantry

2011-12-18T12:17:00.003-05:00

In an effort to be frugal and use what is at hand, I have been digging in my closet searching for ingredients that have been pushed aside. Ok I know my pantry is a little fancier than most but still, the sentiment is there. I found a can of chestnut purée and make a chocolate chestnut cake yesterday that I put in the freezer for next week. There were also some dried cherries and some almond paste in the frig. With those I made a pound cake. I soaked the cherries in Amaretto and added the almond paste to the batter....all these recipes will be forthcoming.

I can't be the only one with "fancy" stuff lying about. What's in your pantry that you should be using? I really want to know.

Angie....Everyone Needs a Friend Like Angie

2011-12-17T16:13:00.003-05:00

I think my friend Angie is angling to be president of my fan club. She is a one woman support system. She has been Facebooking about my Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies and the new site all week. She just posted that tonight her baking frenzy begins. Looking by her pic she is all ready to go!

There is One Cookbook that says "Christmas" to Me

2011-12-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

Full disclosure....I own about 2000 cookbooks. I say "about" because I lost count years ago. They are in book cases, stacked properly as well as horizontally. Basically I have to use every available space to squeeze them in. And I keep collecting; iIt is a compulsion. Scratch that. For me they are well thought out research tools...right?

Some never really get used, while others get used a lot and then there are those that signify certain times of my life. Such is the case with Mimi Sheraton's Visions of Sugarplums.

My Mom had this book and while it has no color photos, I was drawn into it as a child. Even just the titles had me dreaming of things I could bring to life in the kitchen: Victorian Coconut Gingersnaps; Swedish Saffron Buns; Chocolate Chestnut Fritters; Boule de Neige; Colonial Virginia Frozen Plum Pudding; Dublin Fruit Cake....and ones with funny names that still appeal as an adult: Bellylaps; Belsnickles; Fire Tong Bowl and dozens more.

There are chapters on yeast breads, cakes, pies, tarts, fritters, crullers, candies and drinks from all over the world - including a gingerbread house.

It is a fabulous book for those who think they have every baking book they need....they need this too. A great gift.

My Desserts Named "Best Holiday Desserts" by Bon Appetit

2011-12-12T13:30:00.009-05:00

Above: Frozen Chocolate-Peppermint Bûche de Noël - image by Patricia Heal

Bon Appetit has announced their "Best Holiday Desserts" and of the 31 chosen, 4 are mine! I am honored to be in such a smashing assembly of show-stopping desserts. Check them out. I hope one (or more!) will grace your table this year. Email me any questions you might have - and I would love to see your pics! The White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears is on my site. You can find the other recipes at bonappetit.com.

Above: White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears - image by Con Poulos

Above: White Chocolate Espresso Torte with Hazelnut Praline - image by Patricia Heal

Above: Chocolate Almond and Raspberry Tart - image by Patricia Heal

Homemade Cranberry Liqueur

2011-12-06T17:59:00.007-05:00

Recipes for this are all over the internet but I have a tried-and-true recipe that I first published in my Christmas Cooking for Dummies several years ago and I make it every year. It's a great host/hostess gift and this year I found this gorgeous, heavy glass bottle at Marshall's for $6! With some cranberries, sugar, vodka and some time, this will be ready for New Year's celebrations and beyond, keeping you warm all winter long. Check out my recipe for this easy Cranberry Liqueur.

Brand New DedeWilson.com Coming Soon!

2011-12-04T16:50:00.000-05:00

OK folks this has been a LOOOOOONG time in coming. I've owned my dedewilson.com URL for a very long time and never really did anything with it. Life got in the way. You know, raising twins, hosting television shows, baking for a living, writing books and then the next thing I knew, I realized YEARS had gone by and frankly, the lack of action on my site, the design, the whole shebang was admittedly pathetic.

And then I sat on my ass some more. And waited for something magical to happen. I don't know what I was waiting for. Maybe the internet would disappear, or maybe the website of my dreams would just come to me on a silver platter. None of that happened.

What did happen was that about a year ago I started to pull my head out of the sand. Big changes were happening at Bon Appetit; big changes were happening with friends and co-horts in terms of work (or rather lack thereof). I really did have a lightbulb moment where I realized that with all my expertise and all my contacts that I still had a lot to say and the best way to get it out to you was through a website.

The lightbulb was probably starting to glimmer a few years ago when I was working on my Unforgettable Desserts manuscript. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we cut almost half the text and about 40 recipes during the editing process. Things like this happen. The publisher has a budget and a design vision and the author's words get cut away - simple as that.

Simple for them, painful for me. I had written things I wanted to share. Tips and techniques that I thought were important to the home baker and they were not going to see the light of day...at least through that book.

My smart agent Maureen Lasher said "Dede, don't worry. You will find a use for those recipes; they will not go to waste". I did believe her, but still didn't quite see the light.

Now the light is blaring in my face and has been for months. My BIG website is almost ready. I've been driving my web team crazy because I want to launch it with a BANG. I want all the bells and whistles in place. I want you to be as excited about it as I am, and I think you will be when you see it. There are about 155 pages to the site so far, so when it does launch, you will be able to have fun poking around, reading, learning, and hopefully inspired to get in the kitchen.

I have also built a small kitchen studio and will be bringing you original video as often as possible...just today we taped How to Make Italian Meringue Buttercream, a segment on Dark Caramel Sauce and a short on properly whipped cream.

Hang in there folks...I want to get it up and running more than anybody, but I wanted to give you a "tease". Here is a sneak-peak at part of the Home page. The image the partial wedding cake is but one photo in a slide-show of pics that will be on that part of the site.

Yonanas!

2011-11-29T19:33:00.018-05:00

Have you heard about Yonanas, the banana frozen treat maker? I first saw this machine when I was down at HSN. They have large studios and our Bon Appetit kitchen was close to the Yonanas set. There was a long row of the machines lined up on the counter and a different flavored frozen treat was coming out of each one....bananas and peanut butter, bananas and chocolate, bananas and berries and on and on. My mouth was watering. Watching the machine in action made it all the more intriguing. Very ripe frozen bananas were pressed into the top chute on the electric machine along with other choice ingredients. The very sharp blades within the machine spin around and process the ingredients into a creamy frozen dessert much like ice cream. You can see two lines of the sharp metal blades in the pic below. There are several lines of blades on an inner piece of the machine that spins. The ingredients go down the chute, hit the blades and a creamy dessert comes out right into your waiting bowl.

I went over to sample the sweets when the segment was done, but everyone on the set, from the camera operators to the food stylists had descended upon the table and I was out of luck. The desserts were gone!

Lucky for me, the Yonanas folks saw my disappointment and promised to send me a machine. I love bananas and eat them everyday and always go for the very ripe ones as a matter of course. With Yonanas you want to make sure to have bananas with black spots and absolutely no green whatsoever. I started hoarding ripe bananas just like the ones on the bottom of the photo so I would be ready when my machine arrived. (Peel them first, then simply freeze in a zippered top bag).

The day it arrived I was ready to go. I tend to jump ahead and like to see if machines are intuitive. This one is! In case you need help, the booklet is very easy to follow. I assembled the machine (which was really just putting a couple pieces together) and plugged it in. Being a chocolate fiend I decided to try a Banana Chocolate blend first. The recipe booklet gave me the proportions and I was good to go. I decided to go with a 55% Valrhona Equitoriale chocolate. Here is my creation....let me tell you, taking the picture before it melted meant I couldn't eat it right away, which was torture! Once I did get to dig in I experienced a creamy banana base with little crunchy bits of chocolate. Fabulous. But the chocolate does have a bit of sugar and fat and I wanted to see if I could make a Yonanas dessert that was 100% fruit.

I always have frozen berries on hand and I happened to have a bag of mixed berries including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. I disassembled the machine and gave it a quick wash, which was pleasantly easy to do. In went the bananas, then the berries and voila! Although it almost pains me to say it (I feel like I'm cheating on chocolate), I think I liked this one even better.

So now that I owned the machine, I began musing on how it could fit into my life. Ice cream is my favorite dessert and really the only reason I don't eat it all the time is because of the calories. Here was a way for me to have a creamy frozen dessert without the fat or any added sugar. There are recipes for "no-banana" Yonanas but the naturally dense texture of bananas help the mouth-feel of your frozen desserts really match that of real ice cream. (One very successful "no-banana" recipe was for Mango Sorbet).

I put the machine away, kind of sad that I didn't have it when my kids were still home as I know they would love it. It lay dormant for a few weeks and then it hit me, hey, I can make a lower calorie frozen treat - easily. Out of sight had been out of mind....I brought it out and the next day went to the local Asian market where I can always find ripe bananas and got them into the freezer pronto. I needed to wait overnight for them to freeze solid. The machine was taunting me. I would glance at it and in a very Pavlovian response, my mouth would begin to water. I felt very impatient.

So now I use it in fits and spurts. When I leave it out on the counter I definitely use it more frequently. Heading into the winter months, I am not sure how often I will take it for a spin...but hey, I just thought of something...banana and maple would be great together....on top of a waffle...maybe for Christmas morning?

Make the Pink Cookies NOW!

2011-11-29T19:31:00.002-05:00

The link for the Candy-Striped Peppermint Meringues is up at Bon Appetit. Pick up the December 2011 Bon Appetit issue so you can make these and other scrumptious cookies from the article by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez.

Bake the Cover!

2011-11-28T12:47:00.004-05:00

Check out the December 2011 Bon Appetit cover.....Candy-Striped Peppermint Meringues. Whimsical, easy, fat-free - and pink! I couldn't resist and I headed to the kitchen to "bake the cover". Here is my photographic rendition. I will link the recipe as soon as it's up on the magazine website.

BBBBB

A Baker's Field Guide Series Now in Paperback

2011-11-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to present my entire Baker's Field Guide series in a lower-priced paperback, just in time for the holidays. At $14.95 each they are more accessible than ever with all the same content inside. Perfect for gift giving or for stocking up for year-round gifts. And it is on sale now for an even lower price! Check out A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies - we are coming up on Xmas cookie season and the book offers you recipes from around the world.

Now, two teases for you....I know I have been mumbling about a new Dedewilson.com, but I promise you, we are within reach of a launch. Check back here over the week for a notice. I want it to be in really good shape for you when I let it go live. So far there are over 155 pages of fabulous content for you to peruse. You are going to love it! Recipes, Videos, Tips & Tricks, What's Hot...all kinds of helpful links.

Tease #2.....there is another Baker's Field Guide in the works. You will have to wait a bit for that one, but look for that announcement soon, too. Hint: think round, stuffed, topped, glazed, sprinkled and sugar-rolled.

2011-11-17T11:03:00.001-05:00

When Apple Pie is More Than Apple Pie

2011-11-16T15:04:00.006-05:00

My good friend Martha Teichner and I are connected in two very important ways - dogs and food. (I am sure you recognize her from CBS News Sunday Morning). If you know one or both of us, you know that both of these topics are hugely important in our lives. And on most days, we take for granted that we have our dogs to hug and a good, hot meal on the table. Every once in a while something BIG happens in our lives. Sometimes it's good; sometimes it's catastrophic, yet even those trying times can bring silver linings to light...what follows is a speech that Martha presented at the Les Dames d'Escoffier International convention just a few weeks ago. It is a story about crisis and putting devastating news into perspective - and in the end, there is a fabulous apple pie rising from the ashes (seen below with a tasty hunk removed)....and of course the dogs are mentioned, too. With Thanksgiving approaching, may we all be thankful for what we do have...and bake a pie! You will feel better.

Below is the speech as presented, in Martha's own CAPS...all the easier to read my dears.

ON JANUARY 15, 2009, AN HOUR BEFORE CAPTAIN SULLY SULLENBERGER LANDED US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549 ON THE HUDSON RIVER, MY KITCHEN BURNED DOWN.

I WAS ON A TRAIN TO BOSTON AT THE TIME AND KNEW NOTHING OF EITHER EVENT UNTIL I EMERGED FROM THE QUIET CAR AT SOUTH STATION, TURNED ON MY BLACKBERRY AND CELL PHONE, AND CHECKED MY MESSAGES. THE FIRST ONE, FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE CO-OP WHERE I LIVE IN MANHATTAN, MADE MY HEART POUND. SUDDENLY, I WAS SHORT OF BREATH, HOT ALL OVER, DIZZY.

“THERE’S BEEN A FIRE. THERE’S BEEN A FIRE IN YOUR APARTMENT. AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS MESSAGE, CALL ME. IT’S AN EMERGENCY.” HER VOICE SOUNDED HIGH-PITCHED, PANICKY. THERE WAS A PAUSE, THEN “THE DOGS ARE ALL RIGHT…CALL ME.” WHEN I FINALLY REACHED HER, I COULD HEAR LOUD VOICES IN THE BACKGROUND AND A TREMENDOUS ROARING NOISE AS SHE SHOUTED INTO THE PHONE.

“YOUR KITCHEN IS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THE FIREMEN RESCUED THE DOGS. THERE’S WATER ALL OVER. THE SPRINKLERS WORKED. THE FIRE CLEAN-UP PEOPLE ARE HERE. THEY’VE GOT HUGE FANS TO DRY EVERYTHING OUT. THAT’S WHAT THE NOISE IS. NOBODY WAS HURT.” IN SHORT, CHOPPY SENTENCES, SHE LAID OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED DURING THE TIME I’D BEEN SITTING, OBLIVIOUS, ON THE TRAIN.

THE COLLEAGUE WHO’D BEEN TRAVELING WITH ME..WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO SHOOT A STORY…DIDN’T REALIZE AT THAT POINT THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG. HE WAS GOING ON AND ON IN AMAZEMENT ABOUT THE PLANE ON THE HUDSON. THE DETAILS OF THAT ASTONISHING MIRACLE..NOBODY DEAD, NOBODY EVEN INJURED, THE PERFECT LANDING…THEY ALL JUST DRIFTED PAST ME, LIKE DISTRACTING CHATTER AS I HELD A HAND OVER ONE EAR AND STRAINED TO LISTEN TO WHAT I WAS BEING TOLD ABOUT THE FIRE.

AS I SOON CAME TO UNDERSTAND, IT WAS ALSO AN ASTONISHING MIRACLE THAT NOBODY WAS DEAD OR INJURED IN THE BROWNSTONE WHERE I LIVE.. IF THE ORDER HAD BEEN REVERSED; IF THE PLANE HAD COME DOWN ON THE RIVER BEFORE MY KITCHEN CAUGHT FIRE, THERE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN FIRE ENGINES AVAILABLE TO PUT IT OUT. IF THE SUPER HADN’T BEEN VACUUMING IN THE HALLWAY AND HEARD THE SMOKE ALARM GO OFF; IF THE CO-OP BOARD PRESIDENT HADN’T BEEN NEARBY WITH A SET OF MY KEYS, THE OUTCOME MIGHT HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT. MORE THAN MY KITCHEN WOULD HAVE BURNED…LOTS OF IFS..

NOTHING SEEMED REAL. SOMEHOW I FOUND MYSELF IN A TAXI, THEN PULLING UP TO A HOTEL. SOMEHOW I WAS CHECKED IN, MY LUGGAGE TAKEN TO MY ROOM, ETC. ETC…HOW DID IT GET TO BE DARK OUT?? I DIDN’T KNOW.

AND I DIDN’T KNOW ..YET..THAT THIS FIRE IN MY KITCHEN, FAR FROM BEING OUT, WOULD SMOLDER ON INSIDE ME LIKE SOME KIND OF TIME-RELEASE ANGUISH..

YOU IN THIS ROOM, YOU OF ALL PEOPLE, UNDERSTAND THAT A KITCHEN IS NOT JUST A ROOM. IT’S WHERE YOUR IDENTITY IS KEPT, ON A HOOK WITH YOUR APRON, ON A SHELF WITH THE SPLATTERED, DOG-EARED COOKBOOKS…IT’S WHERE MEANING IS MEASURED OUT IN SHINY METAL CUPS AND WHISKED INTO A HOPEFUL MIXTURE THAT IF COOKED UP JUST RIGHT, CAN SATISFY MANY KINDS OF HUNGER, BECAUSE FOOD IS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING YOU EAT TO SURVIVE….

I’VE BEEN A REPORTER FOR NEARLY FORTY YEARS. IF I THINK BACK OVER THE STORIES I’VE COVERED THAT HAVE REALLY TOUCHED ME, FOOD HAS BEEN A FACTOR IN MOST OF THEM, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.. I RECALL THE MAJOR LANDMARKS IN MY LIFE BY WAY OF FOOD EXPERIENCES…MOST OF THEM PLEASANT, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM.

MY KITCHEN WAS MY FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY PRESENT TO MYSELF. IT’S A TYPICAL NEW YORK KITCHEN, MEANING SMALL. IT’S SMALL BUT VERY GOOD.

I LOVED THE RICH-LOOKING, CUSTOM CABINETS, TWO ROWS OF THEM, CHERRY, RIGHT UP TO THE CEILING. I INSISTED ON HAVING A WALL FITTED OUT WITH BARS SO I COULD HANG THE POTS AND PANS AND BASKETS AND GADGETS I USED REGULARLY…AND SOME THINGS I HARDLY EVER USED BUT JUST ENJOYED SEEING THERE SUSPENDED FROM THEIR HOOKS.

I LOVED THE BIG, WELL-USED POT I TREATED MYSELF TO WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO LONDON IN 1980… AND MY FOUR, BLACK, CAST-IRON SKILLETS…AND THE BRIGHT RED-ENAMELED COLANDER THAT I BOUGHT FOR MY FIRST APARTMENT SOMETIME AROUND 1971… AND THE PEWTER PORRINGER HANGING BY ITS INTERESTING HANDLE..…AND MY WIRE HEN, DANGLING FROM A HOOK BY ONE WING. SHE WAS MEANT TO BE A BASKET FOR EGGS, I GUESS..THAT I’D FOUND WHEN I LIVED IN SOUTH AFRICA..I FILLED HER WITH PACKAGES OF NUTS FROM AIRPLANES OR BAGS OF COUGH DROPS OR CHOCOLATE. THE RUBBER BANDS I ACCUMULATED HUNG FROM HER CREST AND TAIL.

MY WALL OF HAPPY CLUTTER LOOKED TO ME LIKE A COLLECTION OF STORIES, REMEMBERED MEALS WITH FRIENDS, PLACES I’D LIVED OR WORKED. IT GAVE MY WINDOWLESS KITCHEN LIFE….

IF YOU SUBTRACTED THE COUNTERS AND APPLIANCES, THE MOVING AROUND SPACE WAS ONLY ABOUT FOUR FEET BY EIGHT FEET. IT HAD ITS SHARE OF PRESTIGE TOYS..BUT ITS BEST FEATURE WAS THE FLOOR..IF YOUR KITCHEN DOESN’T HAVE A WINDOW, NO MATTER HOW NICE IT IS, THE ONLY CANVAS YOU HAVE LEFT .. TO CREATE A SPECIAL SPACE.. IS THE FLOOR….WHAT I WANTED WAS A MOSAIC MADE TO LIKE A FADED ORIENTAL RUG. WHAT I ENDED UP WITH LOOKED LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN AN ORIENTAL AND MAYBE A NAVAJO RUG.. NOT PARTICULARLY FADED, BUT QUITE WONDERFUL.

SO IT WAS THE FLOOR I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS I STRUGGLED TO INTERVIEW AN ELDERLY ASTROPHYSICIST AT THE HARVARD OBSERVATORY THE MORNING AFTER THE FIRE.. ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE SUN. “THE DIAMETER OF THE SUN IS ONE HUNDRED TIMES THE DIAMETER OF EARTH,” HE SAID AS HE PUMPED AIR INTO A BIG BALLOON AND HANDED ME A SMALL MARBLE. I TOLD MYSELF TO CONCENTRATE AND TRIED HARD NOT TO IMAGINE WHAT I WOULD FIND WHEN I GOT HOME THAT NIGHT.

IT WAS PRETTY AWFUL. AS I REACHED MY FRONT DOOR, I PASSED TWO MEN HAULING AWAY ONE OF THE ORIENTAL RUGS I HAD USED AS INSPIRATION FOR THE MOSAIC. I’D GOTTEN IT IN BAGHDAD AFTER THE GULF WAR AND NOW HERE IT WAS, A BIG, SOGGY ROLL, DRIPPING A TRAIL OF WATER ACROSS THE LOBBY.

WHEN I WALKED IN MY FRONT DOOR, I’M NOT SURE WHICH WAS WORSE, THE PUTRID FIRE STINK OR THE NAUSEATING, FAKE FRUIT, CANDY SMELL, WHICH I DISCOVERED WAS THE DEODERIZER THE FIRE CLEAN-UP PEOPLE WERE USING IN THEIR FANS. AS BIG AND, I SWEAR, AS LOUD AS JET ENGINES, THREE WERE POSITIONED AROUND MY APARTMENT, ANOTHER ONE IN THE HALL. AT LEAST THE ELECTRICITY WAS WORKING. THE PHONE WAS NOT.

THERE WAS A PLASTIC SHEET COVERING THE ENTRANCE TO MY KITCHEN. OVER IT WERE HALF-A-DOZEN STRIPS OF YELLOW POLICE TAPE THAT INFORMED ME IN EMPHATIC BLACK LETTERS,“ DO-NOT- CROSS,” AS IF IT WERE A CRIME SCENE, AND I WAS A TRESPASSER IN MY OWN HOME.

“I’D LIKE TO SEE,” I TOLD RON, THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE CLEAN-UP CREW. HE UNSTUCK THE TAPE, PULLED BACK THE PLASTIC SHEET AND IMMEDIATELY, I UNDERSTOOD WHY IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO STAY OUT. HE POINTED HIS FLASHLIGHT INTO THE DARK VOID. THE STOVE, DISFIGURED, WAS TIPPED OVER. BEHIND IT, THE WALL WAS GONE. I COULD VAGUELY MAKE OUT SINGED BRICK. IT WAS THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR.

THE CEILING WAS GONE TOO. WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE LIGHTS HUNG DOWN IN A CRAZY TANGLE OF METAL AND WIRES. THE MICROWAVE WAS BURIED IN THE FOOT OF ASH AND RUBBLE THAT COVERED THE FLOOR. MY WALL OF POTS WAS STILL THERE, PART OF IT ANYWAY, BLACKENED AND UGLY NOW, BUT I COULD SEE MY WIRE CHICKEN STILL HANGING BY HER WING..AND ON AN UNDAMAGED SECTION OF COUNTER, A CERAMIC PITCHER SHAPED LIKE A PIG DRESSED UP LIKE A WAITER, THAT I’D GOTTEN YEARS BEFORE IN PORTUGAL…

I WONDERED IF ANYTHING COULD BE SALVAGED.

BY NINE O’CLOCK I’D BEEN TO BEST BUY…BY TEN-THIRTY THE SMALL REFRIGERATOR AND THE MICROWAVE I’D BOUGHT HAD BEEN DELIVERED. I PULLED OUT THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE I CARRY IN MY SUITCASE AND OPENED A BOTTLE OF WINE. THEN I REALIZED THE ONLY GLASS I COULD FIND HAD MY TOOTHBRUSH IN IT. I SAT DOWN ON THE SOOTY COUCH IN MY DEN WITH MY DOGS ON EITHER SIDE OF ME, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE FIRE, CRIED.

IN 1983, I WAS SENT TO BEIRUT TO COVER THE LEBANON WAR. I WAS STRUCK BY THE INCREDIBLE RESILIENCE AND RESOURCEFULNESS OF THE LEBANESE. A BATTLE WOULD TAKE PLACE SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY. WHEN THE SHOOTING OR SHELLING BEGAN, WOMEN WOULD CRY OUT TO THEIR CHILDREN, GATHER THEM UP, AND SCURRY AWAY TO HIDE. THEY WOULD DISAPPEAR INTO APARTMENT BUILDINGS SCARRED FROM THE FIGHTING, SOMETIMES HALF IN RUINS. THE STREETS, NORMALLY NOISY WITH TRAFFIC AND COMMERCE, WOULD SUDDENLY BE TERRIFYINGLY EMPTY AND SILENT, THE ONLY SOUND.. GUNFIRE OR THE PERCUSSION OF ARTILLERY ECHOING EERILY.

OR THERE WOULD BE AN ENORMOUS EXPLOSION. EVEN A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY, YOU COULD FEEL ITS SEISMIC TREMOR ALL OVER YOUR BODY. IF YOU WERE NEARBY, THERE WOULD BE SHRIEKING, CHAOS, A CACOPHONY OF CAR ALARMS, SIRENS BRAYING AS RED CRESCENT AMBULANCES STRUGGLED TO GET TO WHAT INEVITABLY WAS THE AFTERMATH OF A CAR OR TRUCK BOMB…A CRATER IN THE GROUND, DEATH AND DEBRIS EVERYWHERE.

AND THEN, SOMETIMES ONLY MINUTES AFTER THE COMMOTION DIED DOWN, MEN WOULD BEGIN OPENING THE TRUNKS OF THEIR CARS AND SELLING WHATEVER WAS INSIDE. YOU’D HEAR THE CLATTER OF MERCHANTS RAISING THE SHUTTERS ON THEIR SHOPS AND WOMEN HAGGLING IN ARABIC ONCE MORE. LIFE WOULD RESUME, CAUTIOUSLY AT FIRST, BUT VERY QUICKLY AND BRAVELY.

THE JUICE BARS ALMOST NEVER CLOSED. I LOVED GOING OUT LATE AT NIGHT TO ONE NEAR THE HOTEL WHERE THE PRESS STAYED. IT WAS ALWAYS GARISHLY BRIGHT, LIT BY A STRING OF BARE LIGHTBULBS, LIKE A BIG TOOTHY SMILE IN THE DARKNESS. LONG BEFORE I REACHED THE PLACE, I WOULD HEAR THE WHINE OF THE JUICERS. THERE WAS ALWAYS FRUIT, LOTS OF FRUIT: ALL KINDS OF FRUIT, EVEN WHEN YOU WERE SURE, BECAUSE OF THE FIGHTING, THERE WOULD BE NOTHING.

I’D SEE BLUE-HELMETED UN SOLDIERS, AND SCARY-LOOKING GUYS WHO, BY DAY, WERE PROBABLY ENEMIES, MANNING CHECK-POINTS SET UP BY RIVAL MILITIAS. I’D SEE SKINNY LITTLE BOYS AND JOURNALISTS AND AMBULANCE DRIVERS, EVERYBODY LINED UP WITH THEIR EMPTY, PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES, LAUGHING AND JOKING WHILE THEY WAITED TO HAVE THEM FILLED WITH JUICE, AS IF IT WERE THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD.

I REMEMBER ONE DAY COMING UPON A HIGH-RISE APARTMENT BUILDING THAT HAD BEEN HIT BY A CAR BOMB. THE ENTIRE FAÇADE HAD BEEN SLICED OFF, SO IT LOOKED LIKE SOME SORT OF BIZARRE MULTI-UNIT DOLLHOUSE OR STAGE SET OR A GIANT, VERTICAL ANT FARM. I COULD SEE COUCHES STILL IN PLACE, TABLES AND CHAIRS, PICTURES ON THE WALLS… THE STAIRWAYS, THE BATHROOMS AND KITCHENS WERE ALL EXPOSED ON ONE SIDE. IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT…MADE EVEN MORE SO BY THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WERE STILL LIVING THERE. MY CAMERA CREW AND I WATCHED AS A WOMAN IN BLACK CARRIED PLASTIC BAGS FILLED WITH GROCERIES THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE RUBBLE. SEVERAL CHILDREN WITH GALLON JUGS OF WATER FOLLOWED HER.

WE WERE AMAZED TO SEE THEM CLIMBING THE STAIRS, ZIG-ZAGGING UP FIVE OR SIX FLOORS UNTIL THEY REACHED A DOOR AND DISAPPEARED, ONLY TO RE-EMERGE THROUGH ANOTHER DOOR, THE FRONT DOOR TO THEIR APARTMENT. AS IF IT WERE A NORMAL DAY IN A NORMAL HOME, THEY SET DOWN WHAT THEY WERE CARRYING IN THE KITCHEN. THE WOMAN PUT EVERYTHING NEATLY AWAY AND THEN… BEGAN TO PREPARE A MEAL, WHILE THE CHILDREN BUSIED THEMSELVES IN THE LIVING ROOM, APPARENTLY OBLIVIOUS TO THE FACT THAT ONE WRONG MOVE, AND THEY WOULD FALL OVER THE JAGGED CONCRETE EDGE MORE THAN A HUNDRED FEET TO THEIR DEATHS.

MY CREW VIDEOTAPED ALL THIS. WE DECIDED WE HAD TO PAY THE FAMILY A VISIT. IT WAS STRANGE AND UNNERVING TO BE THERE WITH THE WALL MISSING AND THE GROUND SO FAR BELOW. THE APARTMENT WAS IMMACULATE AND TIDY. THE WOMAN COOKED ON A SMALL, KEROSENE STOVE..SHE SERVED HER CHILDREN RICE AND SOME VEGETABLES, PITA. SHE OFFERED US TEA AND WOULDN’T LET US SAY NO, ALTHOUGH SHE WAS CAREFUL ABOUT HOW MUCH WATER SHE POURED INTO THE POT TO BOIL.

SHE SERVED US WITH GREAT DIGNITY. HOW? HERE?

IT’S ONE THING TO COVER SOMEONE ELSE’S CATASTROPHE, SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY, WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU. I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN, AS I MADE UP MY MIND TO LIVE WELL IN MY FIRE-RAVAGED, KITCHENLESS APARTMENT. I, AT LEAST, HAD FOUR WALLS, HEAT, RUNNING WATER, ELECTRICITY, AND A REGULAR PAYCHECK.

I GOT MYSELF A SET OF MICROWAVABLE CASSEROLE DISHES; A SALAD SPINNER; A BIG, PLASTIC BIN WITH A LID, DOG-PROOF I HOPED, FOR CEREAL, SALT AND PEPPER, A FEW SPICES, OLIVE OIL, VINEGAR...PASTA, CANNED SOUP. I BOUGHT A COUPLE OF MUGS, SOME COOKING TOOLS, WINE GLASSES.

BOY, DID I FEEL SMART, WHEN I PICKED UP TWO SHALLOW TROUGHS AT THE HARDWARE STORE. THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR MIXING PLASTER OR CONCRETE BUT I THOUGHT..YES… PERFECT FOR WASHING DISHES IN THE BATHTUB. A DISH DRAINER FIT NICELY INSIDE.

OFF I WENT TO BUY FOOD. I TOLD THE MAN BEHIND THE MEAT COUNTER ABOUT MY PREDICAMENT. HE SAID, “A GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL. THAT’S WHAT YOU NEED,” HAVING NEVER EVEN SEEN A GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL, OFF I WENT TO BUY ONE. I SPREAD EVERYTHING OUT ON MY SIDEBOARD AND DINING TABLE ON TOP OF SOME OF THE CONTRACTOR BAGS THE CLEANING CREW USED FOR FIRE TRASH, AND IT WAS READY, SET, COOK.

UNTIL THE CIRCUIT BREAKER TRIPPED. PRETTY SOON I FIGURED OUT WHAT I HAD TO PLUG IN WHERE AND TRIED SALMON FILET AND MUSHROOMS ON MY HANDY-DANDY GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL, SNOW PEAS IN THE MICROWAVE. MY GOOD CHINA AND THE NICE STAINLESS STEEL I SAVE FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WERE IN A CABINET IN MY DINING AREA, SAFE AND SOUND. NO QUESTION, THIS WAS A SPECIAL OCCASION. THAT NIGHT I HAD MY SALMON ON SPODE..WASHED DOWN WITH A GOOD PINOT NOIR..I CAN DO THIS, I THOUGHT.

AND I DID. DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH OF A FIRE IS LIKE TAKING ON A SECOND FULL-TIME JOB, A STRESSFUL ONE. I HAD TO CONTEND WITH PEOPLE FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, MY INSURANCE COMPANY, THE BUILDING’S INSURANCE COMPANY, THE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR THE APARTMENT ABOVE ME, FOR THE APARTMENT BELOW ME, FOR THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR, FOR THE APARTMENT NEXT DOOR, WHOSE FAULTY CHIMNEY FLUE APPARENTLY CAUSED THE FIRE.

MEANWHILE, EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN WAS BEGINNING TO MOLD. THE CLEANING CREW HAD BEEN ORDERED TO DO NOTHING UNTIL EVERY LAST INVESTIGATOR AND ADJUSTER HAD POKED THROUGH THE WRECKAGE TO HIS HEART’S CONTENT. EVERY TIME I OPENED MY BACK DOOR, THE WIND WOULD GUST BLOWING IN THE PLASTIC SHEETING AND POLICE TAPE. IMMEDIATELY, THE DOGS WOULD TRY TO GET IN TO NOSE AROUND IN THE TOXIC MESS.

SO GETTING GOOD AT MAKING DINNER BECAME A NECESSARY DIVERSION. I WON’T SAY COMIC RELIEF. I THOUGHT, WHY CAN’T I COOK PASTA IN THE MICROWAVE..? IT CAN TAKE A VERY LONG TIME, I DISCOVERED, AND REQUIRES A LOT OF WATER, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. A TIP…ORZO…I LEARNED TO MAKE STUFFED VEGETABLES A LA GEORGE FORMAN AND A PRETTY GOOD MICROWAVE MEAT SAUCE. I MADE RICE AND MIXED IT WITH LEFTOVER ROTISSERIE CHICKEN TO CONCOCT MICROWAVE CURRIES. I CHEATED SOMETIMES, BY PICKING UP RICE AT THE CHINESE RESTAURANT A BLOCK AWAY, BUT IT BECAME A MATTER OF PRIDE NOT TO ORDER IN.

A PHOTOGRAPHER I KNOW SUGGESTED I WRITE A COPING-WITH-CALAMITY COOKBOOK AND OFFERED TO TAKE PICTURES. I ACTUALLY CONSIDERED IT BUT REALIZED I HAD OTHER, MORE PRESSING THINGS TO DO…LIKE MY JOB, AND I HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHERE I COULD MOVE MYSELF, MY AU PAIR, AND TWO LARGISH DOGS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, AS THE TIME APPROACHED TO REPAIR AND REBUILD.

YES, CREATIVE INDOOR CAMPING HAD ITS OWN SATISFACTIONS. IT BROUGHT OUT SOME WEIRD DETERMINATION AND PRIDE IN ME, BUT SIX WEEKS WAS ABOUT ENOUGH. LIVING IN MY OWN APARTMENT HAD A DEFINITE WAR ZONE QUALITY ABOUT IT.

DURING THE FIRST GULF WAR, IN 1991, I BOUGHT A LITTLE BUTANE BRAZIER AND A CHEAP METAL TEAPOT, SO AT LEAST I COULD BOIL WATER FOR COFFEE OR RAMEN NOODLE SOUP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAUDI DESERT. THE HOTEL WHERE I STAYED LATER IN KUWAIT CITY HAD BEEN FIREBOMBED. THE ELEVATORS DIDN’T WORK.. NO ELECTRICITY…SO I REMEMBER HAVING TO CLIMB SOMETHING LIKE SIX FLIGHTS OF STAIRS TO MY ROOM, WHERE EVERYTHING WAS SMEARED WITH BLACKENED, OILY GUNK. BUT I MADE GOOD COFFEE EVERY MORNING WITH MY BRAZIER, BY LANTERN LIGHT. THE IRAQIS SET FIRE TO HUNDREDS OF OIL WELLS BEFORE THEY RETREATED. THICK SMOKE HUNG OVER MUCH OF THE COUNTRY. MOST DAYS IT WAS DARK AS NIGHT AT LEAST UNTIL NOON.

AFTER THE FIRE IN MY KITCHEN, I WAS LUCKY. I HAD AN ELECTRIC KETTLE, AS DID PEGGY O’HARA IN THE PUBLIC TOILETS, WHERE SHE WORKED, IN DERRY, THE CITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND THE BRITISH CALL LONDONDERRY. IT WAS 1981. PEGGY WAS THE MOTHER OF PATSY O’HARA, ONE OF TEN CATHOLIC HUNGER STRIKERS, WHO STARVED THEMSELVES TO DEATH INSIDE THE MAZE PRISON NEAR BELFAST, AS PART OF A POLITICAL PROTEST AGAINST BRITISH RULE IN THE NORTH.

MAYBE A MONTH INTO THE FAST, SHE INVITED ME TO TEA. I HAD MET HER COVERING A MARCH IN SUPPORT OF THE HUNGER STRIKERS AND LATER INTERVIEWED HER, BUT I WAS STILL SURPRISED TO FIND A MESSAGE AT MY HOTEL ASKING ME TO MEET HER. IN THE PUBLIC TOILETS…WHAT AN ODD PLACE…WHAT DOES SHE WANT?

THE LADIES WAS DOWN SOME STEPS.. BELOW GROUND.. DAMPISH AND DIM..COLD. WHEN MY EYES ADJUSTED, I SAW A BOXLIKE ROOM BUILT OUT FROM ONE WALL, WITH A DOOR AND A WINDOW, HUNG WITH CHEERY LACE CURTAINS. PEGGY O’HARA SAT IN A CHAIR FACING THE STALLS AND THE SINKS WITH A SMALL SPACE HEATER GLOWING RED AT HER FEET. THERE WERE TWO MORE CHAIRS OPPOSITE HER AND A LITTLE TABLE.

SHE PUT ON HER ELECTRIC KETTLE, WENT INTO THE MYSTERIOUS ROOM, AND CAME OUT WITH CUPS, SAUCERS, SPOONS, TEA, A SMALL CARTON OF MILK, A PLATE, NAPKINS, AND A TIN OF COOKIES ON A TRAY. WOMEN CAME DOWN THE STAIRS, USED THE FACILITIES, WASHED UP, COMBED THEIR HAIR AND LEFT AGAIN. SOME GREETED PEGGY AS SHE LAID OUT THE TEA THINGS.

AND THEN, DOWN CAME A WOMAN WITH FROWZY GRAY HAIR, WEARING A SHAPELESS, RATHER WORN, WOOL COAT THAT SEEMED TO GO WITH HER WORN, LINED FACE. WHEN SHE WAS INTRODUCED TO ME, SHE SMILED SHYLY, REVEALING A MOUTH WITH SEVERAL MISSING TEETH. EMILY WAS PEGGY O’HARA’S BEST FRIEND FROM CHILDHOOD. SHE WOULD BE JOINING US.

PEGGY MEASURED OUT LOOSE TEA INTO EACH CUP AND POURED BOILING WATER OVER IT. AS IT SETTLED AND COOLED, PEGGY AND EMILY LAUGHED AND GIGGLED LIKE THE GIRLS THEY HAD NEARLY FORGOTTEN HOW TO BE. THEY TOLD ME STORIES OF GROWING UP TOGETHER. THE WORRY ON PEGGY’S FACE DRAINED AWAY AS WE DRANK OUR TEA AND PASSED AROUND THE COOKIES..ENGLISH COOKIES I NOTICED.

WHEN MY CUP WAS EMPTY, EMILY CLAPPED HER HANDS AND GAILY ANNOUNCED SHE WAS GOING TO TELL MY FORTUNE.

WHEN I STARTED TO PROTEST, SHE SAID, “OH YEESSSS..” AND ORDERED ME TO HOLD OUT ONE HAND. WITH A CONSPIRATORIAL GLANCE AT PEGGY, SHE TOOK MY CUP AND TIPPED IT OVER INTO MY OPEN PALM. I STARED AT THE WET TEA LEAVES. THE TWO OLD FRIENDS BENT OVER ME AND BOTH OOHED AND AAHED. NOBODY HAD EVER TOLD MY FORTUNE BEFORE.

EMILY PEERED AT ME AND ANNOUNCED THAT I HAD A FINE FORTUNE INDEED. SHE POKED THE TEA LEAVES A LITTLE BIT WITH ONE FINGER AND SAID SHE COULD SEE A LARGE BUILDING, AN OFFICE BUILDING.. IN LONDON PERHAPS…

A TOILET FLUSHED. SHE LOOKED UP, THEN CONTINUED…“AND I SEE A MAN..GOING INTO THE BUILDING..HE’S DARK…SHORT…VERY WELL-DRESSED...MAYBE HE’S FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.”

WHERE DID SHE GET THAT???? I MUST HAVE BEEN LOOKING VERY SKEPTICAL, BUT SHE WENT ON..”HE’S RICH, AND YOU MEET AND FALL IN LOVE.” I LAUGHED OUT LOUD. “NO, REALLY,” SHE INSISTED AND ERUPTED INTO ANOTHER PEAL OF GIGGLES. PEGGY NODDED AND SMILED. ANOTHER TOILET FLUSHED. EMILY TOOK A NAPKIN AND WIPED THE TEA LEAVES OFF MY HAND, SAID GOODBYE AND LEFT.

THE WORRY RETURNED TO PEGGY’S FACE.

“DO YOU THINK SHE’LL LET THEM DIE? MARGARET THATCHER IS A MOTHER. SHE’LL STOP IT BEFORE THEY DIE, WON’T SHE? THEY WON’T DIE. MY WEE PATSY. HE’LL BE FINE. YOU, AS A JOURNALIST, YOU MUST KNOW SOMETHING.“

I SAID I DIDN’T KNOW.

“WILL YOU COME AND SEE ME AGAIN?” I SAID I WOULD, AND I DID, NEARLY EVERY DAY UNTIL HER WEE PATSY WAS DEAD.

WHEN I THINK OF THE BOSNIAN WAR, I THINK FIRST OF BLOOD RED TOMATOES IN BANJA LUKA. IN EARLY AUGUST, 1992, SEVERAL BRITISH JOURNALISTS MANAGED TO GET INTO PREVIOUSLY SECRET PRISON CAMPS OPERATED BY THE SERBS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF BOSNIA AND HERZOGOVINA. THE FEW PICTURES THEY WERE ABLE TO SNEAK OUT WERE HORRIFIC..LIKE AUSCHWITZ AT THE END OF WW2…EMACIATED MEN WITH HOLLOW, HAUNTED EYES BEHIND BARBED WIRE.

WITHIN HOURS OF THOSE PICTURES APPEARING, I WAS SENT TO TRY AND GET INTO THE CAMPS AS WELL. I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE. “GO TO BANJA LUKA,” WE WERE ALL TOLD, “THAT’S THE CLOSEST PLACE,” AND DOZENS OF REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS DESCENDED UPON A HOTEL WITH MOST OF ITS WINDOWS SHOT OUT, A PLACE WHERE INSTINCTIVELY YOU KNEW NOT TO BE VISIBLE MOVING AROUND IN YOUR ROOM AT NIGHT.

AND YET, PEOPLE GATHERED ON THE ROOF, A PLACE PRESUMABLY SAFE FROM SNIPERS. IT WAS HOT. THERE WAS A BREEZE AND LIGHT UP THERE AND THE REMAINING VESTIGES OF A RESTAURANT. I SEEM TO REMEMBER BEING ABLE TO ORDER BEER, OR MAYBE WE ALL BROUGHT OUR OWN, BUT THE ONE FOOD AVAILABLE WAS TOMATOES, BIG PLATTERS, PILED WITH THICK RED SLICES ON EVERY TABLE, SO VERY RED...AND GLISTENING..IN MY MEMORY, OF COURSE IT WASN’T TRUE, EVERYTHING ELSE WAS GRAY. THE ONLY COLOR WAS THE RED OF THE TOMATOES.

THEY WERE, BY FAR, THE MOST DELICIOUS TOMATOES I’VE EVER EATEN. I WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE OF THE FIGHTING, THEY WERE LYING IN ABANDONED FIELDS NEXT TO THE RUINS OF BURNED-OUT FARMHOUSES, A WHOLE SEASON’S CROP THERE FOR THE TAKING BY ANYONE DARING ENOUGH TO TRY. THEY WOULD JUST ROT IF NO ONE DID.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE WAS ON THE ROOF WHEN I ARRIVED. THREE YEARS LATER, AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, HE WOULD BROKER THE PEACE AGREEMENT THAT ENDED THE WAR IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, BUT THAT NIGHT HE HAD JUST ARRIVED TOO, ON HIS FIRST-EVER TRIP TO BOSNIA, AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN NOT AS A DIPLOMAT. HOLBROOKE WAS TRAVELING WITH A PEACE GROUP. SWEAT SOAKED HIS SHIRT AS HE TOLD ME HOW THEIR CONVOY HAD BEEN FIRED ON AS THEY DROVE IN FROM CROATIA.

HE ASKED ME WHY I WAS THERE. WHEN I TOLD HIM I WAS TRYING TO GET INTO THE PRISON CAMPS, HE TURNED, AND POINTED AT A BLONDISH MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A GROUP AT ANOTHER TABLE, SPEAKING AND BEING SPOKEN TO THROUGH A TRANSLATOR . “GO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO HIM, “ HE SAID. “BERNARD KOUCHNER.”

WHEN I LOOKED PUZZLED, HE EXPLAINED THAT BERNARD KOUCHNER, THE FOUNDER OF MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERS..DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS..WAS NOW THE FRENCH MINISTER OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS. THE MEN AT THE TABLE WITH HIM WERE LOCAL OFFICIALS FROM THE AREA BETWEEN BANJA LUKA AND THE PRISON CAMPS. HE WAS NEGOTIATING PERMISSION TO VISIT THE CAMPS TO SEE FOR HIMSELF. I WONDERED HOW MUCH THEY KNEW, HOW MUCH THEY WEREN’T TELLING.

HOLBROOKE SAID, “IF YOU CAN, GO WITH HIM. DON’T WAIT FOR THE AMERICANS. YOU’LL HAVE BETTER ACCESS. HE’S VERY GOOD.”

DICK WAS RIGHT. KOUCHNER WAS GIVEN PERMISSION TO MAKE THE TRIP AND WAS HAPPY TO HAVE ME AND MY CREW ALONG. WE WERE THE ONLY JOURNALISTS WORKING FOR AN AMERICAN NEWS ORGANIZATION WHO WENT WITH HIM. MOST WERE FRENCH, BUT KOUCHNER SPOKE EXCELLENT ENGLISH. WE CREPT OFF BEFORE DAWN, BEFORE OUR COLLEAGUES REALIZED WE WERE GONE.

WE WENT TO TWO CAMPS: OMARSKA AND MANJACA. THE IMAGE ABOVE ALL OTHERS I THINK OF WHEN I REMEMBER THAT DAY WAS OF A BARN OPEN AT EITHER END, A VERY LARGE SHED REALLY, LINED WITH ROWS AND ROWS OF MEN, LIVING SKELETONS, HUNDREDS OF THEM, SITTING ON THE CONCRETE FLOOR SHOULDER TO SHOULDER, BACK TO BACK.

THE GUARDS, HEAVY AND HEAVILY ARMED…WHAT A CONTRAST…LED US UP AND DOWN THE ROWS, BERNARD KOUCHNER AND HIS AIDES FIRST, THEN THE REST OF US. THE PRISONERS, BOSNIAN MUSLIMS AND CROATS, FOLLOWED US WITH THEIR EYES, WHICH LOOKED HUGE AND TERRIFIED AND SAD. I REMEMBER THE SOUNDS AS WE PASSED.. BIRDS SINGING AS THEY SWOOPED BACK AND FORTH ABOVE OUR HEADS IN THE RAFTERS, THE CLICK AND WHINE OF STILL CAMERAS, AND SOFT WEEPING.

BERNARD KOUCHNER BEGAN QUESTIONING THE GUARDS, TO KEEP THEM BUSY, I THINK, WHILE THE JOURNALISTS TRIED TO INTERVIEW THE PRISONERS. WE GOT A SENTENCE FROM ONE, TWO SENTENCES FROM ANOTHER, AND SO ON, SNATCHES OF STORIES ABOUT MEN BEING MARCHED AWAY AT NIGHT AND NEVER COMING BACK, OF SCREAMS, OF SHOTS…OF WOMEN FROM NEIGHBORING CAMPS BEING FORCED TO WORK AND THEN BEING RAPED. IT WAS THE SAME AT BOTH OF THE PLACES WE WENT. I ASKED ONE MAN WHY HE WAS CRYING. HE SAID IN TERRIBLE GASPS, “BECAUSE YOU ARE FREE. YOU CAN LEAVE. WE CAN’T.” OUR INTERPRETER CHOKED ON HIS WORDS AS HE TRANSLATED.

I LOOKED AT THOSE STARVING MEN AND THOUGHT OF THE BLOOD RED TOMATOES AND KNEW THAT WHENEVER I RECALLED THAT HORRIBLE WAR, I WOULD CONNECT THOSE TWO IMAGES. TOGETHER THEY SAID SO MUCH..

MOST OF THE CAMPS WERE CLOSED WITHIN DAYS, BUT BEFORE ALL THE PRISONERS COULD BE FREED, HUNDREDS WERE MASSACRED.

MY MOTHER DIED THREE WEEKS LATER.. OF COLON CANCER. ONCE I GOT WORD THAT SHE WAS BACK IN THE HOSPITAL AND NOT LIKELY TO SURVIVE, IT TOOK ME FIVE DAYS TO GET FROM BANJA LUKA TO BELGRADE TO BUDAPEST, TO LONDON, TO ATLANTA, AND FINALLY TO CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

THE TRIP FROM BELGRADE TO BUDAPEST WAS BIZARRELY FUNNY AND INFURIATING. OUR DRIVER HAD AN OLD MERCEDES. NOT FAR FROM THE SERBIAN/ HUNGARIAN BORDER, A BIRD FLEW INTO THE FRONT OF THE CAR WITH A HARD ..THUNK.. A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE ENGINE WAS SMOKING. THE BIRD HAD PUNCTURED THE RADIATOR, SO THE FLUID LEAKED OUT.

STOPPING, COOLING DOWN, REFILLING; STOPPING, COOLING DOWN, REFILLING, WE MANAGED TO LIMP INTO A TOWN. THE DRIVER ACTUALLY TRIED CHEWING GUM TO PATCH THE HOLE. HE BOUGHT A PACK, PUT ALL OF IT IN HIS MOUTH AT ONCE, AND WORKED IT INTO A BIG, STRETCHY BLOB. BUT, IT DIDN’T WORK...DON’T BELIEVE THE STORIES…

ANOTHER CAR PUSHED US TO A MECHANIC’S SHOP. HOURS OF TINKERING DID NO GOOD. THE MECHANIC HAD A FRIEND, WHO HAD A FRIEND, WHO HAPPENED TO HAVE AN IDENTICAL OLD MERCEDES. I HANDED OVER HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO THE FRIEND OF THE FRIEND, WHOSE EYES GLITTERED WITH GLADNESS AND GREED AS HIS OLD RADIATOR BECAME OUR NEW ONE. AFTER ANOTHER COUPLE OF HOURS WE WERE ON OUR WAY AGAIN, BUT I HAD LOST A DAY.

CROSSING INTO HUNGARY WAS LIKE ENTERING A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE. INSTEAD OF SERBIA’S DRAB, RUN-DOWN VILLAGES AND TOWNS,THERE WERE GREEN, TREE-LINED STREETS, GRAND, OLD 19^TH CENTURY BUILDINGS THAT REMINDED ME OF CORSETED, OVERDRESSED DOWAGERS. IN TOWN AFTER TOWN, I SAW PEOPLE GATHERED IN LEAFY SQUARES, FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, LAUGHING COUPLES, TEENAGERS..AT ICE CREAM STANDS WITH FLUTTERING AWNINGS..THE PINK AND WHITE AND BROWN OF THEIR CONES CRAYON BRIGHT IN THE LATE AFTERNOON SUNLIGHT. THE DRIVER TOLD ME THE ICE CREAM IN THAT PART OF HUNGARY WAS FAMOUS.

HOW STRANGE IT ALL SEEMED, SAILING BY MY WINDOW, AS I WONDERED WHETHER MY MOTHER WOULD DIE BEFORE I REACHED CHARLESTON.

I GOT THERE IN TIME. I WAS HOLDING HER HAND WHEN SHE DIED ON SEPTEMBER 6, 1992.

MY MOTHER DIDN’T WANT A FUNERAL, SO WHEN I TOOK HER ASHES TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN TO BURY, I LOOKED UP TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN MY PARENTS’ FRIENDS WHEN THEY ALL WERE STARTING OUT TOGETHER AT THE END OF WW2, JUST MARRIED, MANY OF THEM NEW TO THE AREA, TRYING TO MAKE LIVES FOR THEMSELVES IN A PLACE THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL BUT BACKWARD, A PLACE LIKE SO MANY OTHERS, UNPREPARED FOR SO MANY MEN JUST OUT OF THE SERVICE AND SO MANY FAMILIES WITH NO PLACE TO LIVE.

NEARLY FIFTY YEARS LATER, A FEW OF MY PARENTS’ FRIENDS WERE STILL ALIVE. I INVITED THEM TO COME TO THE LITTLE CEMETERY JUST OUTSIDE LELAND, SNUG AND SHADY ON THE EDGE OF LAKE LEELANAU. ANY MICHIGANDER CAN SHOW YOU WHERE IT IS..HOLD OUT YOUR LEFT HAND..SEE THE LOWER KNUCKLE ON YOUR LITTLE FINGER..RIGHT THERE…LAKE MICHIGAN IS ON THE LEFT..LAKE LEELANAU IS ABOUT WHERE THE CREASE IS.

THE PINE TREE WHICH HAD BEEN THE SIZE OF A NINE YEAR OLD CHILD, MY SIZE, WHEN MY FATHER WAS BURIED BESIDE IT IN 1957, WAS AT LEAST FORTY FEET HIGH, WHEN WE GATHERED UNDER IT THAT SEPTEMBER DAY. THE WEATHER HAD TURNED COLD AND DRIZZLY, BUT THE FALL COLORS WERE AT THEIR PEAK AND THROUGH THE TREES, WE COULD SEE SMALL WHITECAPS ON THE WINTRY BLUE OF THE LAKE. MY PARENTS’ FRIENDS, THOSE FADING, POST-WAR PIONEERS, TOLD STORIES ABOUT WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG AND FULL OF HOPE. THEY LAUGHED AND SMILED AND RECALLED THEMSELVES AS THEY WERE THEN..WHEN MY FATHER BROUGHT SKIING TO THE REGION AND MY MOTHER QUIT A GOOD JOB IN CHICAGO TO COME WITH HIM.

THE BURRYS WERE THERE. AFTER THE WAR, CLARENCE AND LEONA BURRY STARTED A FAMILY RESTAURANT IN CEDAR, POPULATION..OH, MAYBE 200. CEDAR IS MILDLY FAMOUS NOW FOR PLEVA’S, THE BUTCHER SHOP THAT OPENED NEXT DOOR TO BURRY’S IN 1946. PLEVA’S CHERRY SAUSAGE WAS FEATURED ON OPRAH. A PLEVA GIRL WAS MISS MICHIGAN FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO AGO. THE STORE IS THRIVING..IT HAS AN ELABORATE WEBSITE..YOU NEED THAT IF YOU’RE LOCATED IN CEDAR..BUT THE BURRYS RETIRED AND CLOSED THEIR RESTAURANT YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE WEBSITES.

AS WE LEFT THE CEMETERY, THEY INVITED ME TO DINNER THE NEXT NIGHT. UNTIL MY FATHER DIED, AND MY MOTHER AND I MOVED AWAY, WE HAD SUNDAY DINNER AT BURRY’S RESTAURANT ALMOST EVERY WEEK, YEAR-ROUND. THE MEAL WOULD START WITH CELERY AND CARROT STICKS AND A FEW PIMENTO OLIVES IN A OVAL-SHAPED, CUT-GLASS RELISH DISH, VERY 1950S. THEN CAME A SALAD WITH SWEET, POPPY SEED DRESSING. AFTER THAT, THE MAIN COURSE, SERVED FAMILY STYLE, USUALLY THE HOUSE SPECIALTY.

CLARENCE BURRY WAS A SHORT, ROUND MAN WITH THICK WHITE HAIR SLICKED STRAIGHT BACK FROM HIS FOREHEAD WITHOUT A PART. HE WOULD BURST FROM THE KITCHEN SMILING, IN HIS WHITE APRON, TRIUMPHANTLY CARRYING A PLATTER OF SWISS STEAK. LEONA BURRY, TALLER, DARK, AND QUIET, WOULD FOLLOW HIM WITH A STEAMING BOWL OF MASHED POTATOES IN ONE HAND, A GREEN VEGETABLE IN THE OTHER, USUALLY PEAS WITH LITTLE DENTS IN THEM. THE TWO OF THEM WERE THE PICTURE OF GOODNESS.

I REALLY LIKED THE BURRYS..I REALLY HATED SWISS STEAK, LOATHED SWISS STEAK. I DISLIKED MASHED POTATOES ALMOST AS MUCH AND STILL DO, SOMETHING ABOUT THE TEXTURE. I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW THE SWISS STEAK WAS COOKED, ONLY THAT IT WAS COOKED FOR A LONG TIME, SO LONG ALL THE FIBERS SEPARATED INTO SHAGGY STRINGS..IT WAS COVERED WITH A THICK, DARK, SHINY SAUCE MY FATHER, IN PARTICULAR, RAVED ABOUT.…

THE PLATTER HEAPED WITH THIS ABOMINATION SAT AT JUST ABOUT MY EYE LEVEL AS A SMALL CHILD, LIKE A REBUKE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I HAD TO EAT WHAT WAS ON MY PLATE OR THERE WOULD BE NO PIE FOR ME. I LOVED LEONA BURRY’S LEMON MERINGUE PIE AS MUCH AS I DETESTED SWISS STEAK.

WHEN THE BURRYS INVITED ME TO DINNER, OF COURSE I SAID YES. I WAS TOUCHED THAT A COUPLE IN THEIR LATE SEVENTIES WOULD TAKE THE TROUBLE. THEY HAD MOVED FROM THE APARTMENT ABOVE THE RESTAURANT TO A NEWISH HOUSE IN THE WOODS. I WALKED TO THEIR DOOR ON A CARPET OF FALLEN LEAVES, YELLOW AND ORANGE AND RED, DAPPLED BY WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE DAY’S SUN. THE BURRYS ATE EARLY.

THEY REMINDED ME THAT MY MOTHER HAD GIVEN THEM THE CRADLE I SLEPT IN AS A BABY, AN ANTIQUE THAT EACH OF THEIR GRANDCHILDREN HAD ALSO SLEPT IN AND OUTGROWN. THEY CALLED ME MARTHA ALICE, WHICH ALMOST NO ONE ELSE EVER DID. THE SMALL TALK WAS SWEET AND NOSTALGIC. LEONA ASKED ABOUT ALL THE THINGS MY MOTHER’S CHRISTMAS LETTERS DIDN’T TELL HER. CLARENCE WAS IN THE KITCHEN.

AS THE SUN WENT DOWN, AND I COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY, IT WAS TIME FOR DINNER. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED WHAT I WAS IN FOR…OUT CAME A CUT-GLASS RELISH TRAY WITH CARROT AND CELERY STICKS AND SOME PIMENTO OLIVES, STRAIGHT OUT OF 1957.

LEONA BEAMED AS CLARENCE APPEARED WITH IT. “WE REMEMBERED HOW YOU AND YOUR PARENTS ALWAYS USED TO COME TO THE RESTAURANT,” SHE SAID, “SO WE DECIDED TO HAVE YOUR MOTHER AND DAD’S FAVORITE MEAL.”

OH OH…WHEN CLARENCE ARRIVED WITH SWISS STEAK, THEN MASHED POTATOES, AND FINALLY DENTED PEAS, HIS ENTIRE, STOUT BODY OOZED PLEASURE.

I HADN’T HAD SWISS STEAK FOR THIRTY FIVE YEARS, THE TIME ELAPSED SINCE I HAD LAST EATEN AT BURRY’S RESTAURANT AT THE AGE OF NINE. ACTUALLY, I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT SWISS STEAK, BUT NOW, INSTANTLY, ALL THOSE CHILDHOOD SUNDAYS, EYE TO EYE WITH THE HEAPING, HATED PLATTER CAME FLOODING BACK.

THE PROBLEM WAS HOW TO CHOKE DOWN MY LAUGHTER. I TOOK A BIG SWALLOW OF WATER AND DECIDED THE ONLY WAY I COULD KEEP FROM BURSTING WAS TO FILL MY MOUTH WITH SWISS STEAK AND START CHEWING LIKE MAD. SOMETIMES PEOPLE GROW UP AND LEARN TO LIKE FOODS THEY HATED AS CHILDREN. I HATED SWISS STEAK JUST AS MUCH AFTER THIRTY FIVE YEARS AS EVER, THE STRINGY TEXTURE, THE SAUCE.

THE BURRYS..YOU WOULD SAY IN ATLANTA, “BLESS THEIR HEARTS,” TOOK MY RESPONSE AS ENTHUSIASM AND INSISTED I HAVE SECONDS, THEIR KIND, HOSPITABLE FACES LOOKING SO GLAD THEY HAD FOUND SUCH A FINE WAY TO EASE MY PAIN, TO COMFORT ME AFTER MY LOSS.

THEN LEONA BURRY BROUGHT OUT A LEMON MERINGUE PIE, AND I WAS COMFORTED. AT THE SIGHT OF MY PIECE OF THAT BRIGHT YELLOW WONDER, WITH ITS WHITE POMPADOUR OF MERINGUE, MY GRIEF SUBSIDED EVER SO BRIEFLY. THE PIE WAS JUST AS GOOD AS I REMEMBERED IT. I ASKED FOR THE RECIPE, AND LEONA SENT IT TO ME, WRITTEN IN NEATLY SLANTED, OLD-FASHIONED, SCHOOL PENMANSHIP.

MY MOTHER’S HANDWRITING WAS TIGHT AND ROUND AND UPRIGHT. A FEW YEARS BEFORE SHE DIED, I ASKED HER TO WRITE OUT THE RECIPES FOR THE THINGS SHE MADE THAT I LOVED FROM CHILDHOOD. THE NEXT TIME SHE VISITED ME IN SOUTH AFRICA OR LONDON, WHEREVER IT WAS I WAS LIVING AT THE TIME, SHE PRESENTED ME WITH A SMALL BOOKLET WITH TWO OWLS ON THE COVER.

INSIDE, HER PRIM, ROUND LETTERS IN BLUE INK.. SHE HAD INCLUDED MAYBE TEN RECIPES AT THE MOST, FOR VARIOUS KINDS OF PANCAKES, HER CHOCOLATE CAKE, HER POTATO SALAD, SOME HOLIDAY COOKIES, CHRISTMAS STOLLEN, HER APPLE PIE. SHE WASN’T A GREAT COOK, BUT SHE WAS A TERRIFIC BAKER. I CAN STILL SEE HER FLOURY FINGERS PINCHING THE DOUGH INTO A NICE ZIG-ZAG AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PIE PAN.

MY MOTHER’S APPLE PIE WAS THE BEST I’VE EVER HAD. EVERYBODY SAYS THAT ABOUT THEIR MOTHER’S APPLE PIE…BUT I’VE SPENT MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE IN A HOLY GRAIL SORT OF PURSUIT, TRYING TO COME CLOSE.

THE APPLE PART IS EASY. IT’S THE CRUST THAT’S TRICKY. SHE MADE HERS WITH UNBLEACHED FLOUR, LARD, A LITTLE SALT, AND MILK, NOT ICE WATER. SHE DIDN’T USE A FOOD PROCESSOR. SHE JUST MIXED EVERYTHING TOGETHER WITH HER FINGERS, AND AFTER A FEW QUICK PATS AND KNEADS, ROLLED OUT THE DOUGH VERY FAST. EACH PERFECT, PAPER-THIN ROUND ALWAYS MADE IT FROM THE WAXED PAPER TO THE PIE PAN IN ONE PIECE. SHE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN WAVING A WAND OVER THE DOUGH AND SAYING ABRACADABRA, FOR ALL I COULD FIGURE OUT THE SECRET OF HER TECHNIQUE. HER PIE CRUST CAME OUT…SHORT, CRISP, FLAKY..EVERY TIME. THE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SOME OF MY ATTEMPTS..STIFF, SOGGY, GUMMY, EVEN WHEN I USED HER RECIPE.

BUT I NEVER STOPPED TRYING TO LEARN HER TRICK. THE LITTLE RECIPE BOOK WITH THE OWLS ON IT WAS MY TALISMAN. BY JUST OPENING IT, I COULD SEE MY MOTHER MAKING HER PIES.

I KEPT IT IN MY KITCHEN. AFTER MY MOTHER’S DEATH, IRREPLACEABLE, THE BOOKLET BECAME ONE OF MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS.

AFTER THE FIRE, WHEN I WAS FINALLY ALLOWED TO CROSS THE POLICE TAPE, SCAVENGING THROUGH THE MOLD AND ASH, I FOUND IT, SOOTY, A LITTLE WATER-STAINED, BUT THERE IT WAS. I CRIED.

IT DIDN’T GO INTO STORAGE WITH MY FURNITURE AND MY OTHER COOKBOOKS, WHEN WE MOVED OUT DURING THE RESTORATION. I TOOK IT WITH ME TO THE FURNISHED APARTMENT I RENTED. I WANTED IT NEAR ME.

BY MID-SUMMER MY KITCHEN HAD BEEN REBUILT, ALMOST EXACTLY AS IT WAS BEFORE BUT BETTER..IDENTICAL CABINETS AND GRANITE COUNTERS, THE SAME REFRIGERATOR AND DISHWASHER, ONLY BRAND NEW.. A FANCIER STOVE TO REPLACE MY OLD ONE, WHICH WAS NO LONGER MADE. THE MOSAIC FLOOR WAS FINE. SOMETIMES, I ALMOST FORGOT THERE HAD EVER BEEN A FIRE. REPLACEMENT POTS HUNG FROM THEIR HOOKS. I COULD OPEN A DRAWER AND KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WAS INSIDE. EVERYTHING WAS BACK WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, AND I WAS HOME.

WHEN THE NEW CROP APPLES BEGAN APPEARING IN THE FARMER’S MARKET IN THE FALL, I DECIDED TO MAKE A PIE. I REACHED FOR MY MOTHER’S RECIPE BOOKLET IN ITS PLACE ON THE SHELF NEXT TO THE SINK..BUT IT WASN’T THERE. I WENT THROUGH EVERY BOOKSHELF IN MY APARTMENT AND THEN DID IT AGAIN. I TORE THROUGH EVERY POSSIBLE PLACE IT COULD HAVE GOTTEN MISPLACED WHEN I MOVED BACK IN. I CALLED THE OWNERS OF THE APARTMENT I RENTED. NO BOOKLET WITH OWLS ON THE COVER, ANYWHERE.

FOR WEEKS, I WAS OVERWHELMED BY THE SAME KIND OF SADNESS AND DESPAIR I FELT AFTER MY MOTHER’S DEATH. IT WAS AS IF SHE HAD DIED ALL OVER AGAIN.

I HAVE HALF A DOZEN PIE AND PASTRY COOKBOOKS, FILLED WITH PIECRUST RECIPES, BUT EVERY TIME I GOT THEM OUT AND MADE PLANS TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE, I COULDN’T DO IT. IT WAS TOO PAINFUL.

WHEN I FOUND MYSELF WRITING THIS SPEECH, KNOWING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF THAT LITTLE BOOKLET, HOW MY MOTHER WAS INSIDE IT AND SO WAS I SOMEHOW, IT OCCURRED TO ME THERE WAS ONLY ONE POSSIBLE ENDING ..I HAD TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE.

MY MOTHER AND I ALWAYS HAD A PRIVATE JOKE. WHENEVER WE ENCOUNTERED SOME ANNOYING, OVERZEALOUS UNDERLING TELLING PEOPLE WHERE THEY COULD AND COULDN’T GO OR WHERE THEY HAD TO STAND IN LINE, SHE WOULD NUDGE ME AND SAY, “HE’S ACTING IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY.”

WELL, I THOUGHT, IF I WERE ACTING IN MY OFFICIAL CAPACITY….

IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF DO ..FOR WORK..I’VE DARED TO TALK TO PRESIDENTS AND THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND..ALSO KILLERS WITH GUNS WHO WOULD HAPPILY HAVE KILLED ME. IF NOT FOR WORK, WHY WOULD I HAVE SPENT WEEKS SLEEPING IN A TENT IN THE SAUDI DESERT? IN MY PRIVATE LIFE, I’D RATHER JUST STAY HOME. I FIND MINGLING WITH STRANGERS AT PARTIES EXCRUCIATING.

CERTAINLY, IN THE NAME OF WORK, I COULD MAKE AN APPLE PIE..OR COULD I?

ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, I BOUGHT APPLES..CORTLANDS, WINESAPS, AND MUTSUS.

AFTER CONSULTING SEVERAL COOKBOOKS, I PICKED A PIE CRUST RECIPE THAT RECOMMENDED USING HALF LARD AND HALF BUTTER. I HAD SPECIAL LEAF LARD FROM THE FARMER’S MARKET LEFT OVER FROM THE LAST TIME I’D GOTTEN EVERYTHING OUT TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND THEN, IN TEARS, PUT IT ALL AWAY AGAIN . IT WASN’T MY MOTHER’S RECIPE, BUT IT SEEMED WELL-EXPLAINED.

I MEASURED EVERYTHING: THE LARD, THE BUTTER, THE FLOUR, AND THE SALT. FOR ICE WATER, I SUBSTITUTED THE MILK MY MOTHER WOULD HAVE USED, BUT TO KEEP FROM THINKING ABOUT HER AND ABOUT MY LOST RECIPE BOOKLET, I LISTENED TO AN AUDIOBOOK WHILE I WORKED, A THRILLER.

IN A HALF HOUR OR SO, I HAD TWO ROUND DOUGH PATTIES IN PLASTIC WRAP READY FOR THE REFRIGERATOR. SO FAR SO GOOD.

THE NEXT DAY, AS MY PLANNED DIVERSION, I TURNED ON THE RADIO AND LISTENED TO THE NEWS BETWEEN FIVE AND SIX AS I CUT UP APPLES. MY MOTHER WOULD FLOUR A COUPLE OF PIECES OF WAXED PAPER AND ROLL OUT HER DOUGH WITH AN OLD, WOODEN ROLLING PIN THAT GLEAMED FROM ALL THE LARD THAT HAD SEASONED IT OVER THE YEARS. I HAVE A BIG PLASTIC MAT WITH CIRCLES ON IT SO I’LL KNOW HOW MUCH ROLLING I NEEDED TO DO USING THE FANCY, TEFLON-COATED METAL ROLLING PIN I’D BOUGHT BECAUSE, SUPPOSEDLY IT WAS NON-STICK…

AND I’VE GOT A GIANT SPATULA, AN IMPRESSIVE THING THE SIZE OF A MAGAZINE YOU SLIDE UNDER YOUR ROLLED-OUT PIE DOUGH SO THAT IT HAS A CHANCE OF GETTING TO THE PIE PAN WHOLE. MY MOTHER DIDN’T NEED ONE OF THOSE.

THE BOTTOM CRUST MADE IT JUST FINE. THE TOP CRUST NEEDED SOME PATCHING, AND MY PINCHED EDGES WERE ERRATIC AT BEST, BUT WHEN MY PIE JOINED A CHICKEN AND A SQUASH IN THE OVEN, IT LOOKED PRETTY GOOD. AS I SLID IT ONTO THE RACK, I TOOK A DEEP BREATH.

WHEN I CUT INTO IT LATER THAT NIGHT, IT WAS STILL WARM. I PUT VANILLA ICE CREAM ON IT AND TOOK A BITE. THE APPLES WERE LUSCIOUS.... SPICY AND SOFT, JUST SWEET ENOUGH. THE CRUST WAS FLAKY AND SHORT, MAYBE MY BEST ATTEMPT EVER BUT STILL, NOT AS GOOD AS MY MOTHER’S.

OF COURSE, THAT DIDN’T REALLY MATTER.

THERE, YOU CAN SEE MY PIE FOR YOURSELVES. I TOOK ITS PICTURE, AFTER I’D HAD A VERY BIG PIECE… (photo projected on large screen)

WHAT MATTERS IS THAT WITHOUT MY LITTLE RECIPE BOOK WITH THE OWLS ON IT, I MANAGED TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE. I DID IT..AND I THINK I COULD DO IT AGAIN.

HSN Cooks with Bon Appetit

2011-11-05T18:51:00.004-04:00

I'm here at HSN in St. Pete and let me tell you, the place is going nuts! We are all getting ready for 24 hours of cooking and there is much to do. Emeril's team is cooking up a storm down the hall from Cat Cora's folks getting her products ready. Todd English is here, too and the whole building smells delicious. Everywhere you look there are pots, pans, small appliances, knives and food, food, food!

Tune in during the 1am EST hour to see Bon Appetit's tips for the best Thanksgiving ever.

Then in the morning, check out the following hours: 9am, 10am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, 8pm and 11pm

Come Join Bon Appetit for HSN Cooks Holiday Event This Sunday 11/6

2011-10-31T14:57:00.004-04:00

I will be hanging out with Emeril, Cat Cora, Todd English, Ingrid Hoffman and others this weekend down at HSN. All day and night Sunday (and if you know HSN you know that means midnight to midnight) we will be bringing you non-stop cooking shows with all sorts of great food, pots, pans, appliances and always entertaining chit-chat.

Bon Appetit magazine will make your Thanksgiving more delicious and easier than ever. Call in! Schedule may change, but look for me during the following hours: 1am, 9am, 10am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, 8pm and 11pm (No, I wont be sleeping that day!)

Come chat with me at 12:15EST Today!

2011-10-31T08:57:00.001-04:00

Tune into Martha Stewart Living Radio, SiriusXM Channel 110 at 12:15 EST to chat about Last Minute Spook-tacular Halloween Treats. Call in! We’d love to hear your questions and ideas. 866-675-6675......I've got some great ideas for you and would love to hear yours.

On a sad note, Im in western MA and have no electricity and the media has cancelled Halloween because of the natural disaster with the snow. There are still 500,000 without electricity. This is so sad!

Am I a Fool?

2011-08-22T17:31:00.005-04:00

I've been called worse thing, for sure. And in this case a Fool is a luscious combination of cream and fruit, so what's not to love?

Tune into Everyday Food the radio show on Martha Stewart Living Radio’s SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel 110 Tuesday August 23rd at 11:15 EST to talk about Fruit Fools. How to make 'em, serve 'em, enjoy 'em and come up with new ones!

Here is a pic of a Gooseberry Fool that I made....tune in to find out how to make it! The big hint is the pic above....it starts by being inspired by fabulous ripe fruit (these were growing in neighbor's garden).

Bon Appetit and HSN a Perfect Pair

2011-07-29T21:11:00.003-04:00

Photo by Jack DeSart

Our summer HSN Cooks Event brought to you by Bon Appetit is going gangbusters. Tune in for Todd English, Ken Hom, Michelle Bernstein and more. Don't miss out on our Bon Appetit subscription deal - its $12 for 12 issues and a full 80% off of the newsstand price. Tune in for my last appearance during the 6AM hour EST Saturday July 30th. Call in and say hi! PS: the hosts have been going crazy over the Salmorejo soup seen above. Check it out in our August issue or at bonappetit.com

Tune into Our Bon Appetit Summer HSN Cooks Event

2011-07-29T00:24:00.009-04:00

Photo by Christopher Testani

Hey folks, Im down in here is sunny Florida (which by the way is cooler than it was in the northeast last week) to present another Bon Appetit Cooks Event at HSN. Im in the greenroom right now watching Todd English work his magic - great deal they have going with his GreenPans, which are the Today's Special.

Tune in during the Friday 1AM EST hour to see me make the Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime shown above. Perfect hot, warm or room temp for easy summer meals.

We have a great deal - 12 issues for 12 bucks - so check out the HSN link and order now. Great for yourself, a friend or family member, or I think it makes a great gift for a co-worker too...That way they can make great lunches and bring the food in to feed You!

Check out our August cover. Im in LOVE with the colors, the food, the photography, the stories, the food, the recipes, THE FOOD! LOL yes Im excited

Photo by John Kernick

I will be making the cover girl - the Lime and Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie - on the air so tune in to see Bon Appetit come alive on screen:

Photo by John Kernick

All EST (all at some point during the hour listed)

Friday July 29th 1am

Friday July 29th Noon

Friday July 29th 2pm

Friday July 29th 6pm

Saturday July 30th 6am

I will be making pies, tarts, a one-pot clambake (YES you have to get the August issue just for this) and a new cold soup you might not have heard of - Salmorejo - great for a hot summer night and much, much more.

Sonoma-Cutrer Celebrates 30 Years of Making Fine Wine

2011-06-28T11:56:00.014-04:00

Image from Johnonwine.com

I was recently invited to speak on a panel in honor of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, which has been creating estate bottle chardonnay for over thirty years. The Cutrer Vineyard encompasses about 250 acres of the winery's 450 acres in the heart of the Russian River Valley of northern California. Time for a road trip!

The winery is also celebrating its new Winemaking Director, Michael "Mick" Schroeter. Mick is a native Australian and is only the third person to take the helm at the winery, most recently following Terry Adams who retired last fall. Mick will continue to guide the winery in its production of award-winning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and he let the crowd know that he is not there to shake things up. He intends to maintain the quality and approach the winery is known for.

"It's a privilege to work with this winery and apply my experience to their legacy of success. I look forward to carrying on the Sonoma-Cutrer tradition and following Terry Adam's commitment to excellence," said Schroeter.

The event was held at The French Culinary Institute in NYC, specifically in their International Culinary Center theater, which has hosted many illustrious speakers. Deans Alain Sailhac and Jacques Pepin were in attendance, sitting together in their crisp whites.

Guests from all areas of media and food were greeted with a bar featuring several of the Sonoma-Cutrer wines along with a small buffet set up by the FCI staff with cheeses and charcuterie to complement our beverages. After this brief cocktail party, the panel discussion began, followed with Q&As.

Barbara Fairchild was our fearless moderator, who is currently writing for Nomad Editions. Barbara lent her wealth of knowledge by posing thought provoking and entertaining questions

to the panel which also included

left to right, Raymond Sokolov, (me), Charlie Palmer, Mick Schroeter from Sonoma-Cutrer and Michael Lomonaco.

I had never met Mr. Sokolov before and was terribly excited to meet this man whose works I have read for so long and whose opinion I so highly regarded. I'm please to report that while I had ascribed god-like powers to him, he was extremely approachable, incredibly welcoming, and yes, of course, boundlessly knowledgable. Between the two chef's point of view, Raymond framing things from a historical perspective, me representing the home cook and Mick speaking from a wine maker's perspective, we had a really fun and engaging panel with varied answers to the questions that Barbara brought forth.

We discussed how food and wine has changed over the last 30 years and what and who we felt were the most influential. The Q&A's ran the gamut. And just so you know, both chefs concurred that they do want food sent back, if the diner is not happy....and apparently Palm Springs is the toughest crowd, according to Palmer.

Afterwards, we retired to the school's restaurant where the staff had prepared foods representing the last three decades. Can you guess? While there were at least three offerings for each decade, I will titillate you with what I think were the most iconic: 1980's = Smoked Salmon Pizza; 1990's = Spring Pea Soup in shot glasses; 2000's = Tuna Tartare with Chile-Ponzu. OK, well the 1980's had a tie; there were also the Beggars Purses. As you can imagine the curated choices sparked many a conversation of "remember when...".

Make sure to visit the winery's page HERE to read more about them.

Driscoll's Berries and North Carolina - A Perfect Pair

2011-05-26T08:22:00.007-04:00

OK so the trip down to NC was riddled with flight delays, highway traffic and a GPS that said my hotel didnt exist, but the sweet spot emerged when I dug into a bowl of Driscolls blueberries this morning. Sweet, plump, healthy and satisfying, I didnt even reach for the blueberry muffins or parfaits that were also in front of me....just give me the berries by the handful. Today I did a live radio spot on WSJS - we fed the producer and hosts - but there is much more on tap for the next few days. If you are in North Carolina, come on out and say Hi!

North Carolina is the 4th largest blueberry producer and the season starts NOW. For the next month or so the berries are at their peak. Pick up extra and freeze them for future use. The ones you bring home and refrigerate will keep for a week. Rinse right before serving. You can find plenty of recipes at Driscolls, for both sweet and savory dishes. If you have never used blueberries in a savory approach, you are missing out. The Blueberry Couscous Salad with Mango, Onion and Lemon Dressing is quick and a great addition to grilled summer entrees.

Recent research says blueberries might help with memory loss - something I hate to admit I need help with - and they are packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients. At 80 calories a cup, they are a perfect, sweet snack. Kids love them too...and pie? Well, my Nana always made me blueberry pie and in my opinion there is no better breakfast than a wedge of warm pie with a dollop of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt.

Here's my schedule - introduce yourself and lets talk blueberries!

Thursday 5/26

Lowes Food

260 14th Ave NE

Hickory, NC

I will be handing out samples and chatting about local blueberries from 2 - 5pm

Friday 5/27

Lowes Food

2501 Lewisville-Clemmons Rd

New Towne Shopping Center

Clemmons, NC

I will be handing out samples and chatting about local blueberries from 2 - 5pm

Saturday 5/28

Check out the WFMY site for the time my TV segment for Driscolls will air

at 6:35AM tune into WXII-NBC to see some fabulous blueberry recipes brought to life. My favorite Blueberry Tart will be on the set, but you can make it at home.

Lowes Food

3372 Robinwood Rd

Sherwood Plaza Shopping Center

Winston-Salem, NC

I will be handing out samples and chatting about local blueberries from 12 - 3pm

Royal Wedding Desserts

2011-04-27T18:44:00.002-04:00

If you missed my Bon Appetit TODAY show segment from this past Monday, check it out HERE.....seriously, the groom's chocolate biscuit cake is Super Easy. Whip it up for a viewing party for this Friday. The recipes, brought to you by the Bon Appetit test kitchens, can be found HERE....and our industrious BA folks also came up for a way to recycle LEFTOVERS by making a Bread Pudding.

Photograph by Mary-Frances Heck, from bonappetit.com

Thursday 4/28 is National Blueberry Pie Day!

2011-04-26T21:16:00.005-04:00

Join me on the eve of this delicious day. At 7pm EST I will be chatting live on Facebook for 1 hour courtesy of Driscoll's. Ask me questions, bring me YOUR tips and tricks for the best blueberry pies. Are you a double-crust person? Flour vs. cornstarch vs. tapioca. How about berries...how many cups are in your standard size pie? And what is your favorite pie dish? Start in a high oven and turn it down? There is so much to chat about! Can't wait to hear your questions and ideas and I will gladly share mine.

Introducing the "New" Bon Appetit

2011-04-17T21:17:00.011-04:00

The May issue of Bon Appetit magazine has just hit the shelves. What's new, you might ask? Well, for one thing, we have a new Editor in Chief, Adam Rapoport, and this is his debut issue. To get a feel for Adam and his POV, check out this great interview at Eater.com.

But dont fret, all the things you love about Bon Appetit are still intact, we are just shaking it up a bit to make it fresher, more relevant to our everyday lives and a tad more exciting. The design and layout is brighter and more realistic, there are now lots of supportive sidebars to help you be the best cook you can be and there are things you wont find anywhere else....the May issue has an essay from Gabrielle Hamilton, info on David Chang's new food app, things you didnt know about eating throughout Italy, and we even fit comedian Aziz Ansari into the issue in a new back page column.

And bonappetit.com has a new look as well....our print magazine and online community are now more aligned in terms of style, content and editorship

Let us know what you think!

HSN Cooks Spring Weekend with Bon Appetit

2011-03-24T21:04:00.009-04:00

I'm heading for the 80 degree weather for a weekend at HSN in St. Pete. The channel has an entire weekend of food related events, brought to you by Bon Appetit. See that April cover of the magazine above? I will be bringing many of the issue's recipes to life, live on the air.

There's plenty of shopping to do. Dont miss the debut of Vintage-Style enamel cookware by the Lee Brothers. They hail from South Carolina and know about down home cooking. Your recipes, or ours, will look smashing in their line of graniteware. Check out the 12-piece Canning Set, the Oval Roaster with Wire Rack, or the Boiler Pot with Spigot, pictured below. These are just a few of the many items that are available.

I will be on morning, noon and night bringing you a great Bon Appetit subscription special (check the HSN.com schedule for the Bon Appetit presentations). Enjoy 12-issues at a fabulous price of $9.97!

Come join me and Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Padma Laksmi, Jaqcques Torres, Ken Hom and others for your favorite items and new gadgets as well.

Slow Food in Sicily

2011-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

Port: Taormina

Mission: Eat

For the second year in a row I have had the good fortune of visiting Sicily in early fall, specifically Taormina. This mountaintop town is on the east coast of the island, in the province of Messina. It is a fabulous walking town complete with many clothing, shoe and pastry shops and of course those offering jewelry made from local coral and volcanic rock. But, of course, I am focused on the food. The town can be seen in the upper left of this picture above, which was taken from our boat.

I was once again working with Gohagan Travel and accompanied their cruise ship through a week in Italy, Croatia and France...but this day in Taormina was the highlight, and indeed one of the best meals of my life. We took small "tenders" (small boats) from our cruise ship to land, where we boarded a small bus up the mountain. The bus deposited us at the edge of town and the first thing we saw was this man selling fresh grapes out of the back of his car; we couldnt resist taking a picture.

Here are some pictures of the typical streets, piazzas as well as a look back at our boat.

Finally we came to a narrow street, an alleyway really that led to our restaurant where we would have an olive oil tasting and lunch.
Arrangements had been made for us to have lunch at Osteria Nero D'Avola, a Slow Food establishment, where we would eat and taste local olive oils.

Here is Elaine Trigani, our olive oil taster introducing our chef, Salvatore Siligato.

True to the Slow Food concept, the menu was not decided upon until that morning....it depended on what was fresh at the market. And then, just as the chef was describing our first course of a tuna tartar, a fishmerman walked in carrying this container of fresh shrimp. They were immediately added to the plate, raw. They tasted of the sea, pure, sweet and salty at the same time, with the heads the sweetest of all.

Here below is the whole plate, drizzled with some olive oil and accented with caper berries, which provided a welcomed acidity.

A wine was poured to accompany the seafood which while of the soil, had a remarkably briny essence.

For our pasta course, we had a traditional Sicilian preparation of swordfish with tomatoes and capers with a fresh pasta - sort of a narrow pappardelle.

The next course featured squid and three kinds of mushrooms, two of which are only found growing in the soil of the local volcano. It was meaty and earthy and utterly unique.

A marvel of a course came next - a refreshing and palate reviving lemon salad. Whole Sicilian lemons, skin intact, were combined with their juice, red onions and olive oil and a bit of salt to create the most unusual salad I have ever had. The lemons were chewy with substance, but not overwhelmingly so and the acidity, the sourness, was thoroughly enjoyable and not the least bit too much. Do Not try this at home with supermarket lemons.

A cheese course followed and then a variety of sweets arrived.

Prickly pears and persimmons....ultra ripe to the point of being obscene with their silky juicy innards.

A pistachio cake, incredibly vivid in color from the local nuts

and a tray of two kinds of local chocolate, both cold tempered, with a pleasantly gritty, unprocessed texture.

We gathered Salvatore and his crew to give them a round of applause

This was, quite simply, one of the meals of my life. If I never return, the memories will remain....but I will try to find a way.

Tune Into HSN for a Special Bon Appetit Cooking Event!

2010-11-03T20:27:00.014-04:00

Once again Bon Appetit has teamed up with HSN to bring you a fabulous subscription offer: 12 issues for $12 during our November HSN Cooks Event Presented by Bon Appetit. Your subscription will start with our packed November issue, which is filled with Thanksgiving recipes as well as everyday recipes to help you through the busy season.

Our readers like traditional holiday food, gently tweaked. With that in mind we always present dozens of turkey, stuffing, potato, vegetable side dishes and cranberry sauce recipes as well as all your favorite pies from apple to pumpkin – all with a Bon Appetit twist. This year consider sampling our Malt Beer Brined Turkey with Malt Glaze, Rosemary Bread Stuffing with Speck, Fennel and Lemon and our tangy sweet Cranberry Sauce with Mustard Seeds. Try our new take on a veggie classic with Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts – and (are you sitting down?) – we even have a complete main dish that you can get to the table in less than Two Hours: our Roast Turkey Breast with Potatoes, Green Beans and Mustard Pan Sauce from our very popular FastEasyFresh column seen here below

Photo by José Picayo

Thanksgiving is but one day of the month so we also have recipes to help you with weekday meals, whether it is just for you and your family or visiting guests: the Seared Asian Steak and the Lamb Chops with Red Onion, Grape Tomatoes and Feta (see below) are also from our FastEasyFresh column, which means you will get the food on the table quickly, using fresh seasonal ingredients and a full nutritional profile for each dish. Photo by José Picayo

If you are vegetarian, or just looking for a change from turkey, try the hearty Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pies from our Sunday Suppers column.

With your subscription, you get all this and more. Our December issue covers all the winter holiday menus and of course every issue has our standard columns, such as the ones mentioned above, as well as restaurant reviews, ideas for gifts, housewares, wine and beverage recommendations….and of course, my favorite, desserts! This turkey day I’m going with the Apple Pie with Oat Streusel (the crunch of the topping contrasts so nicely with the juicy fruit filling) and the Pumpkin Pie with Pepita and Ginger (tune in to HSN to see me make this one on-air; see the preview below).

Photo by Hans Gissinger

You can see all of these recipes and others on our HSN segments. Tune in EST on:

Thursday 11/4/10 during the 7am hour

Friday 11/5/10 during the 2am, 6am, 3pm and 7pm hours

and

Saturday 11/6/10 during the 2pm hour.

I expect Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse will be there to help us celebrate the season during our HSN Cooks Event Presented by Bon Appetit. Call in! I would love to hear your favorite Bon Appetit and holiday food stories.

A Special Edition Magazine from Bon Appetit: Pasta Favorites

2010-10-21T18:58:00.007-04:00

When I saw the cover of this hefty pasta cook "book" in all its full-color glory, my first thought was, I wish I could smell those meatballs! If ever there was a yearning for scratch and sniff, it was at that first glance. I seriously want to eat that Spaghetti & Meatballs All'Amatriciana.

This special edition is a magazine format, with over 125 pages of recipes to entice such as Penne with Lemon and Root Vegetables, Pancetta and Taleggio Lasagna with Treviso, Goat Cheese Ravioli with Bell Peppers, Seafood Pasta with Lemon-Saffron Herb Dressing, Thai Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles and more. Full page color pictures are plentiful. It is easy to use with chapter headings such as Quick, Baked, Ravioli and Other Filled Pastas, Gnocchi, Gnudi and Spaetzle, Salads and Sauces. And if you are hankering for some serious comfort food, turn to page 51 for the Tuna Noodle Casserole with Leeks and Fresh Dill.

You can find this special edition at the Conde Nast Store and also at Whole Foods stores as well as Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson News, among other outlets.

HSN and Bon Appetit

2010-10-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

I will be returning to HSN on November 4th and 5th for several airings and a very special Bon Appetit subscription rate. Last time I was there with our September Restaurant issue we had fun on the set with Wolfgang Puck (when I fell in love with the Rice Cooker). We had so much food on the set, from main dishes to desserts and apps, but the item I kept nibbling was the Bacon and Cashew Caramel Corn seen here. Can't wait to see what we will have on set in November as all the food will be from our Thanksgiving issue, which is my favorite.

Vote TODAY for Bon Appetit as Best Magazine Cover!

2010-09-01T11:45:00.002-04:00

I am so excited that Bon Appetit has been nominated for its juicy September cover. I need your votes TODAY! Please tell your friends, too.

Follow this LINK to VOTE.

Why Was This Cover Nominated?

Don't you wish you could take a big, juicy bite? Still-life photographer
Nigel Cox shot this gorgeous burger from just the angle you'd see it from if
you were about to dig right in. The bright and colorful image embodies the
spirit of an issue filled with easy, fresh and delicious summer food. The
big surprise here? Beneath that smoky, garlic mayonnaise, crisp arugula
leaves, charred bell peppers, grilled red onions and melty Monterey Jack
lies a luscious-but-light turkey burger on a ciabatta bun. Good-for-you has
never tasted or looked so unbelievably good.

After you vote, make the burger! RECIPE HERE from bonappetit.com

Sunday is the Last Day for Bon Appetit and Wolfgang Puck on HSN

2010-08-29T11:13:00.003-04:00

Photo by José Picayo

Our whirlwind long-weekend is coming to a close but it's not too late to take advantage of both Bon Appetit and Wolfgang Puck specials through HSN. I have had the pleasure of using many of Wolfgang's small appliances and equipment and the Cutlery Block Set is a dream to use. They have sold out of several colors, they are so popular, but there are still some in stock and it is a great deal. The Santoku knife might just become the knife you use more than any other in your kitchen. Check the HSN site for airing times; call in an chat with us! We would love to hear about your experience with his products and our magazine. The picture above is of our Labor Day Barbecue Menu; you will get all those recipes with your first issue.

Bon Appetit and Wolfgang Puck Take Over HSN

2010-08-28T10:35:00.000-04:00

Photo by Craig Cutler

I've been here at HSN for 4 days now and the energy and excitement hasn't diminished one bit. If anything, Wolf and I are more energized than ever. He is presenting all of his fabulous cookware and bakeware (including an incredible deep fryer) and I have a great Bon Appetit offer for the viewers - and you! The set is electric with smells and tables and tables of gorgeous food... and the callers who call in and let us know how much they love his cookware and our magazine are such a great way to connect with our readers. The HSN special is 12 issues of Bon Appetit for $12. Even if you have a subscription, this is a perfect time to pick up a gift. It makes a perfect host and hostess gift for the upcoming holidays. Your subscription will begin with the September issue, which is our highly anticipated Restaurant Issue. The pic above is of Bacon and Cashew Caramel Corn with a kick of cayenne. It is from a September article on bar food and everyone here at the studios has been munching on this morning, noon and night. It's sweet, salty and positively addictive. And might I add that the recipe for Cava Sangria in the same issue is a mighty nice sip to go alongside.

Bon Appetit, Wolfgang Puck & HSN

2010-08-27T10:26:00.001-04:00

Photo by Nigel Cox

Wow! I am down at the HSN studios in St. Petersburg, FL and let me tell you, the amount of amazing food in the studio is unbelievable. The pic above is a close-up of the Triple Beef Cheeseburger that graces the cover of the September issue of Bon Appetit. I can't even count the number of people working behind the scenes getting all the food ready for me and Wolfgang. He is demonstrating all of his cookware and bakeware and I have to tell you, the 10-cup rice cooker is blowing my mind. He uses it to make everything from mac n' cheese to flan to a clam bake, all in one tabletop unit. Check it out, and of course pick up a year's subscription to Bon Appetit while you're at it. We have a HSN special $12 for a full year. Thats 1000 recipes, cookware and restaurant reviews, drinks, techniques and tips. Your subscription will start with the September issue so that you can make that burger. Call in while I'm on the air!

Wolgang Puck and Bon Appetit Team Up This Weekend on HSN

2010-08-26T06:12:00.004-04:00

Bon Appetit has partnered with HSN to celebrate the Wolfgang Puck 12th Anniversary Event. I am bringing you a full year subscription to the magazine, through HSN, for $12. You can also shop for all sorts of Wolfgang Puck products from grill pans to immersion blenders. Wait till you see the steak I will be cooking from our September issue on that grill pan...stacked with fried onion rings, crumbles of blue cheese. I wish we had aroma-television!

HSN will be presenting fabulous cookware and food related items all weekend starting on Friday. If you would like to catch my Bon Appetit appearances, they will be during the following hours:

Friday August 27th 1:00am (yes, am)

Friday August 27th 6:00pm

Friday August 27th 9:00pm to 11pm (most likely at beginning and end of each hour)

Saturday August 28th Noon to 1:00pm (most likely at beginning and end of each hour)

Sunday August 29th 9am to 11am (most likely at beginning and end of each hour)

Sunday August 29th 2pm to 4pm (most likely at beginning and end of each hour)

See you there! Call in! We would love to hear about your experiences with Wolfgang's cookware and our magazine.

See you from the studio!

REPOST: This was Last Year's Pie Contest at The Dutchess County Fair....I Ate 40 Pies...and Not only Survived, but Enjoyed Every Moment!

2010-08-22T10:00:00.002-04:00

THIS TUESDAY AUGUST 24TH I WILL AGAIN BE JUDGING THE REGIONAL PILLSBURY PIE CRUST CONTEST AT THE RHINEBECK, NY DUTCHESS COUNTY FAIR. COME ON BY, SAY HI AND CHECK OUT THE PIES!

Also, come on by at 3:30 and 5:30 for demos from my newest book, Unforgettable Desserts. There will be plenty of samples.

REPOST:

This past Tuesday I was up at the NY State Dutchess County Fair teaching chocolate classes as well as judging a Pillsbury Pie Contest. The chocolate classes went well, as they always do. Folks get to learn about how cacao is grown and taste different chocolates. I spent a fair amount of time talking about How to taste chocolate critically....look for that info in an upcoming blog.

But at 7pm I was one of 4 judges who got to sample 40 home baked pies. Here we are getting our instructions.I was joined by a CIA pastry professor (to my left), a recent graduate and a gentleman who owns several restaurants. Jack Ford, the organizer is in the blue chef's coat. The rules were provided by Pillsbury. Contestants had to use both crusts from the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust package, fruit had to be in the filling and they had to be 9-inch pies or 9 or 10-inch tarts. The pies/tarts had to be there a half-hour before judging and be accompanied by the recipe typed on an 8x11" paper.

At about 6pm the pies started arriving.

There were several classic double-crust apple pies, some with lattice work and even one savory pie! It was a BBQ chicken and Pineapple Pie. The rules said fruit had to be in the filling, so this was within the suggested parameters. The chicken was shredded and the top crust was dusted with cayenne and chili powder. It was actually a nice break from all the sweet pies, but it didn't make it into the finals. Here's another shot of some of the great entries.

We judged on Appearance, Creativity, Ease of Preparation, Taste and Overall Impression. We split into 2 judging teams and each of us took one table full of pies. Then we tabulated our scores to get the top 3 pies on each long banquet table and we all sampled those last 6 and picked our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

Equipped with clip-boards, judging sheets, pencils and bottles of water, we got down to work. Here we are tasting and discussing as the crowd looks on. I was equipped with a mic and was giving some running commentary.

Here are two close-ups:

Even before we started sampling, I noticed at least one pie that was in a tempered glass pie plate that I knew was larger than 9-inches. I asked the organizer, Jack Ford, if we had a ruler or measuring tape, which he provided. I huddled with my fellow judges, who at first eyed me a bit suspiciously, and I explained my thought process. This judging was going to be hard enough as it was, and as far as I was concerned, Pillsbury had provided the rules and we were supposed to judge by the rules And the contestants were supposed to follow the rules. If anyone hadn't followed the rules, I thought they should be disqualified. They all agreed and quickly added that this should go for any of the rules. Turns out that a couple of pies were too large, one arrived late and one had the recipe hand-written on a small notecard. Unfortunately, these were all disqualified. I say unfortunately because some of them were very tasty!

We used clean knives to cut slices and clean forks for each bite. Someone asked me if I was going to bite and spit. No Way! I was here to eat some pie!

I thought it was interesting that there were so many apple pies. After all, these were not going to get big marks for creativity, and therefore the rest of the execution had to be spot on. I found several of them to be way too heavy with nutmeg and/or cloves; for me this meant they were marked down. We had several crusts that were underdone. Even thought everyone was starting with the Pillsbury crusts, there was huge variation. Several factors come into play: some used a tin pan, some used Pyrex and some crockery. All conduct heat differently. Some started in a high oven and left it there throughout. Others started in a very high oven and turned the heat down....pies were baked on pans and off...on different rack placements in the oven and what have you.

There were a few that were very creative, but then the execution wasn't carried out very well. There was a Blueberry Merlot pie that I loved, but apparently the other judges didn't because it didn't make it to the finals. The most creative was a Key Lime Blueberry. Here is a pic:

It had a bottom crust, a layer of key lime, a layer of cheesecake filling and a layer of blueberry filling all under a decorative top crust. The cheesecake layer was too thick and the filling on the whole was too gloppy. But I Love this idea and hope the baker will refine it. Curiously only 2 pies contained chocolate, both combining it with berries. There were many, many blends of fruit. Many of the pies were way too sweet for me. There was also a lot of tapioca used as a thickener, which I too like to use. And I was so happy that none were overly thickened; I like a juicy pie. Here are the ribbons, ready to be handed out.

My favorite ended up winning! It was a Peach Nectarine Cherry Pie with Sugar Glazed Almonds. Man was it tasty! There was a bit of almond extract in the filling; not enough to taste but it enhanced the filling beautifully. The cherries were dried but nice and plumped up. The sugared almonds on top were such a lovely addition! The winner, Sandra Trifilo from Glenham, NY, could not have been sweeter. She received a $200 prize and a was interviewed by Pillsbury. Here is The Winning Pie! Here she is the Moment she learned that she won.

And here is her glorious pie. The crust was fabulously handled, the flavors were creative and excellent...it is even pretty when cut - not an easy thing to accomplish!Second place went to Arleen Harkins from Red Hook, NY with her Peachy Blackberry Pie; she won $100 and third place was given to Fran Conway of NYC who won $50 with her classic Apple Pie. Her crust was the best there that day. She got that crust as flaky and perfectly browned as one could hope for. Check it out:

Here are our three Finalists, left to right: Sandra Trifilo, Arleen and Fran.

I can't wait till next year! Start practicing now folks! See you there....the Fair, by the way, continues for another week.

Come Cruise the Mediterranean with Me

2010-06-28T13:20:00.000-04:00

Ciao Friends, Food Fans and Family!

I'm excited to have teamed up with premier tour operator Gohagan & Company once again!

I'll be guest speaker and host for their exclusive “C'est Bon! Culinary Traditions” program this October 24 to November 1, 2010: Crossroads of the Classical Mediterranean, a four-country cruise aboard the specially-chartered, deluxe M.S. Le Boreal. Click HERE for an electronic brochure.

We'll be sailing from Venice, Italy, along the fabled Dalmation coast to Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia; then cruising to Taormina, Sicily; Naples, Italy; Bonifacio, Corsica; and concluding in Nice, France.

Here are some pictures to entice you. First, Venice, below:

Dubrovnik:
Taormina in Sicily

And below is Naples, Italy:

Onboard, I'll be giving lectures and specially-arranged tastings, and providing commentary while the ship's French master chef demonstrates a few fabulous recipes. I'll also be hosting the exclusive Gohagan & Company “C'est Bon! Culinary Traditions” excursions, which have been carefully planned to include a private visit to an historic Sicilian pastry kitchen with a special holiday pastry demonstration and samplings; a hands-on opportunity to make traditional Croatian peka followed by a family-hosted lunch featuring grappa from their vineyard; and learning the art of making pizza from an authentic "pizzeria" cooking school chef in, where else--Naples, home of the original pizza!

This is the perfect time to book, now through June 25, 2010 , when you can have benefit of the EARLY Booking SAVINGS of $2,000 per couple and take advantage of the 2010 Special Family and Friends Offer! You, along with Friends and/or Family are eligible to receive an additional discount of $1,000 per couple off the EARLY BOOKING SAVINGS price, one-time and for this program only, when they reserve one or more staterooms in addition to yours and mention code: 433.

I would love to know when you've signed up! Hope to see you on board.

TODAY Show Appearance....or The Most Fun I've Ever Had with Mayonnaise

2010-04-27T20:32:00.004-04:00

Yes, I said fun with mayo:) In this case its Bon Appetit's take on the classic Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake - and it is Delicious. Watch the TODAY segment and see what you think.

Click HERE for the TODAY Show segment from April 26th....fun with Al Roker and Mayonnaise!

Fun with Oscar

2010-03-23T16:52:00.010-04:00

Ok Ok I know this is long overdue but HSN snuck up on me (see last blog entry). I've been meaning to post pics of the Oscar party I attended as it was incredibly creative and fun. My cousin worked in the industry for years and while he and his family live on the east coast now, the Oscars are still of keen interest and not to be missed. But why not make the night fun and food centered? For the second year in a row, my cousins Larry Jackson and Judith Williams, have prepared a feast where each dish is either from a nominated movie or representative of it in some way, shape or form.

The Fried Chicken from Precious had NOTHING on my cousin's version. Amazing. Juicy and super crunchy from panko crumbs.

We had Truffled Popcorn as an ode to Julia Child from Julie & Julia

Bad's Biscuits were buttery and flaky

Airplane snacks and green "alien" looking food stood in for Up in the Air and Avatar

District 9 had cat food, which we did not eat

For dessert we had a couple of options. First, a delectable ice cream bombe that looked like a bomb! An homage to The Hurt Locker

We had some "balloon" sugar cookies to represent Up:

And then we had some surreal green meringue cookies that seemed reminiscent of those roundish floaty objects in Avatar. The baker even looked up how to describe and name the dish in Navi!

HSN Cooks! 24-Hour Spring Event Kickoff

2010-03-19T09:59:00.004-04:00

Come join me this Monday on HSN (HomeShoppingNetwork). I am bringing the pages of Bon Appetit alive for you during this 24-hour extravaganza!

Bon Appetit magazine has teamed up with HSN to bring you a fabulous subscription offer. I will be demonstrating delectable recipes from our April issue all day and evening long on Monday March 22^nd. Tune in during the 2am hour, 6am, 9am, 1pm, 3pm and 6pm, all on Monday. During those hours I will be presenting our special subscription rate and you can get a preview of some of the April issue’s dishes. This is a perfect opportunity to buy a new subscription, renew, or buy gift subscriptions. See you there! Call in and tell me how you use Bon Appetit in your life - Would love to hear your stories!

Valentine's Chocolates - What I'm Loving Right Now

2010-01-30T12:33:00.012-05:00

Photo by Alexandria Grablewski

I love chocolate...usually dark. And since I make a lot of my own candies and Truffles, it is not typical for me to buy or even enjoy many of those that are available commercially. (For info on the luscious truffles above, you will have to wait till the end of this blog entry). Ah, but never say never, right? Every once in a while I will taste a candy that knocks my socks off. I want to introduce you to a few of them. I figured Valentine's Day is approaching and for those of you looking to purchase something new and different, I'd share my personal current faves.

Look at that pic! This is a romantic box of chocolates from Fran's Chocolates. It arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago quite unexpectedly. Every now and then a company will send me a product to sample and you know if you read this blog that I am not in the habit of "advertising" food products. I will only blog about the ones that I truly love. I opened the box right away; the sumptuous ribbon begged to be pulled open. Inside was a dark chocolate assortment that came with a handy color guide. I am a sucker for these! I want to know what I am eating Before I bite into it! I went right for the caramels the company is so famous for; I didnt need the guide for finding those. I approached the box in a restrained manner, eating only one or two at a time or the following week. After a few days the guide somehow was left downstairs and the box was upstairs; I grabbed a small dark square that had delicate lines of chocolate zig-zagging across the top. I was making dinner (yes, I know...I will eat chocolate anytime, anywhere) and I was moving quickly around the kitchen getting my pots and pans and ingredients together...and then...I literally Stopped in my tracks! The flavor in this particular truffle hit me like a ton of bricks. A welcomed, intense, velvety Raspberry ton of bricks! The flavor was undeniable. Still, I momentarily forgot about dinner and ran downstairs to retrieve the guide. Sure enough what was unfolding in my mouth was their new Raspberry Truffle. I loved it. The 64% bittersweet chocolate was a perfect foil for the fruit. This filling was incredibly rasberry-y (or is that raspberryeeeeee). Just fabulous. Another much appreciated aspect to this chocolate was the incredibly thin, fine, delicate outer shell. Its delicacy was fitting for such a lovely candy. The enclosed information informed me that the filling was made from chocolate and raspberries - no liqueur and no cream! I found this last omission to be quite interesting. Apparently the ganache filling is therefore made from chocolate and raspberries (well, perhaps there is butter) but by leaving out the cream they are allowing the pure berry flavor to come to the fore. Brilliant.

Here is another item I'm crazy about - Bissinger's Handmade Chocolate Covered Marshmallows. Drop one (or two) of these into your favorite hot chocolate and you will see what I mean. Or, if you want to eat them out-of-hand, they are conveniently bite-sized for easy eating. They are handmade in small batches in their St. Louis factory and keep well all winter long. I have a thing for marshmallows - they are very low calorie. And since dark chocolate is "healthy"....well you see where I'm going with this LOL. I am very good at figuring out how to mentally "allow" myself my chocolate indulgences and this one fits the bill. And they are Gluten Free to boot.

Speaking of raspberries and chocolates, Bissinger's makes one of my all-time favorites that I first tasted a few summers ago - Raspberry Caramels. On-line they are available in their chocolate covered caramel assortment (seen below) but if you call the catalog at 800-325-8881 you can order the larger ones in one-pound increments (and of course they can be found at their retail locations as well). I love caramel. I love dark chocolate and I love raspberry but I had never had them all in one candy before I sampled these. They reduce fresh raspberries to create a fruity concentrate, which is then blended with the caramel. The caramel takes on a ruby hue as well. And then a generous square of the caramel is drenched in dark chocolate....OMG. My mouth just started watering. They are chewy and fruity and chocolatey - a must for fruit and chocolate lovers and caramel lovers alike.

And of course if you want to make your own, please do refer to my Truffles book. The dark chocolate passion fruit ones and the dark chocolate lemon are particularly fabulous. Or, in my most recent book, Unforgettable Desserts, you will find my version of a raspberry truffle....featuring a whole berry in each truffle. Look for Chocolate Raspberry Bliss Bites in the index. And yes, these are the truffles featured at the top of the blog. A feast for your eyes, I hope!

Brewing Loose Tea - Every Pot Perfect

2010-01-15T12:24:00.016-05:00

My last post was about my favorite tea timer, but there are several things that go into making the best possible pot of tea. It is not easy to get a great cup of tea out and about, which is why I go the coffee route on the road. When at home we can surround ourselves with the proper accouterments and brew a fabulous pot.

The techniques I use are not unique. In fact, this is the way I learned when I visited the esteemed Mariage Freres tea-house in Paris. Whether they have been doing it the same way since their inception in 1854 I have no idea, but one has to assume that they have come to use these techniques after trial and error, coming to the conclusion that it is the best way.

Let’s start with the pot. I have many, from a vintage cast iron tetsubin that my father brought back from Japan in the late 40’s, to a very modern clear glass pot made in Germany, but my favorite is my insulated pot (seen pic above) from Mariage Freres. The metal is lined with an insulated felt-like material and opens like a clam shell; there is a hinge on the back. You have full access to the ceramic pot, which comes with it, and your tea will stay hot. (I have to tell you a funny story here....the picture of the pot above was generously shared with me by Rebecca Varidel of InsideCuisine.com in Australia. Mine is, let's just say, well worn, and photo worthy. I found her image on-line, we became virtual buddies. Check out her blog for down-under, insider foodie info.)

The first thing I do is warm my pot with tap water that is as hot as possible. (I remove the pot from its insulated jacket and place in the sink). I have different pots, depending on what I am brewing: pots for black, pots for green and certainly separate pots for anything scented, like an Earl Grey. The flavors can certainly cross-contaminate from batch to batch, even thought the pot material might be glass or ceramic. While the pot warms, I heat the tea water and measure the loose tea.

I begin with double-charcoal filtered water, as I do not like the flavor of my well-water. We must start with excellent water, or you will not be able brew a tasty pot. I measure out 6-ounces of water per each scoop of loose tea. Note that this is Not “a cup” which is 8 ounces. A “cup” for making tea is 6 ounces. I then use an actual tea scoop to measure out the tea, seen here below:

The lighter and fluffier the leaf of the tea, the larger the amount of tea is used. I am very good at measuring "by eye" and know how big a scoop I want from whatever tea I am using at the time. This comes with practice and also by using the same scoop every day for over 12 years; my measurements have become fairly standardized. When brewed properly in every other way, if your tea is too weak, you have probably used too little of the loose tea – and the converse is true as well.

Right before the water is ready (described in next paragraph), drain the teapot of the warming water and place a cotton tea sock over the mouth of the pot. This is an unbleached cotton “sock” where the open end is attached to a wire ring, that can rest on the top of the pot. Photos courtesy of Upton Tea Imports

The sock will hold the tea leaves and eventually be submerged in the water. It allows for the full expansion of the leaves, which means their flavor will be properly released; tiny metal tea ball infusers do not allow for this expansion and I can also detect a metallic flavor that they impart. My method also allows you to easily remove the sock when the steeping time is up. So, drain the pot, put sock into place and measure the correct amount of tea into the sock. I have separate socks for green, black and flavored teas, again so the flavors don't cross over.

For my black teas the water is Just brought to a boil, but not allowed to boil for more than a moment, lest the water lose its life and end up tasting flat. For green teas, it depends on the tea, but many are brought to about 140 degrees F. A good tea purveyor should be able to make specific suggestions as to measurement amounts as well as brewing times.

Here are two of my favorite morning teas, both black tea, which I purchase from Upton Tea Imports. These images are from their site. Here is the Keemun Mao Feng (order tea ZK98):

You can see that the leaves are large and fluffy, so I measure a very generous scoop with this tea. I brew this Keemun for a full 8 minutes and it is a bracing morning cup, which I enjoy with milk. It hails from the An Hui province in China and is both mild yet complex. Here is another fave - Yunnan TGFOP (order tea ZY51):

This tea is slightly more compact and the scoops are a bit smaller as the tea is denser. I brew this Yunnan for a full 5 minutes. If you are a tea lover you must get Upton's catalog....there are over 300 teas from which to choose. They direct import and their prices are very reasonable. Their blender, Frank Sanchez, is very knowledgeable. Ask for him and tell him I sent you! He will be able to make recommendations to you based on your palate.

As soon as the steeping time is up, remove the sock and throw out the tea leaves. Your pot is ready! While I mentioned using milk with my hearty black teas, please do not use it with your greens!

I guess I will follow up at some point with a posting on green teas and matcha.

My Favorite Tea Timer

2010-01-08T13:03:00.001-05:00

OK I know this might sound esoteric...a timer just for tea? Yes! If you are a tea fanatic as I am, you know that brewing it at home allows for the most stringent control of your brewing techniques, yielding the best cup.

This fabulous timer allows you to time for Minutes as well as Seconds and the set-up is very intuitive. As you can see there is also a holder for a thermometer. This one has ranges on the dial, color coded, for different kinds of tea. The green tea ranges are indicated in a green color! How smart. Many green teas need water in the 140 degree F range; you will never again use water that is too hot. FYI the thermometer goes from 100 to 220 degrees.

You can find my favorite timer on-line from the company, WMF. Take a good look at the image above. It is sleek and attractive. This is form and function in one - something I find hard to resist. This is a perfect gift for the tea lover, or treat yourself. You will be brewing the best tea of your life in the press of a button.

Unforgettable Desserts Makes a Top 10 Cookbook List

2010-01-04T15:00:00.004-05:00

A Huge Thank You to Kat Odell and her GoodBite blog for naming Unforgettable Desserts, my newest book, as one of her Top 10. I am thrilled to be in such company as David Chang and his Momofuku book as well as Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home and How To Roast a Lamb, by Michael Psilakis. What a nice way to begin the new year. As a nod to my readers, I would love to feature you on my blog with a photo of a dish you have made from my book. Send me a story about your baking experience in the kitchen with a photo of you and the dish - that you don't mind sharing! I am looking forward to seeing you and your pics.

Cookie Contests and Cousins

2009-12-21T21:24:00.016-05:00

When you write a cookbook, you often wonder who is making your recipes, which ones they are choosing, how much they are enjoying them, and what have you. I love getting emails from fans and it is even better when they send pictures (Hint, Hint). Well, it takes the cake when you get an email, pictures AND it's from family! Unbeknownst to me, my cousin Mindy Ruby, who lives outside of Chicago, was quite a busy baker last week. The first I heard of it, she Facebooked me and mentioned that she had made some of my cookies and entered a contest. I had no idea which cookies, but I wished her good luck.

Next thing I know, she announces on Facebook that she's won! Well, you can imagine that a flurry of emails immediately went back and forth. I had to know which cookies she baked, info about her competition, all the details. First of all, LOOK at these fabulous, chocolate chip packed turtle cookies, made by my cousin Mindy.

Here she is, looking as proud as she should! Mindy, well done!

Mindy says it is a bunch of Moms whose kids went to school together. They have been holding the contest for seven years! She won for Best Tasting and Best Appearance. She did Not win the Best Disaster in the Kitchen, which is one of the categories. Phew! They all bring 5 dozen cookies, drink champagne, enjoy appetizers and everyone goes home with an assortment of all the various cookies. My kind of party.

Here are the competitors, by looks alone....well....I am a bit biased:)

And the recipe. Enjoy. It is from A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies. Perfect for making this Xmas holiday with the kids home from school. It is one of those very tactile, project-y recipes that kids love to make.

Caramel Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Dough freezes well
Fun to make with kids

Type: Drop cookie

Description: These combine chocolate chip cookies with whole pecans, a layer of caramel and a bit of chocolate on top.

Field Notes: These look like little turtles, if you use your imagination! They are a take-off of caramel/chocolate/pecan turtle candies, but these incorporate chocolate chip cookie dough into the mix. Kids love to eat and to help make them.

Ingredients:
45 square Kraft caramels
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate morsels
3 2/3 cups pecans halves (you need 225 pecan halves; 5 per turtle)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:
1. Unwrap each caramel (they are about 1-inch square and come individually wrapped) and press flat into a round shape to about 2-inches across using your fingers. You want to end up with a 2-inch flat circle about 1/4-inch thick; set aside.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and brown sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice; beat in vanilla, then beat in eggs. Add about one-third of flour mixture and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in morsels. Chill dough for at least 2 hours or overnight. (You may freeze dough up to 1 month; defrost in refrigerator overnight before proceeding).

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

5. Drop dough by generously rounded tablespoon 3 inches apart on cookie sheets. Press 5 pecan halves into each cookie mound so that about one-quarter of each nut is embedded in the cookie. You want to situate them so that they look like a head and four feet; the rounded side should face up and they should be flat on the sheet (see photograph). Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges and tops have just begun to turn light golden brown. Center a caramel circle on top each cookie and return to oven for about 4 minutes, or until cookie is golden brown and caramel has softened, but not melted, and is now part of the cookie (it should be attached and almost melted onto it).

6. Place sheets on racks to cool cookies completely. Melt chocolate and shortening in top of double boiler or in microwave and stir until smooth. Pour into parchment cone; this is a lot of chocolate, so you will probably need to use a few cones. Snip a tiny opening and decorate the tops of the turtles. You can make spirals, cross-hatch patterns, zig-zags, etc. Place sheets in refrigerator to firm up chocolate before storing.

Lifespan: 4 days at room temperature in airtight container in single layers separated by waxed (or parchment) paper

Yield: 45 turtles

Good Cookie Tip: Make sure your pecan halves are intact and not chipped, slivered or broken. “Whole” pecan halves will make the best “feet” and “heads”.

Classes at Draeger's with Bissinger's Chocolate

2009-12-10T22:13:00.027-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to teach two chocolate classes at Draeger's Markets, one in Blackhawk and one in San Mateo. I was featuring Bissinger's chocolate and holiday desserts from my book Unforgettable Desserts - with lots of do-ahead tips for the holidays. These stores are fabulous, from the very well-stocked book department

to the huge housewares department and their well-known, backlit gourmet section

Bissinger's display was complete with their exquisite chocolate dipped glaceed oranges (seen at the top of the blog entry), special holiday packaging, standards such as their caramel selection (you Have to try the Chardonnay Salt Caramel) and even a gigantic Santa.

Here is the display we arranged in the fabulous glass-walled teaching studio. On the left are the chocolate covered mints, the middle plate has bite-sized caramels and chocolate coconut clusters. The plate on the right has the amazing chocolate dipped oranges, which I can eat all day long.

The class was well attended and the teaching kitchen is the best I have worked in. There are the two screens showing my handiwork up close and with a maximum of about 30 people, everyone can see and hear easily.

I taught Easy-to-Make Holiday Desserts, all from my new book, Unforgettable Desserts. I strive to always point out where you can make components ahead. Especially at the holidays, anything that helps the host/baker save time is a boon! We made Florentine Bars with Candied Orange and Cherries, Blackout Cake, Spiced Pear and White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle and Pomegranate Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Chocolate Sauce. The trifle first appeared on the 2007 cover of Bon Appetit magazine and you can find the recipe HERE. The photo was taken by Con Poulos (please check out his work) and my desserts have never looked so good.

Below in the foreground you can see the Blackout Cake in its entirety. I am whisking the pudding component in the pic. This incredibly rich, moist cake is super easy. The pudding, which acts as filling and "frosting", is made in one pot on the stove. The cake component can be whisked together in a bowl - no mixer needed. I'm telling you this is the Best birthday cake for chocolate lovers.

In this next picture you can almost see that I am using an offset spatula to spread the florentine topping on top of the par-baked shortbread base. Whenever you are spreading something in a pan like this, an offset spatula makes it a breeze.

Here I am sampling out the Florentine Bars (drizzled with Bissinger's 60% bittersweet chocolate) along with bite-sized samples of the panna cotta, here chilled in Bissinger's chocolate cups.

Try the Florentines today. They are also wonderful with bright red dried cranberries and candied lemon peel.

Florentine Bars with Candied Orange and Cherries

Makes 40 squares

Shortbread:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Florentine filling:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup sliced blanched almonds

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped

1/2 cup diced candied orange peel

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (such as Bissinger's 60%), melted

For the Shortbread: Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13 x 9-inch pan with non-stick spray, line bottom with parchment cut to fit, then spray parchment.

Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

Beat butter until creamy with flat paddle on medium-high speed, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat, about 3 minutes at medium-high speed, until very light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add flour, mixing just until blended, scraping down bowl once or twice. Pat crust into an even layer in prepared pan.

Bake crust about 20 to 25 minutes or until just beginning to turn very light golden brown along the edges; it should be dry to the touch. Prepare filling while crust is baking.

For the Filling: Place butter, sugar cream and honey in a medium sized saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. Turn heat to medium-high, bring to a boil and cook to 235 degrees F. Remove from heat and stir in nuts, fruit and flour until well combined.

Pour filling over partially baked crust and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is bubbling all over and has turned light golden brown all over. Color might be darker around edges. Cool pan completely on rack.

For the Topping: Place melted chocolate in a parchment cone and make a free-form zigzag pattern all over the bars. Chill to set chocolate; cut into 40 bars (5x8). Refrigerate for up to 1 week in airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper. Bring to room temperature before serving.

I could not have done it without the Draeger's staff. Check out their class schedule and sign up for classes if you can.

Peppermint Twist Cupcakes - Perfect for the Holidays

2009-12-04T12:40:00.008-05:00

Here is a recipe for Peppermint Twist Cupcakes from my cupcake book, A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes. Great for bake sales, hostess gifts, school parties and snacks at home. Really great to make with kids home for the holidays. Please note that these cupcakes do not develop a large peak. Occasionally someone will write me and complain about the fact the cupcakes are flat-ish on top. I have developed my basic cupcake recipes to be this way deliberately as I think it is easier to frost and decorate them.

Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Holiday/Event: Christmas/Winter

Description: These feature chocolate cake studded with bits of minty candy cane. Crowning the top is a swirl of white chocolate buttercream with more crushed candy cane sprinkled on top.

Field Notes: These are very simple to prepare, but look fancy. The best way to crush the candy canes is to place them in a sturdy plastic bag, then crush them with a rolling pin by alternately rolling over them and wacking them. You can try a food processor fitted with a metal blade, but it will make a huge racket!

Special Characteristics: Fun to make with kids, Extra fancy

Ingredients:

18 white or Christmas themed paper liners

1 batch Chocolate Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups crushed red and white candy canes (pieces should be no larger than 1/4-inch)

1 batch Italian Meringue Buttercream

7 ounces white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

Pastry bag

Large star tip

Directions:

Prepare Chocolate Cupcakes batter according to directions through step #3. Fold in 3/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes. Bake as directed. Cool.

Prepare Italian Meringue Buttercream through Step #5. Beat in the 7 ounces of cooled melted white chocolate. Using pastry bag and large star tip, frost each cupcake with a large swirl on top. Sprinkle remaining crushed candy canes on top of cupcakes. Cupcakes are now ready to serve.

Yield: 18 minty cupcakes

Lifespan: Cupcakes may be baked two days ahead; frosted cupcakes are best served the same day. Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sifted Dutch-processed cocoa

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 12-cup cupcake tin and one 6-cup cupcake tin with paper liners.

2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice; beat in vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Add the flour mixture in four additions, alternately with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture and beat briefly until smooth on low-medium speed after each addition.

4. Divide batter evenly in pans. Bake for about 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center shows a few moist crumbs.

5. Cool pan on rack for 5 minutes then remove cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Lifespan: 2 days at room temperature in airtight container; 1 week frozen in airtight container'

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

Scant 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup water

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Place 2/3 cup of sugar and water in a small pot. Stir to wet sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, swirling pan occasionally. Dip pastry brush in cold water and wash down sugar crystals from the sides of the pot once or twice. Turn down heat to simmer gently.

2. Meanwhile, place the whites in your clean, grease-free mixing bowl and whip until frothy on low speed using balloon whip attachment to standing mixer. Add cream of tartar and turn speed up to medium-high. When soft peaks form, add 3 tablespoons sugar gradually. Continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form. (This is the meringue part of the buttercream and the frosting may be used as this point for a low fat, marshmallow like frosting; this must be used immediately).

3. Bring the sugar/water mixture to a rapid boil and cook until it reaches 248 to 250 degrees F. As syrup cooks look for visual clues to assess temperature. It starts out thin with many small bubbles over the entire surface. The water will begin to evaporate and the mixture will become thicker. The bubbles get larger and sticky and pop open more slowly. At this point the syrup definitely looks thickened, but it has not begun to color; this is the firm ball stage. If you drop a bit of the syrup into a glass of cold water it will form into a ball. When you squeeze the ball between your fingertips it will feel firm.

4. When syrup is ready pour a thin, steady stream over meringue, without pouring any on the rotating whip or the sides of the bowl. Whip meringue until cool. When the bowl is no longer warm, stop the machine and touch the surface of the meringue with your finger to double check that it is cooled. Turn the machine back on medium speed and add butter, a couple tablespoons at a time. Keep beating until the buttercream is completely smooth.

Yield: about 3 1/2 cups

Lifespan: May be refrigerated in airtight container for 1 week or frozen up to 1 month (If frozen, defrost in refrigerator overnight and bring to warm room temperature before re-beating. In this case I highly suggest warming it in the microwave before whipping.)

Cupcake Mania

2009-12-04T12:02:00.012-05:00

Cupcakes are alive and well in Amherst, MA, more specifically in the dining commons of UMASS. I live only 5 minutes away and for the last few years I have made a fall appearance to give away books to students and help (wo)man a do-it-yourself cupcake bar.

My friend Simon Stevenson is head of the pastry shop for the dining commons (DC) and his staff makes recipes from my book, A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes (Harvard Common Press). We create a long buffet table and set out chocolate, yellow and carrot cake cupcakes as well as vanilla, chocolate and Oreo frostings. Also included are several color variations of the vanilla – yellow, green, orange, blue and pink. Some of the frostings are in bowls with icing spatulas at hand, while others are in piping bags fitted with star tips, leaf tips and small rounds. The serpentine table is rounded out with candies and toppings galore: M&Ms, Reece’s Pieces, crushed Oreo cookies, crushed chocolate cookies for the “Dirt & Worm Cookies, cinnamon red-hots, coconut, jimmies and sprinkles of all colors and many different tiny sugar décor candies. The idea is to take a cupcake of choice (or more realistically, a few cupcakes) and frost and decorate to your heart’s content. I offer design ideas, encourage students with their piping skills and just schmooze and chat about food and baking. Every now and then there is a particularly enthusiastic student; that’s when I whip out a book from under the table and offer it to them, with a personalization. It is a fun evening – albeit sugar, butter and calorie laden.

And then there are the worms. We discovered the first year that we did this that basically it appears that UMASS students thrive on gummi worms. Oh, sure, they take them one by one to place on their cupcakes, but they also take them by the tong-full, transferred to their plate, whether they are decorating cupcakes or not. Handful after handful after handful. I teased the DC manager that they could charge 5 cents per worm and fund the entire dining commons budget. We went through 80 pounds in about 2 hours. We could have easily gone through double – and gummi worms are light! That’s a lot of worms! My theory is that since they are “fat-free” they are one of those foods that people think they can eat with nutritional impunity. They also have a satisfying chew, and I have certainly been known to enjoy them, so it is not that far fetched that if you are a poor hungry college student and you have the opportunity to load up on this treat, that you might just take advantage.

This one girl mastered multi-tasking: chatting on the phone while piping at the same time.

Here are a few young men who were very proud of their creations. There are always as many men as women who partake in our cupcake event; baking and decorating know no boundaries.

It takes a lot of concentration if you have never used a piping bag before.

This girl decided to re-create the sunflower cupcake from the cover of the book.

Here is a picture at the end of the evening I could feel the cookie crumbs and candies underneath my feet on the floor as well. Hey any good party has this kind of aftermath!

Amaretto Almond Crunch Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-24T07:39:00.008-05:00

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski

My Thanksgiving present to you...a very easy, but unusual pumpkin pie. This is from my latest book, Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley, 2009), which is filled with great holiday treats.

Amaretto Almond Crunch Pumpkin Pie

This is a fairly classic, creamy pumpkin pie, but then it is flavored with a shot of Amaretto liqueur and topped with a crunchy blend of Amaretti cookies and almonds – almost a streusel. The juxtaposition of creamy pumpkin custard and ultra-crisp topping is unexpected and exciting.

Serves 8 to 10

Topping:
20 Amaretti di Saronno cookies
¼ cup blanched, sliced almonds

Filling:
1, 15 ounce can pure, solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons Amaretto di Saronno liqueur

For the Topping: Crumble the cookies by hand into a small bowl. The pieces should be about ¼-inch chunks, more or less. Toss with the almonds; set aside.

For the Filling: Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Coat a 9 x 1 1/4-inch tempered glass pie plate with nonstick spray.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to pie dish. Fold edge under, crimp decoratively into high border. Line with foil and weights and blind bake for about 15 to 17 minutes or until just beginning to color. Remove foil and weights. Bake until crust is tinged with very light brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer crust to rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Scrape pumpkin into food processor fitted with metal blade. Process 15 seconds; scrape down sides and process 15 seconds more. Pulse in brown sugar and spices until combined. Pulse in eggs one at a time until blended, scraping down once or twice if necessary. Pulse in cream and liqueur. Finish off by processing for 5 seconds to smooth out the mixture. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling.

Bake about 50 to 55 minutes or until filling is set around the edges, and quivers in the center when you gently shake the pie dish. Cool pie completely on rack before serving. Pie is best served the day it is made. Store at room temperature up to 1 day ahead, loosely covered with foil.

Morning Folks!

2009-11-17T07:19:00.002-05:00

Had a CBS Early Show segment scheduled for this morning, but we wont be going live. We are still taping the Bon Appetit segment on Clementines....just stay tuned for an air date.

The BAKING BUDDY Returns

2009-10-28T22:37:00.002-04:00

Here is my second installment of The Baking Buddy. Keep sending your questions! If you are wondering about something, most likely other bakers are too.

Question: I notice in your recipes you often call for nonstick spray. Is there a brand you prefer? Can I use the specialized ones that contain a grease and flour, all-in-one?

Answer: When I call for nonstick spray I am referring to the products like Pam – in the original formulas. Sometimes nowadays they will say something like “made with Canola oil” and that is fine. Just make sure they are the “plain” ones. I do not like the butter flavored ones or the olive oil ones, and of course, we do not want o use ones that are flavored with garlic! As far as the other sprays you referenced, I am assuming you are talking about products like Baker’s Joy. While many bakers seem to like these products, I do not. I think they leave an odd, gummy, floury residue on my cakes that negatively affect their fine texture. If I am very concerned with sticking, you will see that in my recipes I will call for coating the pan with nonstick spray and adding a layer of parchment on the bottom of the pan. If I call for this, it is because it is necessary for your cake to unmold flawlessly. Or, occasionally I do coat a pan with flour. Just make sure to knock out any excess. There is one breakfast cake in my new book where I coat the pan in coarse sugar. It makes a sweet, crunchy crust.

A Day in Florence, A Day in Rome

2009-10-23T21:27:00.077-04:00

If you visited the blog a couple of weeks ago, you know that I recently returned from a trip through France, Italy, Greece and Turkey arranged by the Thomas P. Gohagan & Company, out of Chicago. This installment is about a couple of days in Italy, specifically the days I spent in and around Florence and Rome.

Our boat left Nice, France and sailed overnight to Livorno, a port outside of Florence. We would spend the morning walking around the area of the Duomo, near the museum that houses David, which we would visit later in the afternoon. The shops around the area feature all kinds of sweets and treats like huge mounds of gelato in every imaginable flavor.Here are some fruit and nut cakes, dense and rich. These keep very well and make great holiday gifts.

After a few hours of strolling we had built up our appetites, which were about to be thoroughly satisfied. We took a bus a short distance out of town, up into the hills to Villa Viviani. This lovingly restored, stately home is now a space used for functions such as private parties, such as ours. We strolled through the gardens to a glass-walled tent where our hostess and organizer, Elaine Trigiani awaited.

I know Elaine through the IACP (International Assoc. of Culinary Professionals). She lives in Tuscany and had arranged for our afternoon at this villa. It began with a guided sensory tasting of three Tuscan olive oils. She is a certified olive oil taster and her presentation was as delicious as it was educational. We learned about olive oil harvesting and production, about sensory evaluation, reading labels and health benefits as well.

Then we rested briefly in an adjourning garden, overlooking the city.....

and enjoyed fresh squeezed blood orange juice, prosecco from the Valdobbiadene and an array of antipasti:

Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino di grotta with honey, ricotta from Seggiano, Tuscan salami with wild fennel seeds, chicken liver crostini, and a special Sbriciolana - a salami from the Sienese black and white heritage pigs. We continued with oil-preserved baby artichokes, sweet cippolini onions, v

fritters of vegetables and zucchini blossoms, patés, salumi and prosciutto of Pratomagno carved to order.

Then it was on to a proper meal inside the villa.

We began with a porcini mushroom risotto with mint,

then papardelle with wild hare.

Onto some fabulous white beans drizzled with spicy, peppery Tuscan olive oil, and a main course of Tuscan steak, Norcia roast pork loin, and roasted potatoes and tomatoes that were so concentrated in their flavor, they were almost unbelievable. Even though they had been drizzled with oil and herbs and roasted, they tasted as though they had just been plucked off the vine. With vegetables this fresh, you could literally taste the earth. They were startling in their intensity.

Along with the meal we enjoyed a fabulous chianti. The Renzo Marinai wine is organically produced in Tuscany, but available in the U.S..

It was one of those wines that was just so easy to drink, that held its own alongside they food, yet never overpowered. I am told it is available in the States. We finished off with a chocolate zuccotto. None of us had any stomach room left – but we were not going to miss out. We made room. We then finished with Vin Santo (a sweet wine) and the classic accompaniment of Biscotti di Prato.

Here are some other pictures of the villa, inside and out. I could imagine a wedding there…..

That evening we sailed to the port of Civitavecchia, outside of Rome. While we did tour the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and the Church of St. Peter in Chains, I want to bring you the culinary highlights.

I was looking forward to our visit of the famed Campo de Fiori green market, and it did not disappoint. As we approached, the view was of a bustling scene.

It seemed to be made up of about half tourists and half locals, buying produce and a few flea markety items.

There were larger, very permanent looking vendors with refrigerated cased featuring cured meats and cheeses.

Fraise de bois, the tiny potently flavored strawberries were abundant; those are pomegranates behind them.

There were tomatoes of all sorts, including these squat, ridged Casalino. The aroma emanating from this stand was intoxicating.

Mushrooms were plentiful, as were tender, small cippolini onions and large purple tinged artichokes.

Several vendors offered a salad mix, which I thought was brilliant. I know we have similar products in the U.S. but these somehow seemed fresher and more creative in their blends and presentation. They just begged to be purchased, brought home and put on the table immediately.

A few things I hardly ever see stateside are these fabulous multi-colored lettuces

and zucchini blossoms in such profusion.

We then boarded buses and drove outside of Rome to the ancient (400 year old!) L’Archeologia Restaurant for a five course lunch. Here we are entering the restaurant where we sat outside under large umbrellas:

We started with a plate of roasted and fresh vegetables, fresh buffalo mozzarella and Colonnata fat bacon crostini.

Next was a soup, "etrusca style". The pasta course was so simple, yet so delicious – a very typical, classic dish. Just a bit of pasta tossed with some of the cooking water, bits of Pecorino and ham.

Here is the "recipe" as it was given to us: "Cook strangozzi (thick spaghetti) in boiling salted water. In the meantime prepare a soffritto (garlic lightly fried in oil) with diced ham and add a few drops of white wine. Add the pasta when it is cooked and cook together for 1 minute. When it is served on the dish, grate a little bit of Pecorino cheese on top".

We went on to Argentinian beef filet with ceps mushrooms and mixed fried vegetable fritters , concluding lunch with fresh fruit and tiramisu. Now, let me tell you that I was so stuffed and so uninspired by the dessert, that I almost didn’t have any….boy would that have been a mistake. It was a truly well executed rendition. Very light on the palate in taste and texture. I was so busy eating, I forgot to take a picture.

Join me on my next installment in a week or so, on the Greek Honey tasting I conducted on board Le Diamant. As you can imagine, this was a trip of a lifetime for both David and me.

Roland Mesnier - White House Pastry Chef

2009-10-22T11:46:00.008-04:00

Many years ago, (perhaps 12?), I was lucky enough to be invited into the White House to spend a day with the pastry chef at that time, Roland Mesnier. It was a remarkable day, for so many reasons. His kitchen was so much tinier than I had expected and yet the level of work was so much more than I had ever dreamed. He was famous for never making the same dessert twice during his 25 years in service to our First Families. The day I was there he was prepping for a State Dinner and the frozen strawberry bombe, in the shape of a strawberry, was to be accompanied by a lemon compote that I will never forget.

Cases and cases of lemons were carefully peeled and sectioned. Each lemon section was painstakingly cleaned of any membrane and these were poached in a sugar syrup. The result was a sweet yet tart compote, so incredibly refined and unexpected. At the time I was writing a cover feature of him for Chocolatier magazine (which has now morphed into Dessert Professional). If you can get a hold of a copy, it is very interesting reading, which some great pictures.

Years later he participated in a public television holiday pledge special that I was taping. That day we made a buche de Noel together. The smell of chocolate on the set was intoxicating. His version was fairly modern with outsized chocolate deer and pine trees set about the display platter. The pledge special is still in rotation, so try to catch it. It should begin airing soon.

Just this week he was in my neck of the woods, appearing at UMASS, where he gave a talk about his professional life, which began at age 14. The morning of that birthday he came downstairs to find a cardboard suitcase packed for him. His family was poor, there were many children, and that was his time to make it on his own - and he never looked back.

I brought him a copy of my new book (above) and in the pic below we are discussing the finer points of making parisian style macarons. (PS: he Does like to age his egg whites, preferably for 10 days for best results). Anyone who has made these knows they can be picayune, and this was one of his best tips. There are two recipes in my new book for this type of cookie. One is a Pistachio and one is a Raspberry Rose. Sort of red and green for Christmas (OK I'm stretching a bit here, but they always impress).

Below is a pictures of my daughter's macarons, here in Espresso Creme Fraiche and Pistachio. You can see more of her work on her site, Shellco. If you are in the NY-Metro area, give them a call for a holiday order. Tell her I sent you:)

Interview and Book Giveaway

2009-10-21T12:05:00.002-04:00

Want to win a book? Check out this Blog... This is my 3rd book with Justin Schwartz; he is a great friend AND editor. He has posted a Q&A he did with me and is offering as book giveaway. There are some great recipes that will take you through all the winter holidays. Good luck!

The BAKING BUDDY

2009-10-20T21:50:00.005-04:00

Welcome to a new blog feature, The Baking Buddy. I write recipes with the intent of being instructive and comforting to the home baker. I try to anticipate questions that might arise when following a recipe and hand-hold through my words. Feel free to write in with Your questions and I will answer then on my blog. Email your questions to dede@dedewilson.com. They can be questions about my recipes, or baking in general. I hope to help you enjoy your time in the kitchen and help you get the best possible, most delicious results from your baking efforts! Check the blog for The Baking Buddy entries frequently. By the way, many of these questions are discussed in my new book Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley) as well. Many of these questions have been sent to me via email from readers throughout the years. I will be posting the answers that I think will be the most helpful for most bakers.

Question: I love chewy cookies, whether they are chocolate chip or oatmeal. It seems like sometimes they remain chewy and sometimes they turn crispy, even when using the same recipes! How can I ensure that my cookies remain chewy every time?

Answer: This is a great question because it is one I hear a lot – and the answer is Timing! Cookies are the smallest baked goods that we make and they are very time sensitive. Thirty seconds to 1 minute too long in the oven and a potentially chewy cookie will become a crispy one. So the first thing to pay attention to is the timing. There is residual heat on your baking pans and cookies will continue to “bake” even once they are pulled out of the oven; we must take this residual heat of the baking pans into consideration. With this is mind, if you want chewy cookies, you should remove cookies from the oven when the edges are firm but the centers are still soft. They will firm up tremendously upon cooling. If you have the extra time, bake a couple of cookies alone on a baking sheet, time them, let them cool and assess the results. Then you can fine-tune the baking time for the rest of the batch. Also, you will notice that in my books I always bake cookies on half-sheet pans with rims and use parchment paper. After writing entire books on cookies, I believe these pans give the most evenly distributed heat; they are sturdy and do not warp and will last forever with good care. Also, the parchment paper plays a key roll, beyond easy clean-up and a nonstick surface. If you have left the cookies in the oven too long, you can easily grasp the parchment paper’s edges and slide the paper, along with cookies, carefully onto a cooling rack. In this way you will immediately remove the hot pan (the residual heat source) and cease any further “baking”.

The baking sheet pans that I prefer can be found at Williams-Sonoma, among other resources.

Book Party at Magnolia Bakery

2009-10-05T10:00:00.001-04:00

The evening of my Baking and Blogging event (see below), we continued the festivities with a Book Party. Magnolia Bakery on Columbus has a private party space that was just right for our group. Above is a pic of the entrance; we were setting up for the party. Just like the morning event, this was made possible by Driscoll's. Here is a pic of me with Marc Cervantes, a berry grower, and Kim Kulchycki, the Marketing Manager.

Below is a pic of me and my gorgeous daughter, Ravenna. She and her boyfriend, Alvin Blanco, own Shellco, a wholesale bakery that provides bakery products to many high end caterers, hotels and stores in NYC such as Dean & Deluca and the W Hotels.

Here are two pics of our dessert table. The strawberry and blueberry tartlets are bite-sized versions of full sized tarts in the book. The small square cups hold a champagne-cassis mousse that is made in a ring mold in the book...I wanted to make it easy for party-goers to sample them all!

There are also Pistachio Butterballs on the raised pedestal dish and the square cookies to the right are one-bite version of the hazelnut linzer cookies filled with Nutella - all from the book, Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley, 2009), of course.

Champagne and sparkling water flowed for the guests. The pics, once again, were taken by our photog, Peter Doyle.

Here below are my girls! Left to right my daughter Ravenna, me, and then Frederika Brookfield and Katie Levine, both my PR gals and right-hand women from Bon Appetit magazine.

Here are some close-ups of the desserts:
David Leite came when the party was in full-swing. I recently made his olive oil cake, and it was divine.

More pics of the party...how about an aerial view?

Indulging in one more....And last but not least, the folks that made this happen. Below right is Laura Baddish of The Baddish Group. I have been working with Laura for over 1o years and I love her like family

Then here below left is my editor Justin Schwartz. He gave me my first book deal with my The Wedding Cake Book, which is still in print, and this is our 3rd book together....XOXO Justin! That's his pretty GF Jen.

Email me when y'all bake from the book. I would love to hear about your baking adventures and pics are a plus! I'll put them up on the blog.

HAPPY BAKING!

Baking and Blogging

2009-10-01T13:56:00.031-04:00

We held a Driscoll's Bakes blogging event in NYC on Thursday Oct. 1st. Nothing is better than getting a crowd going than to bake together! Driscoll's provided the opportunity along with baskets and baskets of the most gorgeous Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries and Blueberries, some of them even organic. The event was to introduce my new book, Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley, 2009), which has just hit the shelves. We baked the Brown Sugar Buttermilk Snack Cake with Blackberries and Caramel Walnut Drizzle from the Breakfast and Snack Cakes Chapter.

Kim Kulchycki, Driscoll's Marketing Manager and one of their growers, Marc Cervantes, were on hand to explain how these exquisite berries are developed, grown, harvested, transported and brought to the consumer in such pristine shape.

I approached this as a private baking class, talking the guests through the steps.

We had all the ingredients measured out so we could all jump in right away. Here are some pics of us, paired off into twos, getting the cakes mixed and into the oven.

Baking with a friend is always more fun.

The recipe is a very easy brown sugar cake that starts with creaming the butter and sugar. The juicy blackberries are scattered on top right before baking; they will sink in

Check out @SporkorFoon on Twitter:) LOL she thinks her cake was the best. What was so satisfying was to see bakers and non-bakers getting together and ALL baking these fabulous snack cakes from scratch.

Here I am testing with a wooden toothpick, which is my preferred tool for this job. I find the moist crumbs that we want to see clinging will be apparent on a toothpick more so than on a metal cake tester. Can you see how this cake is a tad overbaked and peaked and cracked? Check out the next pic.

Look at the cake on the middle left. It is evenly colored, flatter and less peaked. It was baked in my preferred pan, a Wilton Decorator Preferred pan. They are heavy duty and conduct heat evenly...this allowed me the perfect opportunity to talk to the group about the importance of equipment. The batter and oven were the same; only difference was the pan.

Here below I am whisking the caramel glaze Just until it is fluid. Everyone is looking over the pot to assess the texture of the glaze. If you whisk too long it becomes grainy, so stop just when it comes together.

Here are some of our intrepid bloggers making their own glaze.

Here we begin to spoon the glaze over the cooled cake.

The following shot is an example of our great professional photographer's work! Check out more of Peter Doyle's work HERE. Look at that caramel flow!

After a drizzle of caramel comes the berries, walnuts, then more caramel, berries and walnuts. By building it up in layers, we get a very 3D appearance. Note that some berries were baked in the cake and some are fresh on top of the cake. This technique of layering flavors is one I use frequently throughout the book.

Look at how yummy this looks

Even with us sharing a mixer and Marc and I pausing and speaking in between, we baked Four of these cakes start to finish, in less than an hour! Who says they don't have time to bake?

Below we got a kick out of comparing our cakes to the professionally styled picture in the book. Most of my bloggers thought theirs was even better! Hey, I write my books so you can be successful in the kitchen!

Side by side comparison

I hope to do more events like this....stay tuned for info.

Thank you to our bakers and bloggers!

Teanna - www.sporkorfoon.com

Christo - www.alittlebitofchristo.blogspot.com
Jordan - jordan.nonsociety.com
Robert - halogenlife.com
Evie - productpasha.blogspot.com

Unforgettable Desserts: Almond-Apricot Brownies with Tart Cherry Ganache

2009-09-29T12:26:00.012-04:00

Photos by Alexandra Grablewski

Photo styled by Brian-Preston-Campbell

Welcome to my first Blog Post including a recipe from my new book, Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley 2009), which just became available. My intent with this book is to bring truly memorable desserts to the home baker. Desserts that create memories - and I hope, encourage you to dash back into the kitchen to bake some more! The idea was born when my editor and agent asked me why I thought my desserts tasted so good; why people seemed to go on and on about them. I pondered this question and truly, it comes down to specifics. Baking is an art but also a science. If I suggest that you use a certain flour, or a particular chocolate and you substitute another kind, the results will not be the same. Specific measuring techniques, specific ingredients and specific equipment can indeed make the difference between a good dessert and a great one that you always remember.

Now, while this may seem picayune, it is! But if you want to bake desserts that people go nuts over, I have given you all the information you need in each recipe to ensure fabulous results.

The picture above is for a very fancy bar/brownie. It begins with a buttery shortbread layer, which is topped with a layer of almond paste and a layer of apricot preserves. Crowning that is a brownie, topped off by a ganache studded with moist, plump tart cherries. Getting hungry yet? While this recipe does have several components, none of them are difficult to make and the results are fancy, mouthwatering and delectable. This dessert Does taste as good as it looks!

(PS: not all the recipes in the book are so complex. Some are simple and their "unforgettable-ness" lies in how easy they are). Happy Baking!

Almond-Apricot Brownies with Tart Cherry

Ganache

Tart cherries and apricots both blend so harmoniously with almond paste I can never decide which to use, so I have used both in this sophisticated, multi-layered bar. A crisp almond shortbread forms the base; next comes a layer of 100% fruit (no sugar) apricot spread topped with a layer of almond paste. A fudgy brownie is baked right on top and after cooling, the entire creation is spread with a bittersweet chocolate ganache bursting with moist pockets of tart cherries. (PS: This recipe uses the term “marzipan” because it sounds so much more melodious than “almond paste”; make no mistake, you need almond paste for the recipe).

Makes 32 brownies

Shortbread:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur)

Middle Layers:
1/2 cup apricot spread
10 ounces almond paste (not marzipan)

Brownie:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, such as Ghiradelli (60%), Callebaut (71%) or Scharffen Berger (70%)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache:
2 cups tart cherries packed in water and drained, or frozen and defrosted
3 tablespoons Amaretto di Saronno liqueur
2/3 cup heavy cream
14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, such as Ghiradelli (60%), Callebaut (71%) or Scharffen Berger (70%)

For the Shortbread: Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 13 x 9-inch pan with nonstick spray.

Beat butter until creamy with flat paddle on medium-high speed, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually and continue to beat, about 3 minutes at medium-high speed, until very light and fluffy. Beat in almond extract. Add the flour and beat just until combined. Press dough evenly into pan.

Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until dry and just starting to color. Place on rack while preparing subsequent layers. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

For the Middle Layer: Heat apricot spread in a small pan over low-medium heat. Brush or spoon an even layer over shortbread, which will still be warm.

Roll out almond paste on a lightly floured surface to the same size and shape of the pan and about 1/4-inch thick. Place on top of apricot layer. If it breaks into pieces, that’s fine; just patch it together into an even layer, covering the apricot completely.

For the Brownie: Melt chocolate and butter together in top of double boiler or microwave. Cool briefly. Whisk in sugar, then whisk in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt just until no white streaks remain. Pour batter over almond paste layer and smooth into an even layer using a small offset spatula.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until brownie layer is dull, a bit puffed and the edges have begun to come away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the center of just the top brownie layer will show a few moist crumbs when removed. Cool completely on rack.

For the Ganache: Drain or defrost cherries, if necessary. Roughly chop them so that most of the cherries are halved, some are whole, but do not chop finely. Stir together with liqueur in small bowl and allow to macerate while you make ganache. Place cream in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle chocolate into cream. Cover and sit for 5 minutes; the heat will melt the chocolate. Stir gently until smooth, then stir in cherries and any liquid. Allow to cool at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about the consistency of soft mayonnaise. Spread evenly over brownies using a small offset spatula. Chill briefly to set glaze. Cut into 32 bars (8 x 4). Refrigerate in airtight container up to 3 days in single layers separated by parchment paper, or freeze up to 1 month.

Smooth Sailing – 10 Days at Sea, Eating All The Way

2009-09-23T18:18:00.054-04:00

WARNING: What follows is a ridiculously long travelog. The length goes against many blogging rules that suggest that short and sweet are best. I thought that by writing about ONE day at a time (about my Mediterranean cruise) I'd be safe. Wrong! We did a lot in one day! I would love feedback...was this just too much to read? My intent was to give you a flavor of the boat, the locale and ambiance in general, and of course, the food. LMK

The story begins:

Just a few days ago I woke up to breakfast in bed. My milk was warmed for my tea, as requested; the eggs were over easy. I had a view of the Aegean Sea through the sliding glass door leading out to my balcony from my spacious room on board Le Diamant. Later in the day I ran my fingers across stone that dated to 3,000 BC, enjoyed stimulating conversations with friendly, intelligent fellow-travelers and then I got to do one of my favorite things – conduct a chocolate tasting – and that was one day!

Let me back up a bit.

About a year and a half ago I was contacted by the Thomas P. Gohagan & Company, out of Chicago. Would I be interested in taking a trip in exchange for giving a few food talks on board a Mediterranean cruise, participating in two live cooking demos with the chef and generally being on hand to be the culinary professional for the duration of the tour? I said, yes, I could do that. They asked me to come up with three topics related to our itinerary including France, Italy, Greece and Turkey; I suggested Italian chocolates, Greek honey and French and Italian truffles (the fungus kind). Along with giving presentations, I suggested that we add a tasting component to each talk, which they heartily embraced.

The trip, while I believed would actually happen, felt a bit unreal. It was so far away at that point that it was hard to imagine actually cruising to all of these places. If it never came to be, I would be no worse for the wear. If it did come to fruition, it would be a dream trip. A win win as far as I was concerned and so I tucked it into the back of my mind. When we got to about a month away, it began to feel palpable. A week ahead it hit me that it was actually going to happen. Of course I still wasn’t really sure what “it” was, having never gone on an excursion like this before. The boat, Le Diamant, is a small cruise ship and we would end up with about 160 passengers. What would the passengers, and therefore my audiences, be like? Would they be engaged and ask intelligent questions, or would they rather be sunning on the deck with a margarita? Would the food be any good? What would my cabin be like? Would I get sea-sick? All of these questions came to mind. I am typing this initial installment as I fly back from Istanbul to JFK. It is going to be a challenge to bring all the fascinating details to you as each day was a treasure trove of discovery, filled with visiting ancient sites, conversing with fabulous fellow passengers and eating, eating, eating. The trip was more than I ever could have imagined.

Day 1: Nice, France and off to Florence, Italy

Our trip began in Nice, France. But let me add that it really started in NY. David and I had flown from Hartford to JFK, where we were greeted by a Gohagan affiliate at the gate. It was quite a welcomed surprise. Turns out there were 30+ fellow travelers that were all to be on the same flight to Nice and Gohagan had a representative there to greet us and make sure that all was running smoothly. This was the first of many Gohagan touches that made this trip so special.

We landed at about 8:30 am and I was remarkably fresh, due to the fact that I had found a row of three seats on our flight from JFK. Being 5’1 ½” (on a good day) this allowed me to lie down and to rest better than I would have vertically in my seat. We were whisked away to a hotel, and although we did not have access to rooms, there was a place for us to drop our bags, freshen up and have a hot or cold beverage. We were not boarding the boat until late afternoon, so we had the day to explore. The bus, which had brought us from the airport, had made a little loop through the port city to give us a brief introduction, so we had an idea of where we wanted to go. I wanted to head to the so-called “flower” market.

David and I took off walking along the Quai des Etats Unis, along Castel Beach.We almost immediately passed a McDonalds proclaiming to have a “Big Tasty” meal, which I think was a Big Mac, but I didn’t delve into it.

After about a 10 minute walk through a lovely small park, and across an open area with public art and a fountain, we walked down a narrow, old street which eventually gave way to a long, open rectangular area where we came upon the famed flower market. In fact this market has as much vegetable and fruit produce as flowers and we set about taking in all the sites, smells and sounds.

First a few flower photos, for good measure: There were roses, of courseBut also Mimosa, a small yellow flower I don’t see much in the US and of course bunches of lavender. Both of these are used in French cooking; you can find lavender in many herb mixtures and I have seen little round yellow candied mimosas for decorating fancy pastries.

Here are some lovely, fresh berries that were available.

One idea I loved was this container of mixed berries; what a fabulous idea. In this way the consumer could purchase one item, yet get a mélange of fruit to eat as is, or perhaps to be perched on a tart.

There was a plethora of candied fruits including whole clementines, halved peaches, all sorts of zests, chestnuts, citron and more.

Also the largest knobs of candied ginger I have ever seen. There was a lovely diced, candied fruit mixture (seen in pic below, above the ginger) that would be perfect for my winter holiday cakes, and I considered buying some. I regret that I did not but under the hot Riviera sun I just couldn’t bring myself to think much about those winter treats.

There were many honey vendors and those selling olive oil, olives, soaps of all scents, fish, bread, preserves and cheese. Here are pictures of an olive vendor; there were many.

One vendor had more varieties of calisson cookies that I had ever seen (these being a Provencal specialty with flavors of almond paste an often orange as well).

Look at this next picture. Can you tell what these are?

Marzipan fruits and vegetables with exquisite detail. Across the top there are carrots and cauliflower, peaches and bananas. Next row down left to right, white asparagus (hadn’t seen that one before), tomatoes, grape bunches and green plums. Below that are corn, a few purple tinged artichokes, lemons and strawberries.

The ground spices seem to attract many tourists, but in fact I did not find the quality to be that great. Once spices are ground and exposed to light and air to the extent that these were, I decided to pass on them.

There were these interesting syrups at several vendors, which were not only beautiful to look at, with colors ranging from almost clear to blue, pink, yellow and green, but their applications seemed endless. They could be mixed in drinks, used to enhance sauces, drizzled over ice cream or cake, to mention a few. Some interesting flavors were Rose (pale pink), Violette (purple), Pomegranate (a bright clear red), Mimosa (yellow) and Pistache (green).

Here is a second vendor’s versions.

David and I decided to have our lunch there and we purchased a yeast raised flat bread topped with tomatoes, onions, olives and sprinkled with herbs de Provence from one vendor, some hard aged sheep’s milk cheese from another and some fruit. I found the vendor with what I thought were the best fresh figs and we bought a tiny container of those. They came in a small rectangular cardboard box, which was lined with fresh fig leaves.

And then we chose white fleshed peaches from another vendor. These peaches were perfectly ripe and not only yielded delicately from a gentle pressing of the fingers, but they also emitted a telltale aroma. I couldnt wait to take a bite! The peach vendor was also offering tastes before buying; not all of them were and I took this to mean that he had pride in his produce and was ready to back it up with sweet fruit.

We found a place to sit and with peach juices dribbling down our chins, we ate in record time. I had stowed antibacterial wet-wipes in my pocketbook, so we had an easy clean up. The exhaustion of the trip was catching up with me and walking in the hot sun wasn’t helping. At one point the jet-lag did catch up with me to the point where I had to take a 10 minute nap. David caught me napping on the edge of a fountain smack in the middle of the market.

Below are photos of flavored salts and sugars, the latter not something we see that often in the U.S

We eventually made our way to a café, walking down a typical narrow street

where we searched for a caffeine pick me up. There were many places to choose from, as they ring the market all the way round. Those of you who know of my dog addiction (see Legacybts.blogspot.com) will not be surprised to know that I chose the café that had the resident dog at hand. Voila! Introducing Charles Edward (say/read it with French accent), a very docile bull dog who was plopped down in the middle of this café. When I first spied him, he was on top of a plexiglass window in the floor, gazing down at the bakery below. I decided maybe his human daddy or mommy were down there, but in truth, after observing him for a while, I think that the window might had just offered a different temperature and therefore a different sensory variation from the floor itself and he seemed to like it.

He was docile to the point of being comatose. I poked him at one point to make sure he hadn't expired! People would bend down and pet him, as we did, and he would not budge. No flick of the ear or wrinkle of nose. I think he was inured as this probably happend all day every day. No matter, he gave me a sense of comfort and so we sat right next to him so I could soak up the familiar canine vibes. I had a café frappe, which was amazing. It was simply lightly sweetened espresso, which had been beaten with ice to the point of being airy, frothy, opaque and utterly scrumptious. I asked the waiter 3 times if there was cream in it as I kept thinking he didn’t understand my question as he answered no each time. But I know from experience that if you have a heavy duty blender such as a Vita-Mix, that such a texture can be obtained. They had classic apple tarts, small cakes and sweet breads and large crisp meringues in the window, although we didn’t indulge in any of them. I have a recipe for very similar meringues in my new book, Unforgettable Desserts.

After our culinary stroll we headed towards the beach, which is made up of gray rocks, rather than sand.

Here we are finally beginning to relax, getting away from our hectic daily lives.

At the end of this particular beach, high up on a steep hill, is a park with a waterfall fountain way up near the top. The stairs that led up the hill are steep and long, but it felt good to get some exercise (Note to Holly and Patty, my trainers at BeFit in Hadley, MA - I RAN up the first 200 steps. I counted). We walked up into this park, which afforded a view of the beach below. And here are some views from in about the park, to give you a sense of the ambiance.

Before heading back to our rendezvous point I ducked into that same McDonalds to use the restrooms. I go to McDonald’s a lot in the States….for this very same purpose and I have always appreciated the fact that you can run in and out quickly, without feeling the need to purchase any food and without anyone giving you the eyeball if you don’t. This was a bit of a different experience. First of all there was some art on the walls, not great art, but not cheap posters either and there was a general sense of it being a tad more upscale than the ones I’m used to visiting. The bathroom was not easy to find and in fact was upstairs all the way in the back and when I got to it, I read the sign that informed me that the restrooms were for patrons only and that you had to refer to the bottom of your receipt for a code, which you would then punch into the lock on the door. I had no receipt but before I had to think much about it, someone came out and I just went in.

At about 4 in the afternoon it was time to board the ship and here are our first views of Le Diamant from the outside. For more information on this ship and others owned by this company, click HERE.And here is our room, a very comfortable, spacious room on the “Diamond” deck (the top deck), with a sliding door and balcony and a bathroom that is larger than mine at home complete with full tub. David is reading some material left for us on our bed, which would be a daily occurrence. We would get updates every evening as to the itinerary for the following day. We were also greeted with canapés and wine.

I quickly showered (remember we'd been walking around all day since we landed) and took advantage of the fluffy robes; David caught the Nice scenery behind.

We pulled out of the harbor with David clicking away at the sites. Here you can see through our glass sliding door to our personal balcony:

We chose to have dinner that night in the smaller dining room (see below)

as we felt that not being inundated with a crowd would be preferable. Although I didn’t think to take pictures of dinner, we had vichyssoisse, salmon and a lovely sorbet. The fish was very fresh, very high quality and cooked wonderfully. It was moist and delicate and was my first indication that we were in great hands in terms of the chefs on board.

We set out for the port of Livorno for our first complete day, to be spent in Florence. Come back in a few days for that installment. Teaser: we spent the afternoon in a lovely villa having an olive oil tasting.

New Book Is Here! For an Unforgettable Experience...

2009-09-21T20:54:00.005-04:00

Unforgettable Desserts (Wiley) has hit the shelves! I will be creating a more in-depth introduction post over the next couple of days...for now, a tantalizing glance:
The book offers such recipes as Brown Sugar Buttermilk Snack Cake with Blackberries and Caramel Drizzle; Pistachio Butterballs; Blueberry Creme Fraiche Tart with Poppy Seed Crust; Nutella Linzer Cookies; Hot CHocolate Truffle Bombs; Champagne Cassis Mousse with Raspberries; Voluptuous Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ganache Cake and absolutely the very best Strawberry Biscuit Shortcakes ever!

Stay Tuned

The Laid Back Happy Valley

2009-08-23T09:40:00.004-04:00

I live in Amherst, MA in the Pioneer Valley, or what we locals call The Happy Valley. It is a bit of a slow, laid back bubble where the outside world is somewhat kept at bay. It is also called The Slippery Valley as some folks feel that once you live here, you can't leave.

There is a diner in a neighboring town with this sign posted on the door. It is Not tongue-in-cheek.
I have never successfully been there at the same time as when they are open LOL. I couldnt get a better picture because the screen door was locked!

Blueberry Pie Addendum

2009-08-20T12:41:00.005-04:00

Check out these pics. Some blueberry pie recipes call for 4 cups of fruit, some 5 and some 6. I like to use a deep pie plate and use 8 cups of fruit. I received some inquiries about the seemingly large amount, but look! This is how 8 cups will gently mound...I like my fruit pies to be Full of fruit:)

Come to The Dutchess County Fair

2009-08-20T12:16:00.005-04:00

If you live within driving distance of Rhinebeck, NY, take some time out of the end of your summer and come to the Fair. You will find all the typical country fair trappings: farm animals, arts and crafts, turn-of-the-century displays of farm equipment, vendors, musical performances, all kinds of food - including my favorite kettle corn - and much more. I have appeared at the fair for 3 years in a row with various food demos. This year come by The Harvest Kitchen on Tuesday August 25th at 11am and 4pm for a guided chocolate tasting and demo. I will have books to sell and sign and believe me, you will get your fill of some truly delectable chocolate. If you do come and you read about it here, introduce yourself and let me know!

No Food of Life Today

2009-08-07T17:14:00.003-04:00

Taking a break with the story postings...other stories in the pipeline coming up though, so come back.